Hot and humid again. 90s. Made some great shots and a few not so great.
Terrible drive on 2nd resulted in penalty and a double bogey.
Shot that bothered me the most was after a good drive on 7th to center fairway. Workers were fixing one of the fairway bunkers, using noisy equipment. So to be considerate they shut it all down. However, I felt rushed as a result of them standing there waiting and did not hit a great approach shot. Thinned it over the green. I was in between a 9 iron and 8 iron and needed more time to think it through and get committed, but they got in my head and I rushed so as not to hold them up. Stupid. My fault, but I still blamed them in my head. That should have been an easy GIR and par. Instead, a disappointing bogey.
For the most part, hit my irons well. Nice 5i on steep uphill par 3 8th, right on pin. Can't say for sure due to the surface being well above the tee and out of view, but I thought I heard it hit the pin on the first bounce. I found it 4 feet past the pin when I got up to the green and made the touchy downhill birdie putt.
On 9th, reached in regulation after a long drive well over the ridge, into the left rough. Hit 5 iron layup into right rough 128 out. 3rd was a 9i onto green about 25 feet right of the pin leaving me a very slippery putt across the steep back to front sloping green, over the hump in the middle. Read it, hit it, sunk it for back to back birdies. Thought it was going in when it was half way there. And, it did.
Hit a poor 2nd shot on the 12th after a good drive in the middle of the fairway. Unfortunately, the sprinklers came on as I hit the drive and the ball landed in an area in the middle of two of their sprays. I tried to time my swing so as not to get wet, but certainly was not comfortable, knowing the spray was creeping up on me from behind. I rushed and fatted the shot. I got it over the forced-carry high-cabbage/wetland area, but barely. I still had a blind, steep uphill 65 yarder to the pin from the lie in the rough, just a few feet from the edge of the cabbage it barely cleared. Took a full swing, aiming somewhere in the direction of where I expected the pin was and hoped for the best. Got up the hill and found it 5 feet from the pin, and made the putt to save par.
Had a good chance at birdie on 13th. 10 foot slight uphill putt came up a foot short. The greens are slow due to the hot weather. Maybe 8 or 9 on the stimp meter, max. They have not been cut much lately. The slow speed hurt me a few other times today (and yesterday) as well.
Been trying hard to wean myself off my 4H so I can keep both 7 irons in the bag. The gap between my 5i and 3H is big, but over the past 4 or 5 rounds, I have been able to get a bit more from my 5i when necessary and a bit less by choking down a touch on the 3H when required. On par 3 17th, I had 180 to pin. Between 5i and 3H. I decided short was better than long, so went with 5 iron, my typical 170 club. Got 175 out of it, but more importantly was probably able to better control it than a choked-down hybrid. Left me a 12 foot uphill putt, of which again due to the slowness of the greens, I hit short. But, it was online.
Poor 2nd shot on par 5 18th out of rough with 3W hurt. Had no business hitting 3W from that lie. Definitely should have good with 3H. In any case, I paid the price and still had 200+ uphill with 3rd, all uphill. Flew it into the bunker short right of the green. Expected a draw from the hook lie, but instead, it went straight. Got it on the green from the bunker leaving me a 60 footer for par. I put it within a few inches for a tap-in bogey.
Overall, decent play today.
