Played my first round this season...

[Petden]

So I went for 9 holes with a friend of mine a couple of days ago, and it was my first round of the season. Wow, it was bad. I dont think I've ever played so poorly. Hopefully that's just the rust coming off, but it was bad.

There was this one par 3, 152yards. I take a 9 iron, and tell myself a nice swing will get it there, well i skulled the ball, and by some miracle it land on the fringe, i proceed with a decent chip to within 4 feet, and 2 putted from 4 feet :(

Another hole im ~110yards out, so i pull out my sw thinking that should be enough, well i over shot the green by 10 yards lading, and pluggin itself in a pile leavesit took 1 shot just to get out of the leaves and another 3 to hit the green now im at 5 on a par 4 and still need to put, 2 attempts later it drops. thats a 7 on a simple par 4.

In the end I played +18 on 9 holes, that is horrid. I did manage to take a picture of a large hawk.

[grizfan]

A 9-iron to cover 152? You'd have to be a really good golfer to get a 9-iron to cover that kind of distance. Considering you hadn't played yet this season, maybe your expectations were getting ahead of your game?
Something that I do that helps with club selection is to carry around a yardage chart for each club in my back. I did a quick Google search on this, found this site: http://www.leaderboard.com/LOFTINFO.htm (there are scores of others, but I chose this one). I then took their nominal club distance info for each club, plugged it into Excel, then tooks some other info and charts related to chipping/pitching, printed it out and made a laminated card to hang from my bag. Now I know that just because I have a 7-iron in my hand I'm not getting a 140-yard shot, but this does give me a good point of reference. For me, if I'm facing a 152 yard par 3, and I think I'm playing well, I might pull my 7-iron because, for me, a good, full swing with my 7 will get me there. A quick look at my chart tells me that a 9-iron is no where near enough club. With the right club in your hand, you won't have to swing for the fences, either.
If your handicap index is a good indicator of where you're at with your game, it sounds like you're in the same ballpark as I am. Some things I've learned recently. First, lessons pay off, for a 30+ handicapper like myself, that's the only legit shortcut I can think of. Next, keep track of how you play (how many puts, fairway shots, GIRs, things like that). Find out where your game needs the most work. But, most of all, keep your expectations in check or you'll have nothing but frustration. Again, you list a handicap index of 30, it is your 1st time out this year, and you pull a 9-iron out of your bag for a 152 yard hole. A 6 or 7 probably would have made more sense.

[tjy355]

Short golf season up there in Canada, eh?

[golfaddiction]

Short golf season up there in Canada, eh?

LOL.

Be nice to our Canadian friends. When global warming hits in 20 years, we're all going to wish we lived in Canada.

[strahanfan92]

^^^ Yeah I felt the preview of global warming at the Carolina @ Giants game I went to last December.