Last year was not a good golf year. From not being able to play very often to playing extremely poorly and finding no rhythm throughout the year whenever I DID play... it was just awful. That's going to change in 2020.
I'm setting some pretty strong goals (which I'll detail in another post). The primary goal, however, is just to get back to being competitive. Too many poor finishes with no a single 'money' finish in 2019. It was ugly. So... I came in to 2020 with my focus being on playing better golf... finding some way to finish in the money from time-to-time... and playing more tournament golf.
Unfortunately... I missed both the opening major down in Hilton Head and the Charlotte opener at Carolina Lakes. That meant that my first event of 2020 was going to be at Edgewater Golf Club. It's one of my favorite public tracks... but it's so far away that I didn't get down there for a practice round. Instead... I played elsewhere, focusing on trying to get my driver figured out. For too long, I've been battling a quick hook off the tee with it. Heading in to this round... I felt like I had figured something out so... I was feeling pretty good about my chances of at least not posting a triple digit final.
On to the round!
Hole 11 - Par 3 - 189 Yards
Things weren't exactly looking great with the weather leading up to this event, so... we were assured the tees would be moved up to accommodate for less roll and we'd be playing lift, clean & place throughout the course (with the exceptions of hazards and bunkers). I kind of figured that the 'moving the tees up' wouldn't apply to the par 3 holes, and... being forced to start on a longer par 3... I got to see right away that I was correct.
Even with a front flag, we were playing from 178 yards with a fairly strong cross breeze hurting us a little. I elected to hit a 5 iron, but for my first tournament swing of 2020... I turned it over a little too much and missed pin high left. Not wanting to chunk it... I made a concerted effort to ensure the ball found the green... but I was too strong and it flew well beyond the pin. Still on the green, but... 42 feet away.
My par attempt was never high enough and I watched as it trickled 4 feet past the hole leaving a tester coming back for bogey. I made the putt coming back and exhaled. Not a great start but... not an explosion out of the gates either.
~ +1 Through 1 ~
Hole 12 - Par 4 - 352 Yards
Here we go... the first test of the round with the driver. My focuses with that club in my hands were simply to keep my grip stress free (loose hands) and to keep my tempo smooth. No need to go after the ball... just swing smoothly and let the ball fly. It worked like a charm here. I hit a tight draw that found the fairway. As I picked up my tee... I felt like it was going to be a decent round.
My approach on this hole was around 97 yards. Wanting to keep things as stress free as possible, I played my 50° wedge with a 75% swing instead of smashing my 54° wedge. Again, I was pin high but left of the flag in the fringe. My putt from off the green carried too much speed as it got to the top of the slope and then it ran away from me, finishing 9 feet away from the cup.
My par attempt was slightly pushed and I had to settle for a tap-in bogey.
~ +2 Through 2 ~
Hole 13 - Par 5 - 506 Yards
I've always enjoyed this hole. It's not a tough driving hole... and the landing area for the layup is favorable, so... I got to this tee knowing I wanted to make no worse than par. My tee shot was hit okay, but definitely not smashed. It landed very softly in the wet fairway and didn't go anywhere. Still... it was in the fairway. I was debating between hitting my 3 wood and trying to get as close to the green as possible, or hitting my 5 iron and trying to leave myself about 90 yards. Ultimately, I elected to hit the 5 iron.
I pushed it to the right, but as I said... it's a favorable landing area and I got a good kick off the slope on the right side. Much to my dismay, when I arrived at my ball... I saw that it had trickled down into a 'bunker' on the right side of the fairway. I put bunker in quotations like that because it was really more of a mud pit with some grass growing in it. My ball was sitting on a very tight lie and I had 77 yards to the pin. Again, I went with my 50° wedge and played more of a pitch shot out of there. It was nearly perfect and the ball trickled just beyond the right edge of the hole leaving me a 2 foot tap-in for my first tournament birdie of 2020!
~ +1 Through 3 ~
Hole 14 - Par 4 - 384 Yards
A good tee shot here still went nowhere. The fairway was very soggy, but... I was dead center and had a great look at the front-left pin. The wind on this hole was right into our faces, so even though I had 150 yards to the flag... I knew I needed to club up. I elected to hit my 7 iron (typically a 160 yard club) but... I should have hit my 6 iron. I came up short of the green.
I was about 8 yards short of the green and about 50 feet from the pin. I couldn't figure out whether to chip the ball or putt it, so when I elected to chip it... I had bad thoughts in my mind and I flubbed it. At that point, I grabbed my putter and nearly holed it for par, but it banked off the pin and left me 3 feet for bogey, which I made.
~ +2 Through 4 ~
Hole 15 - Par 3 - 231 Yards
We were given a bit of a reprieve on this hole. Instead of playing from 231 yards, we were moved up and it was closer to 210 yards with a strong wind into our faces again. With the hole playing downhill... I figured on it playing right at about that yardage and hit my hybrid.
Well... when I say hit it... I mean I lunged at it and pulled it left. It nipped a tree branch and dropped down into the woods. I hit a provisional which ended up 11 feet left of the pin, but I didn't need it. We found my ball and I was able to hack it out, but I wasn't able to find the green. I went a little long... hit another flub and then proceeded to three-putt from 33 feet (including missing a 3 footer for double) and I carded my first triple bogey of the tournament season.
~ +5 Through 5 ~
Hole 16 - Par 4 - 411 Yards
Being frustrated at the result of the previous hole and then coming to this tee and seeing that there was ZERO help with the tees and it was STILL playing into the wind... it made me more frustrated. Instead of sticking with the 'smooth swing' approach... I tried to mash one here and my quick hook reappeared. A stupid play that meant I needed to punch my next shot out of the woods and I was STILL a mile away.
A full swing 3 wood fell out of the sky and left me about 70 yards from the hole. I hit a solid 54° wedge to about 12 feet but I wasn't able to sink that. I ended up carding a double to add 5 strokes to my score over the previous 2 holes.
~ +7 Through 6 ~
Hole 17 - Par 5 - 429 Yards
Okay... time to make up a stroke. An easy, short hole here... even though it's uphill the entire way. I went back to the smooth swing but... I was a little TOO smooth and didn't really hit it. The ball failed to reach the fairway, but... it was still in play and it was still a short hole.
I hit a 5 iron from the rough that didn't go far, but... it found the fairway, so I was happy with that. At 130 yards, up the hill and in to the wind (even though we were playing the opposite direction from the previous holes that were also in to the wind)... I elected to play an extra club. I hit a smooth, soft 8 iron that landed perfectly pin high and 15 feet to the left of the pin. My birdie attempt dipped low at the last moment, so I settled for a par that I had hoped was going to calm me down some.
~ +7 Through 7 ~
Hole 18 - Par 4 - 409 Yards
We were moved up a little, but it was still nearly 380 yards into the wind... into a wet valley and then back up a steep slope. I hit a very solid drive but it stayed right where I hit it instead of peeling back to the right as I'd hoped. I found a fairway bunker and left myself 171 yards up the hill, into the wind.
I tried to get 'cute' with the shot from there and hit a hybrid that I actually ended up scooping way short of the green. My 58° wedge floated from there and landed on the fringe. I putted from there but never had the line and the ball ran 6 feet past the hole. As had been the case so far throughout the round... I wasn't able to make that (my 3rd miss of 9 feet or less) and carded a frustrating double bogey.
~ +9 Through 8 ~
Hole 1 - Par 4 - 346 Yards
After a bit of a break for the guy in my cart to buy more beers (they weren't helping, in case you were wondering)... we finally headed to the first tee. Another good driver swing right where I aimed up the left side. I was just off the fairway, but... in a good position. Inside of 100 yards again, I elected to hit my 50° wedge at 75% again. This time, I caught it a little heavy, but it was safe. I had achieved my goal of not going over the green where a certain triple was waiting for me.
From off the front-left portion of the green, I putted to about 6 feet. Yet again, I missed a putt that was easily one that could be made... and I took a bogey.
~ +10 Through 9 ~
Hole 2 - Par 5 - 509 Yards
Although I had been swinging the driver better... I was still going a little further left than I wanted. I did the same thing on this hole. A solid strike with a smooth swing... but the ball started up the left side and stayed there. With the slope of the hole, the ball trickled across the cart path and into the woods. I was left with no option but to try and punch the ball out in to the fairway and advance it as far as I could.
This left me 189 yards up a hill for my approach. I hit my hybrid solidly but I pushed it just slightly and the ball caught a tree branch about 30 yards short of the green and dropped down. With a bunker between my ball and the pin... I hit a flop up over the bunker but ensured I hit it far enough that I wasn't going to come up short.
A two-putt from 16 feet (just missing the par attempt) gave me another bogey.
~ +11 Through 10 ~
Hole 3 - Par 4 - 386 Yards
This one was moved up to about 350 yards for us. It was easily the wettest hole on the course, so... it made sense that it was moved up. Another good strike with the driver, and I found the fairway... but the ball actually went backwards when it hit the ground, so... no distance. I was left with 127 yards to the flag.
The ground was very wet... which meant I really didn't want to dig down after the ball, so I should have hit an extra club. The problem was that about 7 yards beyond the flag was a slope that would have kicked my ball in to the lake beyond the green, so I stuck with my 130 club... my 9 iron.
I caught it okay, but I flared it about 3 yards right of my target and watched it catch the very top of the lip of the bunker. Luckily, it hadn't plugged and I had a straight-forward bunker shot... but I was hitting directly at the lake with no room to miss long. I hit a high, soft shot out of there that landed about 5 feet short of the hole and trickled out to about 8 feet.
Another putt I could have made that missed just on the low side and another bogey.
~ +12 Through 11 ~
Hole 4 - Par 3 - 201 Yards
We never play the card yardage on this hole. In fact, we were moved up to 168 yards on the day which, with the uphill slope, was a perfect 6 iron distance for me. I hit easily my best shot of the day here. It was a good, balanced, smooth swing. The flight was high and straight and it was directly at the flag. I never saw it come down, but I knew it was going to be good.
When we got to the green, my pitch mark was about 15 feet in front of where my ball was sitting, which was only 3'9" from the hole. I wrote my name on the closest-to-the-pin placard... then waited about 7 minutes before it was my turn to putt. I looked at the putt from every conceivable angle. The putt absolutely had to break to the left... down the slope, towards the lake. It was only a small amount of turn, but... everything from the surrounding terrain, the grain and the clearly visible angle of the cup indicated it was going left.
Well... it didn't. The putt stayed dead straight and despite 1/4 of the ball being over the edge of the cup and the speed being perfect... the ball stayed out. That hurt... a lot.
I won $79 for the CTP on the hole... but I left another $190 between a skin and super skin on the table. Frustrating, to be sure.
~ +12 Through 12 ~
Hole 5 - Par 4 - 436 Yards
I was very happy to see that the tees had been moved up on this hole. It only played about 390 yards, which was nice. My tee shot was struck well, but a little left of the fairway. I was left with about 148 yards to the hole which sat on the front-right corner of the green.
I elected to hit an 8 iron and made probably my worst iron swing of the day. It was weak, right and ugly. I pitched on from a not-so-great lie near the woods... the nearly holed a 30 footer for par, but the ball ran out of steam and again missed by less than an inch. Tap in for bogey... which could have been the title of this entire post.
~ +13 Through 13 ~
Hole 6 - Par 5 - 550 Yards
I believe I've said this about EVERY tournament round I've played at this course... but this is among my least favorite holes that we play from year to year. There's just nowhere to aim off the tee. You NEED to hit a good drive otherwise you're all but dead. Luckily, I managed to hit a decent shot that found the fairway and plugged.
Trying to bite off more of the hole... I brought my 3 wood with me and chose that over my 5 iron. I wanted to hit it over the bunker on the left corner of the dogleg and leave a short iron in. Instead... I absolutely topped the ball. It rolled out between 80 - 100 yards and left me miles in. Another 3 wood, this one smoked, ran up just shy of the green and left me an awkward pitch.
My pitch from the rough grabbed immediately on the green and left me 11 feet for my par, but... you guessed it... I tapped in for bogey.
~ +14 Through 14 ~
Hole 7 - Par 4 - 374 Yards
On most days... this is not a driver hole. It's not overly long, it plays downhill... and there is trouble left (a pond) and right (another hazard). With the wind and the wet ground... I decided to still hit the driver and hope for the best. It was a perfect tee shot... low enough to not get knocked down by the wind and straight down the middle... it just went a little too long and ran through the fairway.
I was left with 124 yards to the hole with some wind in my face, so I chose my 9 iron... and then I slowed my swing at the last moment resulting in a shot that found the green but was nowhere near the hole.
I had a 39 footer with a big break from left to right. If I had hit it with even the tiniest bit more pace... I'd have made it, but... instead, it came up half a roll short. This time... instead of tapping in for bogey, I had a tap in for par.
~ +14 Through 15 ~
Hole 8 - Par 3 - 155 Yards
This one was somewhat down wind. The pin was around 147 yards... and the bunker in front of the green could be cleared with a shot of 130 yards. An 8 iron was going to be too much... and I was afraid of doing something stupid if I didn't take a full swing... so I elected to drop down a club to a 9 iron.
From the tee... it appeared to be perfect. The ball was just left of the flag when it came down, and it looked like it was going to be about 10 feet from the hole. When we got up to the green, however... there was no ball. I knew it wasn't in the hole because I could see the cup from the tee, so... I started to think maybe my vision wasn't so great and the ball was in the bunker. Nope... not there either. I then saw it nestled in the rough between the bunker and green. Damn!
My chip from there settled to about 6 feet and I missed ANOTHER putt that could have gone in. Tap in for bogey.
~ +15 Through 16 ~
Hole 9 - Par 4 - 291 Yards
Wide open fairway. 2 holes to go. No shot at the money. I just wanted a good finish. I had a few buddies in the tournament and I wanted to beat them. I hit my most solid drive of the day. It jumped off the face and settled in the middle of the fairway leaving me just 67 yards to the flag. It didn't go overly far, but with the uphill hole, the wind and the wet fairway... I was perfectly fine with it.
I then made a mistake in thinking I had grabbed my 58° wedge when I had actually grabbed my 54° wedge. I didn't realize it until after I had tugged it a little left and I watched the ball kick off the back of the green, down the slope on to the incorrect tier.
Instead of having a good look for birdie... I was left with a double-breaking 42 footer up a steep slope. I left that 5 feet short... and then you know the rest. Bogey on a hole I was licking my chops in the fairway thinking I was carding a birdie on.
~ +16 Through 17 ~
Hole 10 - Par 4 - 412 Yards
Remember earlier in the round when I said that my miss when I swing too hard with my driver is a hook. I got greedy and foolishly tried to murder the ball off this tee. I hit it probably 140 yards with a quick hook into a hazard. Luckily, the ball sat up in the hazard just short of actually rolling in to the creek so I was able to play it. I didn't have the greatest stance and made an 'all arms' swing... but I advanced the ball into the right rough and left about 120 yards to the flag.
A 9 iron from there was a little left of the green and the ball settled on the fringe. As had been the case all day... I just had no touch and left the putt from the fringe about 12 feet short... two putted from there and closed out my day with a double bogey.
~ +18 Through 18 ~
---------------------------
27 players in the B Flight field for this event and I finished alone, dead-center of the pack... 5 strokes out of the money and 8 strokes behind the winner.
A lot of putts that could have (some that should have) gone down (6' - 8' - 4' - 6' - 5' - 9' - 3' - 6') made the difference for me today. I just never felt comfortable over the ball on the greens. I finished 0/8 in up & down opportunities and that's just not good enough.
Rounds like this are never going to win the event... but I could have been in the money and I absolutely SHOULD have walked away with more cash than I did.
Still... it's a not-so-bad start to the tournament year for me. There was a lot of good to build on, so... that's the goal moving in to the next few events. Build on the positive... work on the things that are holding me back... and hopefully, get back to competing at the level which I was playing at towards the end of the 2018 tournament season.
Lessons Learned
1. My 90% driver swing is going to stay in play and still go PLENTY far enough to leave me 6 iron or less on most holes. I've been worried about hitting the ball far, but... when I hit 35% of my tee shots in trouble, the 2 or 3 tee shots a round that get out there past my other playing competitors aren't making a difference. I've got to keep the tempo as my focus with the driver in my hands.
2. Ironically, I posted the same thing last year after my first tournament of 2019 but... I HAVE TO WORK ON MY PUTTING! It's killing me to give away 4-6 strokes a round. I need to get closer to averaging 30 - 32 putts instead of the 34 - 37 putts I've been averaging for way too long.
3. My short game is starting to resemble the old short game I had. I spent a large portion of last year struggling with the shots inside 90 yards. By going up a club and not swinging as hard... I believe I'm going to be finding more birdie opportunities in 2020 that I ever have before.
The next Charlotte event is on March 9th. Luckily, I believe I'm going to go down and play in the Hilton Head tour event at Atlantic Dunes on February 29th. It'll be a much smaller field, but... it's a gorgeous course and one I'm looking forward to if it all works out with the weather.
'til the next one...
