The slightly longer version: It almost did.
I put a real charge at even par over a 3 day stretch that can only be described as the greatest golf weekend of my life. I got out of work a little early on Friday -- and it was mid-July, so the day was long -- so I managed to squeeze in a quick 18 at Granite Links, which last year was named to Golf Digest's Top 100 Public Courses list (#73). It was, to be sure, an inconsistent round -- started out bogey-bogey-bogey-birdie-bogey. Any chance of reaching the goal was dashed with an ugly double-bogey on the 9th hole, closing the front side at +5. However, things did turn around quickly on the par-5 10th (1st hole on the Granite 9): after a lay-up off the elevated tee just short of the hazard with my 2-hybrid, I smoked a perfect 4-iron to the center of the green and made the putt for an eagle to get back to +3. But too little too late -- 3 bogeys and one more birdie on the back side left me even on the back but +5 overall.
It turns out that Friday was just the prelude. Saturday I made a tee time at Red Tail Golf Club, which had just hosted the U.S. Women's Public Links tournament the week before (the USGA tee markers were still out, which was fun to see). It clocks in at just over 7000 yards from the tips, with a 73.9 rating and a 138 slope. I started out with a bogey, followed by 4 pars, a bogey, and another par -- +2 after 7. Then the fun began. 8 is a short par 3 (323 yards), and I hit a perfect drive about 290 to the left (proper) side of the fairway, followed by any easy pitch to 5 feet that led to birdie. 9 is the opposite -- a monster 461 yard par 4 that starts out very narrow and plays uphill to a heavily contoured green. But, for the 2nd time in a row on that hole, I hit a great drive and then played an approach off the slope on the right side of the green that funneled the ball down toward the hole for a tap in birdie. Even par through 9. A few small blemishes (a painful 3-putt bogey on the par-3 11th, and another bogey on the challenging par-4 14th) meant that I was +2 standing on the tee of the par-5 18th hole. It was at this point that my dad jinxed the round (no doubt) by saying, "Have an eagle in you?" Now, the 18th is really a beautiful hole -- 572 yards, mostly downhill, but with an approach over a pond to a fairly deep green that is reminiscent of the closing hole at Bay Hill. I hit an absolutely perfect drive: 335 yards (remember, it's downhill), right down the center of the fairway. So I was left with one shot, 240 yards, had to carry it all, and then worry about the putt later. The pin position was favorable -- on the front left of the green -- which meant I didn't have to contend with the entire pond and had a little less carry. I hit 2-hybrid, trying for just a little fade so it would land gently... but I overcut it just a hair, and found the water. After the penalty, a flop and 2 putts I made 6, for a +3 round of 75. It was easily the greatest round I'd ever played, and this close to even par.
The 18th hole at Red Tail Golf Club in Devens, MA.
I finished the weekend on Sunday at Acushnet River Valley Golf Course. Secretly, this is one of the best values in Massachusetts. For the second day in a row I was even par on the front (2 bogies, 2 birdies), and then ran into a bit of trouble on the back with 3 bogies in the first 5 holes). So I needed 3 birdies with 4 holes left, and no par-5's. The 15th is a short par-4 (292 yards), so of course I went for it... and badly pushed my drive out to the right, narrowly avoiding a bunker. But I then stuck the approach to about 3 feet and made birdie to get back to +2. On 16 I made a conventional par (had about 30-40 feet on the birdie try that never really had a chance), so I was still +2 with 2 to play. I needed a birdie on the par-3 17th, but my 5-iron missed the green, and I settled for an up-and-down par. On 18, no longer having any chance at achieving the mission, I hit really my only terrible shot of the day, a dead pull drive into the woods. I had to punch out, and from there hit a decent shot to about 20 feet... and made a saving putt to close at +2.
So in summary I shot +5, +3, and +2 over a 3-day stretch. My handicap index went from 6.7 to 5.2. I played 3 nines -- one each day -- at even par. You can always say, "What if?" but rarely is it ever so true. Dad's fault (obviously).
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