During my great round yesterday, After the first eight holes I felt I had a solid chance to shoot under par. This milestone is the golden ticket for me and I cruising towards success. I was hitting the ball very well, my chips were solid and my putting was smooth. It appeared that the stars had aligned and an under par score was in my grasp. That is until I hit three poor shots that cost my four strokes. Let me lament!
My game as of late has seen a dramatic increase in my GIR percentage. Shooting between 60 and 70 percent for my last 5 rounds, I am playing very well in this the weakest area of my game. I normally hover around 50 percent hence having two or three extra chances at birdie is quite an improvement. During my round yesterday, I had seven putts for birdie on the first 8 holes. Most of the putts were long, but my lag putting was very good and as such had seven tap ins for par. The one hole I missed, I scrambled very well and sunk and 8 footer for par. With my game on cruise control, I was shocked when I hooked my ball into the pond on the 9th hole.
I was left with an 185 yard shot to the green and pulled it just a bit left. This left me with a 30 yard chip downhill. After missing my 7 foot first putt I walked off the green with a double bogey 6. This was a very disappointing end to an otherwise solid front nine. I was not dismayed because I have shot under par on the back quite often over the years and I was still feeling great about my game. Before going on here is a quick video I thought I would share.
After parring the first three holes on the back, I birdied the 13th hole with a great 12 foot putt. Sitting one under, I felt the momentum shifting in my direction. After a decent drive on 14, I was set up for 165 yard approach shot to a large green. After hitting such great approach shots all day, I felt very confident I was going to hit the green. Well, I did not; I pulled my 6 iron left which placed me in a difficult up and down for par. I made a great chip, but miss read the break and was left with a six foot skater down the hill for par. After lipping out, I gave my birdie back on the next hole. My approach shot on the 14th hole was my second poor shot of the day.
Fast forward to the last hole. Standing on the tee, I was still 1 over. I realize my dream of shooting under par disappeared when I missed a relatively short putt on 17 by leaving it short by 2 inches (this is something I have been doing lately and I do not really consider it a poor shot in relation to today’s discussion). However, I felt very comfortable that I could birdie the 18th hole and finish even for the day.
I pulled my tee shot left, but had a clear shot to the green. I hit my approach the way I wanted, but came up 3 feet short of the green. I am not disappointed with my approach shot because was very difficult and I missed hitting a perfect shot by inches; that is all part of golf. I chipped up to three feet and waited for my turn to putt. After watching my ball skate left of the hole on my par putt, I was again flabbergasted at how poorly I struck the ball. Being left a 3 foot par putt and missing was very frustrating. My putt was my third poor shot of the day.
The rest of my round went very well. I struck the ball well, made good course management decisions, and could feel my confidence growing. It seemed, at least for the first two poor shots, that when it looked bright for my round I found a way to knock myself down a peg.
I realize that many of you do not have any sympathy for my woes, but this situation is relative. Each of us has a milestone score that we love to exceed and mine is par. I do not have that many opportunities to break par, but when I do I like to take advantage of it. I will say, though, I am very happy with my overall round and did not let the poor shots affect my mental approach to the round. The double on the 9th hole could have really destroyed me in the past, but by recovering and shooting even par on the back does show that my mental toughness in golf is improving (at least for yesterday’s round 😉 )
Golf is a game of ups and downs. If I put my entire round in perspective where I only had three poor shots, then yesterday’s round was a great one.
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 
To achieve a milestone round is always a challenge, that is why it is a milestone. It is what makes the thrill of the hunt so rewarding.
Even in a good round, there will be shots that don’t turn out the way we plan, that is golf. It is funny how we always focus on the loose shots and forget that during a good round we benefit from a lot of good bounces.
Yesterday was a case in point for me. The course was wet after some big overnight storms and we had a cool wind out of the north. Staying out of the thick, juicy rough was going to be a challenge in the windy conditions. Playing hickory clubs that usually role out was going to require some adjustments due to the soft conditions.
On the front nine, I managed to hit four greens in regulation. My short game was at its finest and I was only one over at the turn. I was in full Houdini mode at it was fun grinding it out. The back nine was a little different, I hit six greens in regulation, but had some rather challenging shots to overcome. I had my only three putt on the par three 13th. It was over 100 feet uphill with a 15 foot break, what could possibly go wrong? Fortunately on the next hole, I made birdie after a great drive and a great mid iron approach from 150 yards into a two club wind. I had a couple bogeys coming in to finish the back at two over 38.
The 75 tied my best round of the year, both with hickory clubs on a day when the conditions were challenging. My scrambling was at its best, and my 120 year old putter was on fire most of the day (27 putts). Ironically, my driving was a little loose at times which just proves that you drive for show and putt for dough.
I look forward to today’s challenge in my golf journey.
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Lorne,
You are right about that many good bounces we seem to overlook during any round. You game is on fire for sure and I love hearing about your rounds with the hickory shafts. Keep them coming.
Cheers Jim
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I finally got another under par round yesterday. It was a close call at the end and I was feeling the pressure I was putting on myself for sure. I’d gotten to 4 under after 10 thanks to some good chipping and putting and one particularly nice 8 iron off the tee, then coasted a couple holes before missing a 4 footer with a pushed putt. Upsetting, but not the end of the world.
I didn’t let it get to me or so I thought at least. I parred the next couple then found myself staring at another 4 footer on 16. I missed it too. Not sure why that time, I think I misread it. But I hit my best shot of the day on the next tee box. A 3 hybrid from 190 that stopped flag high and 20 feet right. A great shot, but a terrible lie. Side hill. I was putting up it for a right to left breaker and knew there was no stopping it if I missed and I remember being proud that I at least missed on the high side. But I left yet another 4 footer. I can tell you I stood over that putt a bit longer this time around. I was sure I had the right read. I missed again, this time lipping out on the low side. Now standing at one under on the 18th tee all I wanted was a par. I hit the safe club. My 4 iron. I just wanted to be in the fairway. It’s not a long hole. I faded it into the rough which is exactly what I wanted to avoid. Our rough is so thick and tall right now that even though I saw the ball roll in, I still had trouble finding it. And it’s bright yellow. Anyway, I found it, but I knew I couldn’t go for the flag. Nothing is sure coming out of this rough so the only safe play was to go long as the pin was up front and the green all slopes up and away. I went for the middle and got it there pretty much. Now it’s a two putt for par to save the day and the round. I missed on the first high side and rolled it past. Can you guess how much? Yep. 4 feet. And I remember thinking…you’re testing me and had to laugh. I dropped that one.
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Kevin,
Congrats on breaking par and grinding out the low score. It is interesting how your game can be on cruise control, the it isn’t. Golf is definitely funny that way. Thanka for sharing your story.
Cheers Jim
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