If it was closer to home, I probably would have played Rebel Creek long ago. Since it's a little out of the way for me, this was my first ever visit to the course. In preparation for the round, I watched the course tour videos on YouTube. These feature flyovers of each hole, giving a good idea of what to expect. When I arrived at the course, I opted to play the Gold/Blue tees, measuring 6,267 yards.
The front nine was fantastic, as I shot a 6-over score of 42. My scorecard was pretty clean, with four pars, four bogeys and one double. The double came on hole #2, a 426-yard par-4. My drive off the tee was defensive, as I wanted to avoid a pull into the creek on the left at all cost. This left a long approach into the green. I just wanted to get to the green in three, so I hit to a spot 50 yards short of the green. Unfortunately, my 50-yard pitch shot was pulled into the left fringe. This left a downhill chip, with no real chance of stopping the ball near the hole.
I made par on holes #1, #4, #6 and #9. The first three of these all came with the help of an up and down near the green. On hole #1, the drained putt was about 8 feet in length. On the other two holes, the chips were good enough to set up easy tap-in putts. I thought I was going to collect another par on hole #7 in the same fashion, as I chipped one from just off the green to within four feet. It was a little downhill and the ball lipped out violently for the bogey. The par on hole #9 was more traditional, as I 2-putt after reaching this par-5 green in regulation.
The back nine went less smoothly, as a variety of circumstances conspired to produce a 14-over score of 50. I blew up for a triple-bogey on hole #13, as I failed to hit a single good shot en route to the green of this par-4. I smother pulled the ball off the tee into a steep slope left of the fairway. Lucky for me, the ball came all the way back to the centre of the fairway, albeit well back of the green. I just wanted to reach the green in three at that point. My second shot was pulled to a bit of a slope on the left side, but it was still serviceable. Unfortunately, with the ball below my feet, I duffed the next shot completely. My fourth shot was pulled left of the green and my fifth was a chip that I semi sculled well past the hole.
That was the only real blowup on the back nine, but there were three double-bogeys as well. On hole #12, a par-4, my second shot hooked slightly into a greenside bunker – my nemesis. My first attempt to get out was hit fat, while my second was fine. I made a brilliant bogey attempt, but the hard breaking putt lipped out. On hole #16, a 147-yard par-3, I was fighting the hook shot, so I aimed a little right of target and tried to tone down the hooking action. Of course, I straightened out the shot completely and missed the green just to the right. The worst part was that my ball came to rest at the base of a tree, right up against the trunk. I had no backswing and this was the sole cause of the double-bogey. The final double was on hole #17. I made the smart play off the tee, but lack of familiarity with the course got me, as I was surprised by the width of a forced carry between me and the green. The hole produced my only penalty stroke of the day.
I've focused on the trouble spots, but the back nine had plenty of good holes too. Overall, it was a good result. However, I really should have broken 90 with the way I started.
Score: 92
Putts: 34
Fairways: 8
Greens: 2
Penalties: 1
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