The One Hole

Ah, golf is a fickle game. 

Yesterday, as I stood over a putt on the 12th hole at Butter Brook, I was 100% convinced that I was going to shoot even par -- or better.  Everything was clicking.  It had been a virtually perfect round up to that point. 

But all good things do come to an end.

The front side was flawless, just about as good as I can play.  8 pars, 1 birdie.  Hit every fairway except one, and that's the hole I made birdie on.  Hit 6 greens in regulation, and got up and down for pars on the 2nd, 6th, and 8th holes, all from the fringe or just into the 1st cut of rough off the green.  The only negative I could say is I missed a 15 footer for birdie on the par-3 5th hole.  And when you start complaining about missed 15 footers... well that's probably a good sign.

It continued on the back.  On 10, I hit a nice 270 yard drive into the 1st cut of rough on the right, then a wedge to just off the green, and got up-and-down again for par.  On 11 (a LONG 245 yard par 3) I hit 2-hybrid to just left of the green, and putted from 10 feet off the surface to tap-in distance.  On the par-5 12 I hit my drive long but well left -- into the abutting 16th fairway.  Then I hit a 4-iron a little more left than I wanted and found the fescue short and left of the green, about 70 yards out.  The lie was playable, and I hit a 54-degree wedge perfectly, just carrying the bunker that was protecting the flag, and stuck it at about 5 feet.  After making that putt I was going to be 2-under with no bogeys on the round, and really only 2 tough holes left to play.  It was definitely going to be the day.

The thing is, I missed the putt. 

Was I thinking too far ahead?  Did I lose my concentration in the moment?  I don't think so.  I read it carefully, stroked it (I thought) perfectly.  It just skirted by the high side of the hole.

But even after that miss I was still 1-under, and the easiest hole on the course was next.  #13 is a short par-4, playing just about 320 yards.  It's an interesting hole, with a tee shot that is reminiscent of the famous 17th ("Road Hole") at the Old Course at St. Andrew's -- blind, with a forced carry over an old barn.  After that the green is well-bukered but a safe tee shot out to the right leaves a clean approach to the green.  In 16 previous times playing that hole I had made 1 birdie, 12 pars, and 3 bogeys; never worse than that.  I played the safe shot, hitting hybrid out to the right -- at least that was the goal.  Instead I hooked it, the first truly bad shot I hit all day, and found a fairway bunker.  From there I was still blind to the green, about 125 yards to the pin.  I took a 9-iron and didn't catch it crisp, but still advanced it well enough that I thought it would be down near the green.  It had gone a little left of the line I wanted, which actually should have been a good thing as it would avoid the green side bunker that would have been in my line.  But as I came up to the green I realized that the line it was on was ever further left than I had thought, and when I tracked the ball down it was all the way across the cart path and in some thick fescue.  Unlike the shot on the previous hole I hit this one less-than-perfect -- it flew over the green.  From there I made what I thought was a good chip... but it kept rolling... and rolling... and finally settled on the edge of the fringe on the other side of the green.  1st putt: 10 feet past.  2nd putt: 3 feet past.  I hate three putts!

Seven.  Triple bogey.  Just like that -- poof! -- even par was essentially off the table.  In a span of 10 minutes I went from thinking I'd be 2-under to actually being 2-over.

The rest of the round played out as I would have expected: an up-and-down for par on the par-3 14th, followed by bogey on 15 (the toughest hole on the course, which was playing into a pretty stiff wind at that point).  The 16th would be my chance for redemption, but I would need eagle.  At 524 yards (and playing to only about 505) the par 5 is reachable, and I hit a 305 yard drive to the middle of the fairway.  I only had 6-iron in, and a good shot would have given me a chance.  But I found the green side bunker on the left, and took 3 to get up and down for par.  I made another up-and-down for par on the 17th, and then made a mess out of the 18th (2 bunker shots) for a double, but the chance at even par was already long gone at that point.

Which brings me to this question: can I really be disappointed in a round in which I made 14 pars and a birdie?  In which I played 16 of the 18 holes at even par?  In which one hole that I almost always make par on was my ultimate undoing?

The answer, sadly, is "yes." 

But I'll be back.