Lakeside Lodge - Lodge Course - 02/09/19
02/Sep/2019 Filed in: Reports
We had guests for a week so no golf, but back today with my best 9 holes since June 2018. Conditions were perfect. A bright sunny day with fluffy white clouds and for most of the time no wind, although it did gust a bit for a while when the sun disappeared behind the clouds.
A good drive off the 1st tee was followed by two good hybrids. My iron shot went just left of the green but a chip on was followed by a good putt for 6. With my greatly increased handicap of 31 - the result of some very poor rounds prior to quitting the game for nearly a year with back problems - this gave me 4 points on this par 5.
The 2nd also started well with a drive of 176 yards. Unfortunately I put my next iron shot into the left bunker but got out clean leaving myself a possible single putt. I in fact needed two for a 5. I decided to lay up on the 3rd but my iron shot off the tee was shorter than I would have hoped. A hold-your-breath pitch over the bunker came good, rolling on to give me what was almost a gimme! So it was a surprise par 3.
A good drive off the 1st tee was followed by two good hybrids. My iron shot went just left of the green but a chip on was followed by a good putt for 6. With my greatly increased handicap of 31 - the result of some very poor rounds prior to quitting the game for nearly a year with back problems - this gave me 4 points on this par 5.
The 2nd also started well with a drive of 176 yards. Unfortunately I put my next iron shot into the left bunker but got out clean leaving myself a possible single putt. I in fact needed two for a 5. I decided to lay up on the 3rd but my iron shot off the tee was shorter than I would have hoped. A hold-your-breath pitch over the bunker came good, rolling on to give me what was almost a gimme! So it was a surprise par 3.
The 4th is always challenging and I was lucky that my drive stopped just short of the fairway bunker. I took a 6-iron to play short of the lake and then took the same club to play up to the green. In trying to keep clear of the lake I went up the bank to the right of the green where I had a poor lie. But the chip wasn't bad and I almost got in in one. Two putts gave me a 6, not at all bad on this hole.
I risked the driver on the 5th and put the ball in rough right of the green. The pin was to the right and a short pitch bounced favourably leaving me a simple tap-in for a par 3. With a good drive on the 6th followed by a good hybrid I was just off the green. My chip was a bit too long and I needed two putts for a 5.
After another solid drive on the 7th and long hybrid shot I then put my iron shot into the left bunker. The ball was near the edge and I had to stand with my feet above the level of the ball. Not wishing to be high on the ball I took too much sand and only just cleared the bunker. My chip on was long and I needed two putts to finish for a 7, my highest scoring hole for the day.
After another clean drive on the 8th the second of my two hybrid shots was long at 155 yards and left me close enough to putt on to the green. However, I misjudged the pace and was well short, needing two more putts for a 6. This was most annoying after almost reaching the green in 3. My drive was a little shorter on the 9th, which was fortunate as I was just short of the lake. Two hybrids again left me an iron shot to the green, which was a bit short. This time my putt-on was better judged, leaving me an easy single putt for a 6, and 3 points for the hole.
My sciatica was behaving itself today but I was still taking it easy, at times over-clubbing to avoid the need for full swings. The result was a very acceptable round of 47 with 14 putts. In fact I was very satisfied with my putting, there being two gimmes among those 14 putts. This gave me 22 points and with my present handicap I'm sure that I would have been regarded as a bandit if it had been a competition. Golf being golf I'm not going to get too excited about this being a true return to form, but it was nice to come in feeling that I had had a good game.
Game Golf scorecard:
I risked the driver on the 5th and put the ball in rough right of the green. The pin was to the right and a short pitch bounced favourably leaving me a simple tap-in for a par 3. With a good drive on the 6th followed by a good hybrid I was just off the green. My chip was a bit too long and I needed two putts for a 5.
After another solid drive on the 7th and long hybrid shot I then put my iron shot into the left bunker. The ball was near the edge and I had to stand with my feet above the level of the ball. Not wishing to be high on the ball I took too much sand and only just cleared the bunker. My chip on was long and I needed two putts to finish for a 7, my highest scoring hole for the day.
After another clean drive on the 8th the second of my two hybrid shots was long at 155 yards and left me close enough to putt on to the green. However, I misjudged the pace and was well short, needing two more putts for a 6. This was most annoying after almost reaching the green in 3. My drive was a little shorter on the 9th, which was fortunate as I was just short of the lake. Two hybrids again left me an iron shot to the green, which was a bit short. This time my putt-on was better judged, leaving me an easy single putt for a 6, and 3 points for the hole.
My sciatica was behaving itself today but I was still taking it easy, at times over-clubbing to avoid the need for full swings. The result was a very acceptable round of 47 with 14 putts. In fact I was very satisfied with my putting, there being two gimmes among those 14 putts. This gave me 22 points and with my present handicap I'm sure that I would have been regarded as a bandit if it had been a competition. Golf being golf I'm not going to get too excited about this being a true return to form, but it was nice to come in feeling that I had had a good game.
Game Golf scorecard: