The World of Kevin
Friday, Dec. 14 -- It turned out that there was one more day of good weather as we headed north, and one more round of golf. We stopped just outside of Ocean City, MD, where by 11 am the fog was burning off, the sun was coming out, the temps were in the mid-40s, and there was hardly a bit of wind. And so we went at it one last time for 2007.
Executive summary -- no miracles, but a few more fine shots (and a few not so fine) for the memory banks.
Eagle's Landing wasn't my first choice. Another course a few miles away, The Links at Lighthouse Sound, was, but when I called them up they mentioned that carts had to stay on the cart paths, which makes it a lot less fun for Gail and her bad knees. So I called Eagle's Landing, and they were happy to let carts go almost anywhere, so that's where we went. I was regretting it early on. The greens seemed slow and bumpy (and still a little damp from the fog), and the fairways were soft, not much roll, sometimes mud on the ball, though they and the greens seemed to get better as they dried out. At least they got a little quicker. The greens were still a little rough, took some getting used to after the beautiful greens we'd been on the last few days.
The course was nothing special early on. By the end of 5 holes I was regretting having chosen it, though that may have been influenced by my shaky play. But then it got much more interesting, weaving around various wetlands and getting quite difficult at times. I was playing with a ball called "Cougar" which I had found at some point, and on the 6th tee, with water left and woods right, I said good-bye to Cougar, expecting a watery grave. But in fact Cougar lasted to the very end of the round, much to my surprise.
I played from the Gold tees, 6,306, par 72, 70.5/118. The 118 seemed low to me given the amount of water, but I don't really know how the system works. The course seemed long early on when it didn't seem like the ball was going very far, then ok later on.
1. Par 4, 371. Real nice drive, perfect 6 iron from 155, missed putt from 8'.
2. Par 4, 382. Good drive, 3 iron from 175 pushed into right front bunker. Long bunker shot with pitching wedge, a little too long, 3 putts from 40' coming back. Double.
3. Par 5, 541. Hooked drive, not in trouble, just short. Lousy 5 wood from a poor lie, then excellent 5 wood. Weak chip from 40 yards, 3 putts from 40'. Another double.
4. Par 4, 377. Drive to right in trees, but not obstructed, Ok 5 wood back in play, nice pitch from 50 yards but missed 10' putt.
5. Par 4, 160. Hooked 5 iron, weak, short left, chip too strong, 2 putts from 15'.
6. Par 4, 396. Water all down left side. Real good drive but still getting no roll, 5 wood from 185, hooked, left bunker kept it from getting wet. Another long bunker shot with pitching wedge, ok, 2 putts from 25'.
7. Par 5, 483. Perfect drive over wetland. Perfect 9 iron lay-up. Pulled 9 iron from 120, left of green almost in marsh. Chunked chip. Putt from fringe too strong, but made from 12' coming back. Starting to wonder if I was going to be on the wrong side of 90.
8. Par 3, 143. Nce 7 iron right over pin, stopped in fringe. 2 putts from 18'.
9. Par 4, 352. Excellent drive, surprised it didn't go farther. Really perfect 6 iron over the marsh, but bounced hard on green (greens were not holding all day), rolled over. Scuffed chip back down the slope, but made from 10' for par. 44 for the front side, at least a little better the last couple holes.
10. Par 4, 270. Excellent drive over wetland, again surprised at distance. Perfect sand wedge from 80 except a little strong, 2 putts from 30'.
11. Par 5, 506. Trouble on both sides. Perfect drive, hooked 5 iron a little but ok. Pretty good sand wedge, 2 putts from 30'.
12. Par 3, 161. Trouble short and right. Hooked 5 iron, ugly but safe. Real nice long chip to 6', made putt. So 5 pars in a row, that's better.
13. Par 5, 519. Pretty good drive, got over marsh but not with much too spare. Perfect 5 wood, pretty good 8 iron from 135 but pulled a little, on green but 50'. Gail was right next to me, a foot closer. "Show me the line," she said. So I rolled it and it was looking good, and bouncing a little as usual, and then it stopped right on the right lip, and then it fell in! Birdie!
14. Par 4, 373. So now my mantra is, Keep it going so you can really enjoy the trip home. Real good drive. Perfect 7 iron from 145, hit hard again and rolled to back fringe. 2 putts from 40'.
15. Par 4, 363. Keep it going.... Trouble on both sides, ok drive, a little right and weak but in play. 5 iron from 175 and poor lie in the rough, trying to not go left (marsh), hit ok, down the right side, bounced, next bounce was on cart path and a big one, ended up on the green. 2 putts from 40'.
16. Par 4, 330. Keep it going.... But I couldn't. Perfect drive. Wedge from 100, a little strong, bounced over. Chip back was strong, 2 putts from 10'.
17. Par 3, 179. Scary hole, wetlands short, right and left. Weak 5 iron, but just long enough to stay dry. Chip was too strong, 2 putts from 20'.
18. Par 4, very scary hole. Wetlands left and right, narrow fairway that ran out at 225, the sign said. Hook drive a little, looked like it was going into tall grass. Reload, perfect. Found first ball, playable, found second ball 10 yards into the marsh. Where did that distance come from (if the sign was right) after everything being short all day? Anyway, good lie for the first one, 7 iron a little weak over the wetland but dry, chip once again too strong, 2 putts from 15'. So ended with 3 bogies, a little unsatisfying, but 38 for the back side and 82 for the round, which was a lot better than I expected early on. And plenty good enough to make the ride home ok.
Packed up the clubs, headed north.
A fine trip. No rain. No bad cold. A lot of cool courses. How long do I have to wait until the next tour?
Back to the Welcome page (or click the word "Welcome" at the top).
Eagle's Landing, Ocean City, MD
