The Links at Challedon - A Tale of Two Nines
First tournament of the year of the Golfweek AM Tour. The Links at Challedon in beautiful but remote Mt. Airy, MD. Remote meaning it was a hefty 1.25 hour drive from my house.
The theme of this round: A Tale of Two Nines... It was a round that provided enough entertainment to inspire the best and worst of writers. To paraphrase Charles Dickens: It was the best of nines, it was the worst of nines, but not in that order... Suffice to say I salvaged a good round but could have done so much better.
Preparation:
1) I managed to show up a full 30 minutes before my tee time. Enough time for me to hit a few wedges, long irons, hybrids, and my driver
2) Didn't get to chip around the practice green (that would bite me later)
3) Did get to roll a few putts
Hole by hole (Gold Tees):
1) Par 5. Booming drive to the right rough, rough was not penal so I got a hefty 4-Wood on the ball, landing a mere 20 yards from the green. Hit a nice but not great lob wedge to 15 feet. Sunk the putt. BIRDIE! (-1). Two of the other three in my foursome also birdied the hole. First time I ever saw 3 birdies on one hole in a tournament that wasn't televised.
2) Par 4. As part of that birdie curse, I managed to snap hook my drive and it lands mere inches from the white stakes on the left. I'm 160 yards out but blocked by a tree. I try to thread a 7 iron over the tree but clipped it. Ball lands 60 yards from the green on a slight hillside. Ball is below my feet in the rough. I try to get a 58 degree wedge on it, but flubbed it into the bunker. Got out of the bunker but gave myself a 30 foot putt. Two putt for the DOUBLE... (+1)
3) Par 5. There was a nice sized pond at 210 yards on the right side of the fairway (slicers beware) that would take a hefty 270 to carry. So I decide to lay up with a 4-Hybrid. Sadly I hit the 4-Hybrid fat and land short of the fairway. Undeterred and still not willing to give up on birdie, I decide to hit my 4-Wood. The rough was not penal and I was able to get a club on it. Unfortunately I should have taken the terrain into account (downhill lie) and I end up topping the ball and almost sending it into the pond. I escape with a well struck 6-Iron but put myself in the rough, behind another tree 130 yards from the green. As the comedy of errors continues, I pull out my 9 iron for a knockdown and end up pulling the shot way left of the green on the other side of a bunker. Still undeterred, I pull out a wedge and try to feather it. No dice, I barely get to the top of the bunker. Not wanting to try my luck again, I take out my putter from the fringe and scare the hole but leave myself about a 8 footer. Suffice to say, no dice on the comeback. TRIPLE... (+4)
Commentary: Had I given up on birdie when I flubbed the tee shot, and just tried to lay up short of the pond, then play the remaining 300 or so yards in typical fashion, I might have escaped with a bogey. We learn...
4) Par 4. Hit an angry drive and put myself 99 yards from the pin. Hit a thin 50 degree wedge 12 feet from the cup. Unfortunately I was above the cup with about 3.5 degrees of slope (for you Aimpointers). Suffice to say, three putts later I was in with a BOGEY. (+5). Should have been more aggressive with the putt instead of tentative.
5) 100 yard par 3. I decide to take a full cut with my 54 degree wedge instead of a 50% shot with a lower lofted club. I end up pulling the wedge approximately 20 yards left of the green in the deep rough across the cart path. Could not rescue myself with my first chip. Then could not get to the green with my second chip. Then putted from the fringe to a foot. DOUBLE. (+7)
Commentary: There's more than one way to get 100 yards. Would have been easier to make an very easy swing than to make a very hard one.
6) Par 4. Really tight. Teed off with my 4-Wood and made an incredible shot out of it. Fairway 147 yards from the pin. Pulled out an 8-Iron but tugged it slightly and ended up short and in the trap. Barely get out of the trap and onto the fringe. Putted from the fringe to 1 foot. BOGEY (+8)
Commentary: In my course plan, I told myself not to be short. In fact the bunkers were in the front of the green and the pin was in the back so the bunkers should not have been in play. What I didn't take into full account was the elevation. It was very deceptive until you looked from the green back to the 150 yard marker. Live and learn!!
7) Par 3. 149 yards. Adding wind and elevation it was playing roughly 160 yards. I take out a 6 iron and make it onto the left side of the green, roughly 35 foot putt. Make an awesome double breaking read and burned the edge. Made the comeback! PAR. (+8). Note: actual first par of the day.
8) Par 4. Another slight snap hook and the ball is sailed precipitously close to the out of bounds on the left. Amazingly I get a good bounce and it settles 160 yards from the green. Between me and the elevated green is more rough, a pond, and a deep Raspberry Falls - like bunker. I take a 5 hybid and make a heroic shot and the ball settles 20 feet from the cup. Unfortunately, it's a downhill putt. I make what I thought was a good stroke only to have the ball stop halfway to the hole. I make the same stroke only to have the ball roll just past the hole and settle 3 feet from the cup. I then mistakenly rush the putt only to have the ball pull left of the cup in what appears like a shoeprint. So for those of you counting, that's a 4-Jack. Hero to Zero. DOUBLE! (+10)
9) Par 4. Hit another angry drive that rested a mere 72 yards from the pin. Of course the pin is situated on the most narrow portion of the green and is surrounded by bunkers on two sides and a backslope that will most likely carry your ball down the hill and out of bounds. Considering my wedges were pulling my shots to the left (can't blame my swing, it's the equipment!!). I aim conservatively right. Only then did my wedge actually hit the ball straight. I end up on the fringe right, roughly 25 feet from the pin. I make another incredible looking putt that burned the edge of the hole. Pulled the 5 yard comeback. BOGEY (+11)
Front Nine Commentary: Remember that guy that didn't birdie the first hole. He shot a 41. The other three of us who got birdies, we all shot a 47... So, 6 strokes to make up in 9 holes, GAME ON!
10) Par 5. Blistering drive to the middle of the fairway. "Thin it to win it" setup shot short of the fairway bunker. 7 Iron from 155 yards to just short of the green on a front pin. Putt from the fringe hits the pin and settles one foot from the cup. PAR (0 / +11), strokes gained on the group leader (after he finds two bunkers): 1 (5 back)
11) Par 4. Routine PAR (0 / +11) Strokes Gained: 0 (5 Back)
12) Par 3. Muffed a 5-Hybrid which I previously used very heroically on #8. Bladed the chip to the back of the green, putted from the rough through the fringe to 1 foot. BOGEY (+1 / +12). Strokes Gained: -1 (6 Back)
13) Par 4. A Slightly less angry drive puts me 98 yards from the pin. I flare my 50 degree wedge slightly and end up on the fringe 15 feet from the cup. Magically, I roll in the putt. BIRDIE (0 / +11). Strokes Gained: 2 (4 Back) after my opponent hit his approach short and couldn't get up and down.
14) Long Par 3. Hit a beautiful 4 Hybrid to 25 feet. Opponent hit his into the sand. I hit another edge burner 3 feet past the hole. Unfortunately between me and the cup was the remnants of a prior hole location that was badly repaired. Just knocked my comeback putt off slightly. BOGEY (+1 / +12). Strokes Gained 1 (3 Back). Opponent bladed his shot out of the sand then , hit a great lag putt but couldn't make the comeback.
15) Par 4. Beautiful drive to the middle of the fairway at 155 yards. Beautiful 7 iron to the back fringe 12 feet from the hole. Burned the edge again, made the tap-in. PAR (+1 / +12). Strokes gained: 0 (3 Back)
16) Par 4. Snap hook almost sends my drive out of bounds. Magically I hit the fence and my ball sails back into play 122 yards from the pin in the rough on top of a hill on a blind approach. Tried to hit a knockdown 9 iron but pushed the ball slightly and ended up in a bunker. Got out of the bunker well enough but not well enough to get the sandy. BOGEY (+2 / +13). Strokes gained: 0 (3 Back).
Commentary. I looked at the pin but not the green. There was plenty of green to the left of the pin that I could have aimed at. But tunnel vision had me going at the pin only.
17) Par 5. Slice sends my ball to the right, perilously close to the hazard. The par 5 was short but I was 240 yards from the pin and between me and the pin was the entire pond and the sand. In short, I would have had to carry the ball 230 of those 240 yards. No dice. I hit a layup to 100 yards. I pull the wedge to the rough between the green and the sand trap. Couldn't use my putter due to the sprinkler head. Got up and down for the PAR (+2 / +13). Strokes gained: -2 (5 Back). That's right. My opponent EAGLED THE HOLE. Beautiful drive to 195 yards, feathered a 5 iron to 3 feet, made the putt.
18) Par 4. Beautiful drive to 150 yards to the first cut of rough on right. Hit not the best 7 iron to 20 feet from the cup. Great putt to scare the hole again and made the comeback. (+2 / +13). Strokes Gained: -1 (6 Back). That's right, my opponent hits a good drive, then thins it to 5 feet from the cup and sinks the BIRDIE.
Commentary: Hard to beat a guy who only missed two fairways and finishes EAGLE, BIRDIE. But on the bright side, we both shot 38 on the back. Just wish I hadn't screwed up the front...
Overall: I shoot a somewhat disappointing 85. The winner of the tournament in my flight shot a 76. Did I have my chances, yes. But I am proud of the way I kicked it into gear on the back nine and made a round out of it. The guy I was paired up with finished second (79). I would like to think I pushed him to get that score.
The Great: The back nine
The Good: The skin for that birdie on #13, 13 putts on the back nine.
The Bad: Holes 2-9, short game woes (especially chipping)
The Ugly: The 4-Jack on 8, 18 putts on the front nine
The tournament stoked my competitive fire once again and I now look forward to the next tournament... Until then, back to the range, back to the short game area, and back to the gym.
Next stop: 1757
The theme of this round: A Tale of Two Nines... It was a round that provided enough entertainment to inspire the best and worst of writers. To paraphrase Charles Dickens: It was the best of nines, it was the worst of nines, but not in that order... Suffice to say I salvaged a good round but could have done so much better.
Preparation:
1) I managed to show up a full 30 minutes before my tee time. Enough time for me to hit a few wedges, long irons, hybrids, and my driver
2) Didn't get to chip around the practice green (that would bite me later)
3) Did get to roll a few putts
Hole by hole (Gold Tees):
1) Par 5. Booming drive to the right rough, rough was not penal so I got a hefty 4-Wood on the ball, landing a mere 20 yards from the green. Hit a nice but not great lob wedge to 15 feet. Sunk the putt. BIRDIE! (-1). Two of the other three in my foursome also birdied the hole. First time I ever saw 3 birdies on one hole in a tournament that wasn't televised.
2) Par 4. As part of that birdie curse, I managed to snap hook my drive and it lands mere inches from the white stakes on the left. I'm 160 yards out but blocked by a tree. I try to thread a 7 iron over the tree but clipped it. Ball lands 60 yards from the green on a slight hillside. Ball is below my feet in the rough. I try to get a 58 degree wedge on it, but flubbed it into the bunker. Got out of the bunker but gave myself a 30 foot putt. Two putt for the DOUBLE... (+1)
3) Par 5. There was a nice sized pond at 210 yards on the right side of the fairway (slicers beware) that would take a hefty 270 to carry. So I decide to lay up with a 4-Hybrid. Sadly I hit the 4-Hybrid fat and land short of the fairway. Undeterred and still not willing to give up on birdie, I decide to hit my 4-Wood. The rough was not penal and I was able to get a club on it. Unfortunately I should have taken the terrain into account (downhill lie) and I end up topping the ball and almost sending it into the pond. I escape with a well struck 6-Iron but put myself in the rough, behind another tree 130 yards from the green. As the comedy of errors continues, I pull out my 9 iron for a knockdown and end up pulling the shot way left of the green on the other side of a bunker. Still undeterred, I pull out a wedge and try to feather it. No dice, I barely get to the top of the bunker. Not wanting to try my luck again, I take out my putter from the fringe and scare the hole but leave myself about a 8 footer. Suffice to say, no dice on the comeback. TRIPLE... (+4)
Commentary: Had I given up on birdie when I flubbed the tee shot, and just tried to lay up short of the pond, then play the remaining 300 or so yards in typical fashion, I might have escaped with a bogey. We learn...
4) Par 4. Hit an angry drive and put myself 99 yards from the pin. Hit a thin 50 degree wedge 12 feet from the cup. Unfortunately I was above the cup with about 3.5 degrees of slope (for you Aimpointers). Suffice to say, three putts later I was in with a BOGEY. (+5). Should have been more aggressive with the putt instead of tentative.
5) 100 yard par 3. I decide to take a full cut with my 54 degree wedge instead of a 50% shot with a lower lofted club. I end up pulling the wedge approximately 20 yards left of the green in the deep rough across the cart path. Could not rescue myself with my first chip. Then could not get to the green with my second chip. Then putted from the fringe to a foot. DOUBLE. (+7)
Commentary: There's more than one way to get 100 yards. Would have been easier to make an very easy swing than to make a very hard one.
6) Par 4. Really tight. Teed off with my 4-Wood and made an incredible shot out of it. Fairway 147 yards from the pin. Pulled out an 8-Iron but tugged it slightly and ended up short and in the trap. Barely get out of the trap and onto the fringe. Putted from the fringe to 1 foot. BOGEY (+8)
Commentary: In my course plan, I told myself not to be short. In fact the bunkers were in the front of the green and the pin was in the back so the bunkers should not have been in play. What I didn't take into full account was the elevation. It was very deceptive until you looked from the green back to the 150 yard marker. Live and learn!!
7) Par 3. 149 yards. Adding wind and elevation it was playing roughly 160 yards. I take out a 6 iron and make it onto the left side of the green, roughly 35 foot putt. Make an awesome double breaking read and burned the edge. Made the comeback! PAR. (+8). Note: actual first par of the day.
8) Par 4. Another slight snap hook and the ball is sailed precipitously close to the out of bounds on the left. Amazingly I get a good bounce and it settles 160 yards from the green. Between me and the elevated green is more rough, a pond, and a deep Raspberry Falls - like bunker. I take a 5 hybid and make a heroic shot and the ball settles 20 feet from the cup. Unfortunately, it's a downhill putt. I make what I thought was a good stroke only to have the ball stop halfway to the hole. I make the same stroke only to have the ball roll just past the hole and settle 3 feet from the cup. I then mistakenly rush the putt only to have the ball pull left of the cup in what appears like a shoeprint. So for those of you counting, that's a 4-Jack. Hero to Zero. DOUBLE! (+10)
9) Par 4. Hit another angry drive that rested a mere 72 yards from the pin. Of course the pin is situated on the most narrow portion of the green and is surrounded by bunkers on two sides and a backslope that will most likely carry your ball down the hill and out of bounds. Considering my wedges were pulling my shots to the left (can't blame my swing, it's the equipment!!). I aim conservatively right. Only then did my wedge actually hit the ball straight. I end up on the fringe right, roughly 25 feet from the pin. I make another incredible looking putt that burned the edge of the hole. Pulled the 5 yard comeback. BOGEY (+11)
Front Nine Commentary: Remember that guy that didn't birdie the first hole. He shot a 41. The other three of us who got birdies, we all shot a 47... So, 6 strokes to make up in 9 holes, GAME ON!
10) Par 5. Blistering drive to the middle of the fairway. "Thin it to win it" setup shot short of the fairway bunker. 7 Iron from 155 yards to just short of the green on a front pin. Putt from the fringe hits the pin and settles one foot from the cup. PAR (0 / +11), strokes gained on the group leader (after he finds two bunkers): 1 (5 back)
11) Par 4. Routine PAR (0 / +11) Strokes Gained: 0 (5 Back)
12) Par 3. Muffed a 5-Hybrid which I previously used very heroically on #8. Bladed the chip to the back of the green, putted from the rough through the fringe to 1 foot. BOGEY (+1 / +12). Strokes Gained: -1 (6 Back)
13) Par 4. A Slightly less angry drive puts me 98 yards from the pin. I flare my 50 degree wedge slightly and end up on the fringe 15 feet from the cup. Magically, I roll in the putt. BIRDIE (0 / +11). Strokes Gained: 2 (4 Back) after my opponent hit his approach short and couldn't get up and down.
14) Long Par 3. Hit a beautiful 4 Hybrid to 25 feet. Opponent hit his into the sand. I hit another edge burner 3 feet past the hole. Unfortunately between me and the cup was the remnants of a prior hole location that was badly repaired. Just knocked my comeback putt off slightly. BOGEY (+1 / +12). Strokes Gained 1 (3 Back). Opponent bladed his shot out of the sand then , hit a great lag putt but couldn't make the comeback.
15) Par 4. Beautiful drive to the middle of the fairway at 155 yards. Beautiful 7 iron to the back fringe 12 feet from the hole. Burned the edge again, made the tap-in. PAR (+1 / +12). Strokes gained: 0 (3 Back)
16) Par 4. Snap hook almost sends my drive out of bounds. Magically I hit the fence and my ball sails back into play 122 yards from the pin in the rough on top of a hill on a blind approach. Tried to hit a knockdown 9 iron but pushed the ball slightly and ended up in a bunker. Got out of the bunker well enough but not well enough to get the sandy. BOGEY (+2 / +13). Strokes gained: 0 (3 Back).
Commentary. I looked at the pin but not the green. There was plenty of green to the left of the pin that I could have aimed at. But tunnel vision had me going at the pin only.
17) Par 5. Slice sends my ball to the right, perilously close to the hazard. The par 5 was short but I was 240 yards from the pin and between me and the pin was the entire pond and the sand. In short, I would have had to carry the ball 230 of those 240 yards. No dice. I hit a layup to 100 yards. I pull the wedge to the rough between the green and the sand trap. Couldn't use my putter due to the sprinkler head. Got up and down for the PAR (+2 / +13). Strokes gained: -2 (5 Back). That's right. My opponent EAGLED THE HOLE. Beautiful drive to 195 yards, feathered a 5 iron to 3 feet, made the putt.
18) Par 4. Beautiful drive to 150 yards to the first cut of rough on right. Hit not the best 7 iron to 20 feet from the cup. Great putt to scare the hole again and made the comeback. (+2 / +13). Strokes Gained: -1 (6 Back). That's right, my opponent hits a good drive, then thins it to 5 feet from the cup and sinks the BIRDIE.
Commentary: Hard to beat a guy who only missed two fairways and finishes EAGLE, BIRDIE. But on the bright side, we both shot 38 on the back. Just wish I hadn't screwed up the front...
Overall: I shoot a somewhat disappointing 85. The winner of the tournament in my flight shot a 76. Did I have my chances, yes. But I am proud of the way I kicked it into gear on the back nine and made a round out of it. The guy I was paired up with finished second (79). I would like to think I pushed him to get that score.
The Great: The back nine
The Good: The skin for that birdie on #13, 13 putts on the back nine.
The Bad: Holes 2-9, short game woes (especially chipping)
The Ugly: The 4-Jack on 8, 18 putts on the front nine
The tournament stoked my competitive fire once again and I now look forward to the next tournament... Until then, back to the range, back to the short game area, and back to the gym.
Next stop: 1757
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