Best Shot of the Week

[billchao]

Birdied #16 at Quail Brook today. Pulled my drive onto the 15th tee box and got to my ball where a couple of my friends were waiting to tee off, ready to heckle me. Had about 90 yards to the flag and hit a partial GW to 2'. The ball mark was 2' short of the hole from where I was and the ball ended up 2' past it. I don't know if it had a chance to go in; it probably took a hop and spun.

I would have never heard the end of it if I didn't hit a good shot there.

[The Flush]

I played the Elks Country Club near Portsmouth, OH for the first time today. It's an old Donald Ross design that while it is not kept in destination course condition, it is easily the best course I have played in SE Ohio. It's a low bar, but the economy has forgotten most of the area and it  just can't support high enough greens fees to maintain the course any better.  I paid $30 to ride 18 today at 1PM.

My driver miss today was a straight pull, which I prefer over the usual slice that I fight. On the the par 4 #6 I pulled my driver near the #2 tee box, leaving me about 180 yards to the green with a line of trees between me and the green that I was too close to to go over them. For the first time in my life I intentionally hit a fade/slice that traveled parallel to the line of trees before turning right through an opening in the trees and rolling up to about 12 feet from the pin.  I drained the putt for my only birdie of the day.

[Mophdmlw]

Best shot this week probably this drive on the 2nd to front edge of fairway, unfortunately duffed my next 3 shots either in the water or OB!!!! 

[Darkfrog]

Birdied #18 today. Drive into left rough, about 140 yards to middle of green, uphill and into a light but persistent wind. I estimated the combo of uphill/wind left my approach between PW and 9-iron.

Went with a smooth 9-iron and knocked it to about 18 inches for an easy birdie. 

[DrvFrShow]

Of the week.... so that's over the last 7 days. Last Thursday, 6th hole, par 3, landed the tee shot about 4' from the hole, hop, stop, and made the birdie. 

The rest of the round didn't go that well.

[Killa]

First tee shot after 3 weeks of vacation. Probably the best driver I hit in my life. Low spin, high launch that got help from tail wind. Not a lot of roll so that was easily 270m carry. The rest of the hole didn’t work out like I planned though, lost all of my short game touch during the no swing period, putting was ok though. 

[Lugowskins]

Unfortunately this may be the best shot I ever hit in my life. Par 5 13th during league night I push my drive right it nestles up right next to a small tree. The ball is covered by thick grass and low limbs so I just have to hack at it and get it out the ball goes about 5 feet but its out and away from the trouble in the rough.

I thought about what to do for a minute, its a skinny approach in and a miss either way your ball is gone in heavy woods the vast majority of the time I would just play a 7 or 8 and try to put it in the middle of the fairway but I was feeling it so I pulled my 4 hybrid hoping to run one up on the green. 

The pin was tucked on the left side of the green I take a pretty aggressive swing and pure it. It hits a couple leaves on a tall tree right at the corner and I lose it but its on line. My buddies had eyes on it as it clips leaves on the tree right next to the green and lands softly they tell me I'm on and its got to be close. 

As we start rolling up to the other guys balls we're looking through our range finders and we cant see it a guy goes "I'm not trying to gas you up but I think you're in the hole". We proceed to speculate as a couple guys in the group hit their shots. Finally rolling up to the green my buddie says he thinks he sees it short I get a little demoralized but hey lets get up and in for par. Drive up and it wasn't my ball he saw so I hop out of the cart and walk up to see this pretty little grass stained ProV sitting in the bottom of the cup. I rip the flagstick out the ball shoots up and we all proceed to lose our minds.

One stupid little tree away from an albatross.

 

 

[billchao]

Hit my approach shot on #11 at Stoneleigh to about 18”. I was just in the left rough with a front pin and had about 120 yards to the hole. Was going to hit a full GW but decided I might catch it high on the face so I went with a flighted PW that started just left of the flag, faded a couple of yards, landed on the green and rolled out about 10’.

I feel like I’m really starting to learn how to hit golf shots rather just making swings.

[boogielicious]

I had a nice shot yesterday at Fenner Hill’s 9th hole. Uphill with about 115 to the flag, 125 to the center. I picked an 8 iron because the lie was also on an upslope. Just cleared the front and ended up 3 feet from the hole. Made the birdie. On 17, I missed the green long and had to pitch up from below the green only being able to see the top of the flag. Pitched to 1 foot, made the par putt.

[Shindig]

Hole #11, third round of my club championship.  After a great drive, I hit a 4-wood to 10 feet.  I didn't make the putt for a three, but I did tap-in for a four.  I did not go pin hunting, the pin was conveniently within where I hit my 4-wood to give me the best chance of being on the green in two.

[imsys0042]

Sweeping low draw under a bunch of trees to land just short of a par 5, in 2.   I was left and had to shoot under about 100 yards of trees and pulled a 4 iron that would have ended up in trouble if I hadn’t drew it.   I generally don’t try to shape shots, but we were out of the money, so I didn’t mind trying something other that taking my medicine.   

[Esox]

9th hole, par 5 with a forced carry over water to reach a large green sloping steeply to the water. Killed my drive so I went for it in two. Got a little to anxious about coming up short on the approach, hit a low hooking screamer that skidded on the back of the green and ended up behind the green well to the left of the pin. Had to pitch the ball 12 yards pretty much lengthwise but crossing over a berm, land it on the back of the green and let it trickle down to the pin. Hit my lob wedge, it went high, landed exactly where I wanted it to and started down the slope heading directly towards the hole. And it stopped 4" short of the hole. I could hit 100 shots from there and not another one would stop short.

[bkuehn1952]

#10 at Leslie Park is rated as the #1 handicap hole.  The 2nd day of the Ann Arbor Senior Championship was today. I hit a poor drive and ended up in the rough with 170 yards to the hole.  I was going to need to gouge out the ball and carry it over a water and weed penalty area that fronts the green.  I figured there was no point in laying up as my score to that point was not very good.  I made good contact.  The ball hit just past the stone wall that separates the green complex from the penalty area and trundled up on to the green, about 10 feet away.  The cherry on the sundae was that I made the putt.  Now if only the other 17 holes had a similar happy story.

 

[dennyjones]

2 hours ago, bkuehn1952 said:

#10 at Leslie Park is rated as the #1 handicap hole.  The 2nd day of the Ann Arbor Senior Championship was today. I hit a poor drive and ended up in the rough with 170 yards to the hole.  I was going to need to gouge out the ball and carry it over a water and weed penalty area that fronts the green.  I figured there was no point in laying up as my score to that point was not very good.  I made good contact.  The ball hit just past the stone wall that separates the green complex from the penalty area and trundled up on to the green, about 10 feet away.  The cherry on the sundae was that I made the putt.  Now if only the other 17 holes had a similar happy story.

 

Having played that course now a few times, that is an amazing shot.    

[Darkfrog]

Best shot this week was a long 3H approach on a par-4. It’s a weird and somewhat difficult dogleg left hole.

Usually my play is 7-iron off the tee, which due to elevated tee and downslope on the landing area will cause the ball to roll out around 220-240 yards and of on a good line cuts off a significant portion of the dogleg leaving a short iron into the green.

Today I pushed my tee shot well right, through the right rough and into the trees. I found the ball and it was playable with a good view of the green, about 220 yards out. My ball was sitting up okay on the dirt/duff but overhanging trees were causing some backswing anxiety. I was just hoping for a nGIR at best, but the strike was solid and I flew the ball all the way to the left middle of the green.

Then proceeded to 3-putt for a bogey.

[Darkfrog]

Another tap-in birdie on #18 Sunday morning.

Hit a good drive but a little offline right, and ended up in the right rough. Lasered pin with rangefinder and it was 75 yards (Garmin image shows 63 yards to the pin because the Garmin "move flag" feature really sucks), a bit uphill, which is just about perfect distance for my 9-3 SW. Struck the partial wedge perfectly, dead straight, low trajectory, and landed about 2 yards short and checked up about 2 feet from the hole (I couldn't see any of this because the green was obstructed by a mound and uphill approach shot but my group saw it). Tapped in the birdie to break 80.

[bkuehn1952]

Our season ending "big event" is a 3-day tournament in the NW part of the Mitten.  On the final day our shotgun starting point was #17, a par three playing about 160 yards from a hilltop but into a stiff breeze.  I was in contention for the Super Senior title.  My tee shot was struck perfectly and ended about 8 feet right of the hole.  One putt later I was off to a great start.  Sadly, it all came crashing down around me on the final three holes but I still have the memory of the first shot of the day and $45 of skin money in my pocket.

[Club Rat]

Played in a Couples event over the holiday weekend and was striking it well all weekend.
Won a CTP on a short par 3, the flag was 118 and I knew if I could hit it to the back of the green, the ball would roll back down the slope to the pin. Hit it right over the pin, the ball had a short hop and trickled towards the pin, stopping just left about 18" 

Then I had to top that shot with another, I was above the hole in the ruff, short sided with a very slippery green, Slide the lob under the ball just enough to carry the ball two feet to land it on the collar and again the ball trickled towards the hole. It began to roll left towards the hole and finally went in the side door. 

Then shot #3 of the weekend was a 50 foot putt to a back pin position with a ton of break towards the right. If it doesn't catch the hole, no telling how far it may have rolled out.
The last five feet, it was tracking and hit the hole dead center.

My wife who seldom compliments any of my shots actually told me "you played very well" LOL