Course: Chesapeake Golf Club
Date: October 2, 2021
Time: 4:15 PM
Conditions: 65* & sunny - PERFECT!
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
Wilson Staff Utility 18* with HZRDUS Smoke 100 6.5
Mizuno JPX 921 Hot Metal 5-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”
After coaching my 6-8 yr old coach pitch team to a dominant 25-3 victory this morning, and basking in the glow of my Georgia Bulldogs dismantling of the media darling #8 Arkansas Razorbacks, I was prepared to settle into an evening of MBA homework, but my mom asked if my son could come over early to spend the night, so I instantly bolted for the course hoping that it wouldn’t be busy. There were a few groups out, but it was early twilight golf and it was awesome. I jumped on the first tee, took a few warmup swings and I was off!
Hole #1
Ya know…it’s funny. I can hit 285-300 yard bombs all day, but without fail on this first hole, which is a straight down the pipe longish par 4, I’m guaranteed to only hit it about 265. Not sure why other than I’m rarely warmed up when I get to this hole as I’ve mentioned before. At any rate, I blasted this one but blocked it just out right a bit. I was fine, but had a couple tall trees blocking me out about 50-60 yards in front of me. I hoisted a PW up over the trees and landed it about pin high, but a good bit left of the flag. I had 50 feet for birdie with some downhill and a little left to right in it. I trickled the lag putt to about 4 feet and knocked in the par putt for a solid start.
Score: E(E)
Hole #2
I crushed this 3w. I’ve overcooked a couple of draws on this hole, so I aimed up the right, and this thing flew the trees on the right side. Not a fairway hit, but also not a bad shot because I was inside 100 yards with a wide-open look at the green. I hit a great wedge just past the flag that released down a slope, leaving me 36 feet for birdie. I hit a decent putt, but it ran 5 feet by and I missed the comebacker for an early, ugly 3-putt bogey.
Score: +1 (+1)
Hole #3
The wind was helping when I got to #3, so I knew PW was gonna put me in the street. I opted instead for 50* wedge and caught it a groove low. It came out a little lower and hotter than I intended and it hit the green, and released into the back fringe. 166 yard gap wedge isn’t ideal, but it was just not a great strike and the wind exacerbated the problem. I hit a chip that scared the hole, and rolled by to about 18 feet. I babied the first putt leaving it short by a couple inches, and tapping in for bogey. This hole is always tougher than it should be for me.
Score: +1 (+2)
Hole #4
I know, I know….I should hit driver here….I just wish I could show you how uninviting the tee shot looks from the box. I hit a little 3/4 8iron here to a perfect spot and left myself a 5i into the green. I hit it well, but the wind knocked it down just at the base of a hill on the fringe. I popped a 58* up over the hill and the ball settled 8 feet from the cup. I rolled it right up the hill and in the cup for a par saver.
Score: E (+2)
Hole #5
I thought this PW was going in the hole as soon as I hit it. It took off high and straight and never left the flag. It felt like it was in the air forever and it flew right over the flag, stopping 9 feet from the cup. There wasn’t much in the putt, and I made sure to get it to the hole. Dropped right in the middle. Great birdie!
Score: -1 (+1)
Hole #6
This hole has eaten my lunch the last 5 times I’ve played it. I always go left because right is OB and I really can hit it through this fairway really easily. Nevertheless, I was determined not to go left today, so I pulled 2i and hit it up the center-right, but as I was afraid, it bounced in the fairway and ran down the hill, across the cart path and settling in the rough just short of the OB markers. I punched an 8 iron down toward the water and left myself about 245 into the green over water. It’s an intimidating shot because it plays uphill from the fairway and there’s OB on both sides. I hit a perfect 5W that took off high and straight and landed on the green pin-high and 30 feet out to the right. It was an awesome shot and I needed it badly after having to punch out for my second shot. I hit a PERFECT putt that hit a bump about 3 or 4 inches in front of the cup and just moved left of the cup. I thought it was going in but just missed it. Tapped in for par, which was a great result considering I had to lay up to 245 with my 2nd.
Score: E (+1)
Hole #7
The tee boxes on 7 were way left, so the green was completely blocked out by the trees. I didn’t feel like driver was the play today with the tee placement, so I opted for 3w instead, thinking I’d hit it at the right edge and come up short of everything and keep me in play for a short wedge. I grabbed the strong 3W and hit a high bomb just over the edge of the trees that looked like it was turning over a touch, but I couldn’t see where it came down. I headed to the other side of the water and was driving up the tree line because I didn’t see the ball and wondered if maybe it turned over more than I thought. I looked up, and was shocked to see the ball about a foot in the fringe pin-high. The ball had pitched on the green and kicked just left. A 286 yard carry according to the GPS and a perfect look at eagle. I hit a good putt, but it moved more left than I thought it would. Tapped in for birdie to get back to Even through seven holes. WHAT?!?
Score: -1 (E)
Hole #8
Short little par 3 always plays tougher than I think it should. I hit a decent gap wedge here, but it was into the wind, so it came up a little short, and it hit and rolled back to the very front of the green. When it settled, I was 70 feet from the cup, with a big uphill putt with some right to left movement. I thought only about speed and not really trying to make it. I hit a great lag putt that stopped about 3 feet from the cup. I tapped in for par. Big 2 putt from that distance to keep me level.
Score: E (E)
Hole #9
I swear there is a ball magnet in the trees on the right of #9 fairway. No matter what I’m shooting, how I’m hitting it, or what my score is, when I get to 9, I could aim left, and inevitably the ball will leak to the right. I hit a strong 5w, but pushed it a bit right and it leaked into the top of the trees. I was hoping I’d find it, because I didn’t want to go over par because of a lost ball. In fact, I found my ball and had a perfect window toward the green so I could take a full swing instead of a punch. I rarely hit good shots out of mulch/pinestraw, but I was committed to swinging easy but making sure I stayed down through it, and I hit a great 6i that flew high and landed just on the left fringe of the green pin high. This green is like carnival golf with a ton of slope and bends. I rolled a putt from the fringe that rolled down to 4 feet and knocked in the par for the first even par 9 holes of my life! HUGE. Now I had to play 18 no questions asked!
Score: E (E)
Hole #10
I hit a great 2i right down the shoot here, which is big because this is a tough fairway to hit. There are trees that overhang on the left, and anything right slopes down and away from the fairway. Being in the short grass here on a short par 5 is a big key because it’s a mid-iron in with a good tee ball. I had 199 to the flag, but did not want to be long, so I pulled 6i and flushed it high and straight to the left of the flag. Another pin-high iron shot. Who am I?!? I had 27 feet for eagle, but never really gave it a chance. It missed on the low side and I tapped in the 2 footer for birdie. Here we go!
Score: -1 (-1)
Hole #11
Not a bad swing here, but I think I was aimed wrong. The ball started right of my target line and hopped into the greenside bunker. I had a decent lie in the bunker, but it was on a slight side slope. I splashed out but the ball checked more than I wanted it to and I took 2 putts to get down, ultimately tapping in a 2 footer for bogey. Gave that birdie right back….
Score: +1 (E)
Hole #12
I pumped this drive, but caught it just a bit on the toe and turned it over a little bit. It was killed and left me a short wedge in from a great angle. I grabbed 58*, hit a great wedge that flew over the green and spun back settling 12 feet from the cup. The putt was downhill so I was a little scared of it, but I saw a good line, started it on that line, and the ball dropped in the cup. Got the birdie back!
Score: -1 (-1)
Hole #13
Perfect 2i here that took a great line and cut just around the corner, leaving me another short wedge into the green from the fairway. It couldn’t have been a better tee shot. I threw another 58* wedge in there, but left it just out to the right. I had 24 feet and hit a great putt that just stayed outside the cup and settled a couple feet from the hole. Tapped in for par.
Score: -1 (-1)
Hole #14
Another tough hole here that I’ve historically played poorly. I left the face a bit open on this 2i, but it was hit well and just started right of my intended target but didn’t bend at all. I had to punch back out to the fairway because there were trees blocking my way. I hit a good punch and left myself a good angle in, but it settled down in the rough just a bit. It came out low and hot….perhaps one of my worst swings of the day, and it flew low and right, over the bunker and settled in the fringe right of the green. I hit a good pitch shot that released past the hole and left me 34 feet. I hit a good putt, but didn’t get it to the hole. I tapped in from 6 inches for bogey. Missed opportunity here.
Score: +1 (E)
Hole #15
This shot cost me an under-par round. I firmly believe it. I pulled 5w here and hit a long, high bomb with a little draw on it. The problem is, I was aimed up the left, and the ball turned over into the water. The problem is I don’t TOTALLY know my consistent shot shape with the 5w yet since it’s still relatively new to the bag. It wasn’t a hook, it wasn’t even a big pull. It was a good shot, but I just picked a bad target. Like many holes at Chesapeake, the problem is right is OB, so I tend to shy away from that and as a result my miss can tend to be left. I could have dropped where my ball went in, but I was determined to hit the shot the hole demanded, so I reloaded from the tee and hit a bomb up the right side.
I had 254 to the stick into the wind and over water. I wasn’t sure I could get there with 5w, but 3w was too much and 2i was not enough. I flushed a 5w high at the left of the green, and it came up just a few yards short, settling in the short rough. It was a good shot, but I was slightly short-sided, so I had to pop a 58* up in the air and flop it down just on the edge of the green. I hit a good shot and it ran by, and I hit the 10 footer for bogey. Good bogey after then penalty ball, but not great to give one back here.
Score: +1 (+1)
Hole #16
This is just a tough par 3. It’s long and narrow and the green is elevated, so it can be tough to get it close. I yanked this 5i just left of the green, pretty close to hole-high. I hit a great chip with my 50* that rolled out exactly like I imagined it, but my first putt from 12 feet lipped out. I was not happy. Bogey, bogey, bogey….no bueno!
Score: +1 (+2)
Hole #17
I stood on 17 tee and told myself I was going to at least give myself birdie chances on 17 & 18. I was playing too well and I wasn’t having any more bogeys. Three in a row was plenty. I rehearsed my driver swing, stepped up, and reproduced the exact swing I’d been practicing. The ball took off long, high and straight, and sailed into the sunset sky. It was actually pretty beautiful, wish I had a pick of that ball sailing through the pink/orange sky. At any rate, the ball was crushed and settled in the middle of the fairway 308 yards away. Melted. I hit a good 58* wedge, but it spun back a bit and I still had 35 feet for birdie. The putt had a bunch of break in it up a hill and I rolled it to about 3 feet, before tapping in for par. No birdie, but a solid par, and a great drive when I needed it.
Score: E (+2)
Hole #18
There’s a big tree left of the fairway that is a great aiming point for me. It’s just short left of the green, but a good drive with a slight fade leaves me in great shape just short of the tree with a great angle into the green. Well, tonight, I hit it TOO FAR and the ball settled in at the base of the tree.
Exhibit A:
I hit a great wedge out of the pine straw that landed on the green and released just to the fringe of the green. I couldn’t have done much more than I did from the base of the tree, so I was happy with the result. I had about 18 feet from the fringe, and I hit a good putt that ran through the fringe and settled about 1 foot from the cup for a tap-in par. I REALLY wanted birdie to finish on one of these holes, but back-to-back pars stopped the bleeding and it was a strong finish!
Score: E (+2)
Total Score: 73 (+2)
I think the driving statistic is a little off because I decided to hit 3 from the tee on #15 instead of taking my drop, but overall I drove it well. Assuming it’s more like neutral SG Driving, then looking at my Approach, Short Game & Putting all bein in the positive means this was a complete round from me, with every facet of the game working. That’s HUGE. 10 Greens in Regulation is a new record for me and made a big difference!
Nothing worse than bogey was big too, especially considering I had a penalty shot. Being able to hit it on or close to the green with my second shot on a couple of par 5s certainly helps!
This is a new personal best for me. My previous PB was 75, but this was 73 and could have been 70 legitimately. I like where my game is headed, but gotta keep grinding because I never know when it’s going away. Nice to do it at my home course, which is a tough driving course.
THREE KEYS BREAKDOWN:
Penalties: Not much to report here. This was way down from my average of 3 per round, which will always keep me from getting my handicap down. If I’d have just picked a better line on #15 this would be zero.
2-Chips: I don’t even remember what this is. Maybe the pitch back toward the green on #14 that released into the fringe I guess? Either way, the short game was solid today and left me quite a few decent putts.
Three-Putts: The 3-putt on #2 really stinks because it was such a makeable putt, and I hit a great shot into that green. I assumed the 2nd one was in and didn’t give it proper attention. That’s gotta be the focus moving forward.
Current Handicap: 9.2
When the revision hits, I might be under a 9 for the first time in my life! 9.2 is an all-time low, but I have plans to keep going lower. Hoping as the temperatures change and the days get shorter I can continue finding opportunities to play!