July 24th 2018 Golf Round Review
I didn’t play well this round. From a lost ball on the first shot of the night on the 10th to an out of my mind four putt on the 12th, I never really felt comfortable. Everything seemed like a real grind.
It is so important to realize you are going to have these bad rounds at times and to really focus on one shot at a time and not on the scorecard.
My final score of 52 ties for my worst of the year, with my first 52 also coming on the back nine. If this is the worst score I’m going to post, I feel my game will be alright. Besides losing my drive on the 10th, I did hit my driver OK, hitting some off the toe, with gear effect producing a hook, but was still able to keep them in play.
I hit what I thought was a good drive off the 10th tee down the left side of the fairway. You need to be careful of too far left as it will take a wicked bounce into the woods. I saw this drive bounce forward so I though I was fine. It ended up getting too much roll and went into the woods. I had to take a drop. Penalty stroke on the first swing of the night. I recovered with a nice 4 iron layup to about 115 yards. I pulled my 4th shot left of the green. I pitched on and two putted for a double bogey.
I hit a great drive on the 11th hole. I left a gap wedge short of the green from 90 yards. I hit an awesome chip to a foot away and missed the par putt and had to settle for a bogey. A penalty stroke on the 10th hole and now a missed one foot putt.
I chunked my 3 wood off the 12th tee, blocking it into the woods to the right. Another penalty stroke. After I took my drop, I had several trees between me and the green with about 60 yards left to the hole. I had two options. Pitch it left back into the fairway or try a punch shot through a gap to the right of the trees to the right side of the green and hope I get a kick left off the bank. If I had a better start, I might of pitched back into the fairway. I ended up going for it and hit one my best shots of the year. I hit a punch shot with my 4 iron right through the gap, it rolled up, took a curve off the bank, ran right by the hole and stopped 10 feet away. I had a chance to save bogey but hit my putt way short, leaving about two and a half feet short. I made a huge mistake and let my frustration over putting get the best of me. I didn’t line up the next putt, no pre-shot routine or anything, and just walked up and hit it. I missed it and then missed the putt coming back. My frustration cost me a 4 putt and quadruple bogey.
Still, I was proud of myself as I just blew it off and recollected myself. Sometimes you are not going to have your A game, your going to hit bad shots, and shoot high scores. I finally concluded this was going to be one of those rounds. I should have came to that conclusion before getting overly frustrated, but better late than never. I just need to take one shot at a time.
I hit another fairway with my driver on 13. I had about 160 yards left up the hill. I blocked my 5 iron a bit right and it ended up in the tall grass to the right of the green. I hit a good shot with my gap wedge and hacked it out to within a foot of the green. I putted it close from off the green and tapped in for a bogey.
I hit my usual 6 iron off the 14th tee, taking an aggressive line over the pond and to within 100 yards of the center of the green. I hit my gap wedge a little fat, still finding the green but a good 30 feet from the hole. I hit a poor lag putt, misreading the break, leaving it over 10 feet left of the hole. I didn’t get the par putt to the hole and 3 putted for a bogey.
I hit my driver a bit off the toe and hooked another drive left of the trees on 15. That’s a popular spot for me. I tried to hit a 4 iron from 175 yards but had a very weird stance. My left foot was in a hole, a good six inches below my right. Not a shot I can ever remember practicing, and I proceeded to top it 35 yards up the fairway. I then pulled an 8 iron hard left, getting a good break with my ball dropping down, not going in the woods. Even with the break, my ball was sitting up in some tall grass right behind a tree. My only option was to hit it left to the left side of the green. I hit a great shot to within 15 feet of the hole. The putt was downhill and I ended up hitting the putt over 10 feet past the hole. I needed two putts from there and scored another double bogey.
I hit another driver off the toe, but this this one starting right and finding the middle of the fairway. I had 100 yards left, a perfect gap wedge for me. I chunked it and had to pitch it on in 3. I two putted for bogey.
I hit my driver on 17 left in the rough. I blocked my 4 iron to the right. It caught the cart path and traveled past the green. I bladed my gap wedge over the green and chipped my 8 iron back over. I putted on and sank the next putt for a double bogey. I need to continue to improve my short game.
I’ve played the 18th hole well the last two times I have played it. I hit another driver off the toe but found the left side of the fairway, I then hit a 3 wood into the left rough leaving about 100 yards. I hit what felt like a perfect gap wadge about a yard short of the green. I hit a nice 7 iron chip to within a few feet and made it for par.
A scorecard without any fours is a bad round. What high handicap and beginner golfers should realize is that they will have bad shots. Have enough of them and you’ll have a bad round. It’s part of the game and the sooner you can get over bad rounds the less frequent they will become and the better your bad rounds will get.