Nice eve. Went out about 4:45. Bogied the first four holes, 3 of which had good shots at par. Finally on 5, hit a real good drive and had only 95 yards on approach. Hit a 52* wedge to 9 feet, but missed the bird by about 6 inches. On 6th, drove it right, to other side of cart path in unfriendly rough, but hit a PW off hard pan and got so much spin that the ball sailed about 10 feet over the pin, but backed up to 3 feet. Made the birdie putt. On 7, hit a what I thought was a very good approach, but ended up pin high in the bunker. Got up and down with a nice sand save to 4'. Was feeling like I was gonna have a great round after the par, birdie, par, but then went and yanked my drive on 8 into the red staked lateral hazard. Took a drop/penalty, then after a good 3H, pull hooked my 150 yard approach into the fairway bunker on the left. Hit 8i from bunker, 125 yds. out and put it on the green pin high, but missed putt to save bogey. First double. Then hit 4H off 9th tee to 30 ft. and made 2-putt par to finish up the front at 41 with really only one bad hole, on 8th.
Started the back off well with a long drive, then a very well placed 3H to 87 yards out. Hit nice 52* approach, but had a bit too much spin on it and it dropped and stopped on a dime, 38 feet short. Made the 2-putt par. Thought I had another par on 11 but after a nice 5W off the tee, had about 115 left with the wind in my face. So hit what felt like the perfect 9i. Couldn't see it land over the hill, but expected it to be very close to the pin. Once I got over the hill, I was surprised to see it not even reaching the green. Don't know if the wind knocked it back or what. It felt perfect when I struck it. Chip was shorter than I hoped, but still within 8 ft. I just missed the putt to save par and ended with a bogey. Played very well the next three holes, par, par, birdie (second of round). The birdie was quite satisfying cause it was on one of the toughest holes. Hit a 240 yard drive, then a great 7 iron from 155 to 10 ft, pin high. Took my time reading the putt and stroked it perfectly. Got me to even par on the back at that point. Unfortunately, I caught up with a couple groups in front of me and had to wait about 10 minutes before I could tee off on 15. Felt like I got out of my rhythm. Hit a weak-ass 5W off tee and caught the side slope along the right side of the fairway bunker and bounced into the woods. Found it about a yard into the woods, under vines and branches, but thought I could get it out of there with a wedge and give myself a decent position to get on in 3. Blasted the wedge and got more of it than expected and went across the fairway, but had a decent lie. Hit a nice 3H from there (190 out), right at the pin, but it was really coming in hot. Bounced of the front of the green and just kept going, right over it and down the hill behind it and into the woods. Again, found it, but this time had to take a penalty/drop. Made a nice pitch up to about 8 feet and made a very nice 1-putt to save double. Then proceeded to double the 16th too. There went the round, right out the window. Pulled off a nice par on 17, but missed a putt by coming up 1 inch short on 18 to save par there. All in all, not a bad round. 3 doubles hurt though.
DougEly says:When my back gets sore out there, I think I do the same thing you do and swing too much with my arms, but I'm not 100% sure. I just know that nothing feels right in my swing when my back is really uncomfortable. Then I start thinking too much about what I am doing wrong and screw up my swing even further. My drive used to be very consistently straight. These back issues are new for me. Don't know what triggered it. Never had back discomfort like this before on the course, though have had some mid back stress from time to time from work that never seemed to affect my game. Actually never noticed it on the course. I must have tweaked something 3 or 4 weeks ago and now am playing too much to give it enough of a break. One thing is for sure and has really become apparent since my recent back issues. If you hit the ball reasonably straight and a decent distance, scoring well is much easier. Most of my bad holes of late are a direct result of poor drives.
4/20/12
