Daily highs near Toronto are forecast between 1 and 3 degrees Celsius over the next week, so I was fortunate to play on what will certainly be the last decent weather day of the year. The high was 17 degrees, and having snagged my tee time early, I was able to play during the warmest part of the day. We teed off just before noon and finished at 4:45 pm, just as the sun disappeared over the horizon. Thankfully, we didn't have to battle the light and managed to finish comfortably.
Shawneeki was in great overall condition, and not just for this time of year. The fairways were nicely blanketed in grass, with very playable firmness. The greens were rolling pretty smoothly and they surprised me with their speed. Uphill putts were average, but even the slightest downhill putts kept rolling and rolling. Your brain expects the greens to be slower at this time of year, but they weren't. I failed to make the mental adjustment for the entire round. Course staff also did a great job removing fallen leaves, so this wasn't a problem.
I smother hooked my opening drive, forcing a pitch to get back to the fairway. An 8-iron got me greenside and flag high, setting the stage for an up and down to salvage bogey. Hole #2 is a par-5 with a narrow chute at the teeing ground that can be intimidating, primarily because it's OB along the entire left side. I piped a drive down the middle, then carried a 5-iron over the edge of a pond, leaving 120 yards to the flag. I made crisp contact with the gap wedge, but pulled the ball to a slope left of the green. I bounced my chip shot into the slope, expecting the ball to release gently to the hole. Instead it kept rolling and rolling across the large green, leaving me with a 100 foot putt. The funny thing is, I almost made it! Unfortunately, the ball was carrying too much speed and it lipped out to about 8 feet. I missed that one too, and settled for double-bogey. Such a shame.
The next two holes resulted in bogeys, as I played them fairly well. In both cases, I just barely missed the fairways and greens. Chips were tricky because of the surprising green speeds, and hence the bogeys. I would have loved a bogey on hole #5, instead of the disaster that occurred. This is an uphill par-4 with a dogleg right. It seems every time I play this hole, my drive finishes just past a bunker protecting the inside of the dogleg. This is fine, except that it leaves an uneven lie for the next shot, and worse yet, a couple of small trees impeding the line to the green. I made excellent contact with a 7-iron, but smacked one of the trees solidly. My next attempt hit another tree, with the ball ricocheting back to the fairway. My fourth shot was a lob wedge thinned over the green. My fifth was a lofted pitch that rolled and rolled downhill off the green. I three putt from the fringe for a score of 8. Ugh!
After that nonsense, it was pretty standard for the remainder of the front nine. I smother hooked another drive on hole #6, then recovered briefly with a couple good shots. A bad bunker shot squirted well right of target and right off the green, leading to a double-bogey. Three bogeys finished up the front nine, including a pair of par-3 holes and a par-5. The bogey on the par-5 was impressive, as my drive was pulled slightly and finished unplayable under an evergreen tree. After taking a penalty and drop, I hit a fantastic 3-iron high and deep over a pond to get back to the fairway centre. My subsequent shot found the green and I 2-putt to finish. Also impressive was my tee shot on hole #9. This par-3 over water was playing 180 yards, with a back pin position. I hit a 5-iron high and straight, with the ball settling right at the back of the green. Unfortunately, I 3-putt on the slippery green, or it would have been a par.
My first par of the day was on hole #10. Driver, gap wedge got me to the back of the green, but the hole was near the front. My first putt went well past the hole, but I made the 8-foot comebacker. A pair of bogeys followed on the next two holes. Hole #11 is a par-5 with a dogleg left. My drives on this hole are dangerously close to OB on the right side of the dogleg, so I opted for 3-iron. I pulled it and smacked a tree solidly just a few yards ahead. Next, I hit two consecutive 3-irons that were fabulous. The first got me to the centre of the fairway, while the second, from 260 yards out, rolled right up to the front right side of the green. I putt through 15 feet of fringe and still managed to go well past the hole, about 10 feet. On hole #12, a par-3 from an elevated tee, I hit a perfect 7-iron, landing in front of the green and releasing flag-high. Unfortunately, the green got me again, leading to a 3-putt finish.
Hole #13 features a very dangerous tee shot, with a pond left and OB right. I navigated it perfectly, finding the right side of the fairway. With the danger behind me, I had an easy path to the severely elevated green. First, I duffed a 7-iron, then I sculled a lob wedge, finishing amidst some trees behind the green. It took two more shots to get on and two putts just to earn a triple-bogey. When you make two mistakes back-to-back, the big numbers quickly surface.
Luckily, I made a spectacular shot on the next hole to lift my spirits. Hole #14 is a 156-yard par-3 over a creek that then meanders along the right side of the green. I hit a terrible shot off the tee, finishing under an evergreen tree 40 yards left of the green. This tree had some space to stand underneath the branches, so I crouched underneath and choked down on a 7-iron. I punched the ball through a series of mounds and it reached the green, for once settling at the correct distance. It was the shot of the round, helped by the fact that I made the subsequent 6-footer for par.
The remainder of the round was fairly standard, with a mix of very good shots, and some not so good. I hit great drives on the final four holes, but some of the follow-ups were shaky. On hole #15, I pulled a 6-iron well left of the green. On hole #16, I pushed a 3-iron well right of the fairway. On hole #17, I pulled a gap wedge left, but still caught a piece of the green. On hole #18, I pulled a pitching wedge ever so slightly left. The story of the final four holes was once again the speed of the greens. I 3-putt three out of the four holes, as I still couldn't convince myself to ease up enough on my stroke. I collected a pair of bogeys and a couple of doubles for my handiwork.
If not for the unusually swift greens, this would have been a pretty good scoring round. As it was, I finished with a pedestrian score of 97. Still, it was a fun day and a good way to finish the season.
Score: 97
Putts: 39
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
Penalties: 1
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