I wisely kept the driver in the bag, put my 7w about 200 yards out...but wide right, behind trees. Punch out into the fairway. From 110 out I put my gap wedge past the green. Pitched back up and on, 2 putt. A 6 to start, not so good.
Next hole is a 178 yard par 3 that always gives me trouble. I hit my 4 iron, something I seldom ever do. Nice, straight, and about 8 yards short. Pitch, putt, par. Nice!
Third hole I pulled out the 7 wood and put it about 220 yards down the fairway but wide right, not horribly so. I bump and ran my 8 iron to the left side of the green, 2-putt...back to back pars. I am happy, feel like I am playing well.
They had moved the tee box on the next hole up and to the right, so a 143 yard hole with trees slightly overhanging the box but not really. Except my ball flight started out right, clubbed the tree and my tee shot was about 20 yards. I then put a 9 iron well left of the green, a pedestrian pitch and a 2 putt. So much for playing well, that was a 5.
Then my toughest hole on this course. Trees overhang the left side so I cannot use my typical ball flight pattern and the right side is tight so even a fade puts you in trouble. Still, I have confidence in my 7 wood.
Misplaced, apparently because I sliced badly and actually lost the ball. Retee hit the trees to my left. I had to punch out into the fairway again and was laying 4 while over 200 yards from the green. Then I blasted past the green, had to pitch back and only a lengthy putt "saved" a 7. Playing well indeed. If by playing well I mean swinging the club like a monkey having convulsions.
At least the next hole is a soft one. 352 yard par 5, easily reachable in 2 for me. I pull out the driver for the first time on the day. I aim slightly left planning to hit it straight which will be well down the fairway, if it fades I am in the center of the fairway and even a slice might only be in the rough to the right.
Or I could yank it left over the first row of houses...and do the same with my second shot. I am now laying 5 off the tee. Only a fantastic second (6th) shot putting me close let me scramble and save the snowman. A round that looked promising after three holes and decent after four now looks awful.
Next hole is a 284 yard par 4. I considered what I had done with my driver, straightened my stance...and blasted a 260 yard drive right down the middle. The little yellow thing is my drive.
I then hit a beautiful chip shot to about 4' from the cup and rolled it in for a birdie.
Any round involving 3 par or better holes is good. Any round involving a birdie is great. I am not a good enough golfer to prefer score over the occasional birdie.
So now I am feeling great. I have had a great round. 9th hole, 292 yards and I blasted the driver, landing maybe 10 yards from the green. If that 280 yard drive is not the longest, most accurate I have ever had it is certainly in the conversation.
Aw yeah, golf. The game where if you are having a bad round, just wait for the last two holes and it will give you something to keep you coming back.
So from about 10 yards off, I initially just wanted to get it on the green. Then I thought, why waste such a great drive? I want to get this close. I lined my bump carefully, stuck it, and...
That is my second ever eagle.
Ah yeah, it was a great nine holes, a legit 43. Okay, so it is par 34 which means that is bogey golf. But it is legit bogey golf...no mulligans, counting every shot, re-teeing lost drives. Plus, I played it in an hour, there is nobody else on the course, I have unlimited golf...I am going to play 18.
This time my 7 wood is true, middle of the fairway though short...about 180 yards. From 180 out I try my gap wedge and drop the ball front left of the green. A nice easy 2-putt. The back starts off with a par.
Back to the 178. I decide to try my 3 iron since I was just short on the front. For the first time all day I go right...and about 80- yards, Another lost ball (it is in somebodys back yard I think).
Re-tee...straight down the middle. About 50 yards. The 3-iron is not good...My 8-iron actually gets me on the green in 4, which considering where I was after 3 is not good, but a 2-putt means I doubled par. Not a good hole.
My 7 wood I hit a worm burner to about 125 yards. Out comes the 9 iron...which I blade so badly the ball ricochets through the sand trap at the back of the green and checks up in the grass on the back lip. Out of the sand at least. I bump and run across the sand trap with my 8 iron, not trusting the sand wedge flop shot. That leaves me a long putt which I lag well and finish in 5. Could have been much worse than a bogey.
My rescue wedge puts me pin high left of the green on the 196 yard hole. Better choice than the 3 iron, clearly. I mis-hit the first chip, second one gets me a makeable but tough putt which I miss. A 4. I am okay with a bogey.
Back to the hole that caught me last time, the tight right side needing to get in the air. I club down to the 9 iron, tee up on the extreme left of the box and try to shape my shot to a fade. Believe it or not...I succeed and land about 20 ' past the flag on the green. It did what I tried, looked great, as did my lag to get close and easy finish for a par.
Now for the toughest hole. 7 wood I strike well and true, it is fading but beyond the last trees. From the tee box I figure I hit about a 230 yard drive with it and am ecstatic.
Until I get to the ball and it is at the 150 yard marker...a hundred yards short of where I thought it was. I was so sure I had seen it land beyond the furthest tree and it was 5 trees back. Then I hit my 8 iron about 170 yards, had to pitch back onto the green and another 2-putt for bogey. Oops.
This time on the par 5 I pulled out my 7 wood. No more driver. I figured a 200 yard drive would put me about the 150 marker. I hit my second shot from the center of the fairway about 2 yards inside the 150 yard marker. My towering 8 iron landed on the green on the far right. On in 2. Nice. I then left the first putt about 10 feet short and the 2nd putt about 6 feet short. That was not exemplary. Still, I made the par. Much better than the snowman the first time around.
Emboldened, I whipped out the driver. About 250 yards this time but it definitely had a fade and was on the far right. Pitch, 2-putt, par. I now have 4 pars on the back, 6 pars, a birdie and an eagle with one to go.
Juiced up, I slice the driver for the first time all day. It is about 50 yards from the green but in the first fairway. I try a soft sand wedge but take a huge divot. Another soft sand wedge leaves me short right. An 8-iron puts me about a foot from the cup and I finish with a bogey, giving me a 41 on the back.
That gives me an 84 for the round. Par is 68. That means I played 2 shots better than bogey golf. You will never hear me complain about that.
Even better, only about 5 holes had light rain, I played it in 2 hours and was home by 6:15. What a wonderful day. Oh, and an 84 is my lowest score my 4 strokes ever. Admittedly this was a softer course...but I am happy.
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