Hobbits Glen - The Walk(s) of Shame
This round was brought to you by the Columbia Association and the mind of some ardent J.R.R Tolkien fans. There are two golf courses part of the Columbia Association, Fairway Hills and Hobbits Glen. Anyone can play Fairway Hills, but you have to be a member of the course or the association to play Hobbits Glen. As my Columbia Association membership was about to expire, I decided to go play the flagship course. So Round #3 of the Memorial Day weekend was a blast. But it also featured some rather forgettable moments, this time however, not by me :).
Date: Sunday 5/25/2014
Location: Hobbits Glen Golf Course, Columbia, MD
Score: 85
Excuses: Probably could have hit a couple of irons on the range before the round, but took the first available walk-up slot as they don't do tee times for singles.
Course Conditions: Amazing. Very green rough and fairways, very fast and true greens. Rough was in US Open condition and fairways were firm and fast. Landscaping and other aesthetic touches were beautifully done. Cold water in the water fountains on the course.
The Good: One solid birdie out of three credible attempts, 2 for 3 in sand saves.
The Bad: Did not hit a lot of fairways, two 3-Jacks, yanked a 9 iron from the fairway into the water from 135 yards.
The Ugly: Poor soul in the group in front of mine who had to endure the "Walk of Shame" TWICE to re-tee his ball.
Overall, not a bad outing. I actually remembered the goal of having fun before the round started so I was in the right mindset. The course was actually in US Open settings. The rough was very lush and tall, you had to be standing near your ball in the rough to find it. The greens were rolling very fast and the pin locations were set somewhere between "sucker" and "Pete Dye." But overall, with the exception of the massive construction projects on the course (brand new clubhouse, and some work on the cart paths on the back nine) the course was in immaculate condition. Just what you'd expect out of a private course.
The only bad part about the outing was the pace of play on the front nine. There were two foursomes ahead of us that according to the starter, had a weekly game going for big stakes. And evidently they followed every rule to a tee, including returning to the tee box if you could not locate your tee shot and could not prove it went into a hazard. The first time it happened, we were on the second hole. A gentleman comes back and announces he is on a walk of shame, apologizes for the delay, explains that he couldn't find his ball in the aforementioned thick and lush rough, and proceeds to tee it up (again) and hit. I was strangely okay with it because he seemed contrite and properly chafed that he had to go all the way back to the tee box. Then on the sixth hole, here comes the same guy back to the tee box, and asks if he can play with us, because he seems to tee off with us more than the other group. After a couple of laughs and a couple of good natured jabs by me (something to the effect of being the last girl out of a fraternity house after a party) he teed off again. I thought nothing of it, one of my playing partners was incensed. So much so, he called to the clubhouse and had a ranger sent out to them to keep them hurrying along. The sad fact was we were only about 2-3 minutes behind pace at that point. I wasn't having a spectacular round at that point (I was four over thanks to opening with two consecutive double bogeys) but the weather was great and the course was beautiful.
As for my game, I could have shot a lot better. I was +5 on the par 5's, the biggest hurt was yanking a 9 iron (from the fairway!) into the water to the left of the green on #2 after two gorgeous shots that deftly avoided the water all along the left side of the hole. However, that was the last ball I lost the entire day. The other par 5's I left shots way long or short of the pin and ended up 3 putting two of the greens I got in in regulation and not being able to get up and down on the last. I did get one birdie on a well played hole (#12) and finished +1 overall on all the par 3's even though I only hit one in regulation.
But, I had a good time and I finished the round wanting to play more and felt like I had more good shots in me. So, I hit GolfNow.com on my iPhone and settled on:
Next Stop: Herndon Centennial
Date: Sunday 5/25/2014
Location: Hobbits Glen Golf Course, Columbia, MD
Score: 85
Excuses: Probably could have hit a couple of irons on the range before the round, but took the first available walk-up slot as they don't do tee times for singles.
Course Conditions: Amazing. Very green rough and fairways, very fast and true greens. Rough was in US Open condition and fairways were firm and fast. Landscaping and other aesthetic touches were beautifully done. Cold water in the water fountains on the course.
The Good: One solid birdie out of three credible attempts, 2 for 3 in sand saves.
The Bad: Did not hit a lot of fairways, two 3-Jacks, yanked a 9 iron from the fairway into the water from 135 yards.
The Ugly: Poor soul in the group in front of mine who had to endure the "Walk of Shame" TWICE to re-tee his ball.
Overall, not a bad outing. I actually remembered the goal of having fun before the round started so I was in the right mindset. The course was actually in US Open settings. The rough was very lush and tall, you had to be standing near your ball in the rough to find it. The greens were rolling very fast and the pin locations were set somewhere between "sucker" and "Pete Dye." But overall, with the exception of the massive construction projects on the course (brand new clubhouse, and some work on the cart paths on the back nine) the course was in immaculate condition. Just what you'd expect out of a private course.
The only bad part about the outing was the pace of play on the front nine. There were two foursomes ahead of us that according to the starter, had a weekly game going for big stakes. And evidently they followed every rule to a tee, including returning to the tee box if you could not locate your tee shot and could not prove it went into a hazard. The first time it happened, we were on the second hole. A gentleman comes back and announces he is on a walk of shame, apologizes for the delay, explains that he couldn't find his ball in the aforementioned thick and lush rough, and proceeds to tee it up (again) and hit. I was strangely okay with it because he seemed contrite and properly chafed that he had to go all the way back to the tee box. Then on the sixth hole, here comes the same guy back to the tee box, and asks if he can play with us, because he seems to tee off with us more than the other group. After a couple of laughs and a couple of good natured jabs by me (something to the effect of being the last girl out of a fraternity house after a party) he teed off again. I thought nothing of it, one of my playing partners was incensed. So much so, he called to the clubhouse and had a ranger sent out to them to keep them hurrying along. The sad fact was we were only about 2-3 minutes behind pace at that point. I wasn't having a spectacular round at that point (I was four over thanks to opening with two consecutive double bogeys) but the weather was great and the course was beautiful.
As for my game, I could have shot a lot better. I was +5 on the par 5's, the biggest hurt was yanking a 9 iron (from the fairway!) into the water to the left of the green on #2 after two gorgeous shots that deftly avoided the water all along the left side of the hole. However, that was the last ball I lost the entire day. The other par 5's I left shots way long or short of the pin and ended up 3 putting two of the greens I got in in regulation and not being able to get up and down on the last. I did get one birdie on a well played hole (#12) and finished +1 overall on all the par 3's even though I only hit one in regulation.
But, I had a good time and I finished the round wanting to play more and felt like I had more good shots in me. So, I hit GolfNow.com on my iPhone and settled on:
Next Stop: Herndon Centennial
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