Golf on weekends: Charleston Springs South August 28, 2017

Charleston Springs, South Course; August 28, 2017

My first round of the year came very late in 2017, late August at Charleston South. Not a typical August day, it was 70's and pleasant, dry the whole time. It took a while to get out this year but I got my new county card and walked the good walk.

Pretty common by now, but the first few holes were trouble free. No driving range, no swings in the garage, just a quick dust off of the clubs, and I get to the first tee (after the Charleston South hike, because it's almost a half a mile from the clubhouse to the first tee), and there I meet Dan, probably in his fifties, who took a helmet to the knee playing college football years ago, and he played the golds with me. Joining us were Larry and Ross, both about 78, and they played the Senior Whites.

I start the 1st, Par 4 405, with a line drive that lands me just left of the fairway, but a nice, straight, low liner in safe grass. Larry and Ross hit easy shots right down the middle like they would all day. Dan scattered his to the right, but a good distance.

I lined up my second shot, looking at a good 200, maybe just under, but I don't have the guts to hit a 3 iron so early on, so I opt for the six iron, and hope to come up short and safe and chip up. Of all the thousands of square feet I could find with that six iron, I find sand. You know I hate the sand, right? But I get out, if short again. I was looking at thirty yards, but I hit it twenty. Anyway out of the sand, and on the skirt. From here I chip up with a wedge, missing my par by four feet. I made the four foot bogie putt, and I'll take that 5 all day for a season first!

2nd tee box Larry and Ross

My partners must have started to sweat after I tee'd off the 2nd, Par 4 350, with a great pond waiting for your ball if you hit it straight down the middle. Who hits down the middle anyway, huh? I do. On this hole. But it's a nice drive and it runs right up to the edge of the fairway. Ten more yards and it's 'go fish', but I am safe. I pull out the nine iron for the 120 yards that carry over the pond to the dance floor and hit one of my best shots of the day. I skied a nine iron and dropped it about 10 feet from the cup. Did I mention I carried a pond? I thought I'd say it again because...So I'm 10 feet from birdie and it's a downhill putt. Dan chipped onto the green from the same general direction and whaled past the pin, so of course I soft touch it and end up short, a tip in par. Not saying it was Dan's fault, but he did make that incline look like a black diamond.

For a few holes, I forgot that I don't really know how to play golf. It was all about the blue sky, the puffy clouds, and the green grass and trees, wafting in the breeze. How can you beat 72 degrees and sunny? This is how: on the third tee (pic just below), after a decent bogie and excellent par, I get in the box and ready my Titleist DT-Solo, favorite 3rd rate golf ball of hackers everywhere (it's the name), and swing my four iron, awfully. I dribble the ball into the fescue, which is that bushy brown stuff in the pic, and back come those old feelings of dread. The guys offer me a re-hit but, c'mon. I find it easily enough (I didn't lose this ball until 17) and power a six iron through the strands and make it just short of the green with the second. It's a big green and I get on, but too high. I two putt from over twenty feet for a 5.

3rd hole, Par 3 195

The 4th is the number 2 handicap (the 2nd hardest hole on the course for you land-lubbers), a Par 4, 432 uphill yards with the wind in your face. There is plenty of real estate, and I use it all, going way left of the fairway, and blocking my view of the green with a set of giant pines, about 190 out. There is muck (lost ball fescue) long and left of the green, so I deem it wise to hit a six iron to safety. I make a decent shot here, just off the fairway, this time right, and then commit a golf sin--I line up my third shot, a wedge under 100 yards, and hit it on the large green, but up high, leaving a downhill 30 foot putt. The shot was a sin, but it wasn't the golf sin--I had jumped in front of Larry. His ball was a few yards behind mine, and I got mixed up as he cruised his cart with Ross. I didn't see him, but that's no excuse. You have to know where your partners are on the course. Anyway, I hit out of turn, and I felt shame, and I paid for it with my score. I missed the par putt by a mile, and putt twice more getting back, so I finish the 4th hole with a 6. Not the worst, but I was in position to par or even bogie when lying 3 from under 100. This confirmed the day's pattern for the remainder.

The next few holes were full of good shots followed by bad shots, bad scores, and missed opportunities. I drove quite well apart from one or two shots. Below you see the 8th green, a Par 5 505 yard stretch where you can't see the green until your third shot. I drove one far, but right, and it was in the trees, pin-balling around before coming out just off the fairway, but kind of short. I hit a good second shot, but not great, leaving me about 150 out, as you see below. My third was a failure, however, and instead of reaching the green from 150, I reached the fairway short of the green, about as high as that bunker:

8th green, inside 100

And instead of chipping on with my fourth shot, I 'bejoinks' it, which means everything is so smooth and steady and easy in my back swing, and forward swing, all until the point of contact when the whole body and the club head go 'bejoinks' and the ball flubs four feet. Now I'm hitting five, still not on, and two putt after that for seven. I made the big shots, but couldn't make the short ones.

I joked with Ross after seeing another of his 78 year old drives stay center, saying that I wanted to try that style of golf where, you hit the ball down the middle all the time. He replies without skipping a beat, "You have to get old first!"

I finish the front nine with a 52, awful, but leaving -100 still in play, (in my pipe dreams) and I start the 2nd half with a slice. I am way right, but safe, and looking at 150 to the green on the short Par 4 10th, 294 yards, with steep gullies and multiple steep bunkers for those who try to drive the green. Driving the green is nowhere in my plans, but in trying to light touch a drive, I slice. A four or five iron would leave me inside a hundred, but who is smart? Huh? In the pic below, it's hard to appreciate the depth of the gully you risk if you attack the green from tee, but it is deep, as are the bunkers. My second shot was only 150, but it was from short grass on the 11th hole (bad slice anyone?), and you can barely make out how the green is on a hill and the surrounding area just drops off.

10th green

I carefully hit a seven iron and it looks good, but maybe I was longer than I guessed because I land short. I blew up the pic of the 10th so you can see my ball:

10th close-up, lying 3

I'm just above the spot in the pic, near center of photo, where the dark green grass juts out into the fairway, short of the green, naturally. So from that little spot I'm hitting 3, and I end up with a six. I tried a tapper seven iron and landed fringe left. I three putt from there, and that stinks so yeah, pain.

I had more of that rotten style of play to come with sixes and sevens, even though I drove well. For example, the 12th hole is a Par 4 412, uphill, with a lost ball if you drive left, and a hill rolling away from the green if you drive right. So I drive one great, right down the middle, leaving me 180 or so from the green, and I dribble the next shot with my five iron. A good drive, followed by a flub, and my march toward 100 continued.

I had fatigue and disappointment most of the rest of the way, and I even started striking my left clavicle with my follow through, something I've never done. But I played the Par 5 13th very well.

This is a 500 yarder with a late dog leg right and a pond to mess with you if you play it down the right side of the fairway. I am too smart for that though, and drive it left, but just off the fairway. I have a tree in front of me and a pond to the right, but I power a low lined four iron and land center of the fairway, about 170 out. I still have some pond to face, but I hit my shot of the day, a magnificent six iron that lands here:

13th green, for birdie!

Above, you can see Dan finding his ball. Above his head is the pond I carried. My shot started before the bend in the fairway, so it was a masterpiece in my little world. My birdie putt was more like 'not a masterpiece' but it was close enough for a tap in par!

16th fairway, 105 out

I had no noteworthy shots from here out. The pic above shows me 105 out on the 16th. I hit this one clean with a wedge, but it wasn't my 3rd stroke (or my 4th), and it landed at the top of that green. You can see the pin is all the way in front, so I had forty feet downhill and didn't nail it. Sixes and sevens throughout, so a 53 on the back for a 105.

I had 5 7's, and 7 6's, not to mention a few 5's on par 3's. You can search for more than six strokes in those numbers, to try and find a round under 100, but without practice, talent is just a word. Rereading that, it seems like I'm implying I have talent. So, moving along...I did par two holes, causing some joy, and there were a few scattered reasons for trying this another day.