I am striking my full shots rather poorly at the moment, so I headed out to Mill Run to see if I could find something. While I managed to get a decent score, I still wasn't satisfied with my ball striking. Off the tee, replacing driver with 5-wood doesn't seem to help. On hole 1 of the Grind course, I pulled one well left of target. It didn't really get airborne and travelled only 75% of normal distance. Luckily, I followed up with a beautiful 8-iron over the woods to an elevated green. The ball finished two yards right of the green, but I made a chip with a huge amount of break and then 1-putt to save par. A couple of bogeys followed, as I stayed out of trouble but wasn't exactly sharp.
The real trouble of the round came on Grind 4 through 6. I hooked a 6-iron into the woods on Grind 4, a par-3. After a penalty and drop, I pitched on and 3-putt for triple-bogey. I continued to fight the hooking irons on hole 5. I opted for 5-iron off the tee and was in the trees once again. I dropped and hooked another from a side hill lie into thick fescue left of the green. When all was said and done, I carded a double-bogey. Hole 6 is a nice par-5 that was disastrous from the start. 5-wood off the tee let me down again, just trickling right into the woods. I was stymied behind a tree trunk. I actually made a nice chip out but was unlucky to finish on a fescue covered mound right of the fairway. With a horrible lie, all I could do was hit a sand wedge back to the short stuff. Next, I hooked a 9-iron into the woods left of the green. I duffed one pitch attempt, then made another, followed by a 2-putt for another triple-bogey.
I finished the Grind with bogey, par, and par to make the turn with a score of 47. The bogey was an ugly one after a really fat 5-iron off the tee. A wedge shot and two putts completed the par-3 hole. The first of the pars was magnificent. A straight drive finished a yard into the left rough. The money shot was the 7-iron that followed to the green down below. With the elevation change, you really have to choose your club carefully. The last par was fairly straightforward. The key shot there was my second with a sand wedge, which finished relatively tight to the flag.
After the Grind, it was on to the Grist course. I scored well, despite some rather bad shots on almost every hole. On Grist 1 a drive to the centre of the fairway was followed by a horrible sculled and hooking 9-iron. I pitched on and 2-putt for bogey. On hole 2 my drive never got airborne and went about 150 yards. What the? After two more shots on this par-5, I was just in front of the green. I flopped one over a bunker and 2-putt for bogey. On hole 3, a par-3 over water, I used one club too many and finished behind the green. I chipped on and 2-putt for another bogey. The bogey streak came to an end with par on hole 4. I had no backswing on my second shot, so all I could do was advance the ball a few yards. My third was a beautiful lob wedge that finished inside 3 feet. Nice!
Grist 5 presented some trouble as I began with a duffed 4-iron off the tee. I hit it so fat that the ball only went 50 yards. It was not surprising, as I hit more dirt than ball. A decent 7-iron went a bit too long, finishing behind the green of this par-3. From there, I chipped on and 2 putt for double-bogey. Holes 6 and 7 produced bogey, but the truth is, there were some bad shots there. Both drives left me in a bad position left of the fairway. The second shot saved me on both occasions. One was a low hooking 3-iron that got me right back in position on the par-5. My third shot came up short, hence the bogey. The other was a punched 3-iron through some trees that gave me a shot of reaching the green with my third shot on the par-4. I managed to pull it off and 2-putt.
I finished the round with a par and double-bogey. The par was on a 190-yard par-3, but it was playing shorter. I tried to hit more of a cut 6-iron, to avoid the dreaded hook that had been plaguing me all day. The ball didn't cut, it just flew straight at the target. That's interesting. Since I'm more inclined to hook an iron, what feels like a cut swing is actually a squarely hit shot. I finished the hole with a nice lag putt and tap-in. The final hole began with another weak smothered drive that left me in a bad position. I hit my second shot short and right of the green, then pitched on and 3-putt to finish. I rushed my second putt and probably would have made it had I taken my normal routine.
Score: 91
Putts: 35
Fairways: 2
Greens: 3
Penalties: 3
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