I shot a 45 for the 9-hole Tuesday round on Tuesday. It would have been better, but for a little fun I started playing around and didn’t worry about my score.
For instance, on a par-5 hooking dogleg left, my tee shot clipped a tree branch, which led to my ball next to the lake that the dogleg left wraps around with an almost-open shot to the fairway on the other side. Basically, I had about a 200 yard shot I could attempt to cut across the dogleg and land on or near the green instead of getting my ball back on the fairway and playing it safe.
Since I don’t usually get to attempt these types of shots, I decided “why not?” The only issue was one tree limb that I was hoping my shot would go underneath on its way out. I grabbed my 3-iron, took my swing, and watched the ball barely scratch the bottom of the limb, followed by a beeline into the water, falling short about 3 yards of the other side of the lake.
Feeling brave, I took another one of those shots, only to hit a tree on the other side of the lake, which caused a ricochet back into the lake. Doing stuff like that adds those shots up quick.
Even though I was playing around by trying out some shots – the kind I call my ESPN shots – I included the penalties on my score and ended up with an 8 on that par-5. In some ways I was impressed I still had a triple bogey on the most difficult hole of the course despite those two water hazards.
There were a few other holes I decided to play around with on my shots and it sort of artificially inflated my score. I didn’t really mind this time, though. I had opportunities to try shots I wouldn’t normally do, and I think it’s good to practice them when you can.
Besides, it’s my last Tuesday golf outing before I head to the Tour Academy for 3 days. I figured I’d have some fun.
Since it’s been raining every afternoon I’ve been practicing putting in the living room. I use a mock cup and a yoga mat to represent the putting surface. The main issue I’ve noticed with my putting is that I can be inconsistent on the takeaway, which leads to inconsistency on the forward swing. I’ve narrowed it down to focusing on keeping my hands in sync as they move back and forth. When I keep them in sync I can put the ball wherever I want. If they get out of sync then I either push or pull the putt.
Weather permitting, I still may try to play a round on Friday. If I don’t have that chance on Friday, then I’ll probably just hit a few balls on Saturday since I probably need to take care of a few things before I head out of town.