Day Two – Ontario Golf Regionals for the Military

September 22, 2017September 21, 2017 / The Grateful Golfer / 8 Comments

Day Two did not go as planned. I had hoped to build on my great back 9 from Day One, however instead it was the best grinding round I shot in a long time. Nothing was smooth and I fought against all my natural instincts. I am not sure what happened between the two days, but after 8 bogeys and a double, I walked off the course with a satisfying 81!

The course set up was more difficult than the day before. We used some tee boxes that were not part of the practice round, but that is how things go. I cannot control these things, so I play the course they set up. On Day Two, the course was playing about 250 yards longer. This does not see much, but considering I was struggling, this extra distance made my round more difficult. Continue reading →

And Now What?

September 6, 2017September 5, 2017 / The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments

I thought my big run of playing golf was over until I remembered that I have a 54 hole event coming up in 3 weeks. I have played in this event for years and I am looking forward to it again. It will be my last big event before the end of the season as things will start to wind down because fall is upon us. Having just returned for a quick golf trip (articles to follow) I have about 10 days to prepare. Continue reading →

Ontario Regional Golf Tournament – Day 3

July 23, 2015 / The Grateful Golfer / 13 Comments

Approach shot to the 18th green!

My day did not start as expected. I bogeyed the first hole and doubled the third hole. After 5, I was 4 over and struggling to make a good swing. It seemed that no matter what I did, I could not find my normal smooth swing that I relied on over the years.

As I closed the front nine with a double bogey, I was a bit deflated as I walked to the 10th tee. Finishing the front with a 43, I was wondering if my current strategy of being patient was worth keeping for the back nine. After I bogeyed the 10th hole, I decided to change my focus and try to hit the ball closer to the hole on my approach shots! I know this sounds silly, but I no matter how hard I tried, I was short on most of my approach shots all week.

Suddenly, I birdied the 13th hole and the train was back on its tracks. I jockeyed back and for on the back nine and was 10 over standing on the 17the tee. It was toughest 16 holes of golf I played in a long, long time. But, now was not the time to give up! Our team was still vying for the Pennant and bragging rights for a year.

The 17th hole was a 150 yard par 3 with a strong wind blowing directly in our face. Additionally, the tee box was 40 feet lower in elevation than the green. Normally, I would hit an 8 iron from 150 yards, but given the wind and elevation change, I hit a 6-iron. I hit a laser that looked like it was going in from the moment it left my club. My ball flew right beside pin and stopped 6 feet directly behind the hole. After making the putt, I was now 9 over.

Teeing up first on the 18th tee, I hit the ball straight down the middle to 135 yards from the green. The 18th green is elevated and is 100 feet above the fairway. It is an extremely difficult closing hole. Normally, I would hit a 9-iron, but chose an 8 for my final approach shot of the tournament. My contact was pure and my line was dead on. As the ball flew towards the pin, all I could think was, “be enough”! As the ball came down, I lost sight of it over the ridge of the green. After struggling to climb the hill to the green, I notice my ball stopped 8 feet from the pin! As I stepped up with confidence, I putted it true for another birdie. My third on the back nine.

After all the smoke cleared, I shot another 79! My third straight. Unfortunately, it was not enough to get me in the top 5, but I was very happy with my final result. I finished in 7th place. Petawawa Golf Course was a very tough track because of the very slow greens and the windy conditions. There is a slight possibility I can attend nationals, but two of the top 6 players have to withdraw because of work or other reasons.

Another aspect of the tournament was the team play. The top 5 scores from each team are counted each day. This aspect of the event is where the Pennant is won. The Pennant is a covenant trophy that military organizations proudly display in their trophy case for all visitors to see. This year, my team won by 5 strokes! After three days of competition, my team won by just 5 strokes. After calculation 15 rounds of golf, Trenton shot 1201 and Petawawa shot 1206! The funny thing about our win this year is that none of the Trenton players made the top 5!

Thanks to my team mates for a great tournament and wish you all the best for the rest of the season.

This years Ontario Regional Golf tournament was outstanding. I had a great time and look forward to next year.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Ontario Regional Golf Tournament – Day 1

July 21, 2015 / The Grateful Golfer / 10 Comments

Beautiful Ottawa Valley

The first day of the 2015 Ontario Regional Golf Tournament is in the books. The course, Petawawa Golf Club, was in good shape, the weather was as expected, and the competition tough. After the opening ceremonies, with the traditional playing of ‘O Canada’, the 47 military members were ready to tee it up.

As the third seed from 8 Wing Trenton, I was in the middle of the pack and watched 8 groups head down the first fairway before I could settle my nerves by hitting the links. My first hit was in play and my tournament had officially started. As tradition holds for every military team I have been fortunate to belong too, we watched our team mates hit their first shot and offer ‘good luck’ as they left the first tee!

18th Green from Club House. Elevated 50 feet from the fairway!

This year, the course was playing longer than the yardage. Every green is elevated, slow, and tough to chip onto. I slowly adjusted, but did not manage to fully solve the “sticky” green puzzle by the end of the day. Tomorrow, my strategy will be to land my ball closer to the hole and expect less roll out after the first bounce of every chip. Additionally, the greens were very slow to putt on. Many of the players mentioned that they were hitting their putts twice as hard as normal just to achieve the same results as their home course. These challenges are the same for everyone, so as a competitive golfer it is time to adjust and mentally change my chipping and putting approach to Day 2!

The Petawawa River beside the golf course!

After my first 4 holes, the wind started to pick up! By the 8^th hole, storm was charging towards the course. However, as suddenly as this storm arrived, it disappeared. It was the strangest think, but the locals say that is the norm for this area. After the rain left, the wind continued to blow making the in-ward 9 extremely challenging.

Number 10 Tee. Pin is behind trees on right!

The layout of the Petawawa Golf Club is its strength. It weaves along the Ottawa Valley following the Ottawa River. There are many picturesque holes, but if you are lulled by your surroundings, this course has teeth! The greens are not flat and have many subtle, and not so subtle, undulations. The traps are strategically located and the rough is unforgiving. The fairways are tight and there is very few bail out areas. I like the Petawawa Golf Course because it is a shooters course and that fits my game!

11 hole par 3 green. Elevated, protected by two bunkers. 175 yard carry to green.

Today, I shot a 79 with two doubles. I scrambled very well and after my adjustments for tomorrow, I hope to improve my score. At this time, I am tied for 6^th place; only 2 strokes out of 2^nd in the individual competition. If you remember, there are two competitions going on right now; individual and team. Equally important, our team is leading the competition by 17 strokes. This is a surprising lead, but we are all happy to have come out of the gate quickly and post a strong team score.

Demanding tee shot from the by back tees!

Two highlights of today’s play are worth mentioning. On the first hole, one of the players in my group shot an eagle. Not very exciting you may be thinking? Well this is a par four and he jugged his ball from 110 yards. To add to the excitement, I was the only one to watch it go in! I think I was as excited that it went in as the player who made the shot! The second noteworthy point of today was the low score. One of my team mates had low score of the day! He shot a 73; just two over par. However, the exciting aspect of his round was his scores – 41, 32! Talk about the tale to two nines!

Tomorrow is moving day. I am in the second last group and in good position to post a low score. My plan is to be more aggressive chipping the ball and more focused hitting the ball off the tee. I am sure my competitors are thinking the same thing, but the real movers will be those who stay focused and remain calm for the entire 18 holes.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!