West Killarney, 7/6

I had not golfed for a couple of years. For some random reason, Phillip, Bob (Tracy's Dad), Gabe and I randomly decided to go. Then it turned out Gabe was just wanting to walk along and take pictures. Okay, fair enough. Here we go, let's have some fun.



First hole Phillip launches his tee shot, beautiful, Bob puts his dead center in the fairway, and then it was my first time to hit a ball in a LONG time. I pulled out my trusty 7 wood. No tee for me. I checked my grip, slid my right foot forward slightly, nice easy backswing, smooth swing, and crushed it, blowing past the fairway by a good 40 yards. Too much club. Unbelievable. And it put me behind a pair of towering trees. I knew I was going to swing softly, had no way of judging distance so pulled my pitching wedge. Again, soft, smooth swing...and blasted over the trees, over the green, almost into the canyon. Wow, good power on my shots today! Well, now I was behind a fence. I grabbed my beloved 8 iron and punched it onto the green from whence I 2 putted for a bogey. Not bad...2 tough shots and I save a bogey. I was not displeased at all.



hole 2: this one is a sharp dogleg right that drops away. It is not wise to try to cut off the dogleg because your ball stays in the canyon so my plan was to hit a soft shot maybe 190 yards, chip and putt. I pulled out my 5 iron on the theory that I had lost 40 yards off each club. Apparently my 140 yard pitch taught me nothing...even worse, I sliced liked a madman. Of course, in this case the combination of too much club and poor directional control landed me in the fairway about 30 yards off the green. A modified 8 iron left me a reasonable birdie putt which I missed but still saved par. 2 holes in and I had a par!



Hole 3: real short par 3, nothing tricky except dropping off the cliff. I hit a real light 8 iron because I trust it more than my gap wedge, which would have been the correct club distance wise. Sadly, I faded my shot and was in the rough pin-high to the right of the green. Pitch, putt, putt, bogey.



Hole 4: Long, straight hole with trees on both sides. I concentrated on not over swinging...just a soft, smooth swing. Well, when you let the club do the work amazing things happen...such as a long, straight drive. 8 iron pin high, left of the pin, 2 putt, par.



Hole 5; Longer, this one is a par 5 that goes over water about 100 yards off the green. I decided since I was swinging so well to get some extra distance so I ramped up my swing. I am an idiot. I pulled it...long, high, and left which landed me in some trees. Fortunately, I had a clean shot to the green but the water made me nervous so I ramped up my swing again, still using my 7 wood. Somehow, this 23 degree club which often brings rain I could not get off the ground and hit a worm burner maybe 100 yards. Terrible stroke. I went back to a light, easy swing and over drove the green with my third shot. A pitch, a couple putts and I had another bogey.



Hole 6: Tight fairways, medium length par 4. Nice, smooth, light swing equals nice distance, nice location. 8 iron to the dance floor, regulation number of putts, par. I am not aware of it at the time but I am having a very strong round. I tend to remember stuff like the poor drive, bad 2nd shot, and off-line 3rd shot from the previous hole and forget I saved a bogey. So my bad shots dominate my mind when there are actually relatively few of them and are plenty of good ones.

Hole 7: Short par 3 with valley between tee and hole. Seriously, that valley should not come in play. A short pitching wedge puts you over it...so like a moron I went with a modified 8 iron because I really, really like the 8 iron. Sadly I shank like a smurf and am about half-way to the hole, off to the left on a slope. My pitch is not too good as I hit almost the back of the green and it is a huge green. A nasty 3 putt and I have a double bogey on an easy, easy hole. Oops.

Hole 8: This is a tough, tough hole. It is long, straight, and narrow. The woods are deep, the rough long. If you get off the fairway you are in trouble. Well, another smooth, light swing produced a BOOMING drive. Here is how good it was; after teeing off legitimately with my 7 wood I broke out my driver just for fun to see if I could hit it. Everything was awesome; my swing was maybe a bit too compact but it was still light and smooth, the ball came off cleanly and it was a beautiful drive, straight, long...and about 40 yards shorter than my 7 wood. My second shot over drove the green. My chip was short of the cup and I 2 putted...I was thinking bogey but no, the hole was a par 5. I had yet another par!

Hole 9: This has a relatively lengthy drive to a dogleg left. You need to make the corner or you have to shoot for the green blind. On the other hand, cut the corner too tight and you are in the trees and if you go long you hit the street. Well, I faded again and instead of laying tight to the corner I left myself a solid 220 yards to the hole or so. My second shot I scuffed the grass and left myself maybe 160 yards. I pulled the gap wedge and overshot the green. "Here is my melt-down hole" I announced. Then I proceeded to 2 putt to pull of a bogey and a 42, tied for the 2nd best score i have ever had.


This round showed all that is right about my game when I am playing well. My good shots leave me easy second shots, my putting was on, never worse than a 2 putt, and even my poor shots were overcomable with no outrageous scores (both Phillip and Bob had double digit scores on certain holes). I was relaxed, just enjoying the walk and the time with friends. It was a great deal of fun and makes me willing to play again. I just need to remember not to try too hard, overswing, and get out of my element.