They were offering a free upgrade to play all day at Osprey Valley. Luckily, they found a spot for me to play Hoot once again. This suited me perfectly, as I wanted some retribution for a poor first round. My second round wasn't great, by any means, but it was better than the first.
Seven of the front nine were without any real problem. Driver, 5-iron started the opening par-5 straight down the centre of the fairway. I missed the green with a wedge and fluffed a chip, but then got up and down for bogey. Holes 2 and 3 began with fairways hit. On both occasions, I missed the green with approach shots, but chipped on and 2-putt for bogeys.
I finally made par on hole 4, a 167-yard par-3, by 2-putting from distance. I also made par on hole 6, a par-5. My drive found some fescue bordering a waste bunker, but a good out enabled me to reach the green in regulation. Holes 7 and 8 resulted in bogeys, and both were well earned. I laid up on the former, rather than attacking the green from a longer distance. On the latter, a nice shot from a greenside bunker helped save the hole.
The problem on the front nine were holes 5 and 9. The short game killed me on both. On hole 5, a dogleg par-4, I hit the fairway and then put my approach shot into a bunker. My sand shot only made it to the rough and then I sculled one through the green. Now severely short sided, I chipped on and 2-putt for a triple-bogey.
Hole 9 produced a ridiculous score of 9 on this downhill par-4. A low pull off the tee went into the woods short and left. A nice punch shot found the right side of the fairway, 200 yards from the hole. I pushed a 3-iron right into some trees. With no backswing, I advanced the ball only slightly, coming to rest in a bunker. Next, I sculled one clear across the green, under more trees. I pitched from there, but the ball rolled off the other side of the green. A decent chip was followed by a decent putt, but it didn't drop. A final tap-in game me the 9. Ugh!
My score on the front nine was 49, while I scored 48 on the back. I made no worse than double-bogey after the turn, but there were three of them, to go along with six bogeys. I can't complain about the bogeys – they are fairly standard for me. Typically, I miss the green slightly and then I'm unable to get up and down. My chips are just mediocre, leaving less than certain putts for par. If one happens to go down, that's great, but it's not the norm.
The double-bogeys came on holes 13, 14, and 18. I played hole 13 horribly both times on this day. The second time through I hit driver to the right rough, followed by a great mid-iron to the middle of the fairway. This is a par-5 and I had just 130 yards remaining to the green. Unfortunately, it's a carry over water. I missed the sweet spot, didn't get my normal distance, and splashed in the water. After a drop, my fifth shot made it to the green, followed by a 2-putt.
I also played hole 14 horribly both times. I duffed my drive into the fescue just a few yards ahead. I needed a lob wedge just to get it out a few yards to safety. I was still over 270 yards away from the green. A 3-wood worked well, but I still needed a 50-yard pitch to get on the green. Once I was on, I 2-putt for the double. A bad drive was all it took to ruin the hole.
I almost didn't finish the last two holes, as I felt nauseous on the 16th green. I decided to quit, but then the feeling quickly passed, so I soldiered on. Much like holes 13 and 14, I played 18 in very similar fashion to the first time through. My drive found the same fairway bunker on the right side, forcing a sideways out before I could attack the green. The approach just missed, so a chip and two putts completed the double-bogey.
It is what it is. At least I got to play 36 holes.
Score: 97
Putts: 34
Fairways: 7
Greens: 1
Penalties: 2
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