The PGA Tour's TPC network of courses just expanded to Canada with the addition of Osprey Valley. The 54-hole facility has been renamed TPC Toronto. I headed out there to play the North Course, formerly known as Toot. The course was the site of the Osprey Valley Open, a Mackenzie Tour event where I volunteered as a walking scorer back in July. I had played the course before, but the Open refreshed my memory of the layout.
After a good drive and second shot on the opening par-5, I hooked a 9-iron into the woods left of the green. I collected my first penalty stroke and a double-bogey. The result was the same on hole 2, a par-4. My second shot on this par-4 was short and left. I tried putting one through the fringe, but underestimated how much force was needed. Fortunately, I turned things around quickly, making par on three of the next four holes. I got up and down from left of the green on hole 3. A beautiful 6-iron approach set up the par on hole 5. On hole 6, a 312-yard par-4, I pumped a drive 250 yards down the centre, then pitched on nicely from a side hill lie. Hole 4 could have been a par as well, but I 3-putt this par-3 after hitting the green in regulation.
The remainder of the front nine wasn't as rosy. My twosome got waved through on hole 7, a 170-yard par-3 over water. There's always a tendency to rush when your group is waved through. I failed to carry the water hazard, taking my second penalty stroke of the day. Double-bogey was the result. The group that let us through was watching as we teed off on hole 8, a par-5. I pulled my drive, missing my first fairway of the day. I recovered well enough to be in a greenside bunker after my third, but my sand shot sailed past the green, requiring a chip back. The result was another double. Hole 9 produced a solid bogey for a score of 46 at the turn.
I nearly got up and down for par on hole 10, but a 6-foot putt burned the edge of the hole, resulting in bogey. I got revenge on the next hole, another par-3 over water, by getting up and down for the satisfying par. On hole 11, I once again had a chance for the up and down par. Just like hole 10, a putt of about 6 feet burned the edge and I settled for bogey. I was surprised how much that one snapped to the right. I was in a bit of a groove which got derailed a bit on hole 13, a par-5. My second shot drifted a little right into the rough. That was fine, except that I was on a side hill lie with the ball well below my feet. My shot trickled 50 yards ahead into a bunker. I hit my fourth shot out of the bunker, but finished just behind the green. A downhill chip just missed the hole and I needed a 2-putt to record a double-bogey.
Three consecutive bogeys came next. The fist of these was a par-3 where I hooked the tee shot left of the green. I was flag high and managed to pitch on and 2-putt. The other holes were par-4 challenges that began with solid drives to the fairway. The one on hole 15 was particularly impressive. It's a dogleg right, with a large tree on the inside corner. I placed my drive right of the tree and finished on the short grass, 80 yards from the hole. My approach shots weren't as accurate. The one on hole 15 finished in the back fringe, far from the hole. The one on hole 16 finished a couple yards short of the green. Improving those approach shots just a little will lead to pars instead of bogeys.
I had a little trouble with a greenside bunker on hole 17, leading to double bogey, but the real disaster came on hole 18, a beautiful par-5 with a pond protecting the front left side of the green. After a bad drive that rolled to the tree line, I did well to chip back to the fairway and propel my third shot to the 150-yard stick. I caught the ball fat, landing in the water. After a penalty stroke, I dropped on the fairway, maybe 40 yards from the hole. I caught all dirt and once again went in the water. After the next penalty stroke, I dropped in the rough and this time had no trouble finding the green. Those shots are much easier for me from the rough than from a tight lie. I ended up taking a 10 on the hole. I didn't feel too bad though. I had a pretty good round and that last hole was just an anomaly. It was really a round of about 92 or 93 without that nonsense at the end.
Score: 96
Putts: 36
Fairways: 11
Greens: 4
Penalties: 4
No comments:
Post a Comment