Just hit it.
It’s always nice to end on a good note, especially when starting off on the wrong foot.
A couple of days ago, I felt like no matter what I did I couldn’t hit the ball on the range. I spent hours rotating from range to putting green to chipping area and every time I got back to the range nothing seemed to work. I thought about spending the rest of the day being a ranger Rick (just hitting balls), but then realized that it was more important for me to see how I played in a situation like this: one where I can’t find my groove on the range. I was interested in how it might affect my game, so I took it to the course.
Long story short, it was a surprising round. I started off by hitting 6 of the first 7 greens in regulation including a 130-yard approach shot on the first par five hole to within a couple of inches. And, this one wasn’t just for a GIR but it was less than a foot away from being my first eagle..
Not exactly the most exciting image in the world, but I had to capture it. I’ll get that illusive eagle one of these days. For the time being, I’d be happy with a few more birdies per round (and on that note, a few more pars would be nice too). I knocked this one in to go back to even after a bogey on a par 3 and kept the even score rolling until the 8th hole, which has been my nemesis out at Cartersville Country Club. I honestly have no clue why, but I seem to always hit a wall on the 8th hole and it was no different this time. After a pushed drive and a short approach shot, I skulled a chip over the green, chipped on and 2-putted for a double bogey. Par on the 9th put me at 38 for the side. Not bad at all and a good start for attempting that first sub-80s round.
The back started ok. After five holes I was 3 over on the back and 5 over total, then hit a couple of off shots on the 430 yard par-4 15th hole for a double bogey to push it to 7 over by the time I hit 17. I honestly had not been counting shots or keeping track of exactly where I was, but going into 17 I had a feeling that I was right on the number and I needed a par-par to keep the good round rolling. Teeing off on 17 I hit it into a bunker, and not just anywhere in the bunker, but right against the front lip which made it really hard to do anything but just get out. I knocked it out into the middle of the fairway and then got the ball onto the green and two-putted from 19 feet for a bogey. At this point, I had to look at my score. I was standing on the tee-box of 18 and tallied up the numbers to realize that I needed a birdie to break 80 for the first time.
The 18th hole is a par 5 that was playing at 525 yards. I hit a solid drive that drew across the fairway and rolled out a bit. My second shot was 235 yards to the pin which was on the back of the green and that’s right in my 3-wood range so I let loose with that club in hopes to stick the elevated green. It was a solid shot, but came down just short of the green, about 5 yards off. I made a decent chip which left the ball 6 feet from the hole. All I had to do was knock in a 6-footer and I would have my first 79 registered. Easy. Right? I saw the line and new the speed of the green; just needed to hit the back of the cup. I let it roll and those 6-feet seemed to last forever.. The ball rolled up and looked like it was going to drop in, just to hit the side of the cup and roll around, completely around, and end up leaning half over the edge defying gravity and all things Newtonian. I let the ball sit there for about a minute hoping a gust of wind would push it in, but alas, it was not meant to be.
I’ll take an 80 with a smile. It’s my best round to date and without even thinking about it during the round I nearly broke 80. It wasn’t one of those rounds where every putt just seems to fall, either. I had 33 putts in all and most of my first putts were from about 30 feet, so I didn’t give myself many birdie chances, but did hit nine greens in regulation which makes par a lot easier. Now, just keep grinding on consistency and aim with those approach irons and eventually turn this personal record round into an average round, and hopefully one day a round like this will be seen as an off day.
The lesson learned for me? It’s one that I have known for a while. Don’t assume how you perform on the range will translate to your game. Often I feel like I’m striping the ball on the range just to lose my groove on the course. Almost just as often, I can’t hit a ball to save my life on the range, but then the swing comes together out on the links.