Racking up a high score

Sunday 17th


I played the Palmer course of the Woodlands Country Club today. Tee off was 11am and I was there about half an hour earlier. It was drizzling a bit as I drove there and there was the potential for rain like we had on Saturday. Fortunately, though it was overcast and windy, it never actually rained on us. When I went to check in, I couldn't get a confirmation on the booking. As it turned out it wasn't in Tom's name, although I played with him again but in someone else's. A group of a dozen or so, who call themselves ""The Rack" for reasons that I never found out, play together most weekends and have an internal competition between them. Ebi and I joined them as Tom's guests. The 4th in our group was Lee, who seemed to be running the group. Kirk in the office said he knew him and he was the captain of one of the squads at the club. We were the last of the group to hit off as Ebi was a bit late - got lost I think - and followed a group of 5. We were waiting most of the day, yet still only took about 4 1/2 hours to complete the round.

Unfortunately this was my worst day since I've been here and I was pleased in the end to break 100 (97). My putting was a major problem and I just couldn't get the speed right. A couple of times I was on in regulation and 3 putted. I didn't even get a par till the 11th, after missing a 2 ft putt for my only real chance on the front 9.

The course itself is very good and so were the greens - I just didn't handle them. Again some lovely scenery, starting with a herd of deer walking across the fairway on the first hole while we were waiting to tee off. Lots of lakes with water birds and some sand traps, although I was relieved a couple of times to find I'd finished in grassy hollow rather than a bunker.

I got my drives working after a few holes, once I'd slow ed down and was hitting the ball well enough but just couldn't score - very frustrating. The 13th hole is a 500 yard par 5. I hit my drive straight down the fairway about 290yards as seen above. The second shot was across a lake or around it. I went for it and cleared the lake but missed the green then chipped on a 3 putted. Even going round the lake requires you to chip over it at the end.The movies at the end show this lake from 2 different view points. It continues down the side of the 14th to the green as seen below.

Ebi also had a shocker, his worst for ages so he said. However, he managed to get paired with a guy who played 4 under his handicap to tie for the money and picked up a skin as well. I didn't participate in their comp becuase of the difficulty of setting my handicap properly - good thing the way I played. It was again an expensive course at $86. I'm just paying up and enjoying the golf. I suspect I've paid a fair % of my annual fees back home for just 4 weeks of golf.

After th game we joined the rest of the group and had some drinks nuts and nachos. It was quite friendly and not unlike the sort of situation we had at Collier Park at the 19th. It was nearly 8pm by the time we left.

I was somewhat stuffed from the nibbles at golf so I skiiped dinner but had an icecream. Watched some TV and fell asleep on the couch again.