With a 2:15 pm tee time at BraeBen Golf Course, I should have finished comfortably before sundown. Unfortunately, the groups ahead of mine were not moving very quickly. It was a little challenging to see on the second last hole and virtually impossible on the final hole. We managed to finish, despite not being able to see the ball. You basically sense where you hit the ball and then walk over to that area and hope for the best.
It's always windy at BraeBen, but it was a little more windy than usual on this occasion. The first half of the front nine was up and down. I started with a nice par on the opening par-5, including a great 2-putt from distance. I've been doing a lot of that lately. I was scared to hook a pitching wedge off the tee on hole 2, as that means a lost ball and penalty. As a result, I completely miss hit the ball, sending it dribbling ahead a few yards into some fescue. It ended up lost anyway. My third shot was to the green, followed by a 3-putt for triple-bogey.
Things turned up a bit on hole 3, a par-4. It took me four shots to find the green, including a chip out from some bushes. Luckily, I drained a beautiful putt from distance to salvage bogey. Hole 4, a par-3, started just as badly as the last. Scared of hooking the ball again, I left the club face massively open, losing the ball to the right on a fesue covered mound. My third shot found the putting surface and I drained an even longer putt than on the previous hole. It must have been close to 30 feet. The momentum waned on the next hole, with a disastrous quadruple-bogey. My tee shot missed the fairway left and it took me a few shots just to get out of the fescue.
The remainder of the front nine was a little more stable, as I played holes 6 through 9 at just 3-over par. Hole 6 is a par-5 that featured a great up and down from 50 yards right of the green. The pitch flew over some bunkers and landed softly, finishing below the hole. The best part was the 14-foot par putt that followed. Hole 7 is a short par-3 with a massive drop in elevation. My tee shot was left of the green and I did well just to make double-bogey from that position. I finished par, bogey on holes 8 and 9 with some solid all around play.
The start of the back nine wasn't great, as we were beginning to worry about not finishing the round. The sun had disappeared behind a wall of clouds, making it darker and colder than it should have been. I did bogey hole 10, a par-3, but then collected triple-bogey and double-bogey on holes 11 and 12. I topped two shots on hole 11, a long par-4. Hole 12 is also a par-4 and my second shot found a greenside bunker. It took one shot to get out to the rough and another to get on the green. This was followed by two putts.
It wasn't looking great at this point, but I salvaged a decent result with my play over the last six holes. Hole 13, a 168-yard par-3, was playing more like 200 yards into the wind. My tee shot was well short, but the subsequent pitch nearly rolled into the hole. I finished with two putts for bogey. Next, it was four consecutive pars! Yes, I'm not lying. I drove the ball to within 50 yards of the green on hole 14, a short par-4. A pitch and two putts followed. Two shots carried me just left of the green on hole 15, a dogleg par-4. A brilliant chip finished 12 inches from the hole, followed by a tap-in. Driver, 4-iron carried me to the end of the fairway on hole 17, a par-5. A lob shot trickled off the back of the green, but I chipped close and 1-putt for the par. Finally, a good drive left me 60 yards from the flag on hole 17, another short par-4. A good pitch set up a birdie chance that just missed.
Then came a double bogey in the dark on hole 18. You can't expect much in that situation.
Score: 93
Putts: 31
Fairways: 6
Greens: 3
Penalties: 2
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