Shot a ugly 42 today

[mddubya]

Normally a 42 would thrill me, but today was my best chance at breaking 40 to date.

I started out, bogey, par, par, par, 2 putting each of the 1st 4 holes. Then on the 5th hole I roped my 4 wood to the dog leg left turn. Hit a perfect 56º to within 3 feet of the pin and drained the putt for a bird.

6th hole is a longish par 3, (185 today), with water all down the left side, and OB down the right. Today they had a sucker pin placement, left side of the green to close to the water to suit me. So I decided to play it safe and aim for the right side of the green, at worst I have a long putt for bird, and hopefully a easy 2nd putt for par. Wrong, I push my 5 iron to the right, it hits dry ground, bounces once, hits the cart path and bounds up and towards the OB markers. I get up there and can't find my ball anywhere. Finally I drop 2, hit 3 from where I think my ball went out at. Pi$$ed off, I flub my chip and leave it still short of the green. 4th shot hits short of the pin, releases and races past the hole. My 5th shot/putt stops 1 inch short of the hole, tap in for a triple.

7th hole, narrow fairway, OB ditch on the left, woods on the right, Ok I tell myself, shift into damage control mode. I pull out my 2 hybrid, the fairway finding machine and proceed to yank it into the ditch on the left. Drop 2, hit 3, a perfect 5 iron that comes up just short of the green. I over swing on my chip and send it 20 feet past the flag. Ok, I'm not going to leave this putt short, and I don't, race it past the hole 5 feet for a knee knocker come back putt, thank goodness I drained it, Double bogey. In 2 holes I've given back 5 strokes.

8th hole I hit a perfect drive that trickles through the fairway into the rough, which looks like they are planning on hosting a PGA Major they've left it so deep. A easy 6 irons shot catches too much grass and comes up just short of the green. Chip shot snuggles up close for a easy par putt. Ok, the bleeding is over now. I refuse to look at my score, I know I'm close to shooting a 40, maybe even below it for the 1st time. (BTW, my all time best score is two 41's for a 82 on this course.)

9th hole, I crush my drive, fairway and only 125 to the front of the green. But the flag is mid green, and its uphill. So I grab my 8 iron and pure it. The ball is tracking straight at the pin, nice high trajectory. Oh no, "a little gust from the Gods Romeo", the ball comes up 10 feet short of the green. Its still up hill to the green, so I decide to pitch it on, comes up 20 feet short of the pin. Race the putt past about 8 feet, lip out the come backer, tap in for another double bogey.

Add up my score, a 42, 7 over, after being even par after 5, :faintthud

[ezra76]

You'll get it man. Work on the short game till it's just automatic. Sounds like that ball you couldn't find really set you off. That's how I am too. If I lose a ball, it drives me right up a wall. Nothing pisses me off more than trying to make a "conservative" play and then totally fcking the shot up... or more in your case, barely missing and being severely punished for it.

[Pa Jayhawk]

Have had many a round like that where I let the score get into my head, and try to play holes to simply conserve the score. Never a good thing.

BTW, not sure if you were aware, but OB is stroke and distance, as would be an un-found ball. Not say I would have likely gone back and hit 3 from the tree in a casual round, but if I had reason to believe it was OB (or lost), I likely would have hit a provisional. Actually, in knowing it was my best round, I may have gone back. Just mentioned it because it sounded like you thought it would be treated as a lateral, and dropped because you had reason to believe that it was such.

Not meaning to rub salt in your wounds, just thought if you got into a competition, you would want to know. Nice round none the less, just try not to add up your score when you are playing well, until it is over. It always usually results in misery for me. Only think of the present shot, not the past or future. That is probably how you ended up even after 5. Then likely became the past and future.

[eclark53520]

Damn man...sucks.

I have definitely had a few like that before. Starts off great, but then you just can't keep it going after that first mishap.

It will all come together some day...

[mddubya]

You'll get it man. Work on the short game till it's just automatic. Sounds like that ball you couldn't find really set you off. That's how I am too. If I lose a ball, it drives me right up a wall. Nothing pisses me off more than trying to make a "conservative" play and then totally fcking the shot up... or more in your case, barely missing and being severely punished for it.

Thanks Ez, my short game is what I work on the most. It's usually the strong point in my game, and was in this round other than those 2 screwed up chips that I left short. The funny thing was, as we were leaving that par 3 another guy in our 4some found my ball. When he tossed it to me I asked if I'd have had a shot from where he found it? "Oh yeah, with your short game, you'd have been in good shape",

Have had many a round like that where I let the score get into my head, and try to play holes to simply conserve the score. Never a good thing.

BTW, not sure if you were aware, but OB is stroke and distance, as would be an un-found ball. Not say I would have likely gone back and hit 3 from the tree in a casual round, but if I had reason to believe it was OB (or lost), I likely would have hit a provisional. Actually, in knowing it was my best round, I may have gone back. Just mentioned it because it sounded like you thought it would be treated as a lateral, and dropped because you had reason to believe that it was such.

Not meaning to rub salt in your wounds, just thought if you got into a competition, you would want to know. Nice round none the less, just try not to add up your score when you are playing well, until it is over. It always usually results in misery for me. Only think of the present shot, not the past or future. That is probably how you ended up even after 5. Then likely became the past and future.

I wasn't keeping up with my score, I refused to look at my running total on my GPS. I knew it was playing out to be a great round, for me anyway, but I never looked at the total until after the last hole. But I did tense up after that birdie, especially after a friend made the comment, "man, you're playing a great round today"

Damn man...sucks.

I have definitely had a few like that before. Starts off great, but then you just can't keep it going after that first mishap.

It will all come together some day...

Thanks Clark, I hope so, I'd love to break 40 one of these days.

[ezra76]

If there is such a thing as an ugly 39, I did it today. 1st 4 holes on the back 9 I hit the GIR's to a combined distance of inside 20ft.. Only dropped 1 for bird. I puked a simple pitch/chip, 3 putted and then to top it off borderline topped it out the rought on the easiest par 5. I pulled my 3rd shot into fescue and made a halfway decent bogey out of it.

Those first 4 holes should have been -3. That's the "best chance" I've had at going under par yet and really blew it.

[mddubya]

Well, I just finished shooting my all time low score for 9 and 18. No I didn't break 40, but I shot a 41 on the front nine, and a 42 on the back for a 83. It wasn't ugly, and there weren't yesterdays flashes of brilliance. Just steady par and bogey golf, with 3 doubles thrown in, 1 triple and 1 birdie. I never got frustrated or mad today, even after the triple, which amazed even me.

Lost 2 balls today, one of which I knew better than to hit. We got to the tee box and there was a cart in our fw waiting to hit their 2nd shot. When they looked up and saw us on the tee box the moved a little off to the left side. Instead of waiting like I should have, I tried to steer the ball away from them. Of course I pushed it way right and into the woods ob.

Oh well, maybe tomorrow?

[ezra76]

Good score though man. Same as me. 44/39.

[Pa Jayhawk]

Sounds like it is all coming together. Congrats!!!

Even better when you can do it when losing a few balls, which tells you that you can even do better yet the next time out.