Stopped By A Snowman in Summer

Played in the monthly medal on Saturday with former captain Geoff Estcourt and single figure player Steve Houghton. Both are great bloke and pretty steady golfers so I knew it would be an enjoyable game. I have to be honest and say I had been hitting it pretty well in practice and there was a glimmer of anticipation ahead of the 1st tee.

I started off reasonably with a opening 4 (net par) having gone in a greenside bunker off the tee and made a solid par at the 2nd despite a horrible hooked drive that barely cleared the ditch some 150 yards off the tee. It continued in a similar vein, not hitting it great but fashioning a score until the 6th. Another poor tee shot went right and out of bounds. The mandatory reload went left of the green but a great up and down limited the damage to a double bogey.

Standing on the ninth tee I knew that a bogey five would see me out level to my handicap. Its not a long hole, only 400 yards but does play directly into the prevailing wind. Even so, a half decent drive, reasonable second and an approach on with two putts to follow and happy days. And that is where the happiness ended. I hit a huge slice that ended up in a greenside bunker left of the 18th green. Despite that I had a stance and a shot. I figured a 7 iron would clear the ditch that crosses the hole and leave a simple shot in. Not too aggressive and a sound strategy. I hit it well too but somehow managed to hook it left (how can you hook a bunker shot?) and it ended up unplayable on the edge of a pond. A drop, fat shot, duffed pitch and finally on for 6. Two putts later I carded a snowman (8) to go out in 44 (+9 gross and three over my handicap).

I dug in as I said I would at the very start of this blog determined to grind as good a score out as possible. I focused on making the buffer zone and protecting my handicap cut from the previous week. I hit another dreadful drive at 10 into the thick clag on the right and had to hack it out. I managed to miss the green with my third but chipped and putted to salvage a net par. I hit the green at the par 3 for a par and it seemed I had steadied the ship. All was going well until the 15th where I hit the fairway and proceeded to hit my second into heavy rough under no pressure at all. I could only hack it out and another shot was frittered away with ease.

By the time I stood on the 18th tee I couldn't make the buffer zone but a par would see me play the back nine in only one over my handicap which would have been acceptable given the quality of my driving and general ball striking. However yet another sliced drive looked as though it had gone out of bounds again but when I got to it, the ball was in play by inches but with a barbed wire fence impeding the swing. I stabbed it forward before hitting a fairway wood into a reasonable position. I then decided to hit a huge pull with only a 9 iron in my hand and into the same greenside bunker I was in playing the 9th (good job I'd raked it properly). I got it out and two putted for a 7 and a final nett 76 (+6). All in all that was only good enough for 12th place in division 2 and no more than I deserved.

I'm not sure what happened other than a sublime mixture of reasonable scoring (not good striking) with the odd horror. I must mention poor old Steve though. As usual he was his normal steady self and standing on 18 had a good chance to post a net 70 (level) and be in with an outside squeak of a top 3. By the end of the 531 yards he was signing for a 10. It was a real shame and came from nowhere so I guess it just shows that in a medal it ain't over until you've made the last putt.