Course was packed. Went at 12 noon. No tee times available until after 2. Bill (starter) sent me out front to look for an opening since they were starting everyone on the back today. Found an opening on 8, played it, but then realized 5 was open, so played it next. So, started on 8, then 5,6,7 and 9. Then waited a half hour before I could get out on 10th. Played the 10th, but it was completely packed ahead. So, almost quit and went home. Instead, I went over to the practice green and killed some time. Then after the tee sheet opened up, went out to 11th and played straight through to the 4th.
Played very well from a mixture of blue and white tees, depending on the wind, which was at least 15 mph gusting higher. Up & down par on 8th (my starting hole). Then birdie on par 5 5th (my 2nd hole) with near chip-in for eagle from just off rightside fringe (reached in two), and a nice up and down par on 6th got me off to a good start. Just short of the green in regulation on 9th and another great chip to get up & down. Made many good up & downs today, when I missed greens in reg. Though, I hit lots of greens too.
Just missed a birdie on par 3 15th. Hit PW to 4 feet and then pulled the easy straight, nearly tap-in putt. That one hurt.
Nice drives most of the day. Was in fairway bunker off the tee on 1st (from the blue tees), but made a nice shot from the sand to put me up close, alongside the green. Also in fairway bunker on 7th, up against the far lip with no real chance to reach the green from the tough lie. Hit a good 6 iron and nice pitch to about 15 feet, but 2 putted for bogey. Then on 14th, ended up in right fairway bunker after landing in center of fairway and bouncing hard right. PW from bunker to about 20 feet past the pin for GIR and 2 putt par. Played the fairway bunkers well for the day.
Happy with play. Good score, but two 3-putts and a couple less than satisfying shots stopped me from a great score.
Purposely playing a bit longer distance the last few rounds, as we get close to the beginning of the new posting season, so I am not caught with my pants down when the tees go back to normal position. This shorter yardage has been fun in the cold winter conditions, giving me many satisfying scores in the 70s. But on days when the temps reach the 70s, like yesterday and even today (when the wind was with me), playing a bit longer yardage is probably smarter so I don't get a harsh wake-up call when everything goes back to normal. I'm hitting the ball well off the tee right now. As long as that continues, I should be able to handle the longer tees with no problem. Had many 230-240 yard drives the last couple days and at least a couple even longer. That'll work if I can keep that up.
