My 1st ever EAGLE!

[SiberianDVM]

Played yesterday in a tourney where the tour director decided to screw with us. For some unknown reason he had us play from the Gold tees at 5800 yards instead of the Green tees at 6300 yards like we normally do.

Now that doesn't sound like such a big deal, except this course has a lot of creeks, ponds, OB, and blind doglegs, and this took driver off the tee completely out of most peoples' hands on all except 4 or 5 holes. We were guessing which club to tee off with. I have never hit so many 5 woods and 3 hybrids off the tee. And landed in the rough or water.

And to make it worse, 3 out of 4 par 3s were under 100 yards! That meant hitting partial wedge shots off the tee, over water, which realy sucks when you haven't practiced it.

Anyhoo, this threw me off and my game completely sucked. I broke my 4 in a row winning streak.

The only highlight for me came on #10, a short par 5: driver and 3 wood left me a 45 yard pitch shot. I hit a 60° wedge pitch shot, it took 1 bounce, hit the flagstick a couple of inches up and fell in the hole for a 3.



Nothing like dumb luck.

 

[Dusty90]

Congrats, I have yet to get one

 

[loftgolf]

I am STILL waiting for my first eagle! I've come very close but not yet! Congrats!:thumbs up:

 

[ClairefromClare]

Absolutely--congrats! And for not letting your mind get too messed up by those geezer tees as well.

 

[ezra76]

Way to go doc. Also, as you've seen, shorter does not translate to easier.

 

[nixdad]

Good job! Puts great swing thoughts in your mind, eh?

 

[mddubya]

WTG on your 1st eagle.

 

[Wi-Golfer]

Congrats on the eagle, dumb luck or not.

Sorry about your winning streak being ended.

 

[SiberianDVM]

Thanks, guys. The eagle was a hoot.

I lost because of hitting a bunch of bad wedge and short iron shots and poor putting, so that's what I'm going to be practising. And ho'ing a new putter.

My driving was decent, once I got warmed up.

 

[MCDavis]

Good Job, Sib!!!!

 

[chemboy2]

Congrats on your first eagle, Doc! I just picked up my first last Thursday actually. In similar fashion to you, I holed out from a greenside bunker. :thumbs up:

I like the idea that the tour director had here. All too often we equate extra distance with extra difficulty but I think any course that takes you out of your comfort zone with club selections is challenging. While a full 7 or 8 iron is an easier shot than a full 5 of 6, a partial swing with any club is more challenging than a full swing with any club.

A shorter course with that many that many penal features puts a premium on ball striking. It may not be a bad idea to take one range session a week, or every other week, and work on hitting different clubs the same distance. Go through your bag and try to nail the 100yd or 150yd flag with all sorts of different clubs. This drill will get you used to using partial swings as well as different shot shapes so you'll be ready the next time the tour director decides to have some fun. Or any time you're in between clubs or playing in high wind for that matter.