I played Eagle Glen today, up in Anchorage, Alaska. It was my first round of 18 holes this year, and I didn't really feel that great. I shot a 107 which, by my standards at the moment, isn't all that bad, but I feel I could have done better. A few things were not to my advantage right away.
First, I had never played the course before, and right away I was caught guessing on the first hole, not knowing exactly where the multiple water hazards were. Second, I had to rent clubs. My wife and I traveled up to Alaska from Denver, and I wasn't able to bring my clubs with me. For a great portion of the day I just didn't feel great about how I was lined up, and how the clubs felt. I don't think I would have done a great deal better with my own clubs, but there is definitely something to say for familiarity. Third, right from the get go, the group in front of us was really slow. I'm usually not one that gets fussy about the group in front of you playing a bit slow, but these guys were ridiculous. On pretty much the whole front 9, they let their kids, there were 2 young kids, play a good deal of the holes. Not to anybody teaching their kid the game of golf, good for you, but teaching them how to swing is something you should do on the driving range, not on the 18 hole course. The last thing didn't really happen until hole 14, but on this par 3, I caught my tee shot fat, and it felt like my body was still trying to go through, but the club caught in the ground. My back felt kinda weird the entire rest of the round, and still does.
Other than that, there were some good things. My short game was alright. Most specifically, my putting was quite good. I made a few pretty long distance puts, a few great pars, but the greens were a bit slow and choppy. The balls hopped a lot. At the end, one of the guys I was playing with said his round would have been quite a few strokes better if he had me putting for him. That felt nice. I had some really bad fortune on a couple holes, just plain stunk a few others, and then played a few really well. This is all part of the consistency issue that I'm hoping I'll eventually be able to overcome. I managed to get a par on probably the longest par 5 on the course, where my second shot just managed to get over the creek, took a bit of an extra bound, thanks to the cart path, and sat up for me in the rough. Hit my third shot just off the green, pitched to about 3 feet, and putted it right in. The things that bring ya back!
Perhaps my favorite quote of the day was my father in law cursing the creek on the long par 5. He said that he's never gotten less than a 10 on that hole, and, after putting a couple in the creek from not far away, could probably be heard back in the clubhouse yelling "I HATE THIS HOLE!" I had done not so much better the hole before, knocking two into the creek and getting a 10.
All in all, it was a great day. Gorgeous weather, good company, a bit frustrating. I definitely felt a bit cranky with the really slow group in front of us, and crankiness can affect me. I'll be interested to see how I do the next time I get out for 18. It will be in Colorado, and it will be with my own clubs. Hopefully that will help my confidence and comfort level. But who knows. I'm certain that I will still suck, but will hopefully be able to get out of the 100s. Until next time!
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