I've been having a pretty good year, but my last round on the Battlefield Course at Legends on the Niagara was a stinker. I checked in with the starter and he sent me immediately to the first tee, telling me to catch up to another single who had just teed off. There was no opportunity for practice putts or any other warm up.
I completely smothered my drive attempt, barely reaching the edge of a fairway bunker. With the ball nearly at waist height, all I could do was advance a few yards to the fairway. My third shot was a very good 5-wood to the middle of the fairway, which left just 90 yards to the green. A lob wedge on and two putts would give me a bogey, which is fair, considering my tee shot. Unfortunately, I pulled the approach shot into a front left bunker. My bunker play being what it is, I required two shots to get out. Two putts finished things off for a triple-bogey.
I could easily have been upset at this point, but I wasn't. For one thing, I had 17 more holes to get back on track. That's a lot of golf, so a good score for the round was still entirely possible. I've learned over the years not to let a bad first hole ruin an entire round. Secondly, all the trouble I had on the first hole was my own doing. I made a horrible tee shot, I pulled my approach into the bunker, and I wasted my first bunker shot. How can I expect a better score with that many mistakes? I don't, so I moved on.
On the second hole, I hit a high drive slightly right. I thought I might finish five yards or so into the rough, so I didn't even follow the entire ball flight. When I reached the estimated landing place, my ball was nowhere to be found. There are no trees there, and the rough was not particularly long. Long grasses lie further to the right, and that's the only place a ball could be lost. I couldn't believe the ball would bounce that far right. After a penalty and drop, I hit a nice 8-iron onto the green. With two putts, I would earn bogey, which isn't bad. Unfortunately, I blew my first putt way past the hole and needed two more to hole out for double-bogey.
This was a bit harder to take than what happened on the first hole. My drive on this one wasn't horrible, and losing that ball seemed rather unlucky. Three-putting was a result of not having any practice putts before the round. The greens at Battlefield were faster than those I had played recently, so all I needed were a few putts to get a feel for the speed. I was a bit peeved, but again, I let it go and focused on the next hole.
Hole 3 is a straightforward par-3, but I pulled my tee shot left of the green. It was falling away from me, which made pitching on rather challenging. I duffed my first attempt, then rolled one well past the hole. To make matters worse, I 3-putt from that position for a triple-bogey. This was disastrous. Again, I was upset that I did not have a chance to hit putts before the round, but again, I let it go.
I was in a positive frame of mind, despite being 8-over par through three holes. On hole 4, a par-4, I piped a solid drive to the middle of the fairway. Gap wedge then finished flag high, 12 feet from the cup. I finally adjusted to the green speed and lagged one close, then tapped in for par. In my mind, this was going to be the start of a good run.
On hole 5, a short par-4, I piped another drive deep and down the centre of the fairway. I'm comfortable using the lob wedge from 60 yards and could visualize hitting one close. I made a good swing, but the soft fairway gave way much too easily. Instead of the club head bouncing, it sliced into the turf, making a huge beaver pelt. Of course, the ball went nowhere.
Now I was pissed, and muttered my first expletive of the day. My stroke was good. That duff was no fault of my technique. After pitching on to the green with my third shot, I made a decent lag. Unfortunately, I missed a short bogey putt, taking a double instead. My frustration rose. Three-putting to finish a hole that already started badly feels like an extra twist of the knife, after being stabbed in the back.
Though I was pissed when that hole concluded, I was still positive on the next tee. Hole 6 is a par-5 measuring 477 yards. I hit three good shots to hit the green in regulation, then 2-putt confidently to make par. I started the round poorly, then was unlucky in a couple of different ways. I wasted putts because I had been rushed to the first tee with no practice. Despite all this, I was still feeling optimistic.
Then came the seventh hole, a par-4 that begins with a carry over the edge of a large pond. After a long wait on the tee, I promptly duffed one into the water. Hitting my third shot from the tee, I sliced the ball into the woods on this dogleg left. You know what? That was it. Forget positivity! After another penalty and drop, I hit a great shot to just in front of the green. Too bad I 4-putt from the fringe for a score of 9.
To hell with it. Sometimes, we're due for a stinker, and this was mine. I made one par, six bogeys, and three doubles over the next ten holes. That's not horrible, but I really didn't care what my scores were at this point. After those tee shots on hole 7, I was done. It's amazing how patient I had been up to that point, but you know what? There's a limit to patience.
Fittingly, I ended with a score of 10 on the final hole, a par-5. I won't bore you with the details, but the hole included two penalty strokes. The entire round was a waste of time.
Score: 104
Putts: 40
Fairways: 7
Greens: 5
Penalties: 6
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