I carefully consulted the weather forecast before choosing a date for my latest round of golf, which was played at Settlers' Ghost, just north of Barrie. Let's just say the weather people got it wrong. A steady mist fell the entire time I was out on the course and I didn't see the sun all day long. Thankfully, the temperature was reasonable. As I'm writing this the next day, the sun is gleaming and it's absolutely beautiful outside. Oh well, that's how it goes sometimes.
This was my first ever visit to Settlers' Ghost, which is located just a stones throw away from Horseshoe Valley Resort. The course plays over hilly terrain, with fairways either rising or falling toward the greens. None of the holes are on the side of a hill, so you usually have a fair lie. The design is links inspired, which is to say that the contours of the land provide more of an obstacle than do trees. I played the tips at 6,346 yards, which was certainly adequate. The course is wedged into a tight piece of land, but designers did a good job fitting everything in. If you look at an aerial view, the holes appear close together, but you don't really notice when playing.
I bogeyed the opening par-4, thanks mostly to a well placed drive. On hole #2, a 200-yard par-3, I hit a perfect 3-iron to find the green and finished with par. I bogeyed the next hole, a par-4, thanks to a great 2-putt from distance. On hole #4, a 369-yard par-4, I collected another par. This time, a spectacular approach with the 7-iron was the catalyst. As you can see, different parts of my game were coming up big a different moments.
Unfortunately, different parts of my game were also letting me down at different moments. My drive attempt on hole #5, a 526-yard par-5, was pulled off the heel and dove deep into some thick, lush fescue. It took all my might just to hack the ball out 40 yards. Despite good shots that followed, I ended up with double-bogey. After a nice par on hole #6, I took another double on hole #7. This is a short par-3 over water. I got the ball airborne with the 9-iron, but I pulled it left and out of bounds. Hitting my third from the tee, I found the green and 2-putt to finish.
Particularly during the middle of the round, I was struggling to keep my grips dry. This cost me a stroke on hole #9, as the 5-iron slipped completely in my hand off the tee. Luckily, I regrouped for bogey and a decent score of 44 at the turn. I don't usually play with a glove, but I opted to use one because the grip situation was getting out of hand. It didn't help on hole #10, as I hit a high push over some tall trees and straight across the 18th fairway. It was a terrible spot to be in and I ended up with a triple-bogey.
The rain eased up a bit and I got back to playing pretty good golf. After bogeys on holes #11 and #12, I collected par on hole #13. My drive on this par-4 was mediocre, finishing in the left rough and quite short. Fortunately, I delivered a perfect 8-iron to set up the 2-putt par. Bogey ensued on hole #14, a par-3, before another double-bogey reared its ugly head on hole #15. This is a 561-yard par-5 that began with another pulled drive short and into thick, long fescue. Overall, the par-5 holes were my worst. They are all long enough that if you start with a bad drive, it's very difficult to recover.
With that out of my system, I collected back-to-back pars on holes #16 and #17. In both cases, I was just off the green in regulation, but chipped and 1-putt to finish. Hole #18 is a downhill par-4, with thick trees on both sides. It's actually quite narrow, so you have to be really careful from the elevated tee. I hit a straight drive, though not overly long. I could get to the green with 7-iron, but I pushed it slightly and clipped some tall trees. The ball dropped 40 yards from the green, but I had a bush in my backswing. As a result, I needed two shots to get on the putting surface. I then 2-putt for double-bogey.
So it was 46 on the back nine and 90 overall. Not bad, considering I never played the course and weather conditions were not good.
Score: 90
Putts: 33
Fairways: 6
Greens: 4
Penalties: 2
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