Course: Chesapeake Golf Club (Home Course)
Date: November 1, 2021
Time: 8:00 AM
Conditions: 52* warming up to 62* as I played
WITB:
Ping G425 LST 9* (turned to 8*) with Diamana D+ 60X
Ping G400 Stretch 3W 13* (turned to 12.5*) with Diamana D+ 70X
Taylormade SIM2 Max 4W 16.5* with Mitsubishi MMT 70TX
Srixon ZX5/ZX7 Combo irons 4-PW; +3/4” 2* Up; KBS Ctaper Lite X-Stiff
Mizuno MP T20 50, 54, 58 Wedges with DG Tour Issue S400
Odyssey Toulon Las Vegas H7 36”
All data and screenshots below are done using the V1 Game app. Grab the app today and start shooting lower scores today!
Monday mornings are likely going to be my new best chance to play golf with my wife moving to a new work schedule. The craziness of the week hasn’t fully started….my MBA homework will have been turned in on Sunday evening, no regularly scheduled meetings on Mondays….great way to start a week if you ask me! Hopped out this morning and with the cool temps (in the low 50s when I teed off), the place was a ghost town. Just like I like it!
Hole #1
This was the first time I was playing my home course in a month, which is hard to believe. Schedule and course traffic have just not allowed me to get on at Chesapeake so I’ve been out at Battlefield primarily. It was good to be back home playing this course. Chad, the GM, is an awesome guy and a friend…he told me he’d hired a new director to run all the course maintenance and that he thought the course would be in good shape. He was definitely right! Greens were immaculate. Love to see it!
You know the drill here….no drivers on the range, and I didn’t hit any balls this time, so a couple warm up swings on the tee box and away we go. Piped this little butter cut driver just up the left side fading back to the middle. Didn’t really go after it, but loved the result. With the cold weather and no warm up swings, I decided to club up here and hit PW instead of gap wedge. It turned out to be the right club. I flew it about hole high, stopping just 10 feet away. Thought I’d made the birdie putt, but it just missed on the low side for a tap-in, opening par. Let’s go!
Score: E (E)
Hole #2
This was a tough tee shot today as the sun was directly in my eyes. I committed to a line up the left side, knowing I could cut it back and hoping against the double cross. I piped this one right up the left with a little fade again. I couldn’t see it off the face, but as I squinted through the sun, I saw it fall right into the center of the fairway. Again, I clubbed up, hitting PW instead of gap here, and again it was the right move. The ball landed and spun back just a bit, leaving me 25 feet short of the cup but on the green with a good line. I hit a great putt but it just ran out of pace a couple inches from the hole. Another Par. Solid start!
Score: E (E)
Hole #3
Three Pitching Wedges in 3 holes? Yep! Hit this one good, but the ball was just not flyin in the cold air. Probably should have clubbed up here, but I have scar tissue from hitting too much club on this hole and ending up back near or in the street behind the green. Hit a decent splash out bunker shot and had 25 feet down the hill for par. I hit a good putt, and left it just about a foot short, tapping in for bogey. First square on the card, but on the whole I’m hitting it well at this point, so I’m feeling good.
Score: +1 (+1)
Hole #4
Ah number 4…the old quirky mcquirkerson….I hit 8 iron here to guarantee I didn’t mess with the water. I hit it flush, but I’d taken too much speed off, and in the cold, wet weather, it came up much shorter than I am used to. I had 215 to the flag, 200 to the front, and grabbed 6i thinking I might get a jumper out of the rough. It did jump, but not as much as I wanted it to. It settled just off the front of the green. I pitched it up with a gap wedge and gave it a good run, but it ran past the cup and settled about 21 feet away. The first putt curled away from the cup and I had 2 feet for bogey. My only thought was ‘back of the cup,’ and I drilled it right in the middle. Another square, but honestly didn’t hit it terribly. Need to find a consistent, aggressive approach to this hole.
Score: +1 (+2)
Hole #5
Make it four PW in 5 holes! Flushed this one, but there was a little wind above the trees that I couldn’t feel from the tee box and it came up short, settling on the front of the green. I had 54 feet, but hit a perfect lag putt, finishing just 2 feet from the cup. The goal is always par on the Par 3s unless we run into a ‘happy accident,’ and make birdie. I was reminded of that last week, and this was a great example. Just make par and move along. There will be birdie chances.
Score: E (+2)
Hole #6
Took a different approach to number 6 today. Pulled 4i and hit a solid shot. It just kicked down to the left, but off the face it was on a good line, and if it had cut at all like I hoped, I’d have been in great shape. I was on an iffy lie from some crab grass and there was wind into me, so I just hit 4i again and wanted to get it across the water safely. The ball squirted a little and hit the face of a hill on the right, rolling back down toward the water. Not a great shot, but I took enough club that even a not-so-great shot would be safe across the water.
I had an uphill lie in the rough, and I’ll admit, that shot is a struggle for me. I either scoop it and throw it way up in the air, or stab it with the leading edge. Today was a hybrid of both. I stabbed it into the slope, but the ball jumped up high and kinda dead, coming up short of the green. I grabbed my 54* and hit a wedge hole high that released past the cup. I hit a good putt on a perfect line, but I didn’t hit it. It settled about a foot from the cup but right in the heart. If I’d have hit it, I’d have made it. Another bogey…should make par at worst on this hole.
Score: +1 (+3)
Hole #7
The tee box was way over, so I had no look at the green. I’ve taken driver up over the trees here and been totally fine before, but today just didn’t feel like that was the move with the ball not flying. I aimed out further right than I normally do, and hit kind of a spinny cutty 3w that settled just off the fairway. Not a terrible shot, just not my normal drive right at the flag. It left me a great angle in and I threw my 58* wedge to 6 feet. Never in question…’back of the cup’ was my mantra again and I knocked it in the heart for a birdie. Got one back, let’s go!
Score: -1 (+2)
Hole #8
Flushed a pitching wedge into a slight breeze here, and it almost worked out perfectly. This is a two-tiered green and the flag was sitting up top. I hit the ball in the middle of the slope, and it spun back down to the flat tier in the front. I had 54 feet up the slope, and lagged it to 2 feet. Another kick-in par. I’ll take those all day long. If that tee shot landed about 2 feet longer, it rolls out and sits right near the hole. That’s golf!
Score: E (+2)
Hole #9
The right side of this hole is an absolute ball magnet. Doesn’t matter what club is in my hand, the balls just wants to go right. The tee box slopes a bit right and everything ends up in the trees or yards to the right. And that’s not just for me. Anybody who plays here says the same thing. I decided on 4i and ripped it up the left, cutting it back to the middle/right portion of the fairway. 6i came up JUST short of the green and I had a great look up a slope to the flag for my 3rd. I hit a great chip and I thought it might actually go, but it kicked out and rolled up the slope behind the hole. 11 feet down the hill was not fun. I couldn’t be too aggressive or it would roll all the way off, so I trickled one down to a couple inches and tapped in for bogey.
Score: +1 (+3)
Hole #10
Hole 10 is kind of a mess at the tee box right now. They’re trying to regrow some grass, and I had to move around to find a place I could hit a decent shot from. I ripped 4i up the middle and had 230 in on this shortish par 5. There’s a lot of trouble up around the green here, so while 4w would have gotten me home, I opted instead for a PW right up the middle and then a lob wedge from 100 yards. I came up just short after my wedge hit the green and spun back into the fringe. I took putter from the fringe and rolled it to 6 feet, but again I was putting downhill with some slope. I gave it a good run, and again thought it might fall, but it wasn’t meant to be. Tap-in bogey. Yuck. Startin to move in the wrong direction here…
Score: +1 (+4)
Hole #11
Funny little scenario here….the guy in front of my finished while I was on the 10th green, but as I grabbed 8i and stepped onto the tee box, there was another cart that had pulled around and parked near the green and out of the cart stepped a man in a full wet suit. He stood by hands on hips as I hit my tee ball. I hit a good 8i that stopped on the front of the green. 7i was the club to get the ball to the hole, but honestly anything long and left of the green can end up in the the street. Everything runs down hard away from the green, so I was a club short, but put a good swing on it and hit it well. I still had a long way to the cup, but hit another solid lag putt to 3 feet. ‘Back up the cup…’ bang. Par. Love it!
Score: E (+4)
Hole #12
I usually send driver up the left on this hole, but where the tee box was today and the trees overhanging off the right I just didn’t love the look of it. I still should have hit it, but I pulled 3w and hit a wipey fade up onto a hill in the rough on the right. I hit a good PW that came up just short of the green. Another one where I failed to club up…I did so well early and then kind of lost the ability to take an extra club. I hit a perfect 50* wedge that I really thought was going in, but it lipped out and rolled up the hill behind the cup to six feet. Another one I couldn’t be aggressive with, so I trickled it down and it stopped on the edge. Tap-in bogey. Shoulda hit it longer from the tee. Bottom line.
Score: +1 (+5)
Hole #13
I took a good line on this hole and hit a great 4i that just settled in the rough around the corner. I was a little worried about a jumper out of the rough, but hit a good wedge that flew just short of the hole and spun back just a bit. I had 39 feet up the hill to the back flag, and hit yet another lag putt to 6 feet. Knee-knocker here, but rolled it right in the heart! I didn’t make any long putts today, but I made a lot of mid-range putts to keep the round going and keep squares off the card.
Score: E (+5)
Hole #14
This is one of the hardest tee decisions on the course for me. Driver is too long and can bring trouble into play, and everything feeds right toward the cart path and OB. I actually hit an alright 4i here but as I mentioned, it hit in the first cut and kicked toward the path. I was ok, but had to hit a low punchy 6i back out into the fairway to avoid the overhanging trees. Not gettin home in 2 here anyway, so no big deal.
The punched 6i came out a little warm and ran through the fwy, settling on a hill, so I didn’t do myself any favors. I had 210 to the stick and grabbed 5i, but the contact was poor and the ball came out low and left of my target, just stopping short in the fairway. Not great, but from that lie, it would have had to be perfect contact. Up and down for par was the plan but my wedge was tugged a yard or two left and rolled off the green to the fringe pin high. I grabbed putter, told myself to lag it to a couple feet, and then…..suddenly…BANG! A Happy accident! Not a birdie, but a 35 foot putt from the fringe that dropped to save par and totally flip the momentum was HUGE!
Score: E (+5)
Hole #15
I grabbed 4w here and told myself to just let it rip. I was going to aim up the left and let it cut back to the fairway, and if it stayed left and went in the water, so be it, I’d take my drop and go on, but I didn’t want to swing scared. I hit the most perfect 4w cut that started exactly on my line and faded back to the middle of the fairway. I had 238 to the flag, and the ball was sitting on a slight upslope. I thought about hitting 4i over the water and trying to throw a wedge close, but then I decided against it. I hadn’t hit the 4w off the deck since I bought it, and I wanted to see what it could do. I choked down an inch or so to account for the lie, and hit a perfect high bomb right at the right edge of the green. From where I was, the ball disappeared, and I was afraid maybe I’d hit it over the back of the green, but either way, I was happy with the swing and contact and had a chance to hit my 3rd shot onto the green…..or so I thought!
When I drove up to the green, I grabbed my wedge and putter and headed toward the back, but quickly realized, my ball was on the green and it had only disappeared behind a slope guarding the front of the green. I was just past the hole, about 24 feet to the right, with a putt for eagle! I hit a good putt, but misread it just a bit, and it turned more left than I thought it would. 2 foot tap-in for birdie! Let’s go! That was another ‘Happy Accident!’ We like those!!
Score: -1 (+4)
Hole #16
Toughest par 3 on the course here, and primarily because of length. The hole is all there in front of you. Nothing quirky and not a ton of trouble, but just a long iron shot to a sloping green. My miss here is usually left when I overswing. Today, I decided to grab 5i and trust a baby cut, and I absolutely flushed it. When I hit it, I actually said out loud, ‘Oh don’t go in when there’s nobody here to see it!’ and then followed that up with ‘Get in the hole!’ when I saw it land a foot or two from the cup.
No wonder the ball didn’t listen….it was confused!
Either way, I hit the shot of the day right here, leaving myself a kick in for back-to-back birdies. Massive momentum changer!
So close! New Srixon ZX5 long irons are ridiculous, by the way. LOVE THEM!
Score: -1 (+3)
Hole #17
I came to 17 riding high and feeling like if I could rip off another birdie or two, I would shoot my lowest round ever. I forgot, after a month off, that Chesapeake is actually Par 71, and not Par 70 like I was thinkin, but either way I was feeling good after the double birds coming in. I ripped driver here up the left hoping for a cut, but it just didn’t cut. It wasn’t a bad ball, but it clipped a branch on the left and kicked down into the rough. I had 9iron in, but not a great lie. There was some pinestraw around the ball and I hit it good, but just a little short. It settled just off the fringe. I hit a great pitch to 4 feet and buried the putt for another par. These little kick-in putts are the way to do it. Who wants all those 40 foot lag putts? Not I!
Score: E (+3)
Hole #18
I came to 18 looking to bust driver at the big tree on the left and leave myself a short wedge in, but it looked like they were giving the back teebox a breather and the blue tees were moved up a bit. I grabbed 3w and hit a big high cut over the bunker leaving myself just 64 yards to the flag, with what I thought at the time was a chance for birdie and 72. In reality, birdie would had gotten me 73, but I mean, who’s counting right…? I hit a good wedge, but just didn’t give it enough, and it spun back a bit leaving me 21 feet up the hill for birdie.
I hit such a good putt and I thought it was in, but it hit the hole and power-lipped out the back. One more tap-in par to close the day. Man, birdie would have been awesome, but par aint bad! I realized at this point, I overshot the score by one, but I also realized I shot even par 37 on the back! Strong finish to say the least!
Score: E (+3)
Total Score: 74 (+3)
I didn’t feel like I hit driver/3w great all day, and I came up short a couple times, but directionally and as far as trusting my shot shapes, this was maybe the most control I’ve ever felt over the golf ball. I looked at my target, saw the shot in my head, and hit the shot. A few mistakes, but like I have to keep reminding myself, that’s just golf.
It was a great round of golf and I’m proud of the way I hung in there and fought to get back after a string of bogeys. I was never really in danger, played the same ball the whole round, and honestly missed 4 putts on the edge, so it could have been a REALLY low one. There’s no question for me, the birdies are nice, especially when you’ve made a couple bogeys, but the biggest change in my game and scoring has been bogey avoidance. Being able to put 4 or 5 pars on the card on each side really limits the damage and keeps the round moving in the right direction.
Potential for this round shows 73, and I shot 74, so as Tiger would say, I got almost everything out of the round that I could have. That is new for me for sure!
THREE KEYS BREAKDOWN:
Penalties: Nothing to report today. NO PENALTIES! Let’s go!
2-Chips: Only 1 today. Pretty sure it was the missed green on 14, which I proceeded to hole out with putter, so honestly….who cares!
Three-Putts: Nothing to report today! ZERO 3-putts. Like I said, I didn’t make a bunch of longish putts, but I didn’t miss many easy ones either. Lag putts gave me a good chance, and I cleaned up nicely inside of 6 feet.
Current Handicap: 8.5 (Going to ??)
After a couple rounds in the low 80s, the cap jumped back up to 85 I assume this will knock it back down somewhere in the 8.1 range. I realized last week how tough it is to keep a handicap low. The fact guys are + handicaps for months and years at a time is honestly mind blowing.
Scorecard/Heat Map:
10 GIR is solid. 31 putts is meh…especially with a zero putt. Not a lot of dark red on the card, but a little more than I’d like. That said, I’m not here to complain about 74. I’m thrilled to death with it!