2016: Year in Review

Dang, it's snowing outside. A bunch of people dressed as elves just walked past my house, on their way to the Santa Claus Parade here in Toronto. Two days ago, I was strolling the fairways like it was mid summer. Alas, there will be no more of that this year. All that's left to do is to write my traditional year-end review.

After struggling with my golf game for a couple of years, I had modest success in both 2014 and 2015. While I can't say that my game improved dramatically in 2016, I have to admit that by almost any measure, this year was also a success. My handicap factor at season end was 17.0 – just six tenths better than it was at the end of 2015, but an improvement nevertheless. It's important to note that 17.6 was also my lowest level in 2015, while I went as low as 15.5 this year. That set a new personal best – beating my previous mark of 15.8 set all the way back in 2009. It's a slight improvement, and I wasn't able to hang onto it, but it's something.

While the improvement in handicap factor was miniscule, I had two major accomplishments this year. One was an early season hole-in-one at Calerin Golf Club – my first ever! It was mid-May and I was playing just my sixth round of the year. I already had a couple of scores in the mid 80s, so I was feeling good about my game. I shot 94 that day, but score means nothing when you drain your first ace. I could have shot 110 and still been happy. The feat was accomplished on hole #14, a 150-yard par-3. I struck a pure 8-iron directly at the flag, but didn't see the result immediately, because the green is slightly elevated. It was only when I peered into the hole that I knew what had happened. I saved the ball as a souvenir – a Pinnacle Gold. LOL

The other major accomplishment, perhaps more significant, was a personal best score of 78, which came at BraeBen Golf Course. This was also the first time that I ever broke 80. My previous best was an 81 (10-over) at Deer Creek South, which took place way back in 2007. I also had an 82 (10-over) at Granite Ridge Cobalt in 2008. Either way, those rounds were a long time ago. There's also something very special about breaking 80. It took me over 500 rounds of golf to do it. Let's hope it doesn't take another 500 to do it again. I began that round at BraeBen like a par machine and I carried the early momentum through the entire round. I wrote a detailed blog entry, which I'll review whenever I need a golf pick me up. I also saved the ball that I used to play the entire round – a Titleist DT Solo. LOL

I ended up playing 45 rounds in 2016, beginning April 18 and ending November 18. That's seven months of golf, which ain't bad around these parts. Late spring and early fall were ideal, but the summer was far too hot, especially during the months of July and August. Having aimed for at least 40 rounds, I was happy with the number of rounds played. Incidentally, those rounds were played at 35 different courses. The one I played most often was Scenic Woods, with three visits. The first two rounds there continued my incredible streak of scoring 85 at the course. On the third visit, which happened to come right after my personal best of 78 at BraeBen, I scored a lovely 103. Haha! The courses that I played twice were: Oliver's Nest, Lowville, Silver Lakes, Hunters Pointe, BraeBen, Calerin, and Maples of Ballantrae.

Every year, I try to play a few new courses, just to keep things interesting and fresh. The courses that I played for the first time this year were: Oliver's Nest, Borden, Lakeridge Links, Nobleton Lakes, and Settlers' Ghost. Nobleton Lakes was perhaps the nicest of the bunch, but that's not saying a whole lot. All of the courses are decent enough, so there's little to separate them. The reason I had never played Nobleton before is because its green fees always seemed too high. Borden is probably the weakest of the bunch, mostly due to some featureless opening holes. It doesn't help that it's a hefty trek to get there. Then again, the same can be said for Oliver's Nest and Settlers' Ghost. Lakeridge Links was dry as hell when I played it, but I still enjoyed it.

My average score in 2016 was 94.4 – just six tenths better than in 2015. Any improvement is a good improvement, but that's really not very significant. I was a little better over the first half of the year, averaging 93.3 as opposed to 95.5 over the second half. Two strokes per round doesn't seem like much, but consider this: I broke 90 six times over the first half of the season and only did it twice over the second half. By comparison, I broke 90 five times in 2015. While I reached 100 or greater once over the first half of this year, I reached that level six times over the second half. By comparison, I cracked the century mark just three times in all of 2015. Ironically, dipping into the 80s more frequently may have been responsible for more excursions into the 100s. The fact is, when you've tasted the 80s, there's less motivation to grind for a score in the high 90s.

Detailed stats offer a bit of a mixed bag. This year, I averaged 34.6 putts per round, compared to 34.9 in 2015. I've never considered putting to be a real weakness, but there's room for further improvement. I hit 5.5 fairways per round, down from 6.1 last year. That's a little discouraging, as I'd like to be north of 7 in that category. Greens in regulation rose to 3.9 from 3.7, which is still very far from where I'd like to be. It's not surprising, though. I miss greens with alarming regularity from 150 yards or less. Even with a sand wedge in hand, I'm more likely to miss the green than hit it. Most often, I pull the ball left, but I've also been known to scull a few straight over the back. Finally, I averaged 3.3 penalty strokes per round, which is up from 3.0 last year. This is more telling than anything else. If I could eliminate the penalties, my average score would easily drop by at least six strokes.

Last, but not least, a few words about my performance in the Deepwoods Golf Association championship. I began the season horribly at Copetown Woods. It was especially disappointing because I was playing so well outside of Deepwoods early in the season. Not only that, but Copetown Woods is a course I know very well and one I should be able to dominate. I bounced back with good rounds at Peninsula Lakes and Crosswinds, but other players were having good years and I had to be near perfect to contend for the title. After a poor point total at Nobleton Lakes, I was officially out of contention. The last round at Grand Niagara was just for fun, and I finished the season in a tie for 10th place overall. My Deepwoods handicap had been lowered at the start of the season and I struggled to live up to that level. Oh well, there's always next year!