Playing Until Dark

Having finished a full round at Royal Woodbine, I had the option of playing some more, so I did exactly that. The first few holes of the front nine produced identical scores the second time around, albeit in somewhat different fashion. Hole #3, for example, began with a drive that sliced into the water hazard – a far cry from the 300-yard laser I nailed the first time up. After taking a penalty and drop, I hit a 3-wood from 240 yards. It was a little short and right of the green, but I made a lovely 30-yard pitch and drained the putt to earn another par.

Hole #6 began with a good drive, but the ball nestled up against the lip of a fairway bunker. I could not go for the green, but managed to advance the ball to the same position I was in after two shots earlier in the day. This time, I successfully hit the high lob wedge shot, finishing 10 feet from the cup. Unfortunately, I missed the par putt, but took bogey for the second time on the hole.

I moved along at better than bogey pace until hole #7, the 136-yard par-3 over water. This hole, as well as #4 (the other par-3) were playing directly into the setting sun. It was almost impossible to track the ball off the tee and definitely distracting. I pushed a 7-iron into the creek on #4, but stuck a shot close from the drop zone and 1-putt to salvage bogey.

No such luck on #7, as my tee shot drifted a bit right and failed to clear the pond. The sun was worse on this hole because it was reflecting off the pond. It was like playing on an alien planet with two suns shining directly into your eyes. The drop zone on this hole is at the red tees and I pulled a sand wedge from that location. I faced an impossible chip shot with the green falling steeply away from me. Rather carelessly, I blasted a putt through the fringe, requiring two more putts to finish. My final score was a nasty 7.

With that out of the way, I played the rest of the holes better than I had the first time around. On hole #8, I hit a 260 yard drive to the left rough, followed by an 8-iron to just in front of the green. I lagged one close through the fringe and finished with a 3-footer for par. On hole #8, I hit a drive 280 yards to the right side of the fairway. The ball actually rolled about six inches into the rough. With that lie, it was a bit risky to go for the green in two, so I hit 5-iron just short and right of the green. This set up a 30-yard pitch and 6-foot putt for birdie!

The last hole and a half were played in the shadows and we were losing light fast, so we decided to cart back to the clubhouse. We teed off on hole #18, but it was in vain. You could not see a thing and we had no idea where the balls went. No problem, it was great to get an extra nine holes played.

Score: 44
Putts: 14
Fairways: 2
Greens: 1
Penalties: 3