It's been a long one so far here in New England, but in the past week or so there have been enough warmer days and melting -- plus watching the Pebble Beach Pro-Am -- to make one start to pine for golf season again. I've even made it to the range a few times... and then got my clubs regripped... and then bought some new golf apparel.
So, yeah, I'm ready for spring.
But before that happens, we have to recap the 2010 season. It's been a while since I've written (6 months, to be exact), and truthfully there wasn't much to write about on the mission front at the tail end of the season. The highlight round for me was the 2nd day of the TOUR of Greater Boston Club Championship at Atlantic Country Club. Here's the quick rundown:
First, let me say I played pretty terrible on day 1, so I was out of serious contention (shot 84, with a disastrous +8 over the last 6 holes). Which, of course, meant I was free of cares for day 2, and it showed early on. I opened with 2 easy pars on the opening holes, and then on the 428 yard par-4 3rd I hit my best shot of the weekend, a 6-iron approach out of the right rough to about 18 inches for a tap-in birdie. I then smoked a drive on the par-5 4th, came up just short of the green on my approach, and got up and down for another birdie to get to -2 for the day (and +10 for the tournament). Five straight pars followed, all quite "routine" other than a near miracle up-and-down on the 8th hole from out of the pine straw (and pine trees) to the right of the green. So yes, I closed the front at -2; and yes, even par was very much in play.
And then it fell apart.
For the second straight day I pushed my drive on the 10th well right, down into a little valley in a thicket of trees. I managed to punch out and get myself down in 5 for a bogey, but it was a bad sign. On the par-3 11th I missed the green, then made a bad chip and and even worse 3-putt (I hate 3-putts!), and suddenly I was +1. On the 12th I hit a terrible tee ball into some brush on the left side; had to punch out from there, then flew my approach over the green. I then nearly holed out my chip (around the rim and out), and tapped in for another bogey (+2). On 13 I made a conventional par, but 14 was a nightmare for the second day in a row -- double bogey with a lost ball (+4).
Which brings me to the 15th hole, and the single most embarrassing moment of my golf career (that I can remember). It's a short par-4, 373 yards, though you have a forced lay-up off the tee because of a large pond that protects the green. I hit a 4-iron and pulled it a little, which shortened the hole but brought more of the pond into play. That left me with about 140 yards in, all carry over the pond and then a deep bunker in front of the green. I took 8-iron to have a little extra but caught it fat and ended up in the trap, with a half-buried lie. I took my 60-degree wedge and went for a full blast-out shot... and the ball did not move. In fact, it sank deeper since my club cleared out some sand underneath it. Now frustrated (both by the shot and the utter collapse of a great round), I hacked at it again... and again the ball did not move. I essentially whiffed twice in a row. In the "championship" flight of a large tournament where the winner played the weekend at 2-over. I was mortified. I managed to get the next shot out and on the green and then 2-putt for a triple (+7).
Pointless pars on 16 and 17 and a bogey on 18 followed, to bring me to +8 for the round, a not-so-tidy 34-46 (80). Someone who saw my round on golfshot.com asked if I had broken my arm at the turn; my response: "I wish. That would be easier to explain."
Despite that debacle on the back 9, there were some positives for the 2010 season. Here are a few stat trends over the past few years:
STAT 2008 | 2009 | 2010
Fairways 42% 44% 48%
Distance 265yd 261yd 270yd
GIR 40% 39% 42%
Putts/hole 1.7 1.8 1.7
HCP (end) 7.0 4.8 5.1
So you can see, my fairway accuracy was up significantly despite also improving my driving distance; GIR were up slightly, and despite that my putting has been maintained (even though presumably my 1st putt distance was greater since I hit more greens and therefore had fewer chips). Although my end-of-year handicap was slightly worse than last year, my mid-season low index of 2.8 is the best I've ever been at.
So things do look brighter on the horizon. And a Villages trip in 2 weeks is looming. Mission: Even Par, here I come.
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