Golf on weekends: October 12, 2013

A 1:30pm start at Charleston South this past Saturday was the right time. A threesome was just ahead of me. At first the plan was catch them and join, but I noticed they were playing whites. This is at least mildly disruptive to them and me. I took my time, and with absolutely no one behind me, I actually hung back and never caught them. They had carts, and moved at more than a reasonable clip, so, since I was walking as usual, it was smooth. I still played in just under four hours.

Charleston South 10-12-13 16th tee

The best part of the day was clearly the weather. I did, in the middle of some flubs, wonder why I played. I realized that I keep coming out here, shooting 100, and that I'm not feeling what I hope I'm going to be feeling when I leave for the links. So why?

It was another horrible round, broken up by six bogeys, and four pars (bogeys are good in my world!). I had a bit of luck with pulled drives in the heavy rough on the second hole and the 12th hole, and managed bogeys on what looked like lost drives.

The absolute highlights were the 4th hole, the 7th, and 9th on the front. On the back, it was 11, 12, and that's about it, aside from some great individual shots.

4th hole, about 100 out

The fourth hole is a Par 4, 432 yards up hill. I hit a good drive into a stiff wind, and it went only about 220 before the late slice dragged it down. It stayed on the fairway by about a foot. The second shot was an eight iron from over 200 out, laying up. This faded right also and landed right at the spot above, although it's up a little further than the picture, closer to the white birch. Here was one of the shots of the day, a smooth pitching wedge from the first cut rough. I usually hit this 120 with a full swing, but the wind was blowing right in my face. Hit a clean, high, far shot that landed right here:

4th green

I missed that putt, even though it was a good effort and had a chance, but 5 is good on this hole, the 2nd handicap, or 2nd most difficult according to the association. The threesome ahead of me had a little trouble replacing the pin here but it didn't hurt my game.

My drive on the 5th, a Par 4 379 was ideal. I hit a liner, 14 feet above the ground, still rising when it reached the fairway bunker, carrying over and landing center of the fairway, 130 out. I had three or four drives this fine today, but this was a good one.

5th hole

Not easy to see above but the fairway bunker is just to the right of the cart path way out, and I cleared that and drifted to the center. (click the pic and bunker is obvious).
Things turned ugly off that great drive though. The second shot nine iron was way short, and in the bunker. The bunker shot was a flub that made it out but only by about three feet, when I was five feet from the green, and the pin was another thirty away. This left me looking at a fourth shot, par, from the fringe, and though a little chip with the 7-iron is a favorite of mine, I muffed it here, or crushed it actually, rolling it past the stick by inches, but right off the other side of the green. Five back on, and a two putt for seven, off a perfect drive that was 130 out. arrrggh!!! There is something where, my back swing is smooth, the pace, the stance, every thing's right, but right at the point of contact, when the club is about to hit the ball, my nerves go 'bajoink!" and something goes wrong, and the golf gods just won't let me have the fun; the clean shot that is so easy to achieve when you take it nice and easy...

This ugliness continued to the 6th hole, a Par 5 505 yarder. Blah, 7. The next, the easiest on the course, is a short Par 4 317 yards. There is absolutely no chance of me driving this hole, so I hit a four iron off the tee and it lands fairway, 100-something out. Here I am using a favorite, the pitching wedge, confidently now after the 4th hole, and even with a ton of wind, it is safe on the green, a good twenty-five feet away. I make a halfway decent downhill putt that drifts about four feet past the hole. I am very scared hitting this next putt for par because it will be miserable to miss, but I get over the fear, and nail the putt for par.

The 9th hole at Charleston South is a Par 3 158 yarder that has massive fescue if you dribble it left, which I've done plenty of times. But here, I step up with an eight iron, though I usually use a seven, since the tees are a bit further up than usual, maybe 148 out. But when I stand on the tee and address the ball, I feel the wind, and grab the seven after all.

9th tee, 158 yards (or less)

You can barely see the pin on the left side of the picture, as the hole is a deceiving up hill. If you miss left of the green it is a gully. But I really tag my 7, best shot ever at this hole, setting up the birdie putt below:

Birdie Putt! 9th green

You can kind of see how it falls off into the abyss to the left, but I stayed up, on the green by less than a foot. But the birdie putt was maybe ten feet, and I was happy--until I missed it. It was a nice pace and line, but it missed, and I tapped in for par.

I managed to par the 11th for the third consecutive time playing Charleston South, hitting a the wedge well and landing twenty feet above the pin. This birdie putt was right on pace, but drifted left and gave me a three or four footer for par, which I made. Sweet!

11th hole, 115 yards, looking back toward the tee box

The 12th had the previously mentioned lucky find of a drive that went far, but landed in the tall grass. The hole is a partially blind drive, with woods far left, then fescue, then rough. I carried left--I knew I wasn't in the woods, but I had a good long search and found it partially buried, but playable. I managed to spank an 8 iron that left me 140 out, in the center, and then another eight iron onto the green. I two putt for bogey. After a nightmare 13th, I hit an awesome drive on the short 14th, that left me about 100 out, but the 'bajoinks' took over. Second awesome drive on a par 4, sitting fairway with an easy wedge or nine, second 7. Arrggh doesn't cover it.

I hit a three balls into the pond on the difficult 15th (1 handicap by them), before hitting a perfect drive on this Par 4 407 that dog-legs left (daring you to carry the pond). The good news is, I think I know where to aim this now, and to clarify, I always knew where to aim, but was still trying to cheat left, because I've missed right and it leaves you well over 200 out. This drive, which I thought was further right than I wanted to be, was not too far right. It was 175 out, and I hit a fine 5 iron here, that was twenty yards too far to the right of the fairway, but playable. I chipped up with a pitching wedge, a difficult way onto a raised green from where I was, and hit a fine touch shot here, that landed twelve feet past the stick, on the green. This truly was one of the better shots of the day, considering the lie, and even though it was short. Of course, this is how the golf gods work--I hit three in the water off the tee box on the most difficult hole, so the score is irrelevant, and then I put the ball twelve feet away on three natural shots--which tells you I could do it...someday. Anyway, being twelve feet away for a pretend par, I knew I would make this twelve foot putt. I was supremely confident and sure, and you what? I nailed it, bam, right in the hole. Four strokes! But was it a par? Noooooo.

The sky on the sixteenth, that you see in the first picture above, was on my side. It was almost a soothing 18 holes. I almost enjoyed it--I did enjoy it, even though the score was shot. Walking 18 at Charleston South in October, with those grey skies and 70 degrees, I can look past the score, if but for a moment. My best round ever at Charleston South is still easily achievable.