Sunday, July 13, 2008
Sanctuary - 36
Mr Science suffering from a simultaneous breakout of golf blahs and a elbow twinge is taking a week off . . . out of the heat . . . I laid low Saturday expectorating thunderboomers that never happened, so I moseyed over to Sanctuary after the Old People's Show on CBS, round about 9:30 to see if I could walk on . . . hooked up with two very amiable young flatbellies, Rob & Mike, whose games were Rusty, so I won't spend any time on them, but they play an essential role, as you will see . . .
I started out with 4 straight 5s as a result of sinfully weak chipping on the first two holes, then righteously strong chipping on the next two holes, and that chipping would stay with me the whole day. A par on the par 3 #5, then a snowman on #6, bogey on #7, doublebogey on the signature par 3 #8, then a par on #9 . . . even with the great chipping, on #3, #4, #7, #8 & #9, the wooly greens were frustrating my putting, so I wound up with a 45 . . .
I can't say I had vowed to knuckle down on the back 9 any more than I always vow to knuckle down, but the plain truth is that I did . . .
hit a knockdown 3wood to the middle of the fairway, then pureed a 9iron over the green in that semi-blind shot; another good chip for a gimme par.
FINALLY hit a good shot on #11 again, and tho't I made the green but I was 3 yds short, and the pin was over on the left, so eagle wasn't really doable, but I also missed the 5 ft putt for birdie after a good pitch over the corner of the sand trap.
thinned my tee shot on the par 3 #12 over on the right side of the green, not quite up to the back pin position, barely missed the nasty little downhill breaker for birdie . . .
FLAT pushed my tee shot on the par5 #13 up onto the dam, but it caromed off in a magical way back into the fairway about 20 yds short of the big sand trap on the right. Promptly hit my 3wood into the next big sandtrap on the right, about 105 to the pin. Hit a half-9 to the front left part of the green, came up short on the uphill birdie putt. tap-in par.
Semi-pulled a low-line-drive over the big hump on the inside of the dogleg left on the par 4 #14, had 123 yds left with a downhill lie. . . punched a 9iron past the pin so that it rolled around the backstop there for a while, threatening to soak back to the hole, but it hung up there . . . treacherous downhill birdie putt wiggled 7 ways to sunday before missing the cup.
Still trying to just play the short par4 #15 to a standstill, not dominate it, I tried to smooth a 5iron out over the 150 yd marker, pushed it right, and the last I saw of it, it took a huge bounce off the cart path. So I took a desert drop up by the ladies tees and hit a 7iron onto the left side of the green where the pin was -- felt pretty restored by that, figured I might hole that one-putt to save my par, but as I was creeping down the cartpath, half-looking for my ball, I found it, on the fairway side of the cartpath on a hardpan lie . . . so I hit a PW to the middle of the green, up on the upstairs tier, looking for a 2putt par . . . the birdie putt went 5 or 6 ft past the hole, and I missed the comebacker. bogey.
The problem I been having on the long par 4 #16 is hitting my ball too far left, into the trash or the traps, so now I just aim at the traps on the right . . . I don't know why or how or how long that will work, but I keep winding up on the leftside of the fairway a wedge away. Hit my approach pin high 9 ft left . . . that green is so contortured I was sure I was misreading the break even tho' the putt looked straight from both sides of the ball, so I left it 2ft short, just to be sure.
I got away with another thinny on the par 3#17, where the pin was up on the front right hand corner . . . just like when I played my 2 hour round a couple of weeks ago, I had a measly 15 ft uphill putt for birdie, and just like then and all day today, I left it short.
I figgered if I was ever gonna eagle #18 this had to be the day . . . I tho't I might've line-drive-pulled my 5wood too far left, but it was safely in the fairway 257 from the pin, which was on the back of the green. The wind was with me, mostly, and I had a launch-pad-lie, so I reckoned I might make a long eagle putt if I could get it on, but I pushed it a little right, because of the trees crowding my shot on the left, and wound up in the swales right of the green. Hit one last premium pitch/chip the right distance, but right 7 ft above the pin. I almost left that downhill birdie putt short too, but it just tumbled in.
This where my boys, Mike & Rob, come in. They are my witnesses. An essential role, I'm sure you will agree.
So in case you lost count that's a 36 on the back 9 . . . so now I've got 36s on both the front and the back, I just got to put them together . . . .8^D . . . so I had 31 putts the way I counted 'em up here. . . just 1 3putt, on #15 . . . 8 birdie putts on the back 9, and missed 7 of 'em . . . I shudda broke 80, easy . . .
I started out with 4 straight 5s as a result of sinfully weak chipping on the first two holes, then righteously strong chipping on the next two holes, and that chipping would stay with me the whole day. A par on the par 3 #5, then a snowman on #6, bogey on #7, doublebogey on the signature par 3 #8, then a par on #9 . . . even with the great chipping, on #3, #4, #7, #8 & #9, the wooly greens were frustrating my putting, so I wound up with a 45 . . .
I can't say I had vowed to knuckle down on the back 9 any more than I always vow to knuckle down, but the plain truth is that I did . . .
hit a knockdown 3wood to the middle of the fairway, then pureed a 9iron over the green in that semi-blind shot; another good chip for a gimme par.
FINALLY hit a good shot on #11 again, and tho't I made the green but I was 3 yds short, and the pin was over on the left, so eagle wasn't really doable, but I also missed the 5 ft putt for birdie after a good pitch over the corner of the sand trap.
thinned my tee shot on the par 3 #12 over on the right side of the green, not quite up to the back pin position, barely missed the nasty little downhill breaker for birdie . . .
FLAT pushed my tee shot on the par5 #13 up onto the dam, but it caromed off in a magical way back into the fairway about 20 yds short of the big sand trap on the right. Promptly hit my 3wood into the next big sandtrap on the right, about 105 to the pin. Hit a half-9 to the front left part of the green, came up short on the uphill birdie putt. tap-in par.
Semi-pulled a low-line-drive over the big hump on the inside of the dogleg left on the par 4 #14, had 123 yds left with a downhill lie. . . punched a 9iron past the pin so that it rolled around the backstop there for a while, threatening to soak back to the hole, but it hung up there . . . treacherous downhill birdie putt wiggled 7 ways to sunday before missing the cup.
Still trying to just play the short par4 #15 to a standstill, not dominate it, I tried to smooth a 5iron out over the 150 yd marker, pushed it right, and the last I saw of it, it took a huge bounce off the cart path. So I took a desert drop up by the ladies tees and hit a 7iron onto the left side of the green where the pin was -- felt pretty restored by that, figured I might hole that one-putt to save my par, but as I was creeping down the cartpath, half-looking for my ball, I found it, on the fairway side of the cartpath on a hardpan lie . . . so I hit a PW to the middle of the green, up on the upstairs tier, looking for a 2putt par . . . the birdie putt went 5 or 6 ft past the hole, and I missed the comebacker. bogey.
The problem I been having on the long par 4 #16 is hitting my ball too far left, into the trash or the traps, so now I just aim at the traps on the right . . . I don't know why or how or how long that will work, but I keep winding up on the leftside of the fairway a wedge away. Hit my approach pin high 9 ft left . . . that green is so contortured I was sure I was misreading the break even tho' the putt looked straight from both sides of the ball, so I left it 2ft short, just to be sure.
I got away with another thinny on the par 3#17, where the pin was up on the front right hand corner . . . just like when I played my 2 hour round a couple of weeks ago, I had a measly 15 ft uphill putt for birdie, and just like then and all day today, I left it short.
I figgered if I was ever gonna eagle #18 this had to be the day . . . I tho't I might've line-drive-pulled my 5wood too far left, but it was safely in the fairway 257 from the pin, which was on the back of the green. The wind was with me, mostly, and I had a launch-pad-lie, so I reckoned I might make a long eagle putt if I could get it on, but I pushed it a little right, because of the trees crowding my shot on the left, and wound up in the swales right of the green. Hit one last premium pitch/chip the right distance, but right 7 ft above the pin. I almost left that downhill birdie putt short too, but it just tumbled in.
This where my boys, Mike & Rob, come in. They are my witnesses. An essential role, I'm sure you will agree.
So in case you lost count that's a 36 on the back 9 . . . so now I've got 36s on both the front and the back, I just got to put them together . . . .8^D . . . so I had 31 putts the way I counted 'em up here. . . just 1 3putt, on #15 . . . 8 birdie putts on the back 9, and missed 7 of 'em . . . I shudda broke 80, easy . . .
