A week after getting pummelled at Silver Lakes, I returned looking for a better result. With a group of foursomes scheduled to go ahead of me, the starter asked if I wanted to catch up to a twosome that had just teed off. It was lucky for me, but I did rush my tee shot as a result. I pulled my drive left of the fairway and had to punch through the trees to get back in play. Two punch shots got me in a greenside bunker, from which I splashed out and 2-putt for double-bogey.
The twosome I joined was playing from the blues (6511 yards), so I did the same just to keep things simple. My last outing at Silver Lakes was from the whites (6098 yards). On the second hole, I striped a 5-wood off the tee to the right fairway. I tried a 9-iron over the pond toward the green, but pulled it left and out of bounds. It was a costly miss that led to another double-bogey. On hole #3, a 135-yard par-3 over water, triple-bogey was the result. I duffed my first tee shot into the pond and finished the hole with a 3-putt.
At this point, I was trying to stay relaxed and focused. There was still lots of golf to play. It helps to keep your mind in the game, but at some point, you have to start making pars. I striped a drive down the fourth fairway and followed up with a decent iron just left of the green. A good pitch shot left a 6-footer for par, but a late break burned the edge and I settled for bogey. That was better, but still not good enough.
Three consecutive double-bogeys followed, ruining any chance of righting the ship. I pulled a couple drives into the trees. On both occasions, I found my ball, but I was in less than ideal positions. In one case, I recovered well, only to 3-putt. In the other case, a sandy lie cost me an extra stroke. On hole #7, a 175-yard par-3, I duffed a pitch attempt and that was all she wrote. It didn't help that some yahoo was playing music in his golf cart that could be heard from nearby holes.
Ultimately, I exploded for a score of 12 on hole #8. This is a 492-yard par-5 that bends slightly to the right. A large pond protects the right side from just in front of the tee to just past the mid-way point. I drove my first shot in the pond, then deposited two more in the water, before finally keeping one dry. I was laying 7 at the edge of the hazard, still 250 yards from the green. I played the rest of the hole just fine, but three penalty strokes on a single hole is atrocious!
I shot 60 on the front nine, so I put it behind me and just tried to have a good back nine. Despite a horrific drive on hole #10 to an opposite fairway, I managed to save bogey. This was followed by par on hole #11, a 158-yard par-3. The shenanigans resumed on hole #12, as I took a triple-bogey. My second shot with a 4-iron was from the rough, which was fairly lush. The ball travelled half the intended distance and rolled left into the trees.
Fortunately, I recovered for par on hole #13. A 6-iron, sand wedge combination got me safely over the large pond in front of the green and just off the putting surface. A great 2-putt earned my second and last par of the day. Two bogeys followed on holes #13 and #14. The former was played very well, while I got lucky on the latter when the forest spit my tee ball back toward the fairway.
Hole #16 sums up how most of my day went. This is a 410-yard par-4 cut through the trees. I hit a 250-yard drive to the right fairway, setting up a perfect angle into the green. Next I hit a solid 7-iron that was just about flag high, 10 yards right of the green. With a good pitch, I could maybe get up and down for par. More likely, I could pitch on and 2-putt for bogey. Well, I completely duffed the pitch, then thinned another to the opposite edge of the green. I was now putting from a great distance and the ball had to come over a ridge. It was legitimate 3-putt territory and that's what I ended up doing. Triple-bogey. Come on, man!
Bogey, double-bogey closed out the round for a score of 48 on the back nine and 108 overall. The double-bogey was the result of another pulled drive off the tee. That ball was not found, so I had to play my third from the tee. From that point, I basically made par, but as you know, there are no free re-takes in this game.
So, Silver Lakes pounded me again. This was round #30 of the year and the fourth time I reached 100. Two of those 100+ rounds were at Silver Lakes. More disturbing than that is the fact that three of those 100+ rounds have come over the last six rounds played. My handicap factor is up to 17.5 – exactly two points higher than my season (and all-time) low. Did I hit a wall?
Score: 108
Putts: 38
Fairways: 4
Greens: 0
Penalties: 6
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