A Handicap Low at Lowville

It's usually a great round when you start and finish with the same ball. I've been racking up the penalty strokes this year, even when I put together a decent score. This time, there was not a single penalty stroke to speak of. I was hitting the ball well, most of the time. Whenever I hit a bad shot, I recovered immediately. If you can avoid back-to-back mistakes, or multiple mistakes on a single hole, your score is going to be pretty good. I broke 90 convincingly and tallied my third best score of the year. The best part was that it felt easy.

I shot 44 (8 over) on the front nine, with a couple pars, six bogeys and a double. After reaching the green of the opening par-5 in regulation, I 3-putt for bogey. Thankfully, an accurate approach into the second green earned a solid par. A great putt saved bogey on hole #3, while another earned par on hole #4. Putts were costly again on hole #6, as I took three of them en route to double-bogey. On hole #7, an uphill par-5, I spoiled a great drive, but still made bogey. I also made a good bogey on hole #9. It was a 3 putt, but the fact that I reached the green in regulation after pulling my drive to an opposite fairway was remarkable enough.

I improved on the back nine, shooting 41 (6 over), with a birdie, two pars, five bogeys and a double. The birdie was on hole #16, a 422-yard par-4 that plays uphill. My drive was down in a low spot, right of the fairway. From there, I hit a pure 9-iron that finished two feet below the hole! Nice! The pars came on holes #12 and #17. In both cases, I started with a beautiful drive straight down the pipe. They were the only fairways I hit on the back nine. The double bogey came on hole #13, a par-3, thanks to another 3-putt. The hole was cut in a tricky position and I got robbed on the bogey putt. The rest of the holes on the back nine were just steady as she goes.

With this result, my handicap factor dipped to 15.4 – a personal best. A number of good results will drop off my scoring record over the next few rounds. These must be replaced with equally good results if I am to keep my factor where it is.

Score: 85
Putts: 38
Fairways: 4
Greens: 6
Penalties: 0