Lake Presidential: Things Fall Apart
In William Butler Yeats' epic poem, "The Second Coming" he states:
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
After a solid 41 on the front nine, which I was later to learn was the lowest front nine of the day in my flight, things fell apart (those things being me) on the back nine with a crowd pleasing 46. Net result: 87 and tied for 4th overall (but lost out on the money due to tiebreakers).
Date: Saturday 4/05/2014
Location: Lake Presidential Golf Club, Upper Marlboro, MD
Score: 87
Excuses: Too aggressive, an inane inability to chip and pitch out of bad lies.
Course Conditions: Terrible. The course website informed us that they had aerated the greens and fairways on March 10th, well the greens and fairways still had holes and the top coat of sand was still fresh.. Smelled like a Monday aeration. Fairways were in rough shape, greens were worse.
The Good: 8 miraculous one putts, six of them to save par, despite the aerated greens
The Bad: Other than the course conditions, throw in a 20 mph sustained wind with the occasional 40+ mph gust, and two card killing triple bogeys
The Ugly: A head hanging four-jack after getting to the green in regulation
Looking at the positives, I finished 4 shots back which is my closest finish yet. Not to mention it was my lowest score in a tournament so far. However with hindsight being 20-20, just like the retrospective analysis I performed over my round at Stonewall, looking hole-by-hole I wondered if I could have had a chance for victory if I could have prevented all of the preventable mistakes. Using the same Strokes Could Have Recovered (SCHR) metric and looking at the big mistake holes, let's see:
Hole 8: Par 5 - 540 yards. After pushing my drive to the right and nearly burying my ball in a watery grave. I somehow find my ball in a very awkward lie but playable between two trees. I mash a 7 iron about 140 yards and get my ball back to the fairway at around 130 yards. I crush a great 9 iron onto the green about 20 away from the pin but facing a dreaded downhill putt. This story doesn't have a happy ending. On my first putt I hit the ground first and it goes halfway down the hill. The second putt is stronger and firmer and shoots 4 feet past the hole. Sadly I pull the comeback putt and perform the tap in of shame. SCHR: 1
Hole 11: Par 4 - 340 yards. Not a very long hole, but a really mean bowled green (reminiscent of Pinehurst #2). The play is to get the ball to the distance of your most comfortable wedge and try to stick the green. The trick is to avoid the bunker sitting at 230 yards from the tee box. I hit a beautiful drive to the left of the bunker, unfortunately it came to rest in the rough on a clod of dirt around 83 yards from the hole. No lifting, cleaning, or placing that ball. So I decide to try to power my 50 degree wedge through the dirt to try to get some lift. Somewhere in the power stroke, I lose control and open the clubface and instead of going up, it goes right. Way right. Right into the slot between the greenside bunker and the rough. So in an awkward lie, I attempt to finesse the ball onto the green from about 50 yards. No dice... I crush it over the green. I then attempt to get the ball on the green. Again no dice... I get around 90% up, then it sails right back down. Unfortunately for me, in my hubris, I left my putter on the side of the green, expecting my ball to be on the green so I could conveniently pick it up and save my bogey. No dice. The ball hits my putter on its way back down the hill. One stroke penalty (Rule 19-2: Ball in Motion Deflected or Stopped). Now at this point, I have to hole the chip to save a 6 or else reach the maximum score of 7. Sadly I did not hole the chip or even get my ball to hold the green. In that train wreck of a hole, the one preventable mistake was not carrying my putter with me. SCHR: 1
Hole 15: Par 4 - 390 yards. Tough, tough hole. Uphill tee shot, fairway ends 15-20 yards past the 150 yard marker. Between the end of the fairway and the elevated green is a wide chasm that serves as a final resting place for golf balls. I step up to the tee box, aim a little right expecting my ball to perform that beautiful draw move it had done for at least 10 out of the last 11 drive-able holes. No Dice as I push it right. Magically I find the ball only about 5 yards right of the fairway. From there I had three small issues. 1) I was 192 yards away from the green and 2) there was a tree blocking direct access to the green and 3) the ball was a few inches above my feet. The smart play would have been to chip the ball down close to the end of the fairway, then put a mid iron in my hands to try to get up and down for par. However, laying up never entered my head and I was confident I could get a good stroke on the ball and I had a tendency to hit my 200 yard club right. I step up and hit the ball and a few seconds after excellent contact, I hit the tree. Mercifully, it knocks the ball straight back instead of into the chasm of no return. I then take my medicine, one stroke too late, and knock the ball backwards onto the fairway. Now, sitting at 140 yards out, and being pretty chafed at that moment, I hit the 8 iron fat and it goes into the fairway bunker. I get out of the bunker and it goes past the hole onto the fringe. Sadly I do not hit the putt from the fringe to save the double. LESSON TEE: Don't go for the hero shot. SCHR: 1
Hole 16: Par 3 - 197 yards. Long par 3, back tee placement, but at least two clubs worth of elevation. In my practice round I hit a 7 iron 3 feet from the hole when the pin placement was in the front playing around 170 yards. Therefore I calculated that my 4 hybrid would get me close to the pin when factoring in the slight headwind. Considering my playing partner hit a 3 iron to the middle of the green, I liked my chances. I step up and stripe the 4 hybrid. After a beautiful strike and ball flight, the ball bounces pin high and rolls into the rough near the bunker behind the green. The ball lands in an awkward lie with a large tuft of grass directly behind the ball and not a lot of green to work with. I somehow slide my first chip attempt under the ball and it goes all of 2 feet. Chafed, I then proceed to skull the second chip to the other side of the green on the fringe. I putt the ball from the fringe but leave it 2 feet short. I do sink the putt to save the double. Next time, I'll just putt it or bump it from that type of lie. SCHR: 1
There you have it ladies and gentlemen. Four strokes that would have put me in a tie for first and forcing a playoff. Just by turning my triples into doubles and my doubles into bogies. If I would have converted on 50% of my mistakes, then I would have been in a tie for second place. The good of it is, I reduced my amount of preventable mistakes from last round. Better play from the bad lies could have saved me strokes, but as Gene Huie always says, the best way to handle hazards is not to hit your ball there... Hopefully soon I'll have a picture on this blog of me holding the first place trophy!
Until then, BACK TO THE RANGE AND THE PRACTICE GREEN!!
Next Stop: Forest Greens
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
After a solid 41 on the front nine, which I was later to learn was the lowest front nine of the day in my flight, things fell apart (those things being me) on the back nine with a crowd pleasing 46. Net result: 87 and tied for 4th overall (but lost out on the money due to tiebreakers).
Date: Saturday 4/05/2014
Location: Lake Presidential Golf Club, Upper Marlboro, MD
Score: 87
Excuses: Too aggressive, an inane inability to chip and pitch out of bad lies.
Course Conditions: Terrible. The course website informed us that they had aerated the greens and fairways on March 10th, well the greens and fairways still had holes and the top coat of sand was still fresh.. Smelled like a Monday aeration. Fairways were in rough shape, greens were worse.
The Good: 8 miraculous one putts, six of them to save par, despite the aerated greens
The Bad: Other than the course conditions, throw in a 20 mph sustained wind with the occasional 40+ mph gust, and two card killing triple bogeys
The Ugly: A head hanging four-jack after getting to the green in regulation
Looking at the positives, I finished 4 shots back which is my closest finish yet. Not to mention it was my lowest score in a tournament so far. However with hindsight being 20-20, just like the retrospective analysis I performed over my round at Stonewall, looking hole-by-hole I wondered if I could have had a chance for victory if I could have prevented all of the preventable mistakes. Using the same Strokes Could Have Recovered (SCHR) metric and looking at the big mistake holes, let's see:
Hole 8: Par 5 - 540 yards. After pushing my drive to the right and nearly burying my ball in a watery grave. I somehow find my ball in a very awkward lie but playable between two trees. I mash a 7 iron about 140 yards and get my ball back to the fairway at around 130 yards. I crush a great 9 iron onto the green about 20 away from the pin but facing a dreaded downhill putt. This story doesn't have a happy ending. On my first putt I hit the ground first and it goes halfway down the hill. The second putt is stronger and firmer and shoots 4 feet past the hole. Sadly I pull the comeback putt and perform the tap in of shame. SCHR: 1
Hole 11: Par 4 - 340 yards. Not a very long hole, but a really mean bowled green (reminiscent of Pinehurst #2). The play is to get the ball to the distance of your most comfortable wedge and try to stick the green. The trick is to avoid the bunker sitting at 230 yards from the tee box. I hit a beautiful drive to the left of the bunker, unfortunately it came to rest in the rough on a clod of dirt around 83 yards from the hole. No lifting, cleaning, or placing that ball. So I decide to try to power my 50 degree wedge through the dirt to try to get some lift. Somewhere in the power stroke, I lose control and open the clubface and instead of going up, it goes right. Way right. Right into the slot between the greenside bunker and the rough. So in an awkward lie, I attempt to finesse the ball onto the green from about 50 yards. No dice... I crush it over the green. I then attempt to get the ball on the green. Again no dice... I get around 90% up, then it sails right back down. Unfortunately for me, in my hubris, I left my putter on the side of the green, expecting my ball to be on the green so I could conveniently pick it up and save my bogey. No dice. The ball hits my putter on its way back down the hill. One stroke penalty (Rule 19-2: Ball in Motion Deflected or Stopped). Now at this point, I have to hole the chip to save a 6 or else reach the maximum score of 7. Sadly I did not hole the chip or even get my ball to hold the green. In that train wreck of a hole, the one preventable mistake was not carrying my putter with me. SCHR: 1
Hole 15: Par 4 - 390 yards. Tough, tough hole. Uphill tee shot, fairway ends 15-20 yards past the 150 yard marker. Between the end of the fairway and the elevated green is a wide chasm that serves as a final resting place for golf balls. I step up to the tee box, aim a little right expecting my ball to perform that beautiful draw move it had done for at least 10 out of the last 11 drive-able holes. No Dice as I push it right. Magically I find the ball only about 5 yards right of the fairway. From there I had three small issues. 1) I was 192 yards away from the green and 2) there was a tree blocking direct access to the green and 3) the ball was a few inches above my feet. The smart play would have been to chip the ball down close to the end of the fairway, then put a mid iron in my hands to try to get up and down for par. However, laying up never entered my head and I was confident I could get a good stroke on the ball and I had a tendency to hit my 200 yard club right. I step up and hit the ball and a few seconds after excellent contact, I hit the tree. Mercifully, it knocks the ball straight back instead of into the chasm of no return. I then take my medicine, one stroke too late, and knock the ball backwards onto the fairway. Now, sitting at 140 yards out, and being pretty chafed at that moment, I hit the 8 iron fat and it goes into the fairway bunker. I get out of the bunker and it goes past the hole onto the fringe. Sadly I do not hit the putt from the fringe to save the double. LESSON TEE: Don't go for the hero shot. SCHR: 1
Hole 16: Par 3 - 197 yards. Long par 3, back tee placement, but at least two clubs worth of elevation. In my practice round I hit a 7 iron 3 feet from the hole when the pin placement was in the front playing around 170 yards. Therefore I calculated that my 4 hybrid would get me close to the pin when factoring in the slight headwind. Considering my playing partner hit a 3 iron to the middle of the green, I liked my chances. I step up and stripe the 4 hybrid. After a beautiful strike and ball flight, the ball bounces pin high and rolls into the rough near the bunker behind the green. The ball lands in an awkward lie with a large tuft of grass directly behind the ball and not a lot of green to work with. I somehow slide my first chip attempt under the ball and it goes all of 2 feet. Chafed, I then proceed to skull the second chip to the other side of the green on the fringe. I putt the ball from the fringe but leave it 2 feet short. I do sink the putt to save the double. Next time, I'll just putt it or bump it from that type of lie. SCHR: 1
There you have it ladies and gentlemen. Four strokes that would have put me in a tie for first and forcing a playoff. Just by turning my triples into doubles and my doubles into bogies. If I would have converted on 50% of my mistakes, then I would have been in a tie for second place. The good of it is, I reduced my amount of preventable mistakes from last round. Better play from the bad lies could have saved me strokes, but as Gene Huie always says, the best way to handle hazards is not to hit your ball there... Hopefully soon I'll have a picture on this blog of me holding the first place trophy!
Until then, BACK TO THE RANGE AND THE PRACTICE GREEN!!
Next Stop: Forest Greens
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