Golf Tour 2007
Thursday, Nov. 29 -- A little farther south today to a relatively new course, Mattaponi Springs (course web site), a little north of Richmond. Executive summary: we lost a lot of golf balls, especially me! But it is quite a fine golf course. Played from the white tees, 6,171 yars, par 72, 70.2/129.
Driving in from the north, the back road went though quite flat farmland, no preparation at all for the topography of the course, which had hardly a flat spot on it, especially around the greens. All sorts of slopes and bumps and hollows, quite severe in places, so at varying times I had shots that weren’t long but certainly were difficult. A lot of shots where a slight difference in how you hit the ball and where you hit it could make a big difference in where it ended up. Sometimes I got lucky (another yard or two one way or the other and the ball would have been bounding off down some slope), and sometimes unlucky (another yard or two and the shot would have been perfect, instead it left a very tough chip). Such is.
We had just enough time to hit a few shots on the range before we started, and the omens were not good, a mix of low left and high right. Time for the golf gods to seek payback for having let me play well yesterday.
We started on the back nine.
10. Shortish par 4. Duck hook off the tee, but it stayed in play, pretty decent 3 iron to just short and right of the green with a good angle to chip from, left the chip 12’ short but made the putt!
11. Par 4. Perfect drive, almost too far into the marsh, perfect 8 iron off a downhill lie to a very elevated green, stopped just on the front fringe, 2 putts from 30’.
12. Par 5. Absolutely perfect drive, to the very narrow tip of the fairway, good 5-iron lay-up (preferred being 75-100 yards for the third shot instead of 40-50), sand wedge a little weak to just in front of green but with a good angle to the pin up on a tiny terrace, chip to 1’. So three pars so far!
13. Par 4. Good solid drive, needed to be about 2 yards further left, caught the corner of the lake. Good 5-iron to just in front of green, Poor chip (though it was not easy) to 15’, 2 putts, double bogey.
14. Par 3, about 180, elevated tee, elevated green. no man’s land between. Hit a 5 iron fat. Reloaded, hit another 5 iron better but not well. Reloaded, hit another 5 iron in play but short. Chunked a pitch. Chipped to 4’, 2 putts, nine. Mega bogey.
15. Shortish par 4. Perfect drive, nice 9 iron to elevated green, front left pin, needed another yard, hit the top of slope, thought about it a bit and then rolled back maybe 10-15 yards. Really nice chip to 3’, needed the putt for morale, didn’t come close.
16. Par 5. Drive way right, but just pine trees and pine needles there, no trouble finding ball. Punched out through a very narrow gap, 200 yards to the green, stupid to go for it, excellent 5 iron over the trap leaving the best angle for the pitch, chunked the pitch, hit the next chip too hard, 2 putts from 9’, double. Can’t we go back to 13 and play that loop over again?
17. Par 3, water on the right. Solid 7 iron, just a hair right, bounced a little more right but still on the fringe, not too hard a chip. Chipped to 4’, again didn’t come close on the putt.
18. Tough par 4. So-so drive, a little high and right but in the fairway, but left 185 severely downhill and across marsh to the green. Nailed a 5 iron, just made it, ended up pretty close, 2 putts from 17’. So 48 for the back side, 2 lost balls, one in a water hazard, and shaky putting.
1. Long par 4, beautiful hole. Hooked drive into the pines, bounced out to middle of fairway! 5 wood to front left fringe, 3 putts from maybe 80’. Missed opportunity.
2. Par 5, all uphill. Perfect drive, hooked 5 wood (was already trying to avoid marsh on right) into line of pines on left, but had a clean lie on the pine needles and a clear swing. Solid 8 iron to very elevated green and front pin, needed about one or two more yards, hit, stopped, rolled a little, rolled back a little more, and then just kept going, ended up about 50 yards short. Pissed? For sure. Hit a good pitch, making sure I got up the slope, left a downhill bender from 14’, made it. Sometimes you get lucky.
3. Very short par 3. Decent pitching wedge but a little short, on lower level, pin was up, 3 putts from 40’.
4. Long par 4, 466. Perfect drive, perfect 5 wood from 215 over marsh to elevated green, just far enough not to roll back, maybe 5 yards short of green. Weak chip to way back pin, lousy first putt from 25’, fortunately made second one from 5’.
5. Very short par 4, 275. Perfect drive, about 20 yards short of green, but on a severely downslope. Chunked pitch, chipped to 5’, made it. A par, but sure made it difficult.
6. Par 5. Perfect drive, dead center. 5 iron lay-up, solid sand wedge from 95 yards, 2 putts from 20’.
7. Par 3. Pretty good 7 iron, front left fringe, pin was back right and almost impossible to get close to, 3 putts. (Gail hit her shot right at the pin, just missed it, easy two putts for par.)
8. Short uphill par 4. OK drive but a little right, caught trap. Pitching wedge a little thin, back left fringe, pin was up front. 3 putts.
9. Tough par 4. Needed a par for 89 (despite the 9 on a par 3), but the wheels fell off. Horrible first drive, hit way behind it, buried it in the tall grass short of the ladies tee. Second drive high and right. Third drive high and right but probably ok. Never found any of them, back to the tee. Fourth drive still to the right. Fifth drive dead center, finally. Never found the fourth one and the fifth one ended up in the right rough, big slopes on the hole that I hadn’t really adjusted for. So I was lying 9 already! Solid seven iron over the marsh, onto the green but the left part and the pin was in the front right corner with a big ridge in between. The putt just about died on the ridge, but trickled down and rolled up to a foot from the hole. Tapped it in for my 12! 49 for the side, 97 overall. 7 pars, only 3 greens in regulation, 9 fairways.
Pretty annoying way to end. But under the circumstances my behavior was excellent! Try again tomorrow.
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Mattaponi Springs, Richmond, VA
