I started this season at Oaks of St George. My score was terrible, but one can't expect to score well after a 7-month layoff. Now that I've played a few more rounds, including many where I scored in the eighties, I was curious to see what I could do on this particular course.
Weather was perfect, but the course was far from it. Teeing grounds had dead patches, or were shaggy. One hole had all the teeing grounds closed, presumably for repair. A temporary teeing ground was created at the start of the fairway. Speaking of fairways, they also had dead patches. Even the greens were dotted with dead patches of grass. Holes were cut in the healthier parts of the greens, but that only helps if all your approach shots are within ten feet. The green aprons were particularly bad.
Despite the horrible conditions, I played well. The back nine, in particular, was very good. I shot 41, with four pars and five bogeys. I striped my drive on hole 10, which is the hardest on the course. From a very elevated tee, golfers must carry a creek to find the fairway, which is bordered by thick woods on both sides. When my ball took flight, I heard a soft but unmistakable, “Oh, wow!” from the nearby starter's hut. I casually picked up my tee like it was just a typical drive. LOL
I earned bogey on that hole, but managed par on hole 11 after a similar drive off the tee. My second shot on this par-5 was a nice 5-wood that carried me to within 30 yards of the green. Three more bogeys would follow, before I really heated up for the last four holes of the round, going par, par, bogey, par. Great drives on hole 15 and 16 were followed by equally good approach shots. It helped that I was using wedges into the greens. Hole 15 is 390 yards, but I was able to attack with sand wedge after a 280-yard drive.
The drive on hole 18 was bitter sweet. This is a par-5 that begins with a carry over a creek. Further ahead, the fairway narrows, as a large pond occupies the right side. Conditions were such that I ended up reaching the pond. My ball dropped before the water, but the dry ground produced a big bounce and in I went. So be it. I took a penalty stroke and dropped behind the water, 200 yards from the elevated green. A fabulous 5-wood carried the required distance and dropped on the green like it was a wedge shot. Two putts finished off the par save.
My final score was 90. The only reason I didn't break 90 easily, were a couple of unfortunate incidents on the front nine. The first of these occurred on hole 1, a 410-yard par-4, which is actually rated as the hardest hole on the course. Besides its length, what makes this hole difficult is simply the fact that it's tricked up. The green is surrounded by woods left, back and right. Fair enough, since you approach the green from the front, but then there is “the tree.”
The tree is a massive one directly in front of the green. It impedes every approach shot, no matter what side of the fairway you're on. After a good drive, I was just one yard into the right rough, 160 yards from the green. This side offers somewhat better odds than the left, but the ball was above my feet, promoting a pull or hook. Sure enough, I pulled the ball slightly, smacking the tree and bouncing backwards almost 30 yards.
The tree now lay directly between me and the flag, which was tucked in the back, left portion of the green. You can't go over it, because it's too tall. You can't go under it, because that's the home of a large bunker. The tree is dumb, plain and simple. If you must keep it, get rid of the bunker. Otherwise, keep the bunker and chop the tree down. You have to give golfers an option. What are they supposed to do? Thread their ball through the branches?
I tried to lob a shot to the right of the tree, in hopes of catching the front, right portion of the green. This would leave me with a very long putt, but there was no other alternative. I hit a perfect shot. Perfect! Nevertheless, I clipped the thinnest tip of a branch and the ball dropped straight down to the edge of the bunker. Seriously? With a terrible lie, my next shot only made it to the centre of the bunker. After a good out and two putts, I carded a triple-bogey. No way I deserved a triple-bogey there! The tree is dumb!
The other incident on the front nine came on hole 6, a par-5. I hit driver, 4-iron, finishing through the end of the fairway, and leaving just 70 yards to the green. A simple pitch and two putts should have resulted in par, at worst. Unfortunately, the ground was so dry and bare. Somehow, my lob wedge slid right under the ball, sending it just a few yards ahead into a pond. Not only was that stroke wasted, but now I had to add a penalty!
I didn't catch the ball fat, or thin. I pinched it perfectly and somehow that club head slid under it completely. For this, I add two strokes? Come on man! I de-lofted the club on my next shot to make sure it didn't happen again, sending the ball 50 feet behind the flag. Of course, when something goes wrong in golf, a little extra is added at the end. In this case, it was a 3-putt for triple-bogey. It's like twisting that knife in your back, just to make sure you get the message.
So, those two incidents were annoying. Otherwise, it was a fine outing.
Score: 90
Putts: 35
Fairways: 4
Greens: 5
Penalties: 4
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