So... I forgot about the 'competitive' part of my return to competitive golf. I showed up to the course WAY early to spend some time on the range and practice green. I felt good heading to my first hole, which was the 15th on this course. I started out okay. Then I fell apart.
Along the way... I at least had fun, but... it was ugly. I finished in a tie for 20th out of 21 spots in the C Flight... a full 18 strokes behind the winner.
I was NOT prepared for a 6 hour round... but that's what it took. The details, as ugly as they may be, are listed below.
Hole #15 - Par 4 - 373 Yards
I actually didn't start too poorly. I hit a good hybrid up the left side, but nobody saw it come down... so I hit a provisional. When we got up there, my ball was in the rough and I had about 120 left to the pin. My 9 iron faded perfectly and ended up just off the green. I two-putted from there to start with a par. So... I was off and running, and feeling pretty good.
Hole #16 - Par 3 - 158 Yards
The wind was into us, so I decided to take a little more club than I normally would. I went with a 7 iron that flew directly over the flag, but ended up on the fringe at the back of the green. Starting on this hole, a common theme would be poor lag putts going well beyond the hole. Here, I went 12 feet bye and ended up missing that for par... so I made a bogey.
Hole #17 - Par 5 - 472 Yards
Before the week, I 'mapped' out the course and decided what I wanted to hit off each tee and where the trouble was around each green. I played this hole almost exactly as I had mapped it. I hit a good hybrid off the tee... a 6 iron lay up (which was hit poorly)... then a gap wedge to about 15 feet. I then took 2 putts for par.
Hole #18 - Par 4 - 387 Yards
My 3 wood off this tee went left, but we never heard it hit anything. To be safe, I hit a provisional, which split the fairway. When we got up there, the ball was resting on a sidewalk to the left of the trees. I took relief from there and hit a 7 iron up over the trees to the green, leaving myself 16 feet from the hole. I ran that a good 10 feet by the hole and needed 2 more putts to make a bogey.
Hole #1 - Par 4 - 370 Yards
Here is where my real trouble started. When I was on the range, I had a nice little 3-5 yard fade with my driver. I felt good with that shot. Here... I aimed at a fairway bunker up the left side and it went straight to where I aimed. It hit the back lip of the bunker and rolled back down to a flat area. I didn't have far to the green, but I hit my 7 iron fat out of there. My gap wedge was deep onto the green and I three-putted from 30 feet for a double bogey.
Hole #2 - Par 4 - 368 Yards
My tee shot here was hooked into the hazard up the left side... my provisional was hooked equally as bad. We actually ended up finding my ball in the hazard, so I dropped way back where it crossed. I kind of hacked a 5 iron down the left side beneath some trees and it ran up the right side of the fairway. I hit my sand wedge from there to 16 feet and two-putted for another double.
Hole #3 - Par 5 - 563 Yards
Here, I did the same exact thing as I did on the last hole and I hooked my drive well into a hazard. I took a drop up where the ball crossed and tried to hit a 5 iron, but it clipped a tree on the left and dropped down into a rocky, muddy lie. My 4 iron from there was about as ugly as it could be and ran at about a 45 degree angle across the fairway. I flared my 8 iron way right... chipped to the opposite fringe... putted from there to about 3 feet and closed out with a triple bogey.
Hole #4 - Par 3 - 150 Yards
By the time we reached this hole, the wind was pretty strong, and directly into our face. I hit a 6 iron about as hard as I could, and it still floated up in the air and well short. An ugly pitch from there to 27 feet and 2 putts later, I made a bogey.
Hole #5 - Par 4 - 389 Yards
Another tee shot... another hook. My ball stayed in play, but I had no real swing at it so I kind of had to wrist it out of the rocks and leaves... but it never got out of the mess. It went from one bad position to another. I had no shot at the green from where I was, and there was a creek running across the fairway that I didn't want to put my ball in... so I punched it out into the fairway. My gap wedge from there was over the green and my chip shot from there settled 2 feet away. I tapped in for another double.
Hole #6 - Par 5 - 512 Yards
When I had played a practice round here, my driver ran through the end of the fairway into a creek... so I had planned to hit my 3 wood. Unfortunately, I did something that I haven't done in a LONG time... and I got WAY under the ball and popped it up. I only tee the ball up so that it is just BARELY above the level of the ground... so to get under the ball like I did means I made a REALLY bad swing. It ended up in the right rough with the ball well above my feet. I did the same exact thing, popping the ball up and advancing it about 125 yards. I hit a hybrid from there that got no higher than 2 feet off the ground and came up well short of my intended target. A 6 iron to 12 feet and a two-putt for a bogey closed out that hole.
Hole #7 - Par 3 - 154 Yards
Another par 3 that was playing directly into the wind. The worst part about this hole was that we had about a 15 minute wait on the tee. The group ahead of us pulled out a ball retriever and went fishing in the hazard short of the green for a good 5 minutes. We're not really sure why because they all then went and putted without a shot being played from off the green. Anyway... by the time we got to play the hole, it was probably 145 yards from the tee to the flag, but the wind was really strong... so I hit a 4 iron. I struck it solidly, but I pulled it. The wind held it up and it finished well left of the green... but safe. I chipped down from there to 10 feet and needed 2 putts from there for a bogey.
Hole #8 - Par 4 -363 Yards
After making back-to-back bogeys... I didn't feel too bad considering how badly I had messed up the tee shots over the few holes prior to that. I FINALLY made a good swing with my driver and it carried over the fairway bunker up the right side... caught a hill and ran out to about 260 yards. I was set up perfectly... and then I thinned a gap wedge well over the green. We struggled to find my ball, but we did... in some leaves 25 yards behind the green. I popped it out of there and it ran all the way to the front of the green. My putting woes continued as I needed 4 putts from there to card a triple bogey.
Hole #9 - Par 4 - 392 Yards
Again, my tee shot put me in trouble. I intended to hit a fade with my driver, but I instead pulled it left and straight. It landed on a finger of a fairway bunker and left me an awkward stance. My wedge from there was tugged left and landed in a greenside trap. I hacked out of there to 23 feet and two-putted for a bogey.
Hole #10 - Par 4 - 396 Yards
By the time we reached the 10th tee... we were all feeling a little exhausted. The first 14 holes had taken us 5 hours already and none of us were playing overly well. My drive was hooked and we never found the ball. My provisional, which I thought was perfect, somehow managed to find its way into deep a fairway bunker on the right. My 7 iron from there felt good, but came up short. My pitch was thin and over the green. 2 more shots from behind the green and 2 putts from 20 feet to card a 9 (which was dropped to a 7 due to club rules).
Hole #11 - Par 4 - 290 Yards
Again... we had a wait on the tee as the group ahead of us was poking around in the hazard on the right. When we teed off... that's where my ball ended up. I finally hit a fade... but it was unintentional... and with a hybrid, so it landed in that mess. I dropped where it crossed and hit a decent wedge to 15 feet... but needed 3 putts from there for a double bogey.
Hole #12 - Par 3 - 145 Yards
More waiting. An ugly... no... disgusting swing with an 8 iron that I topped into a hazard. I then hit a 7 iron from the tee that was on line, but dropped into a bunker and gave me a bad lie. I hit the ball from there... it hit the lip and clipped my club before falling back into the bunker... so, a penalty on top of that. I then hit out and watched as the ball lipped out and settled at an inch away. A tap in for a 7, which was again dropped to a 6 due to club rules.
Hole #13 - Par 5 - 498 Yards
I was done by this point. Mentally... I was just angry at myself. Physically... I could barely swing the club anymore. I hadn't played 18 holes in quite awhile and it was obvious by how poorly I played over my last 9 holes. My tee shot was how I envisioned it, but again... it kicked into a fairway bunker. A 5 iron from there caught the lip and went about 10 yards. Another 5 iron was thin and ugly leaving me a 9 iron to the green which I flared short and right. My pitch from there was nice and settled to 5 feet. I sank that for a bogey.
Hole #14 - Par 4 - 373 Yards
We finally reached our final hole. I took an angry swing at the ball and hit my best drive of the day. I then proceeded to waste it with an ugly wedge... 2 ugly chips and a three-putt from 18 feet for a closing triple bogey.
Round Stats
- Score - 105 (Club Adjusted to 102)
- Penalty Strokes - 7
- Putts - 37
- Fairways - 3 of 14
- Greens in Regulation - 2 of 18
- Up and Downs - 1 of 10
- Sand Saves - 0 of 2
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