I headed up to Tangle Creek Golf Club on a gorgeous September afternoon. It's a course I've played a couple of times before and which I enjoyed thoroughly. The front nine features a healthy amount of elevation change and forced carries. At the same time, there are a couple of good scoring opportunities, especially early on. Some people might not like holes #5 through #7 because of the forced carries and doglegs that obscure the green area from the teeing ground. While the greens may not be visible from the tee, these are not “blind” shots, as the landing areas are in plain sight. I think those three holes are some of the best on the course. The back nine is a little more flat, but still very interesting visually and in terms of shot making. Fescue abounds, as it does on the whole course, and it can be nasty.
Hole #1 is a 448-yard par-5 from the black tees. The green is reachable with two good shots, but they have to be good or else you're in trouble. I hit a 240-yard drive to the left side that came to rest in a matted down area of fescue, just a couple yards off the fairway. The lie was good, so I hit 5-wood to get as close to the green as possible. A large slope up to the green prevented my ball from getting very close. I was 20 yards away and opted to pitch one with the lob wedge. The hole was cut on a strange plateau and my first putt was short. As a result, I 3-putt for an opening bogey.
Hole #2 is a par-4 measuring just 308 yards. It's straightforward, but the entire right side is out of bounds, so you do have to take some care. I pumped a drive to the centre of the fairway, leaving just 60 yards to the flag. The next shot killed me. I sculled the lob wedge, rolling the ball through the green and off the back. There is only a yard or two of rough, before a steep drop off that is covered in thick fescue. My ball went in and though I found it, it was unplayable. After a penalty and drop, I sculled a chip well past the hole. From that far away, a 3-putt was likely, and that's what happened. What started out as a possible birdie opportunity and almost certainly a par, ended up as a triple-bogey. That's how the game destroys you.
On hole #3, I once again nailed the centre of the fairway. My 9-iron next was slightly long and left. A slope should have gathered the ball, but the ground was hard and the ball rolled up into the fescue. With no chance to pitch it close, I rolled the ball a healthy distance past the hole. My third consecutive 3-putt resulted in a double-bogey. Oh man! I was piping my drives, but my approach irons were a little off and putting me in tough situations. I made par on hole #4, a 146-yard par-3, but even that was disappointing. My 9-iron finished 6 feet from the hole, but I missed the birdie putt!
Next was the tough stretch of holes #5 through #7. A wayward approach shot on the first of these was lost in the fescue, resulting in a penalty stroke and double-bogey. Fortunately, I hit the fairway, followed by the green on hole #6. This was followed by a 2-putt par. A great drive, strategic layup and 6-iron approach shot put me just left of the green on hole #7, a par-5. I chipped on and drained a 6-footer for another par. I carried the momentum over the remainder of the front nine, finishing with a bogey and par, for a score of 46 at the turn.
On the back nine, I collected way too many penalty strokes to make a good score. I tallied five penalties, to go along with the two I had collected on the front nine. One was the result of a bad drive on hole #10. On hole #14, I made a bad decision hitting driver off the tee and landed in a water hazard. A 5-wood or some sort of iron would have been a better choice. On holes #11, #15 and #16, I hit bad iron shots while trying to hit the greens.
Despite the errors, I was mixing in some good shots. A great 8-iron off the tee on hole #12 gave me a chance at birdie on this 161-yard par-3. I 2-putt and settled for par. On hole #13, a 561-yard par-5, three great shots had me flag high just off the right side of the green. Unfortunately, my chip rolled right off the green. I needed another chip and two putts to finish up with a double-bogey. On hole #17, I hit driver, 7-iron to within 3 feet. Despite its short length, the birdie putt was a downhill breaker and I missed it! That one hurt.
Hole #18 also hurt a bit. This is a 471-yard par-5 with a big dogleg to the right. I hit a perfect drive to the centre of the fairway, leaving 208 yards to the green. Next came a good 5-wood, but it was a tad left and finished in a greenside bunker. We all know my trouble with these bunkers! My first sand shot got out, but only to the rough. At this point, I was dealing with a bit of a headache from the heat and just wanted to finish quickly. I sculled a chip well past the hole and then 3-putt for a double-bogey.
The final score reflects a bunch of needless mistakes, but there was a lot to like about this round.
Score: 99
Putts: 40
Fairways: 8
Greens: 5
Penalties: 7
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