Cannon Ridge - Another Car to Tee Box Misadventure
Date: Sunday 2/27/2011
Location: Cannon Ridge Golf Club, Fredericksburg, VA
Score: 102
Excuses: Another Major Breach of 2011 Golf Resolutions
Course Conditions: Pretty Good
The Good: Greens were in excellent shape and rolled well
The Bad: Range Balls were a little dead (at least according to those who actually practiced...)
The Ugly: 72.5 Course Rating, 139 Slope Rating... Not good odds if you don't practice...
Another beautiful unseasonably warm February day in the Mid-Atlantic region, low 60's and only a hint of breeze. So of course yours truly heads out to the golf course in search of birdies. What I got was a stiff reminder of why I should actually follow my 2011 Golf Resolutions.
The day started out like any other normal day (at least normal for me). I had a 9:00 AM flag football game in Falls Church and a 10:50 AM tee time in Fredericksburg. If the game ends on time I would have had exactly one hour to get to the course, change, warm up, and then play. Unfortunately, Fredericksburg is 50 miles away from Falls Church...
Undeterred, I decide to go forward with my scheduling madness and do both instead of probably doing the smart thing of not showing up to one or the other. Thus violating rules 1, 2, and 5 once again. Long story short, the flag football game ended in a close but tragic loss (knocked out of the playoffs, sadness...) and perhaps more unfortunately (for my golf game), ended 10 minutes late. After a prompt phone call to my playing partners informing them of my "typical" lateness, they instituted the Sherman Contingency Plan:
1) Pay for my round (reimbursable in cash on the course upon arrival)
2) Inform the starter that I will be arriving late and to have a cart waiting to shuttle me to the appropriate hole
3) Ensure that I have permission to play the holes that I missed after finishing #18
Upon arrival (15 minutes late) the contingency plan was executed flawlessly. As a bonus, my group was still on the first tee (after hitting multiple tee shots). After my brief warm-up (stretching and a practice swing) my first drive was a slight duck hook that somehow ended up on the fairway but 200 yards from the green. Four strokes later I was rewarded with a bogey.
On the second hole, I manage to lose 3 balls, one to the gorge in front of the fairway, one to the tall grass on the right side of the fairway, and the third to a group of golfers coming down the first fairway (not that I can prove it). So taking a drop (after taking another drop), I ended up with a crowd pleasing 9...
It didn't get much better from there on the front nine... On the back nine (after my warm-up 9) I manage to settle in and hit some good shots.
Positives: Beautiful day, positive vibes, a few pars in between the snowmen, and managing to clear the ever intimidating 220 yard forced carry on hole #13 (and reaching the hole in regulation after a well-struck hybrid). Not to mention well placed red stakes that saved me strokes that a typical Jack Nicklaus course would have have penalized me extra for, and a good pace of play.
Negatives: Inconsistency off the tee that could have been solved by a little warm-up on the range, poor par 5 performance (+4 total, 4 par 5's), very poor par 3 performance (+8 total, 3 par 3's).
Takeaways: Stop trying to jam a bunch of activities into a single day. Follow my own golf resolutions if I want to improve. Respect the course and the game by practicing...
Overall, just happy to be out there playing in February. Left a lot of good shots on the course, and even more bad ones... I have learned from my mistakes and will improve next round.
Next Stop: Legends Resort
Location: Cannon Ridge Golf Club, Fredericksburg, VA
Score: 102
Excuses: Another Major Breach of 2011 Golf Resolutions
Course Conditions: Pretty Good
The Good: Greens were in excellent shape and rolled well
The Bad: Range Balls were a little dead (at least according to those who actually practiced...)
The Ugly: 72.5 Course Rating, 139 Slope Rating... Not good odds if you don't practice...
Another beautiful unseasonably warm February day in the Mid-Atlantic region, low 60's and only a hint of breeze. So of course yours truly heads out to the golf course in search of birdies. What I got was a stiff reminder of why I should actually follow my 2011 Golf Resolutions.
The day started out like any other normal day (at least normal for me). I had a 9:00 AM flag football game in Falls Church and a 10:50 AM tee time in Fredericksburg. If the game ends on time I would have had exactly one hour to get to the course, change, warm up, and then play. Unfortunately, Fredericksburg is 50 miles away from Falls Church...
Undeterred, I decide to go forward with my scheduling madness and do both instead of probably doing the smart thing of not showing up to one or the other. Thus violating rules 1, 2, and 5 once again. Long story short, the flag football game ended in a close but tragic loss (knocked out of the playoffs, sadness...) and perhaps more unfortunately (for my golf game), ended 10 minutes late. After a prompt phone call to my playing partners informing them of my "typical" lateness, they instituted the Sherman Contingency Plan:
1) Pay for my round (reimbursable in cash on the course upon arrival)
2) Inform the starter that I will be arriving late and to have a cart waiting to shuttle me to the appropriate hole
3) Ensure that I have permission to play the holes that I missed after finishing #18
Upon arrival (15 minutes late) the contingency plan was executed flawlessly. As a bonus, my group was still on the first tee (after hitting multiple tee shots). After my brief warm-up (stretching and a practice swing) my first drive was a slight duck hook that somehow ended up on the fairway but 200 yards from the green. Four strokes later I was rewarded with a bogey.
On the second hole, I manage to lose 3 balls, one to the gorge in front of the fairway, one to the tall grass on the right side of the fairway, and the third to a group of golfers coming down the first fairway (not that I can prove it). So taking a drop (after taking another drop), I ended up with a crowd pleasing 9...
It didn't get much better from there on the front nine... On the back nine (after my warm-up 9) I manage to settle in and hit some good shots.
Positives: Beautiful day, positive vibes, a few pars in between the snowmen, and managing to clear the ever intimidating 220 yard forced carry on hole #13 (and reaching the hole in regulation after a well-struck hybrid). Not to mention well placed red stakes that saved me strokes that a typical Jack Nicklaus course would have have penalized me extra for, and a good pace of play.
Negatives: Inconsistency off the tee that could have been solved by a little warm-up on the range, poor par 5 performance (+4 total, 4 par 5's), very poor par 3 performance (+8 total, 3 par 3's).
Takeaways: Stop trying to jam a bunch of activities into a single day. Follow my own golf resolutions if I want to improve. Respect the course and the game by practicing...
Overall, just happy to be out there playing in February. Left a lot of good shots on the course, and even more bad ones... I have learned from my mistakes and will improve next round.
Next Stop: Legends Resort
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