I was hitting the ball very nicely in the lead up to the event at Cowans Ford. For the most part, I was driving the ball well and flagging my irons. My putting has been a little off, the greens at Raintree have been holo-tined so it has been difficult to do much constructive practice. However, I know that I am a great putter with a nice stroke so it will come back around, I just need to get the confidence up.
My practice round was hampered by a hail storm so I only managed to play 12 holes and walk the rest which wasn't ideal but better than nothing, I wasn't going to freeze to death!
I got off to a decent start in round 1. I birdied the par 5 first and then threatened birdie at the next 5 holes without getting anything to drop (perfect Bent Grass greens by the way)....a par at 6 was followed by a slight misjudgement of the wind at the 8th which led to a bogey (missing a straight 5 footer). I made par at the 9th and turned at a respectable level par. Hitting all but 1 of the greens in regulation.
I got up and down for par at 10 (one of my few up and downs of the tournament)...and then made what turned out to be a good bogey at 11 after pulling my 4 iron into a bad spot on the 220 yard par 3. My first real poor swing of the day came at 13, where I missed the fairway left and went into a ditch....a bogey followed and +2 through 13. 2 great shots into the par 5 15 but only a par to show for it. Then a bogey on 17...hitting 6 iron straight into the sun I came out of it, and another failed attempt at an up and down. I finished the round at 75 (+3) not too bad on a windy day but really felt like I got nothing from my round.
Round 2 was a story of 2 sides to my game. Great off the tee, crap everywhere else! I hit 12/14 fairways and the 2 that missed were by 2 yards. I really was not able to get anything to drop, my short game was vacant and I really scored badly. I was level par thru the 16th (my 7th)....misjudged the wind on 17 and my normally terrific bunker game couldn't save me...so +1. The par 5 18th (my 9th) was where my round really came apart. I had 270 yards to the green for my second, and thought with a really hard 3 wood, I could get home...I suppose I was a little too aggressive because I made a bad swing and blocked it right and ended up out of bounds, 20 or so yards right of the green. I made par with the second ball but that cost me a double and +3 for the round.
The back 9 was mostly packed with great driving, and bad short game. I couldn't get anything in the hole for love nor money. I was again happy with my patience...I didn't let anything get the better of me but in the end I finished up +7 for the round. Very surprising, especially given how I drove it.
Like every event I try to take positives away, and I will. I haven't driven the ball this well in ages so I am happy about that. I have always had a good short game so I am not too concerned. I will continue to put in the hours at practice to get better. You can't really score if your short game is somewhere else. I plan to practice that a lot in the coming week.
Since the event ended, I have got new clubs. I have jumped ship to PING. I went to get fit for my new clubs in Atlanta a few weeks ago and finally they arrived last week after having them made in Phoenix, Arizona. I have got a G25 driver, i25 3 wood and G25 20 degree hybrid. I have gone for the s55 irons. They feel great and I now know that the clubs fit me 100% so I can gain optimum performance.
I am leaving next Sunday to go to St James Plantation. I will be playing a Pro-Am on Monday and then the tournament will begin Wednesday.
Stay tuned for more details and thanks again for following.
Sorry it's a lengthy post (will try to condense in future)!!
Lee
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