Eagle is All at Cardinal

It has been eight years since I last played at Cardinal Golf Club and a little longer than that since I played its East Wing Course. They had a special going on, so I booked a round. Unfortunately, it was hot and humid, plus the course was jammed. Early on, I was not hitting the ball well, but I was hanging in there in terms of score. I double-bogeyed the opening par-5, followed by six consecutive bogeys. The last two of these required an up and down from near the greens.

Eventually, I was hoping to scatter some pars in there, but the opposite happened. Hole 8 is a par-5 and the #1 handicap hole on the course. If you don't hit a good drive, you have to lay up a few yards ahead to the top of a brush covered hill, bordered by trees on both sides. My drive was bad enough that it kicked right into a hazard, so I was sitting three after my layup to the hilltop. My next shot found a water hazard short and right of the green. After a penalty and drop, I dunked another one into the drink. Shot number 8 was to the back of the green, followed by a 3-putt to the front pin location. Wow, an eleven! I bogeyed hole 9 for a score of 50 at the turn.

I shot a similar score on the back nine, but actually played worse. I racked up triple-bogeys on holes 10, 14, and 18. I duffed a drive off the tee, pulled another into a water hazard, and was generally all over the place. I topped a couple of shots when hitting out of the rough, which was a complete waste of strokes. I failed to get cleanly out of greenside bunkers and I added a couple of 3-putts.

Mind you, there was one spectacular bright spot. Hole 12 is a 479-yard par-5 along the edge of the property. The hole is straight, but mature trees border both sides. I drove the ball 279 yards to the centre of the fairway. Actually, by the time it stopped, it was one yard into the right rough. The lie was pretty bare, so I could easily get a 3-iron on the ball. This would travel the required 200 yards to the green, while keeping the ball under some overhanging branches. I pulled it off perfectly, leaving a 12-foot putt for eagle, which I drained!

This was only my third eagle ever and my first on a par-5 hole. My first was a hole-out from 135 yards on a par-4, while my second was a hole-in-one on a 150-yard par-3. Par-5 holes should be the easiest to eagle, and I've had my share of eagle putts on them, but this was the first one that dropped. It was a nice highlight in an otherwise forgettable round.

Score: 99
Putts: 36
Fairways: 0
Greens: 2
Penalties: 5