The Day That Could Have Been

It was supposed to rain. It was suppossed to be cold. It was supposed to be windy.

Windy it was. But sunny with temperatues in the 50s meant I could steal another day of golf from mother nature.

Being late in the afternoon, I had to get someplace quickly, so I went to the closest course to my house -- Granite Links Golf Club in Quincy, which just was named the #73 public course in the country by Golf Digest. It's the type of course that clearly requires some course knowlege -- the first time I played it, I think I shot 97; since then I'm averaging in the low 80s, if not better. It also has the best "inter-course" views of any place I've ever been.

As the title suggests, the was The Day That Could Have Been. I've never been 8-over and oh-so-close to even par before; if it wasn't for some wind and a few bad putts, it really could have happend. Here's the hole-by-hole breakdown:

1 I started on the Milton 9, and the 1st is a real tester, a 483 yard par 4 where you may actually have to lay-up off the tee because of a hazard that pokes into the fairway about 280-290 yards out; the tees were also up a bit and it was playing downwind. I hit a 2-hybrid to the middle of the fairway, then a 7-iron about 195 yards to the back of the green; that should tell you all you need to know about the wind (my typical 7-iron max distance is 175 yards). 2 putts, one par. Score: E. Theoretical score: E.

2 A straightforward par 3 with a big green. My 8-iron found the bunker front-right. That leads me to a quick aside about the bunkers here -- they are absolutely perfect. They're made of crushed granite, which makes them a sparkling white, and they are one of the key reasons this course looks so beautiful in the sunshine. The crushed granite also gives them a very consistent, firm feel, and you can always trust your shot. I popped mine out to about 5 feet to make a nice sandy. Score: E. Theoretical score: E.

3 Similar to the 1st, the 3rd is a long par 4 with a hazard that forces you to be very careful off the tee; you then have to carry the hazard to get to the green, or play safe out to the left. I hit a 1-hybrid just into the rough on the L side, leaving about 200 yards. Here was essentially my only bad shot of the day; facing a sidehill lie with the ball below my feet, I tried to play a 4-iron out to the safe area on the left, but I topped it and rolled it into the hazard. I then hit a pretty good 9 iron just off the back of the green, and made a delicate up and down for a disappointing 6. Best case scenario, had I hit that 4-iron out to the left, I would have faced a tough little pitch to a narrow green, so I think a good score would have been 5. Score: +2. Theoretical score: +1.

4 A challenging uphill par 5 that has historically been a problem for me, I actually played a very standard drive to the middle of the fairway, 4 iron to about 80 yards, and gap wedge to the green. I had a lengthy 30+ footer for birdie... and smacked it 10 feet past. You can guess what happened next. I HATE 3 PUTTS!!! Score: +3. Theoretical score: +1.

5 An easier par 4, I hit drive to the (smart) left side of the fairway, leaving about 120 yards to a diagonal green from right front to back left. This is the highest elevation point of the course, and the wind was whipping pretty hard from right-to-left and a little in my face. I decided to hit a low punch 9-iron and hit it absolutely perfectly, exactly how I wanted to. But the wind was stronger than I thought, and it ended up 10 yards short. My chip ran a little long, and 2 putts led to a bogey that really should have been an easy par with a little less wind. Score: +4. Theoretical score: +1.

6 A very challenging 219 yard par 3, with wind that was now cutting across left-to-right. I hit a 3 iron to just off the green on the right, then failed to carry a ridge on my chip, leaving a lengthy 25 foot par try. 2 putt bogey again, but realistically 4 is a decent score here. Score: +5. Theoretical score: +2.

7 The green and most of the fairway are blind from the tee on 7; I've driven (or over-driven) the green twice when the wind is favorable, but there was no shot on this day. I played very safe out the larger right side of the fairway, leaving a 95 yard gap wedge to the green... stuck it to 4 feet! ...and missed the putt. Score: +5. Theoretical score: +1.

8 Another lay-up hole off the tee under normal conditions, though in retrospect with the wind I probably could have hit driver this time. Instead my 1-hybrid found a fairway bunker on the left side, about 125 yards out. I hit a solid 9-iron to about 10 yards short of the green, made a nice chip and a tap-in for par. Score: +5. Theoretical score: +1.

9 521 yards, up probably 100+ feet of elevation, and dead into the wind. A drive left is dead as it falls off steeply just off the fairway; my drive was left. Fortunately, because it's early in the season, the fescue that normally prevents any reasonable shot hasn't grown in yet, so I actually had a play, but the ball was still above my waist -- not just above my feet, but my waist. I hit a tee-ball 5-iron to the right side of the fairway, about as good a shot as I could have. I only had about 120 left, but with the wind and the hill took 2 extra clubs and smoked an 8-iron...that just barely made the front of the green. 2 putts made for a very satisfying par. Score: +5. Theoretical score: +1.

10 The Granite 9 starts with a hole that you have to play 2-3 times before you have any idea what to do. It's a 513 yard par 5, severely downhill; it sounds easy enough, but there is a huge waste area that lies about 290 yards from the tee and goes almost all the way to the green. You can actually hit driver if you want to risk the very narrow area of fairway that continues along the left side of the hazard (I've successfully done it once and had only about 8-iron in to the green), but it's a huge risk. Playing both downhill and downwind, I elected to lay-up with a 2-hybrid... and still stopped just short of the hazard. With a slightly awkward lie, I hit a 5-iron to the safe area left of the green (where it's easier to clear the waste area), followed by a flop up to the green and 2 putts for par. Score: +5. Theoretical score: +1.

11 I usually have a hard time with my alignment on the 2nd hole on the Granite 9, but this time I smoked a perfect drive to the middle of the fairway, 315 yards (with the wind). I had an easy 60-degree wedge in but pulled it a little bit, ending up off the green left. I made a so-so chip and 2 putt for bogey that should have been an easy par. Score: +6. Theoretical score: +1.

12 The number 1 handicap hole on the Granite side, and very similar to the 3rd on the Milton side. I hit a good but not great drive just over the bunker on the left of the fairway, then a 6 iron to pin-high just off the green on the left, but a terrible chip left me 20+ feet for par... which I made. (Note, this is about the only point in the round where I can say I made up a shot that I didn't earn.) Score: +6. Theoretical score: +1.

13 A nice par 3 with a "Redan" style green fronted by a small pond on the front left. The pin was in a favorable position on the right side of the green, just before the ridge in the green that carries most shots down the back left. I hit 7-iron and came up a bit short, then what I thought was an excellent chip to about 2 feet just left of the hole. I turned around to pick up my putter, and when I turned back my ball had apparently teleported down the slope and I suddenly found myself with a 15 footer... ugh. 2 putts meant an undeserved bogey. Score: +7. Theoretical score: +1.

14 A hole that usually plays downwind, this day was playing almost straight into it. It's a tricky tee shot from the back tees, which seem to be based on a different hole altogether. I usually try to play a high tee-shot over the trees on the right side, but with the wind today I played it straight out toward the traps on the left side. I hit it perfect -- again, exactly how I wanted to... and never found the ball. I could only assume that it carried farther than I thought was possible into the wind and found the woods/hazard past the traps. I dropped, then hit a 6 iron that came up in the bunker short of the green. Another nice blast out of perfect crushed granite and I tapped in for a mystery bogey. Score: +8. Theoretical score: +1.

15 A deceptive hole that somehow always seems to force me into the woods on the left; this time I hit a great drive that on a wind-free day probably would have caught the slope a run down toward the front of the green. Instead today it stopped at the top of the hill, and I had about 70 yards in to the narrow green. I'm starting to really love my new 60-degree Vokey wedge -- flew just past the pin, then spun it back to about 6 feet. Made this one. Score: +7. Theoretical score: E.

16 An unreal par 3, 218 yards all carry over a waste area, to a green that is only about 15-20 yards deep. With the wind in your face, it would have been impossible; the course gods must have know that, and the black tees were up where the blues usually are, making it a more manageable 185 yards. I it 4 iron and still just barely cleared the hazard (on the safer left side), then nearly chipped in before tapping in for par. Score: +7. Theoretical score: E.

17 Like the 9th on the Milton 9, this is an uphill par 5 that played directly into the wind. Smoked another drive to the middle of the fairway, then hit a full 2-hybrid that still left me with about 70 yards into the green. A solid 60-degree wedge barely found the front left of the green, leaving a 20 footer for birdie. Did I mention that I HATE 3 PUTTS??? Score: +8. Theoretical score: E.

18 The 9th on the Granite side is a hole I can't seem to figure out. The GPS on the cart tells you that it's only 220 yards to carry the traps in order to play straight toward the green, but I never seem to be able to carry them. I've played safe out to the right side, but that leaves a very difficult approach over a pond to a narrow green that has a granite quarry off the left and back. This time I took a different approach -- left of the traps into the woods. That seemed to make sense. Here, though, the early season conditions played into my favor; I had a clean lie, and no leaves on the trees to contend with. I hit a nice easy gap wedge punch to just in front of the green, then chipped up to about 5 feet, and made a nice little par to close the round. Score: +8. Theoretical score: E.

I know I'm taking some liberties with the theoretical score, but simply take away 2 3-putts, another easy 4-footer, 2 penalty shots, 1 mystery ball that moved 15 feet after it looked like it had stopped, 1 perfect shot destroyed by the wind, and 1 lousy wedge shot and I was right there. I really hit almost every shot exactly how I wanted to (the only exceptions were the topped 4-iron on the 3rd and the wedge on 11). I was good off the tee (57% of fairways, and even the misses were to the proper miss areas), and generally great with my short game (46% scrambling, 2-for-2 on sand saves). It's about as good as I can play.

Which just goes to show: it's going to take a little luck to shoot even par. But I knew that.