What'd You Shoot Today?

[NCGolfer]

Well after an iffy Newport Cup for me I got pulled into a Ryder Cup style match at my local club. A guy dropped out and they needed a sub. I'll call the round yesterday the tale of two nines.

We started on the back. It was more of the same...just mediocre play. I couldn't make a birdie putt and missed two shortish par putts. The numbers were:

Score: 37 (Par 35)
Greens: 6
Fairways: 5
Putts: 17

Good number of greens, but way too many putts. Then came the next nine. It started with a long (40 foot) birdie putt and kept going from there...my scores went like this:

3-3-5-3-5-3-3-3-4

Score: 32 (Par 35)
Greens: 5
Fairways: 3
Putts: 11

11 putts. I made the long one on 1. A 4 footer for par on 2. Had a 270* lip out from 15 feet on 3. Made a 3 foot birdie on 4. Lipped out from 15 on 5 for birdie. Made a 3 foot birdie on 6. Rolled on a 6 foot par on 7. Drained a 15 foot birdie on 8 and nearly chipped in on 9 for biridie...had a tap in for par.

So in the 11 putts, only 2 were outside 6 feet. That was a fun 9 to play. I closed out my match on 7 when I made the 6 footer.

That was my 2nd 69 on the Championship course this year. It's amazing how tight iron shots and good putting can quickly turn things around. I think that 6 3's are the most I've ever had in any 9 holes (with par being 35 or 36).

[iacas]

Wow, sounds like a good nine. You sure you're gonna take two weeks off now? You've already broken that one...

[NCGolfer]

Wow, sounds like a good nine. You sure you're gonna take two weeks off now? You've already broken that one...

I knew you would say that.

I almost didn't play, but they sounded pretty desparate to get someone and I couldn't think of a good excuse not to play golf. Even the weather was perfect. I did almost last a whole week though.

[You're Away]

Shot a personal best of 36 (2 birdies, 2 bogeys, 5 pars) on the front at a short 6000 yard track last weekend (before Wilma). Then I let my brain get in the way and shot 46 for the next 9 . The big difference was that on the back we got behind another group that slowed us down. We played the front in less than 1 1/2 hours and I felt like I waited on the 10th that long just to tee off.
The good news is my irons were back. The last few weeks I've been shooting in the mid 90's because I couldn't hit an iron shot to save my life.

My big rant: Why can't people rake the damn traps? 2 weeks ago I end up in someones footprint in a fairway bunker (3 rakes were there plus one on the cart). Last weekend my ball stops up against a footprint where someone dug-in, leaving my ball up against a 1" high wall of sand (and there was a rake 2' away!)

Chris

[iacas]

I thought yesterday may be my final round - it climbed into the 60s again - but it seems as though I'll play again today. Okay.

I shot a 76 yesterday with some pretty good ball striking. I really only missed two shots badly, and one was a popped up drive that still went 220 yards or so. The other resulted in my only bogey on the par 5s at my home course - I birdied the other three! I birdied a par 4 also (#11) and shot 76.

I once again fixed the "lazy" part of my swing, and hit the ball solidly all day. My putting was good, too. Up and downs and sand saves were a little dicey because they haven't raked bunkers in a week and the rough hasn't been mowed in as long...

Front: 3/9 GIR, 3/7 FW, 0/5 UD, 1/1 SS, 16 putts (39, 1 birdie)
Back: 4/9 GIR, 5/7 FW, 1/3 UD, 1/2 SS, 13 putts (37, 3 birdies, 1 1-putt double bogey on a frickin' par 3. Tried the risky shot from the unraked bunker, needless to say, it didn't work)

[Rafcin]

81 in a 30 mph wind and sub-50 temperature... included a quad on a par 4 (tried to be a hero instead of taking an unplayable deep in the bushes ). Pretty happy with it. Thanks to Erik's video from NC I was able to fix the driver issue...

[Rickins]

Don't give up yet, Erik and Rafcin.

I'll wait 'til it's here before I believe it but, they're predicting partly sunny skies with highs in the low to mid 60's in S.E. Michigan on Thursday and Friday this week. Might make it to you guys by the weekend.

Great rounds for both of you. (Now I've got to find a course that doesn't close as of today. )

Rick

[Everardo]

We've got lows in the 60's and highs in the 80's in AZ

[iacas]

We've got lows in the 60's and highs in the 80's in AZ

Jerk.

Played today again. Were basically the first twosome out at noon (course is closed on Mondays until then). Got 'round in 2:45. Didn't score the front - was working on my pre-shot routine, of all things. Also tried some shots I wouldn't normally try, like a hybrid from 20 yards short of a green, etc. Shot 38 on the back. Two bogeys, two up-and-downs (one from the sand) for par saves. Was getting a yard of roll on drives, so that let me measure a few times. I'm pretty happy with the way things go. Best shot today was a 3W I hit into 13 at my course, a twisty but not terribly long par 5. If my drive had gotten the normal amount of roll, I'd have had a 5-iron in - I creamed it. But anyway, a 3W, started just left at the bunker, pin was short left (this green is severely undulating, so there's really no good place to miss it). It started cutting and the wind held it out there. It landed a yard shy of the fringe and slammed into the slope, then rolled down it into the bunker. It was one of those shots where as soon as I made contact and before I looked up I was thinking "shot heard round the world, baby!" (double eagle). Got up, over, and down for a par. The bunker I found is 10 feet below the surface of the green up about a 70 or 80 degree slope, and the pin was 8 feet onto the green, so getting up and down from there without risking leaving the ball in the bunker is not easy.

[iacas]

It was, without doubt, the single greatest nine holes I have ever played. It included a hybrid uphill and into a little breeze from 195 to 15 feet. It included spinning back a sand wedge from the back of the green to ten feet. It included a 4-iron to a 195-yard par 3 to about 12 feet. Except for making putts (I was burning the edges), I couldn't have seen myself playing much better at this point in my "career."

Damn that round at Tanglewood. The 76 there was a 2.1 index, and now I've dropped to 3.8 for the year. That's where I'll start next season, I guess. Ouch.

[muskegman]

Damn that round at Tanglewood. The 76 there was a 2.1 index, and now I've dropped to 3.8 for the year. That's where I'll start next season, I guess. Ouch.

Ah, the price one must pay for success.

Way to go man!

[NCGolfer]

Played on Sunday in our last tournament. It is always our "Tough Day" tournament. Basically, we play from the back tees and they put the pins in the hardest locations.

Actually, I thought that the setup would have been harder. The tees could have been a bit further back and some pins were in mild spots... but , it was a definite challenge.

I shot 39-40 with a double, triple, a couple mental farts and a few horrible breaks to top it off. I only hit 7 fairways and 7 greens so that didn't help either. Overall it was a strange round. I didn't feel like I played good or bad, but when the round was done I counted six shots I could have easily gotten back.

The highlight were the two birdies I made. The first one on #2 which played about 185 and slightly uphill. The pin was tucked back in the right corner and I drew a 5 iron perfectly back there and rolled in a 5 footer. The second was on #13 and I faded a smooth 7 iron from about 160 yards to a back right pin and stuck it to 3 feet.

I've only played a couple times in the past few weeks, so I wasn't too upset. The next lowest score was an 81 so I took home a nice Titleist hat and a couple sleeves of Pro-V1x's.

[Thrash13]

Well, I've actually played three times since the Newport Cup, but I haven't updated anything in this topic because of my disappointing play.

I have shot 88-93-88. That is probably my worst three rounds in a row all year. I just haven't been very strong mentally.

My last round, I started off -1 after four holes and then fell apart obviously.

The day I shot the 93, the wind was blowing so hard I couldn't even ground my putter on the greens. It was the worst conditions I've ever played in. I actually shot a 43 on the back, but you know what that adds up to on the front nine.

I figured I would be able to play a lot more, but the temperature is in the 40s all of a sudden, and the wind is fierce still. Today, it felt like it was 30 degrees. So I'm not sure how much more I will be able to play this year.

I haven't figured my handicap since the Newport Cup, but I'm sure it's dropped to around a 14 or so.

I'll be back next season though... :/

[iacas]

I played last Saturday but haven't gotten around to posting. We played the "Rabbit" game and I parred the first hole pretty easily to win the rabbit. Three-putted the second (bad read on second putt, grr) to keep the rabbit, but holed a 45-foot putt on the third after hitting it all over the map for a par to keep the rabbit again. Got up and down on the par-3 fourth to keep the rabbit, and then holed a 25-foot birdie putt to keep the rabbit after an opponent (Ed) parred + a stroke. Got up and down for birdie from near the sixth from a bad lie (over a bunker, tight pin, downhill lie - not easy to hit a high soft flop from that) to stick a leg on my rabbit. Got up and down on 7, parred 8 pretty easily, and bogeyed 9. I won with a rabbit and a leg on the front.

Wasn't quite as lucky on the back... Par, bogey (sucked a ball off the green and into a bunker, wowee, Ed had the rabbit), par (Ed loses rabbit), par (on the same hole I eagled the last time - missed the green from 135 yards, grrr, horrid overcorrecting shot, Ed gains rabbit), bogey (opponent had easy two putts to free the rabbit, so I had a good run at my birdie putt - Ed loses Rabbit), par (lost the rabbit here to a par+stroke - Ed), par, par, par... lose the back by a Rabbit.

The third guy in the group contributed on that one par three and that was it for the day. Shot 72, all told, again from the white tees. Kinda fun to play up that far and have 9-irons into par 5s , especially when you know you're not gonna get any roll because it's so damp out.

[NM Golf]

Snuck away for 9 holes Wed and shot 35. 2 birdies and a bogey. The bogey came after I tried to hook it around a tree on the par 5 first hole. Probably wouldn't have even tried that shot in competition, but what the heck I was just playing with my dad. Still hit it nice and putted decent.

[iacas]

Snuck away for 9 holes Wed and shot 35. 2 birdies and a bogey. The bogey came after I tried to hook it around a tree on the par 5 first hole. Probably wouldn't have even tried that shot in competition, but what the heck I was just playing with my dad. Still hit it nice and putted decent.

I'll resist the urge at this point to say "just be glad you got out and played."

[Ben]

It's still a toasty 80* most days out here in L.A.

Anyway, I went and played Coto de Caza (NORTH COURSE Black Tees, 75.5, 147, 7162 YARDS) on Wednesday. My first full round of golf in 2 months, and my first time swinging a club in a week and a half. Stinkin' day light savings time is KILLING me! Hit the ball better than expected, putted like absolute garbage. Had nine 3-putts. Yes, I said 9. And missed about 4 others I totally should have made. Stupid game! The greens on this course are a tad bit unfair, at least I think. The back nine doesn't have a par-4 under 430 yards, and all the greens have some pretty extreme undulations. Quite frustraing to say the least. But, that's kind of how I like my golf. Who needs a walk in the park everytime they play?

[iacas]

Played the pale blue tees again (mostly white, but on the par 3s and some par 4s we played the normal blues). Shot a 74 that really wasn't spectacular. The greens were slow and I left four or five putts in the jar but just a little short. Could have easily been a 69, yeah, with nothing but slightly faster greens.

But hey, it's November 21 and I was just happy as heck to get out and play. I split the fairway and hit a nice 9I to the last green, lagged it close (in the jar, short) and tapped in for a routine, easy par. Great way to end the season.