Jekyll and Hyde Round at Glen Eagle

I headed out to Glen Eagle later than planned and traffic didn't cooperate. Despite rushing to the course, I got there a few minutes late. The starter sent me out with a threesome on the Red nine. They were nice guys, just there to have some fun. Unfortunately, I sometimes score poorly when playing with people who joke around a lot. I did well enough to reach the first green in three shots, but a terrible 3-putt resulted in double-bogey. Needless to say, I didn't do any practice putting before the round. I played the next two holes fairly well, recording a pair of solid bogeys.

For the remainder of the Red nine, I played terribly. A lot of my trouble came off the tee. On hole 4, a par-5, I smothered one off the heel of the driver. A great follow-up with the 5-wood was ruined when I proceeded to pull a 5-iron into the trees left. On hole 5, a par-3, a miss hit was 40 yards short of the green. My pitch then went long, requiring an additional chip to get on the putting surface. On hole 6, my drive ended behind a tree located in the middle of the fairway. A pitch near the green also went long. All of these holes produced double-bogey. It got worse, with triple-bogeys on holes 7 and 9. The former featured a sculled ball out of a bunker, while the latter featured a pair of penalty strokes. Mercifully I made par on hole 8. My score on the Red nine was 52.

My companions headed for the Yellow nine, while I decided to play the Blue nine. Playing as a solo, I made a respectable bogey on hole 1. Beginning on hole 2, I joined up with a man and woman, whom I played with for the remainder of the round. Despite a poor drive on hole 2, I recovered for a par on this par-5. I also made par on hole 3, a long par-3. It soon got even better, with back-to-back birdies on holes 4 and 5. The former featured a punch out from the trees that found the green, followed by a successful 60-foot putt. The latter featured a drive and 5-wood that got me just left of the green in two shots on this par-5. My eagle chip almost went in, but birdie was still nice.

I made bogey on hole 6, before finishing par, par, and par. On hole 7, a par-5, my birdie putt from just in front of the green very nearly dropped. On hole 8, a long par-3, I chipped from under some trees left of the green and left a comfortable par putt to finish. On hole 9, I drove my ball well right, finishing near Yellow 1 fairway. I then hit a towering gap wedge over a wall of tall trees right of the green. The ball landed softly, allowing me to lag one close and then tap in. It was a marvelous recovery shot. My score on the Blue nine was an even par 36! That is my best score ever for nine holes. I believe my previous best was 38.

Score: 88
Putts: 32
Fairways: 5
Greens: 5
Penalties: 2