We are well into fall and it's been difficult to find good weather days for golf. I booked a Sunday afternoon round a few days in advance, with the forecast calling for mild temperature and some sunshine. What I got was a course saturated with water from rainfall a day earlier and overnight. It didn't actually rain during my round, but it was completely overcast and five degrees cooler than originally anticipated. Despite all this, it still wasn't too bad out there. Few people had ventured out to Lakeview Golf Course because of the weather, so I had a lovely solitary round.
I started pretty well, with a couple of pars earned through the first three holes. Hole 1 is a short par-4. I hit 3-wood to the right rough, followed by a wedge to the front of the green. My uphill lag putt was a bit short, but I followed up with a 6-footer for par. Hole 2 is a long par-4 that begins with a drive through a chute of trees. I barely clipped a tree on the right side and my ball dropped straight down, effectively turning the hole into a par-5. I was surprised how poorly the ball came out of the wet rough, which made the hole even longer. It took four shots to find the green and two putts to card a double-bogey. Luckily, I followed up with my second par on hole 3, a 136-yard par-3 design. My wedge shot found the green and then came a good lag and tap-in.
The rest of the front nine was a little shaky. I made no worse than double-bogey, but there were four of those in just a six-hole stretch. Drives popped up and were pushed right on holes 4 and 5, putting me in some trouble immediately off the tee. On the former, I had to chip sideways from a group of trees just to get back to the fairway, 200 yards from the green. On the latter, I played my second shot down an adjacent fairway, rather than punch one sideways. It actually worked well, but I messed up greenside to finish with one of the double bogeys. I managed to fix my drives on holes 6 through 8, but except for a bogey on 6, the results weren't very good. I made bogey on hole 9, a 217-yard par-3, to card a score of 48 at the turn.
The back nine is where I really saved the round. A beautiful up and down from just off the green on hole 10 was good enough for par. Exactly the same thing happened on hole 11. Hole 12 is the infamous “bell” hole at Lakeview. I began with a perfect 3-wood that split the trees up ahead and dropped to the fairway down below. If your tee shot goes too far on this hole your ball can run into a creek. I wasn't worried about that with the wet conditions. Sure enough, my ball was sitting right beside the 100-yard stick. My wedge shot to the elevated green on the right side was not very good. I got to the top of the hill, but was 15 yards short of the green. “Cue up another up and down,” I thought. The pitch was excellent, but I missed a 6-foot par putt and settled for bogey.
My second shot on hole 13, a par-4, was from the left rough. It was thick and wet, so my ball went half the intended distance. From 90 yards I hit a wedge to within 15 feet. I made a beautiful putt over a ridge, but the ball lipped out violently and I took another bogey. No worries, as I got back to par on hole 14, a par-4. After my tee shot found the right centre of the fairway, I thinned a 9-iron to just in front of the green. Putting through the fringe, I lagged one to within inches. Well done! On hole 15, I pulled my drive left into some trees. A good punch allowed me to attack the green with my third shot. I had a long putt to save par, but could only muster bogey.
Hole 16 is a tricky par-5 with a fairway that bends and narrows before players must traverse a creek to a narrow green wedged between the creek and a steep hillside. I hit a great drive, but next could do no more than lay up to the creek only 80 yards ahead. My third shot was a 5-iron to just in front of the green. A beautiful pitch rolled up a ridge on the green and rattled the flagstick, but didn't drop. Still, it was a nice tap-in par. The upper tee was in play on hole 17, meaning this was just a 90 yard par-3, albeit to a tiny, tilted green perched on a steep hillside. I hit a sand wedge to the back of the green, setting up a tricky downhill putt. I played it a bit too tentatively and ended up 3-putting for bogey.
I was four over par through eight holes of the back nine. I ruined this a bit by failing to carry a creek with my drive on the last hole. After taking a penalty and drop, I hit a lovely 5-wood, lob wedge combination to set up a chance at bogey. Alas, the putt from about ten feet stopped a couple inches short and left of the hole. I took a double-bogey, which was still good enough to break 90 for the day. A score of 89 on a par 71 course is the very definition of bogey golf. The last time I broke 90 it was also with a score of 89, but that was on a par 70.
Score: 89
Putts: 34
Fairways: 4
Greens: 3
Penalties: 2
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