Course: Battlefield Golf Course
Date: September 10, 2021
Time: 5:00 PM
Conditions:
75* & sunny. Perfect. (3rd round in a row with this incredible weather!)
After a disgusting ball-striking display on Wednesday morning, as soon as my son was picked up for his sleepover, I bolted for the golf course. I planned to play my home course, but they were hosting a charity tournament, so I returned to the site of the Wednesday morning approach/short game carnage and decided to just get back on the horse.
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 SIM Max 5W 18* with Mitsubishi HZRDUS Smoke Black 70 6.5
Mizuno JPX 921 Hot Metal 4-PW with KBS CTaper 130X + 3/4*; 2* Upright
Mizuno MP T20 50, 54, 58 Wedges with DG Tour Issue S400
Odyssey Toulon Las Vegas H7 36”
This review will be done in reverse with the back 9 first because that’s how the round was played. The course was just wrapping up a charity tournament of its own (more on that later), and carts had to be in by 7:15, so I had two hours and fifteen minutes to get in as much golf as possible. The good news was the course was pretty much emptying out after the tourney. They sent me off the back, and I joined with another younger guy who mentioned he was just starting to play golf again for the first time in about 10 years. He’d paid before me and we arrived at the tee box about the same time, so I could either wait for him and play behind or join, and I opted to join. Turned out to be a great kid, with lots of potential, but struggled mightily on the course. I decided to just stay relaxed and focused and concentrate on each shot trying to improve on the terrible ball-striking from earlier in the week.
Hole #10
No range time today, just a little stretching before I left the house, and a couple of dry swings on the tee box. No matter. I stepped up and obliterated this drive splitting the fairway and disappearing over the hill. 290 uphill on this hole is a bomb. Great start….I left myself a wedge in, and didn’t hit it terribly, but missed out on the toe and hooked it just left of the green. I hit a decent chip, but it didn’t take the slope and I had 15 feet for par. I trickled it to an inch and tapped in for bogey. “Here we go again,” I thought, with another missed green from inside 120 yards. Oh well…it happens…keep pushing!
Score: +1 (+1)
Hole #11
Tees were back a bit from Wednesday and wind was swirling, but I took 7i here and hit a high, piercing iron right out of the middle of the face directly over the flag. It was a little too much club, and it settled on the back fringe of the green. I hit a great little pitching wedge chip and it settled 2 feet from the cup. Tap-in par.
The guys I played with Wednesday morning happened to be on the tee box behind this hole and hollered down at me to say hello and ask how I was doing. Kind of cool to get that sort of welcome after only meeting them and playing in the Wednesday game once. We joked I was doing great because today my tee-ball was at least on the same planet as the green, and they went on their way.
Score: E (+1)
Hole #12
Solid drive here that came out just a little spinny, but was a perfect cut to the middle of the fairway. Wind was into me too, which didn’t help distance, but I left myself another wedge from the fairway, so I was thrilled with the tee shot. I hit a solid wedge that ended up releasing and stopping 40 feet from the cup. I had a slope to deal with and I left it too short. The par putt lipped out, and I made bogey. Not a bad hole, but 3 putts suck, and this should have been a par. Good drive, decent wedge. Gotta get down in two from 40 feet.
Score: +1 (+2)
Hole #13
Another Par 3 where I hit it off the planet last week, and another hole where today I absolutely flagged my tee shot. Unfortunately, the wind was with me, so I hit a higher lofted wedge here. Grabbed my 50* wedge and flushed it, but it landed about 10 yards on the green and spun back downhill and off the front. Missed GIR, but a solid tee shot. I grabbed PW and bumped it to 8 feet, and buried the putt in the heart. At this point, Wednesday felt like it was a year ago. I don’t even remember the feeling of hitting a ball off the END of the toe of my golf club…PAR felt good here.
Score: +E (+2)
Hole #14
I smoked this drive into the wind on a string and left myself a similar angle into the green as I had on Wednesday morning. I had 5i out of the rough and I hit it well, but I started it right of my intended target and it flew the clump of trees to the right, and bounced off the hills surrounding the green, settling about 25 yards from the stick. I couldn’t see it land from where I was, but knew I had hit it well and it was safe. I had a 25-yard chip to the green with mounds in front of me, and my mantra today around the green was “just get it on the green” or as Matt from Golf Sidekick says “GIOTG!” I hit a great pitch over the hill that bounced on the fringe and rolled to 12 feet. Buried it in the heart again for a birdie! Let’s go!
Score: -1 (+1)
Hole #15
The wind was dead into us here, and I grabbed 3w, but it jumped straight up into the air off the tee and hit a wind wall, falling out of the sky about 50 yards shorter than I’d hoped for. I wasn’t in a terrible spot, so a wedge and two putts here saw me walking away with par. Not a great hole, but it didn’t hurt me at all, and I was glad to hit the green with a wedge from 100. That needs to become a sure thing for me as I continue to improve.
Score: E (+1)
Hole #16
The guys in front of us waived us on here, which I never like (you’ll hear more about this later), but since I was the more experienced of the two of us, I grabbed my club and headed for the tee with confidence. I took one extra club to combat the wind in our face and I flushed a bullet 8i that ended up pin-high, about 20 feet left of the stick. Great iron swing. It was a pretty flat putt without a ton of break in it, and I decided I wasn’t going to leave it short. I picked a perfect line, hit it the perfect speed and it dropped right into the middle. Birdie! On a par 3….remember when we played the Par 3s in +7 this week? Yea, me neither!
Score: -1 (E)
Hole #17
I am the biggest dummy in the world. The tees were all moved up on this hole, making it an extremely short par 5. Instead of playing it safe and playing for a birdie up the left, I decided to be greedy and try to go at the green with a fade to the right flag. I knew I couldn’t get there, but I could get close and if I hit it well, it would give me an eagle chance. STUPID. I pushed the drive a little right, but from the forward tees the crap on the right is in play and we couldn’t find my ball. Luckily I was still within wedge range due to the shorter tees and I got down in 2 putts for a par. It didn’t really hurt me, but this is just another example of me being stupid off the tee occasionally. I didn’t need an eagle…but I went for it, and it almost cost me big time. I really thought I might find my ball, but it was nowhere to be seen. Oh well. Par and we go on.
Score: E (E)
Hole #18
I hit a pretty good drive here, but wind held it up and pushed it a little bit right. On 18, that right is the safe play and left me a good angle to the green. I was absolutely not going in this bunker again, so I hit a solid wedge that landed on the green and settled about 20 feet from the cup. I lipped out the birdie putt and tapped in for par. Even on the back 9! What a turn from just a couple days earlier!
My playing partner was heading home, but I had an hour and ten minutes left and knew I could get around if I played well. I headed to the first tee to see if I could keep the momentum going on the front side!
Score: E (E)
Hole #1
This drive was a carbon copy of the drive I hit to start the round on 10. Just absolutely blistered up over the hill. It disappeared out of sight, but I knew it was great and it would hit the slight fairway slope and settle in the fairway, which it did. I was still battling the wind a little bit, so I grabbed 9i from 150 and flew the ball just over the back of the green. I hit a neat little chip to 14 feet and had a decent look for birdie to start the back. The putt looked like it was going to drop but horse-shoed and stopped just on the left side of the cup. Tap in par…man, birdie would have been NICE here!
Score: E (E)
Hole #2
I don’t know why, but I decided this was the hole to give it the Bryson treatment and come out of my shoes swinging. I hit it hard, but it came out of the toe and started turning over a little left. Not a great swing or result. I got lucky that my ball ended up in the rough on a sidehill lie. Another 10 yards and it would have been wet. Not ideal. I grabbed 7i and choked down knowing the ball would come out low and hot and turn slightly right to left. It hit the slope in front of the green and just settled down short of the front of the green. My PW bump and run ran past the hole and I had 18 feet coming back. I trickled it down to the hole not wanting it to run by, and tapped in for bogey. Not a great tee ball and the result shows. Bogey and back to +1.
Score: +1 (+1)
Hole #3
I think I’ve mentioned this before…I know I said it earlier…I just always play poorly when someone waves me through. I try not to rush, but everything feels like it speeds up and I just always want to hit a great shot, but also be on my way. I was waived on by a guy sitting in the middle of the fairway…even worse. I didn’t want to hit a line drive and kill this man…so I aimed up the left and hoped for a cut that just never cut. The ball was smoked, but it headed into the pond on the left and I had to take a drop.
I grabbed a 9i with the ball above my feet, and I hit a little punch and run that settled just short of the green. I almost made the bump & run with the PW, but it ran out and got away from me. Then I left the bogey putt about 3 inches short. Tapped in for double. Gross. Should have aimed up the right, but I wasn’t thinking clearly when being waived on. Double….first one of the day.
Score: +2 (+3)
Hole #4
This is the hole where I bladed the PW 50 yards over the green on Wednesday. Today, I hit a high, flushed PW that landed nice and soft about 45 feet from the cup. I had a little bit of a hump between me and the hole, but I just saw the line and the only question was speed. It came off perfect and once it got to the top of the hump, it just began trickling down to the hole. I thought I might make it, but it settled about 6 inches away. Tap in par.
Score: E (+3)
Hole #5
I destroyed this drive exactly on the line I wanted. This is a weird hole because it runs down and away after the bunker and in dry conditions, sometimes it can actually run too far. I hit the longest drive of my life on this hole last spring (336 yards), so for a split second I was worried, but I saw it bounce and knew it would be ok. I had a great angle to a shallow green. It’s a little delicate because long is dead and short is wet, so I had to hit it well, and I did. I hit a great wedge to 7 feet, but the first putt slid by on the lip, just narrowly missing. Solid par that could very easily have been a birdie. Gotta convert these short ones when I get them.
Score: E (+3)
Hole #6
UGH. My nemesis hole. I stood up here determined not to go long and left like I did last time. Wind was slightly into me, but with the downhill, I think 9 was too much, so I hit a solid PW, but I started it right of my intended target and it headed into the water. I couldn’t believe it. I could have gone up and take my drop closer to the hole, but at that point, I was pretty much ready to go full Tin Cup and empty my bag if I needed to. Luckily I didn’t need to. I hit a beautiful high, cut PW that landed in the center of the green. I thought I made the putt for 4, but it slid by and I hit the 4 foot comebacker. Double. Yuck.
Score: +2 (+5)
Hole #7
After depositing a ball into the murky depths on Wednesday, I decided to take a different approach and hit 3w off the tee here. I absolutely nutted it on an aggressive line and it looked like I was going to be in great shape…unfortunately right behind the bunker where the ball landed, it slopes HARD to the right. The ball landed behind the bunker, but I watched it kick down and trickle down into the water. I felt good about the shot…but I need to find a reliable line and club for this hole. I know you can go way left of it, and I may end up having to go that route, but that makes it more difficult to score, and there’s still some risk if you miss the green long or right.
Anyway, I hit a good wedge to 15 feet and just left the putt about a foot short, tapping in for bogey. It was a decent bogey all things considered, but I gotta get the ball in the short stuff on this hole.
Score: +1 (+6)
Hole #8
The tees were up for the tournament here again, which was annoying. I didn’t love the angle here because from where I was hitting the sun was directly in my eyes, and everything up the left is hilly and you can’t see much. I opted to play out to the right, but pushed it even further right off the tee. I was safe and had a fine angle in, but not a great tee ball. I did have to clear a bunker, and out of the rough, wedge contact was just ok, but it covered the bunker, bounced on the front of the green and rolled out to about 30 feet from the stick. I lagged the first one close and tapped in for par. Ho hum. I’d liked to have seen a birdie here with it playing significantly shorter today, but pars are good.
Score: E (+6)
Hole #9
I came to the 9th, my final hole of the day, at +6, knowing I was basically guaranteed a round in the 70s, but REALLY wanting a birdie. I was looking right into the sun and the wind was in and off the right a bit, but I blistered this drive that cut directly to the right-center of the fairway and left me 70 yards to the green. I was still looking into the sun, but I had wedge in hand from the middle of the fairway, and I hit a great one, that hit and stopped 2 feet from the pin (pictured below).
Tapped in for birdie and a NEW PERSONAL BEST! 75. I suggested to a friend it should be a 75* with an asterisk because of the two tees that were moved up due to the tournament earlier in the day, but regardless, I played so much better than a few days earlier. I had 4 penalties, which I’m really not excited about, but only 1 of those shots was a really bad swing. The others either just missed or I just took too aggressive a line. Penalties are still the part of my game that I’m working to eradicate, but making 3 birdies (tying a personal best for me) offset the damage of a couple doubles.
After playing the Par 3s with zero GIR at +7 on Wednesday, they were played at +1. After having FIVE double-chips on Wednesday, I had ZERO double-chips today. I hit 10 GIR, which is also a record for me, and missed another couple by mere feet.
Score: -1 (+5)
Total Score: 75 (+5)
I changed my Strokes Gained comparison below to compare with a 5 HDCP golfer rather than 10 on the recommendation of a golfer or Reddit’s r/golf. Probably good advice. Comparing to a 10 made sense when I was an 11.6, but as a 9.5, I need to be comparing to the next goal.
It was a great afternoon of golf, and came at a great time following that frustrating 83 on Wednesday. I’m playing Monday with some buddies on a course I’m pretty unfamiliar with, and it will be interesting to see if my game is ready to travel yet. This course is pretty open, and though I haven’t needed a lot of room off the tee, knowing it’s there gives me great confidence to swing freely. Will report back after that, hopefully with some good news!