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Someone asked me recently about the index rating of the par 4’s that I have trouble reaching in 2 shots.
I can reach them in two shots occasionally when I get the tee shot long enough and in ideal positions and then hit the second shot crisply on target (not that often). Then, of course, there is the wind factor! SW Victoria is windy, only the direction changes.Hole #1 is a dogleg left shape 335m. ( rating index 6) Long hitters can cut the corner. I am not confident with that approach, so I aim it down the centre of the fairway hoping for a draw shape. If I get more than 180 m it ends up in the right light rough. I occasionally use my 4 wood off the tee when there is a bit of roll. The next shot of 150-160 m to the front of the green. The shape of the fairway funnels the ball left to right ( towards the sea) so it is better to land just short left and let it roll on. My usual score on #1 is bogey/ occasionally a par if I get the draw shot off the tee
Hole #2 is a 340 m dogleg right. ( rating 2 index) . Here you need to end up left side to get a clear shot at the green with shot two. A draw shot will often roll into the trees on the left, so I usually try for a fade. When it works it leaves me with a 160-150 m shot to the green. There is a green side bunker on the right, but left side is safe. I usually play my 3Hybrid (Cobra SL F9). A good shot will be pin high, hopefully leaving a short chip onto the green.
Hole #10 is a 337 m ( rated index 9) with a slight bend to the right. Ideally a tee shot to the left side is ideal. Wind is often a issue on this hole as it faces West. Our dominant wind is a westerly at 38 degrees South we are on the edge of the roaring 40’s.
It adds about 2 clubs to the shot distance. With a good draw shape tee shot and a 4W 170m I can get on this green occasionally.Hole #12 is rated at #1index ( 372 m) but I don’t find it all that hard. A good shot off the tee to the left side ( avoid the trees on the right/ full of sweet pittosporum jungle) I can reach the green in 2 shots with a good strike. 200 drive/172 4 W, but often it is a chip on for shot 3.
Hole #15 is a 359 m dog leg left ( index 5) . I can get on the green in 2 shots as long as a get a tight draw off the tee. Any fade and I am out of range for shot 2.
Hole #17 is a dog leg left ( index 7) 343m with a water hazard on the apex of the dog leg ( inside / left) . My tee shot can reach that water , so a tight draw aimed at the corner is risky. I usually try to get to the mid fairway section to get a clear shot at the green. Most time it is 160m m >. I can it the green sometimes, but it is usually laterally 10-20 m wide of the pin.
In summary, the par 4 dog leg holes are harder for me, especially when I send the ball wide of the ideal path. It makes the second shot that much longer, or on some holes it makes a controlled fade at the green an essential shot when the tee shot goes too far right ( dog leg right shape hole)
Tomorrow I am playing with my son-in-law again at 8 a.m. in the comp. It will be a hot day, so hopefully we will not wilt. Over 25 is a heat wave in Portland.
Wow
by comparison my course has par 4’s of
365m, 401m 299m 375m, 403m, 375m 365m 375m 385m, 299m 345m 300m
so yes some out of reach, i just play the long ones as 3 shot holes.1 user liked this post.
Someone asked me recently about the index rating of the par 4’s that I have trouble reaching in 2 shots.
I can reach them in two shots occasionally when I get the tee shot long enough and in ideal positions and then hit the second shot crisply on target (not that often). Then, of course, there is the wind factor! SW Victoria is windy, only the direction changes.Hole #1 is a dogleg left shape 335m. ( rating index 6) Long hitters can cut the corner. I am not confident with that approach, so I aim it down the centre of the fairway hoping for a draw shape. If I get more than 180 m it ends up in the right light rough. I occasionally use my 4 wood off the tee when there is a bit of roll. The next shot of 150-160 m to the front of the green. The shape of the fairway funnels the ball left to right ( towards the sea) so it is better to land just short left and let it roll on. My usual score on #1 is bogey/ occasionally a par if I get the draw shot off the tee
Hole #2 is a 340 m dogleg right. ( rating 2 index) . Here you need to end up left side to get a clear shot at the green with shot two. A draw shot will often roll into the trees on the left, so I usually try for a fade. When it works it leaves me with a 160-150 m shot to the green. There is a green side bunker on the right, but left side is safe. I usually play my 3Hybrid (Cobra SL F9). A good shot will be pin high, hopefully leaving a short chip onto the green.
Hole #10 is a 337 m ( rated index 9) with a slight bend to the right. Ideally a tee shot to the left side is ideal. Wind is often a issue on this hole as it faces West. Our dominant wind is a westerly at 38 degrees South we are on the edge of the roaring 40’s.
It adds about 2 clubs to the shot distance. With a good draw shape tee shot and a 4W 170m I can get on this green occasionally.Hole #12 is rated at #1index ( 372 m) but I don’t find it all that hard. A good shot off the tee to the left side ( avoid the trees on the right/ full of sweet pittosporum jungle) I can reach the green in 2 shots with a good strike. 200 drive/172 4 W, but often it is a chip on for shot 3.
Hole #15 is a 359 m dog leg left ( index 5) . I can get on the green in 2 shots as long as a get a tight draw off the tee. Any fade and I am out of range for shot 2.
Hole #17 is a dog leg left ( index 7) 343m with a water hazard on the apex of the dog leg ( inside / left) . My tee shot can reach that water , so a tight draw aimed at the corner is risky. I usually try to get to the mid fairway section to get a clear shot at the green. Most time it is 160m m >. I can it the green sometimes, but it is usually laterally 10-20 m wide of the pin.
In summary, the par 4 dog leg holes are harder for me, especially when I send the ball wide of the ideal path. It makes the second shot that much longer, or on some holes it makes a controlled fade at the green an essential shot when the tee shot goes too far right ( dog leg right shape hole)
Tomorrow I am playing with my son-in-law again at 8 a.m. in the comp. It will be a hot day, so hopefully we will not wilt. Over 25 is a heat wave in Portland.
Wow
by comparison my course has par 4’s of
365m, 401m 299m 375m, 403m, 375m 365m 375m 385m, 299m 345m 300m
so yes some out of reach, i just play the long ones as 3 shot holes.[/postquoteI think that is a wise approach rather than trying to over hit the approach shot and spraying it.
I played with three lower handicappers today and I played to my handicap. 88 strokes/ 36 points. So I am back on track again.
Tee shots in play 12/13, but I did leave three out to the right side requiring some punch shots back into play, plus one hook to the left needing a 7i chip back into play. I am pleased to report that I hit 6 tees hots over 190 m ( best 213m)
I hit 5 GIR and got two up and downs.
35 putts ( 3 by one, 13 by two, two by three) but two of those involved the first putt from off the green,
1 birdie on the par 5 16th ( a long putt sunk form the edge of the green)
3 pars
11 bogeys
3 doubles ( why? = a shanked chip shot, one poor putting for 3 strokes, one a tee shot off to the right, then a duffed fat GW shot with ball above feet)Two steps forward
1) longer tee shots
2) better fairway shots todayOne step back ( but I can think of 4!)
1) Tee shots still being left out to the right side / hand action & loose wrists not happening
2) sand shots still hit and miss. I hit, I miss. I hate our bunkers
3) fat shots when hitting irons above my feet ( I need to choke down a bit more?)
4) poor start on hole one again. I think I hurry my PSR/ don’t feel the shot 1st then execute.1 user liked this post.
Correction : Score was 87. New handicap 16.1 GA /Daily handicap will still be 15.
3 users liked this post.
Over 25 is a heat wave in Portland.
And, I see it gets a mention in the news this morning too due to COVID case trace.
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If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.
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Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.
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Over 25 is a heat wave in Portland.
And, I see it gets a mention in the news this morning too due to COVID case trace.
It is possibly a false alarm. Something about it being more likely due to virus remnants from a recovered patient. Still we are a major transport link to S.A. for rural area exports, so it could be a truck driver.
I have a game booked at 8 a.m. and hope to get a better consistency of strike off the tee and direction of fairway shots.
Starting at 8 a.m. we had a group of three players; one high handicapper at 29, me at 15 and one lower at 8.
We started off with with pars on hole #1. How unusual! I followed that up with a birdie on hole #2. The flash in the pan of good form stopped when I scored a double bogey on the par 5 third hole. I have been over drawing my 4 W shots lately, so I tried aiming a little more right and clipped tees on holes 3 and 16. I should have tried a fade shape to avoid the trouble. For the rest of the game I tried to stay in play and scored a string of bogeys. My only other poor shot cost me a double bogey on the par 3 8th hole. My tee shot was a push off to the right, followed by a duffed PW that didn’t make the green.
Chipping and putting kept me in the game, plus I kept the ball in play off the tee ( 11/14 on the fairway). I peppered the green but only got 3/18 GIR. My LW/60 degree got a work out and got me close oh the pin on several occasions form poor lies/ long grassy areas. Putts 35 ( 3 by one, 14 by two, 1 by three)
Score: 85/ 38 points.
Two steps forward
1) tee shots worked well. I only had to chip out once.
2) LW shots all worked and were pretty accurate tooOne Step back
1) 4W shots that clipped trees when I tried to aim a little further right to correct over drawing this club lately. A fade shot would have been the better choice.2 users liked this post.
Yesterday we played a 4BBB Seniors tournament at Portland Golf Club.
My partner played very consistent golf on the front 9 and I took over that role on the back 9. We scored 38 points, but not quite enough to pip the visitors from Hamilton we were playing with. It was a good day weather wise, overcast and not too windy at first and slowly improving towards midday.
Two Steps forward
1) I hit most fairways with my tee shots
2) Most of my fairway shots went roughly on targetOne Step back ( OK two)
1) Fade tee shots went a bit far left and didn’t fade much
2) Poor decision to use an 8i chip into a bank to slow it down. It was the wrong club!1 user liked this post.
I forgot to mention that I got 5 Drives over 200 m as well as in play!! Happy golfer indeed
3 users liked this post.
Today we had day #2 of the Seniors Carnival at PGC. Weather was typical Portland style, overcast and windy to start with and slowly warming up as the day progressed. Layer on; layer off. If you don’t like our weather, wait 15 minutes. It will change!
I played with my mate Tony and a local couple. She is a very good player, while he is an occasional golfer.It almost felt like match play today as Tony and I pushed each other. He got the upper hand on the front 9 and I pipped him at the post with a Birdie on the 18th. My goal in golf when I started 4 years ago was to be as good as Tony, so I guess I am there now. I still admire his putting precision. Today he rarely missed a putt. My long game kept me in contention, though I did miss a few tee shots left side today.
Using Weetbix’s TSIP measure , I hit 13/18 tee shots in play. The ones I missed punished my score card. I hit 84 OTS and scored 41 points. 3 Birdies, 5 pars, 7 bogeys, two doubles and a triple bogey. I hit 7/18 GIR and two up and downs. 32 putts ( six by 1, ten by 2, two by 3)
Two steps forward.
1) I was happy to play to below my handicap (15)
2) The birdie on the 18th was a long downhill 20 m putt sliding left to right. I saw it, felt it , relaxed and let it go. Wow! That was a ” comeback tomorrow” shot.One step back
1) trying to hit too hard into the wind on tee shots put me into the left rough twice and lost a ball (2 penalty strokes).It was a pleasure to watch Ellen play her precise brand of golf today. That and Tony’s ” can’t miss” putting was a feature of today’s game.
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Surely 3 birdies is THE highlight?
Yes you are right. I have never done that before.
2 users liked this post.
41 points really well done. did you GA come down.
Yes 14.6 now.
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Today we had a Mumbannar Masters 9 hole social game. I usually use these games as a test bed for a few hero shots, if needed, when I get a bit wayward.
My score was 46 ( one par, 6 bogeys and 2 doubles) . My tee shots were a mixed bag today ( two left, 3 centre, 2 right)
GIR 2/9 one up and down.I have been trying to work on a consistent approach to playing hole one. I am trying to hit my 4W off the tee, leaving about 150 m approach to the green. If I use Driver I have been going through the fairway and having an uncertain lie for shot 2. I have used the 4Hybrid ( my 150 m) club, but the last two times I have run through and left myself short sided. At least I am getting better with LW shots onto downhill sloping greens.
The tee shots on hole 2 and tree both ended up left of the fairway, but with different shots. I slightly pulled a fade on 2 and hooked a ripper on 3. I had to chip out on 3. I was getting consistent shot length shots wiht my 4H ( 150m) , 3H ( 160 m) and 5H ( 140m) . I got a case of the pushes on the approach shot on 3 and had another LW shot onto a downhill green. Teh tee shot on 4 was pushed left and I had a hero go at a punch shot out. It worked pretty well, except the strawberry clover grabbed the ball before it got out into the fairway. I tried for 50% 8 i approach shot but the ball clipped the underneath of a bushy tree. At least the putt chip with the 8 i was a tap in result for a bogey . Hole 4 won today.
I got over the pushes with a nice 4W tee shot on hole5. The 30 mm of rain killed th erun today , so the ball didn’t quite reach the green. Another good 8i chip for a tap in par.
I tried a 191m fade off the tee on hole 6 and it worked well getting to the corner. I put the 8 i approach on to heh green and 3 putted. My distance control was not good on the slow greens.
On 7 I tried for the big high draw shot again ( as on #3) and this time it worked. It was a 221m shot, followed by a 178m 4 W shot. I had a over the bunker shot from 40 m out. The shot was on target , but didn’t clear the bunker. A bogey is a good score I tell myself. A managed a par on the par 3 8th hole.
Last hole I hit a straight shot off the tee and just missed my 90 m PW shot slightly left of target. Bogey is a good score ( again)
Two steps
1) better control of tee shots. TSIP 6/9
2) Hybrid distance relaibleOne step back
1) Pushes crept back into my game.
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