One Bad Bounce
This weekend was an odd one. I guess the week was an odd one given my ace. I re-focused on poker a bit which is good and I felt rather good coming into the weekend for golf.
After a little 9 hole round with Matt after work on Friday (he missed a short putt on the last hole for a tie on a dinner-bet -- it was ugly to watch so I didn't feel great about winning the bet that way but the food was solid). I was like 39 or so, nothing good.
Saturday morning started out weird and got weirder. The front nine I had 2 doubles and 2 X's (did not finish the hole for various reasons) which are counted as doubles for handicap reasons. I had no bogeys otherwise just pars. I then opened the back nine with bogey, double to slide to +11 then played the rest of the round 2 under. At least, I think that's how it went. Shot an 81. Just weird, lots of doubles and X's.
Sunday was the day of the mens tour event. I felt pretty good playing my home course for this one and went to the range to warm up a bit before the tee time. Everything was OK there, but unfortunately I opened +2 thru 2 while getting used to the super crazy awesome greens. Fortunately I held off the bogeys the rest of the front and finished in 38.
The back nine opened well with a birdie on 10 followed by ho-hum par on 11 then a 3-putt bogey on 12 from my tee shot landing in the 'wrong spot'. The very tough 13th tee shot confounded me again and I ended up 205 away in the rough with a view of the green on a downhill lie. I hit a screaming 3i that ended up on the left of the green, made the chip and putt. The 14th I hit it safe and made a nice 2-putt for par. The 15th my 2nd shot approaching the par 5 scooted right behind some trees. I hit a great 9i over a massive tree and onto the green and scooted away with a par.
At this point I was holding +2. That's a fair score but not going to win as far as I was concerned so I wanted a birdie on the 15 or 16th to leave some breathing room on the 17th which is a tough par 3. My tee shot on 16 was left. At first I thought it was in the fescue but I found the ball on the side of the hill in reasonable shape. From 240 I hit a 9 iron down as normal...
wait... wtf... GET DOWN... damn ball was drifting... GET THE HELL DOWN... the ball sailed... it bounced off the hard turf and one-hopped into the creek by the right bridge. I was sort of in shock, thinking I played it perfectly and having this happen. I went down to take a look for the ball and we found it had jumped over to the far bank and was right beside a big group of tulips (I think) in the hazard -- very playable but a gamble since the flower plant would surely stop my club right after hitting the ball. I briefly considered taking it out and dropping to the other side but reminded myself that I was not contending if I go up a shot -- gamble it was. My ball shot out right and into the long fescue on a hill. DAMN. From here I hit the ball into the right bunker, then skulled the ball out of the bunker (my recent bunker habit -- needs to be fixed) over the green. Chipped on and made the putt for 7. That hurts, a double. Now i'm really screwed score wise and my mind has gone away ...
#17 I was sort of in shock on the tee, but made a good swing and pulled the ball mightily -- something I had not done in a long time. I ended up near the 2nd tee above the bunker on this par 3. My pitch shot was supposed to run all the way down the hill blind and roll smoothly onto the green, but got caught near the bottom. I could not get up and down and made my 2nd double in a row, annihilating any hopes for my round i worked for.
I played #18 relatively well, made a chip and putt par to shoot 78. Disappointment wasn't the word. Turns out that +2 score would have tied for the win should I have brought it all the way in, and +3 would have been alone in 2nd. +4 would have tied for 3rd... sigh... T7th it is.
I can't say I played all that badly, but all it took was that sailing 9 iron and one bad bounce to turn wine into water. I hope I can play better in the next events and hold it together. So far the Toastinator has really underperformed in tour events and I'm pretty upset about it.
Sounds like Matt had a similar round and flopped as well, beat me by a stroke though. He therefore stays ahead of me in the overall -- we'll have to try and change that.
After a little 9 hole round with Matt after work on Friday (he missed a short putt on the last hole for a tie on a dinner-bet -- it was ugly to watch so I didn't feel great about winning the bet that way but the food was solid). I was like 39 or so, nothing good.
Saturday morning started out weird and got weirder. The front nine I had 2 doubles and 2 X's (did not finish the hole for various reasons) which are counted as doubles for handicap reasons. I had no bogeys otherwise just pars. I then opened the back nine with bogey, double to slide to +11 then played the rest of the round 2 under. At least, I think that's how it went. Shot an 81. Just weird, lots of doubles and X's.
Sunday was the day of the mens tour event. I felt pretty good playing my home course for this one and went to the range to warm up a bit before the tee time. Everything was OK there, but unfortunately I opened +2 thru 2 while getting used to the super crazy awesome greens. Fortunately I held off the bogeys the rest of the front and finished in 38.
The back nine opened well with a birdie on 10 followed by ho-hum par on 11 then a 3-putt bogey on 12 from my tee shot landing in the 'wrong spot'. The very tough 13th tee shot confounded me again and I ended up 205 away in the rough with a view of the green on a downhill lie. I hit a screaming 3i that ended up on the left of the green, made the chip and putt. The 14th I hit it safe and made a nice 2-putt for par. The 15th my 2nd shot approaching the par 5 scooted right behind some trees. I hit a great 9i over a massive tree and onto the green and scooted away with a par.
At this point I was holding +2. That's a fair score but not going to win as far as I was concerned so I wanted a birdie on the 15 or 16th to leave some breathing room on the 17th which is a tough par 3. My tee shot on 16 was left. At first I thought it was in the fescue but I found the ball on the side of the hill in reasonable shape. From 240 I hit a 9 iron down as normal...
wait... wtf... GET DOWN... damn ball was drifting... GET THE HELL DOWN... the ball sailed... it bounced off the hard turf and one-hopped into the creek by the right bridge. I was sort of in shock, thinking I played it perfectly and having this happen. I went down to take a look for the ball and we found it had jumped over to the far bank and was right beside a big group of tulips (I think) in the hazard -- very playable but a gamble since the flower plant would surely stop my club right after hitting the ball. I briefly considered taking it out and dropping to the other side but reminded myself that I was not contending if I go up a shot -- gamble it was. My ball shot out right and into the long fescue on a hill. DAMN. From here I hit the ball into the right bunker, then skulled the ball out of the bunker (my recent bunker habit -- needs to be fixed) over the green. Chipped on and made the putt for 7. That hurts, a double. Now i'm really screwed score wise and my mind has gone away ...
#17 I was sort of in shock on the tee, but made a good swing and pulled the ball mightily -- something I had not done in a long time. I ended up near the 2nd tee above the bunker on this par 3. My pitch shot was supposed to run all the way down the hill blind and roll smoothly onto the green, but got caught near the bottom. I could not get up and down and made my 2nd double in a row, annihilating any hopes for my round i worked for.
I played #18 relatively well, made a chip and putt par to shoot 78. Disappointment wasn't the word. Turns out that +2 score would have tied for the win should I have brought it all the way in, and +3 would have been alone in 2nd. +4 would have tied for 3rd... sigh... T7th it is.
I can't say I played all that badly, but all it took was that sailing 9 iron and one bad bounce to turn wine into water. I hope I can play better in the next events and hold it together. So far the Toastinator has really underperformed in tour events and I'm pretty upset about it.
Sounds like Matt had a similar round and flopped as well, beat me by a stroke though. He therefore stays ahead of me in the overall -- we'll have to try and change that.
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