Playing partner - Vak
After the last two outings, I was a bit anxious to get out today. I was hoping that those last two rounds were aberrations - but who knows.
The weather today was superb. It was about 70 degrees at tee time (8:30ish) with a light breeze. It was just really nice to be out there.
Let me start off by telling you that I shot an 86.
And, I was kind of pissed about it. I played well.
Let me clarify that.
I played well for 15-16 holes.
Those others? I could have played better if I was blind.
My putting, once again, was good. 30 putts.
No three putts.
The trend started on the first hole - the par 5. My drive was off the fairway on the right. The rough, again, was deep. Stupidly, I opted to hit my 5 hybrid, figuring that I'd lay up to 60 yards.
Well, I did hit it well, but the rough held my club from closing and the ball went straight - staying in the rough.
And, not as far as I had hoped.
The right thing to do was to hit an 8-iron out to 110 yards. But, no - I went for the money shot. (This was one of many mistakes I would make).
My 3rd shot, in deeper rough, was a nine iron that went perhaps 30-40 yards.
However, I was able to get up and down for par.
Not a bad start.
Although I double bogeyed the 3rd hole, the real shit occurred on the par 3 5th hole.
My 8 iron came up short and landed in the bunker guarding the green. The pin was in the back, so I needed to get the ball back there.
Unfortunately, the sand was very wet - and packed. So, my wedge skidded on the surface and the ball flew the green - landing in front of a tree.
I took a few practice swings with my 60 degree wedge, and tested the clearance on my backswing. It was good.
But, when I moved in position to hit, I DID NOT DOUBLE CHECK THE BACKSWING!
Just moving 2 inches closer to the ball, my club hit a branch, and the downswing pushed out and the ball landed in the rough.
Now - upset with myself - I hit my chip thin, and wound up with a triple bogey - 6.
I composed myself for the next hole. And, although I hit my drive into the woods, I was able to recover for par.
The real excitement was on the 9th hole - playing 320 yards.
I topped my drive, and sat 140 yards to the pin.
This is where I hit my best shot of the day. I beautiful 8-iron that drew into the pin.
I sunk the birdie putt, and finished with a 42 front.
I tried not to think about that triple bogey and what I might have scored!!!
The next mistake was on the par 5 12th hole. I bombed my drive (the wind was with us) and I was 217 yards from the front of the green (thank you Garmin G6).
That's where I opted to go for it with my 4 wood. This club is good for 210 yards. I figured with the wind, I should make 217.
However, my mind must have kept saying "not enough club!"
My swing must have looked like a Bubba Watson swing. Right out of my shoes. Except I topped the ball, leaving me 145 to the front. My 7 iron came up just short and I bogeyed the hole.
I could have slapped myself. I should have hit a 7 iron to 60 yards, pitched - and hopefully birdie. If not, par.
But, I bogeyed
The next hole is the long par 3. My 4-wood was nice, but drew left into the deep rough.
Spell that DEEP
I tried to dig it out with my lob wedge, and didn't swing hard enough so I was still in the rough.
Double bogey
The big note on this round was the 18th hole. I again hit a nice drive, leaving me 210 to the front. My 4 wood was great, but in the left rough.
This time, I dug down with my gap wedge and chipped out to 6 feet - and nailed the putt for a par!!
86 - and that was with leaving a bunch of shots out on the course.
Vak was not happy with his round. Yet, still only shot a 91.
Going into the 18th hole he realized that if he parred the hole, he'd shoot 89. (you can do the math to see what he did).
So, learning from this round, here's what I need to do:
1 - stay with my game. Don't go for shots that you have no business trying for. I might have lost 2-3 shots on that today. Some call this "course management". I call it "Game Management".
2 - find some place to work on chipping out of DEEP rough. The deep rough ate me up today. With some work, I can knock another 2-3 strokes off the score.
As the summer is winding down, I called Lloyd and set up a game for tomorrow.
Next week I'll try for 3 rounds over the Labor Day weekend.
Until tomorrow,
Keep it in the Short Hairs
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