It was nearly four weeks since my last round of golf, in part due to some poor weather in the Toronto region, but mostly because I traveled to Europe for a couple of weeks. About 36 hours after returning home, I played in a Deepwoods event at Caledon Woods Golf Club. I had broken 90 in nine of my previous ten rounds, but I worried how the time off might affect my game. I had also never played Caledon Woods before.
It turns out I had nothing to worry about. I didn't score in the eighties, as I shot 90 even, but I had the best point tally among Deepwoods members, and by a healthy margin. In fact, I moved into first place in the season long standings. I began with a pair of double-bogeys, thanks to a drive that was hit fat, a couple of imprecise wedge shots, and a 3-putt. I improved to 4-over through the next four holes, including a par, two bogeys, and a double. The par, on hole 4, came after a 5-iron, sand wedge combination left me within 8 feet of the hole.
I finished the front nine with a trio of pars. The 5-iron, sand wedge combo worked its magic again on hole 7, a short par-4. A lengthy lag putt was followed by an easy tap-in. Hole 8 is a 496 yard par-5 that began with a perfect drive to the right fairway. A laser like 4-iron carried me to an area of fairway right of the green. Finally, a 50-yard pitch and two putts sealed the deal. Hole 9 is a fairly lengthy par-4 at 417 yards, but par was once again the result as my confidence grew.
The back nine began with a triple-bogey on a par-5, and that was with a chip-in from off the green! The hole had a promising start, with a nice drive to the left side of the fairway. Unfortunately, I then thinned an 8-iron into a creek up ahead. This produced my only penalty stroke of the day. Another shot landed in a bunker with a high lip. I was forced to splash out, rather than go for the green. Just before the chip-in, a pitch shot rolled off the back of the green. Everything just seemed to go wrong at once.
Perhaps the chip-in gave me hope, as I seemingly shook off the bad hole and immediately started playing well again. I played at bogey pace over the remaining eight holes, with two actual bogeys and three pars that offset three double-bogeys. Two of the pars were on holes 11 and 13, which are both par-3 designs. One required an up and down from just off the green, while the other was a conventional green in regulation and 2-putt. Two of the double-bogeys were on holes 14 and 15. Both holes featured great shots, with one bad shot that spoiled the fun. On 14, it was a thinned second shot that settled in a fairway bunker with a high lip. On 15, it was a duffed pitch shot over a creek fronting the green.
I very nearly broke 90 again. That's okay, I'm still pleased.
Score: 90
Putts: 34
Fairways: 10
Greens: 6
Penalties: 1
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