All's Well that Ends Well...

Defeat at The Battleground...

My hopes of a record round at The Battleground could be summed up by my first tee shot (that, with a little help from the wind, went swimming). I hit a total of six balls into the water and not all of them were tee shots. I made only two pars, one on the par 3 8th (150 yds all carry over water with an 8i), and the par 4 12th (409 yard #2 hcp hole). In the end, I shot a 107. Here are the stats:

Fairways hit... 6
GIRs........... 1 (1 just missed, 2 sand)
Birdies........ 0
Pars........... 2 (1 up and down on 12)
Putts......... 38
Bogeys......... 2
Doubles........ 8
Triples........ 4
Balls lost .... 6 (6 water)

Then I tried again:

Fairways hit... 7
GIRs........... 3
Birdies........ 0
Pars........... 6 (3 up and downs)
Putts......... 35
Bogeys......... 3
Doubles........ 2
Triples........ 5
Balls lost .... 6 (5 water, 1 OB)

I felt a lot better the second time around (shooting 102), though I still managed to find plenty of water.

The final two holes were sweet though. The 17th is a short par 5 of 454 yards and the wind was straight left to right. Water lines the entire right side of the fairway. I hit a great tee shot well left and the wind brought it back in on the left side of the fairway. An easy 3W got me to the fringe on the left and I was putting for eagle. I ended with par, but was very happy that I came the closest I've ever been to "on in 2" on a par 5. The 18th is a short par 4 of 378 yards with a carry over water on the approach shot to a highly elevated green. I teed the ball a bit too high and got under it which left me about 230 yards out. I went for it with the 3W and cleared the water to land 5 yards in front of the green. I made a pretty good chip to 10 feet below the pin and made the putt for par.

I just had no confidence in anything out there. I felt like I was afraid to hit the ball with a full swing. My putting was miserable and I left almost everything well short the first 18. I did better the second 18 because I made an effort not to leave putts short. Of course that left me with 6ft comebackers in many cases.

I need to learn to trust my swing.

Closing round at Green Caye...

Last night was the last night of my month-long membership at Green Caye. After playing so many rounds at a course, there's not a lot of thinking involved. I went with my mind made up that I would trust my swing and make the shot... And it worked well for the most part. I hit a 6i to start on the 180 yd hole into a gentle wind and drew it into what looked like a solid greenie. I found the ball on the fringe in the back but managed to par the hole (second time to par #1 in the last 32 attempts). I parred the next two, then took a double on #4 due to a topped tee shot and poor chipping. I came in with bogey-par-bogey-par-bogey for a solid 32. I was swinging almost lazily and flying the ball very well. My putting and chipping were outstanding as well. Of the five pars I made, four were up and downs. A very nice way to close out the month.

My earliest return to Green Caye will be next Monday. I will have no time for gold this weekend.

-Greg