Sunday, November 09, 2008
Western Skies
Well, so, 3 wks ago, I played at Cave Creek, shot 82, felt like 102, because I putted so poorly . . . mainly due to the furry, post-over-seeding greens. . .
Then, 2 wks ago, I played at Aguila . . . shot 95 there . . . that felt like 105, cuz I didn't putt well on the furry greens, again, but I also had some blow-up holes that I'd managed to avoid for a while, especially the last 2 holes, where I got tired: still not back in walking shape, had to take an aleve-d for my allergies that made me a little dizzy and dehydrated, so I started flaring everything right . . .
So this week I played Western Skies with the Defenestrator . . . I shot 45-42, with 2 birdies, finally . . . hadn't had a birdie in a month . . . the main problem this time was 5 double bogeys including 2 in the last 3 holes, as I wearied again, and started flaring right. I did putt better on the closer-to-normal-but-still-wooly greens: witness the 2 back9 birdies that I DID make this week where the last two outings I had 2 back9 opportunities I failed to convert.
I have some other weird stats: 4 lip-outs, 4 3putts (I putted better, not great, if you see what I mean), 3 wedges pureed over the green, 3 more bladed over the green, and 1 chunked. They had had some big tournament earlier that morning, but we zipped around almost as fast as we could hoof it . . . but they had the pin positions in the most pernicious place on every single green . . . tucked into corners, on top of knobs, behind any bunker available, and/or at the edge of tier-slopes . . . hard to get close . . .
on the par 3 #11 I hit a one-liner fade within 3 ft . . . almost missed the birdie on the low side.
on the par 5 #12 I hit a ferocious drive and a bodacious 3wood 50 yds short of the green, against the wind . . . lobbed a little half-wedge pin-high, but 22 ft right of the pin . . . it was perfectly flat and straight, and the putt wiggled both ways out of the cup before it toppled in.
So that was my quota, but I wanted three, and then a personal best 4 birdies, but . . .
on the par 3 #13 I perfectly faded a half 7wood almost in the hole, but it hit a hard spot and bounced to the back of the green . . . I couldn't find a ball mark anywhere. . . .
on the par 4 #14 I hit my longest drive of the day, say 290, that left only 70-odd yds to the middle of the green, but my half-wedge missed the corner of the green where the pin was, and rolled up on one of those mounds into the fringe: 4 putts to get into the hole. grrrrrr.
so I put a little west-texas-red-ass on my next drive and left myself another half wedge to the green, but the pin was right behind a bunker in the center-front of the green, and, trying to get it close, hit it fat . . . hit the quarter-wedge next shot25 ft past the hole, 2 putted for bogey.
from then on I was flaring everything right . . . double bogeyed a par 3, with a chunk and a 3putt; bogeyed a long par 4 after missing a 3 foot par after a fabulous flop shot; double-bogeyed the long #18 -- failing to finish strong . . . bah!
won't be improving this ranking . . . still not one of the top-drawer courses . . . maybe if the greens had more than one pernicious pin setting, it could be a 3, but, we really don't like courses that use tricked-up greens to compensate for flat, wide-open fairways, do we. . .
Then, 2 wks ago, I played at Aguila . . . shot 95 there . . . that felt like 105, cuz I didn't putt well on the furry greens, again, but I also had some blow-up holes that I'd managed to avoid for a while, especially the last 2 holes, where I got tired: still not back in walking shape, had to take an aleve-d for my allergies that made me a little dizzy and dehydrated, so I started flaring everything right . . .
So this week I played Western Skies with the Defenestrator . . . I shot 45-42, with 2 birdies, finally . . . hadn't had a birdie in a month . . . the main problem this time was 5 double bogeys including 2 in the last 3 holes, as I wearied again, and started flaring right. I did putt better on the closer-to-normal-but-still-wooly greens: witness the 2 back9 birdies that I DID make this week where the last two outings I had 2 back9 opportunities I failed to convert.
I have some other weird stats: 4 lip-outs, 4 3putts (I putted better, not great, if you see what I mean), 3 wedges pureed over the green, 3 more bladed over the green, and 1 chunked. They had had some big tournament earlier that morning, but we zipped around almost as fast as we could hoof it . . . but they had the pin positions in the most pernicious place on every single green . . . tucked into corners, on top of knobs, behind any bunker available, and/or at the edge of tier-slopes . . . hard to get close . . .
on the par 3 #11 I hit a one-liner fade within 3 ft . . . almost missed the birdie on the low side.
on the par 5 #12 I hit a ferocious drive and a bodacious 3wood 50 yds short of the green, against the wind . . . lobbed a little half-wedge pin-high, but 22 ft right of the pin . . . it was perfectly flat and straight, and the putt wiggled both ways out of the cup before it toppled in.
So that was my quota, but I wanted three, and then a personal best 4 birdies, but . . .
on the par 3 #13 I perfectly faded a half 7wood almost in the hole, but it hit a hard spot and bounced to the back of the green . . . I couldn't find a ball mark anywhere. . . .
on the par 4 #14 I hit my longest drive of the day, say 290, that left only 70-odd yds to the middle of the green, but my half-wedge missed the corner of the green where the pin was, and rolled up on one of those mounds into the fringe: 4 putts to get into the hole. grrrrrr.
so I put a little west-texas-red-ass on my next drive and left myself another half wedge to the green, but the pin was right behind a bunker in the center-front of the green, and, trying to get it close, hit it fat . . . hit the quarter-wedge next shot25 ft past the hole, 2 putted for bogey.
from then on I was flaring everything right . . . double bogeyed a par 3, with a chunk and a 3putt; bogeyed a long par 4 after missing a 3 foot par after a fabulous flop shot; double-bogeyed the long #18 -- failing to finish strong . . . bah!
won't be improving this ranking . . . still not one of the top-drawer courses . . . maybe if the greens had more than one pernicious pin setting, it could be a 3, but, we really don't like courses that use tricked-up greens to compensate for flat, wide-open fairways, do we. . .
