9 holes - May 15, 2010

I got a new 3 wood yesterday (07 burner) and went to the range prior to playing to hit it a few times. I went to the range at around 11:00am. I usually go after work and wasn't sure when he actually opened. When I arrived he was cutting grass behind the range. He stopped the mower and said "Go get a bucket and hit whatever you want.". I love my range, he's always giving me deals, lessons, and free buckets, etc. So, I filled a large about 3/4 and went to hit some balls. I hit good irons and hit the 3 wood okay. At first I was slicing it pretty good. I tried to choke down which seemed to helped. Then, I made a split second decision to stop my backswing at the top. The club face was way way open. I had about 10 balls left and concentrated on making sure not to open the club face so much and hit some really nice fades.

I was supposed to meet my father in law to play 18, but I had to do some unexpected things at home and didn't get to play 18. So, at around 5:00 I decided to play 9 at pleasant valley. Here's how it went down.

HOLE 1, Par 5: Since my driver has been giving me problems, and I want to hit my new 3 wood as much as possible, I teed up my 3 wood. Lets be honest though, it's because I've been struggling with my driver. I hit a horrible shot. Awful awful slice about 150 straight and 100 right. It sliced so bad it went into 18's fairway. I've NEVER done that. I had no shot other than hitting it back over to 1's fairway. I had around 205-210 left at that point. I got out my trusty 4 hybrid and hit a beautiful shot. I couldn't have hit it better. It went right over the two sand traps in front of the green and settled nicely beside the green. I had short chip left that I let trickle down to 8 feet. I missed the putt by for feet and made the putt for bogey. This green is tough and a 6 on this hole was really good seeing how bad the drive was.

Before I go to 2, I wanna mention something that turned today around. Right after my tee shot, I noticed a woman playing by herself and riding in a cart. Since she was by herself, I planned on letting her go thru since she would catch up to me on 3 since the walk is so long. Anways, I saw her tee shot and it went straight down the middle. Quite short, but straight. When I was done on 1 I waited and waived her through. When she got to the green I got a good look at her and she was about 4'11" 100 lbs and 70 years old. I thought to myself, if this little old lady can hit her driver straight, damn it so can I. More on this later.

HOLE 2, Par3: I topped my 7 iron and barely dribbled it 50 yards. Wow. I haven't hit a shot like that in a while. Pathetic attempt at a golf swing. The ball was down in the rough pretty well. I hit 56 degree to the fringe at the beginning of the green. I had a long uphill shot left that I didn't put enough juice on and hit two more putts for a double bogey. Not acceptable.

HOLE 3, Par 5: I don't know why, but I hit my 7 instead of my 6 iron off the tee like usual. Anyways, I didn't put the best hit on it and was 20 yards short of where I usually hit it and a bit more to the right in the rough. I had a good angle to go over the trees and go for the green. I usually hit my 5 hybrid, but I figured my 4 would be just right. I caught it nicely and sailed it over the trees. It was 10 degrees right of where I wanted it to fly, but still a good shot. Well, when I got down there I couldn't find it. I didn't hear it hit any trees and since the drop is 200 feet, when you clear those initial trees you're usually good to go. The thing is, right and over the green is deep rough. Deep. When you hit a blind shot from 200 feet up, it's sometimes tough to tell where it went. I searched around, but couldn't find it. I knew it was around there somewhere. Oh well, that's just another risk going for this green in 2...I guess. I don't like loosing balls in the rough though. So, I took a stroke and a drop where I thought it would be. I hit my 56 degree, but it was a foot short of this tiny green. My chip went to about a foot and I tapped in for a bogey.

HOLE 4, Par 4: So, I decided since that lady can hit her driver so can I. I teed it up sliced the shit out of it. I then teed up another and thought about swing a 50% shot. Straight down the middle about 240 yds. I did a couple more 50% practice swings and they felt good and controlled. Obviously, I didn't play the one I hit down the middle. I went and picked it up and walked over to my ball in 5's fairway. I had probably 190-200 left so I hit my 4 hybrid. I hit a pretty bad shot and still had 120 or so left at this point, but at least I was in the right fairway (sheesh). I struck a fantastic 9 iron. The pin was in the back right at my ball was probably about 8 or 10 feet away. I missed the putt by a few inches and dropped it for a bogey.

HOLE 5, Par 4: Tee'd up my driver and cranked it right down the middle. A controlled stable backswing with all the emphasis on my downswing. I really think I was getting out of control on backswing and that's what was causing my slicing problems. Thinking about 50% backswing feels nice. I had about 115 left and hit my pitching wedge. I pulled it a little and it rolled off the green left. My pitch ran long and left me with probably 20 feet. The putt didn't lag the greatest, but I made the next putt for a bogey.

HOLE 6, Par 4: I hit my driver off the tee with a great little fade on it right to the middle of the fairway. It didn't have the length on it that I would like though. I had exactly 174 left (I walked it off from the 150 marker). This a perfect 6 iron or a decent 5 iron. So, I went with the 5. I hit it to the fringe. This green is elevated so it pretty much just stopped when it hit. Still, it was a great shot with a club that I've struggled with in the past. My putt was awful. It was an uphill putt that just didn't have the juice. I missed my par putt by a few inches and tapped in for bogey.

Hole 7, Par 3: This hole begs me to hit my 6 iron, but I know what awaits over the green. It begged today especially because the pin was in the back of the hole. I hit my 7 though, because I know short is better. At this point the sun was glaring at me. I hit what felt like a very solid shot. I covered my eyes and tried to see it fall, but I couldn't. Just in case I couldn't find it, I hit a provisional ball which I did see fall. Anyways, I got down to the green and couldn't see the ball. I thought it might have went left so I looked all around left. After not finding it I went to play the provisional ball and noticed my first shot was in the fringe on the right side of the hole about mid way back on the green. I 2 putted for par. Nice!

Hole 8: Par 5: I teed up my driver and hit it short of where I would usually hit my driver (if it didn't go in the trees). It was in the middle of the fairway though. I'll take it short and in the fairway over a bomb in the woods any day. So, I had probably 260 left I'm guessing. I pulled out my new 3 wood. I've never hit a 3 wood off the deck before. I choked down probably 2.5 inches and smashed it. Wow. I think that was my shot of the day. I had a 50 yd pitch left. I had a 12 footer for birdie and I rolled past about 3 feet. I dropped the putt for a par. That's 2 pars in a row. Oh yeah

Hole 9: Par 3: 205 yd Par 3. I pulled out my 4 hybrid as usual and hit a great shot. Nice smooth swing. I had probably 40-50 feet for birdie. I lagged it up quite well and had around 4 feet left. I didn't hit it enough and left it 2 inches short GRRR!!! I tapped it in for a bogey.

All in all today was great. I shot a 44, which is my lowest 9 hole score here. I only made 1 double bogey all day which I'm sure is a record for me. It's funny how a little old lady made me see the light with my driver. I should have bought her a beer.