I tried Doon Valley for the first time recently and it was pretty decent, so I went back for another crack at it. I ended up shooting two strokes higher than before, but this was a real bogey fest. I tallied 14 bogeys in total, along with two double-bogeys and one triple. I had a single par on the day, which came on hole 1 after a driver, lob wedge combination got me to the green. One of the doubles was on hole 2, a par-3. I missed the green flag high, five yards to the right. At worst, it should have been a chip and two putts, but I duffed the first chip and the second wasn't much better.
The triple-bogey came on hole #3, a short par-4 with a forced carry over water and marsh land. The teeing ground was really soft and I hit my first attempt really fat, dunking it in the water directly ahead. After a penalty stroke, I hit from the drop zone and pushed an iron into the hazard again. After another drop, I put one on the green and 2-putt to finish. Then began the marathon bogey run, as I closed out the front nine with six of them in a row. I hit a great 3-iron on a long par-3 and a nice drive on a long par-4, but par eluded me. I hacked my way to bogey on hole 6, a par-5. The only good shot on that hole was the finishing putt. Driver failed me on hole 7, but worked great on hole 9. Hole 8 featured a lovely 4-iron off the tee.
I was hitting my fair share of good shots, but one small error per hole often led to the bogey result. I started the back nine with another six bogeys in a row. Hole 10 featured a nice splash out from a greenside bunker, which felt good. Hole 11, which is a 150-yard par-3, began with a smothered 8-iron that dribbled 20 yards ahead. Over thinking was the culprit. I did well to bogey that one. Hole 12 began with a perfect 5-iron off the tee. Actually, my longer irons off the tee (3, 4, and 5) were working well. I was playing decent golf, but that single error or just some bad luck got me every hole. On hole 15, a nice drive finished against the lip of a fairway bunker. I had to just splash it out and attack the green with my third shot.
The bogey streak came to an end with a double on hole 16, a par-5. I smothered my drive attempt and it went left just 150 yards. Blocked out by trees, all I could do was hook a pitching wedge to the right edge of the fairway, 230 yards from the green. I tried 3-wood next, but it was a worm burner that stopped 70 yards short. From the soft fairway, I hit my wedge fat, just 20 yards. Yech! My next pitch was fine, but I just missed the bogey putt and needed an extra tap-in. Hole 17 is a 172-yard par-3 that began with a smothered 6-iron that went 100 yards. I made a fabulous pitch and almost saved par, but burned the edge to get back on the bogey train.
Hole 18 is a nice par-5. I resolved that I wasn't going to smother this drive. The smothering happens when I intentionally try to hit a draw. I come more from the inside and turn the face over more than my natural tendency. The final hole at Doon Valley sets up well for a fade, so I just thought about “letting the club head go” at impact. By that, I mean keeping the club face square for a longer time as it contacts the ball. I imagine the club head following the desired path of the ball immediately after impact. This produces a higher finish. Boy what a difference it made. It was my best drive of the day – a high ball flight with that nice little fade. I followed up with a perfectly placed second shot, leaving 85 yards from the centre fairway to the elevated green. Unfortunately, I duffed a wedge 40 yards ahead. My next pitch was fine and I 2-putt for my fourteenth bogey. Oh well.
Score: 93
Putts: 34
Fairways: 6
Greens: 1
Penalties: 2
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