9 holes - May 21, 2010

It's been raining most of the week and sprinkling all day, so the greens were quite slow today. The course was pretty full for some reason or another also. Not too full though. Here's how it went down.

HOLE 1, Par 5: Pulled driver and hit an a pretty good shot distance wise. However, I put a bit of a slice on it and ended up in the right rough. I had a feeling that was going to happen and should have lined it up left. Anyways, I wasn't too far right, but I was far enough that I didn't have a direct angle to the green. I had an angle to the left though. There are trees in the area I was aiming, but it's safe to go because the branches are quite high and not a factor. I did have a branch to clear though in front of me. I pulled out my 5 hybrid and hit a good shot just to where I was aiming. The pin was front right and the green slopes pretty severly to the front. I had probably 35 yards or so left. I pulled 56 degree, but de-lofted it on the downswing and it rolled just off the back of the green. The rough was too deep to putt from, so I chipped with my 8 iron and ended up just off the front on the fringe. I 2 putted from there for a bogey. Not too bad, but I should have par'd it from there.

HOLE 2, Par 3: I didn't put the best swing on my 7 iron and ended up 15 yds short. The pin was back left on the upper tier of the green. I pulled my gap wedge to try a bump and run, but hit it too hard landed it a foot short of the pin and it rolled up and off the green. This left me with a mega fast downhill shot. I putted it out of the rough, but it rolled 15 feet or so past the hole. I hit a pretty damn good shot, but it's so fast from there it's impossible not to roll it past. I 2 putted for a double bogey. Piss.

HOLE 3, Par 5: Things fell apart here. I struck a good 6 iron for my tee shot but pushed it a bit right. I got real unlucky with my lie here. It was a downhill lie left for my feet, but the ball was on a protrusion that flattened out some and sloped in the other direction. So basically, I had a hell of a shot. The shot was a line drive/slice that clipped a branch and shot down like a brick. I would have been ok if it didn't hit branch. So, I took a drop and a stroke. So, I hit my 9 iron to the 200 ft down fairway. Well, I should have hit a 3/4 gap wedge because I landed in the middle of the next fairway over. I had probably 165 yds or so left. I then proceeded to hit line drive my 6 iron into a tree. I thought it would just clip it and maybe hit some branches, but it struck a branch and dropped dead. At this point I had 65 yards or so. I hit a decent 56 degree, but it was just a bit long. I chipped to about 4 feet and choked on the damn putt. That 2 putt put me at 9. That's +4 for that hole and not acceptable. I had a really bad lie on my second shot, but still. Anyways, had to shake it off for the next hole.

HOLE 4, Par 4: I pulled my drive and popped straight up. The lie was pretty good and from what I could gather around 180-190 to the green. Going long here is bad because there's trees and a creek under 10 yds off the back of the green. I caught my 5 hybrid on the screws and a little left. I thought it might go long but it cracked a branch just before the green. When I got down there it was sitting nice 15 yds off the green. I chipped on and just missed my par for a bogey. Considering the drive, that wasn't too bad

HOLE 5, Par 4: I popped up my damn drive again. It wasn't too far left, but it was in the rough. I was just at the 200 yd marker and pulled out my 4 hybrid. I put a beautiful shot on it and was about 4 yds off the green. I chipped on, but it came up a little shorter than I would have liked. I just missed the putt by a few inches. Another bogey. Again, considering the drive, not too bad.

HOLE 6, Par 4: I sliced the shit out of my drive. Considering the progress on my driver, today's been frustrating with these bad drives. Luckily this hole opens up to the right quite a bit, but if you go to long it's gonna be in very tall grass and trees. I was about 8 feet from the tall grass and sitting up pretty good. However, there is a tree in front of me and from that location there's quite a dog leg right. The only option is to chip out. I tried to punch it out under a branch since there's not much fairway straight ahead, but it caught a branch and dropped dead in the rough. I did have a shot to green at this point. I had probably 153 or so. I flushed my 8 iron and landed about 8 or 9 feet from the hole. I missed the par putt by an inch. I thought it was in for sure. Tapped in for a bogey. Again, I scrambled my way out of this hole with some great iron shots.

HOLE 7, Par 3: After my trek up the hill, I pulled my 7 iron for this slightly downhill shot. I made good contact, but I cut across it and sliced it a little bit. This put me 10-12 yds right. If I would have hit it straight, that would have been the shot of the day. Anyways, I hit a decent chip and had around 7 feet left. I rolled it to an inch AGAIN! That's 2 holes in a row. Tapped in for a bogey. I should be happy with those putts to an inch, but I want them to drop.

HOLE 8, Par 5: Since, I was pretty well ahead of the two people behind me, I took quite a few practice driver swings. I limited my backswing until I felt confident I knew where it was going on the downswing. I was looking for the "controlled" feeling on the way back. I lined up slightly left and hit a nice fade about 230 yds. The drive felt pretty good. I had good control and I was confident on the outcome while swinging. I need to work on it at the range though to nail it down, but I'm confident it's moving in the right direction. Even if the rest of my drives weren't that great today.

Since the drive wasn't too long, I had about 280 or so left to the green. Since, I've been slicing my woods to some degree I lined up slightly left of my target with my 3 wood. Of course I hit it dead straight. It was long too. I probably hit it around 230-240. I would have been longer if it didn't hit the rough. Luckily, it was rough as there is a creek that I missed by 10 feet. I love my new 3 wood. Anyways, I had 30-35 left and hit my 56 degree. My shot was short of where I wanted. The pin was in the back and I didn't want to land in the sand trap past the green, so I was happy with that. I had a 40 footer left and left it 10 feet short. I new I didn't hit it long enough. GRRR!! For the 3rd hole in a row I missed the putt by only a few inches. I should have at least par'd this hole. Not real happy with bogey here.

HOLE 9, Par 3: 205 yd par 3. I hit my 4 hybrid as usual but it ended up right about 12 yds. I had a pretty easy chip left with my gap wedge that I ran long about 8 feet. I didn't hit it hard enough and tapped in for my bogey.

I have mixed feelings about the day. On the positive side, my irons and hybrids were really great all day. I scrambled my way out of some shitty drives. However, that double bogey on 2 and the +4 on 3 killed my score. Plus, those putts that missed by an inch or so left strokes out there. I should have par'd 8 for sure and probably 9. The driver continues to not be consistent, but I'm confident I'm going to turn it around as I know what a good swing should feel like with it. I need to practice it more and get it more consistent.