Third round with the new swing

More of the same from yesterday, albeit with a much more comfortable feeling about where the ball was going, how far it was going, etc. I ended up one higher than the last round with a 76, but post round analysis and walking the scores, it's clear I played much better than that. Here we go...

Nearly chipped in for birdie on #1, 3 putted for bogey on #2 (God these greens are slow, you would think I would know that by now). Made a solid birdie on 3 and parred my way to #8 where I hit one of the ugliest smothered 3 irons in history. Nearly got it up and down, alas it was not to be. Hit a weak 3rd shot on the par 5 9th and made another par, out in 37, 1 over. I was 2 over at the turn in the last round, but ball striking and putting wise, it was a much "easier" round of golf to this point.

Then we get to #10, the threesome of 25 year old Abercrombie boys were walking around in circles in the fairway. Hoping they weren't going to hold us up, I kept my optimism. Unfortunately I was wrong, the cover boys had no intention of letting us through, and we waited on every shot for the entire back 9. Awesome. Here's a tip, if you are playing and there is a group behind you, and they are waiting on you, LET THEM PLAY THROUGH. Jesus tap dancing Christ this should be rule #1 that is drilled into your head when you get to any golf course. I don't mind slow play in slow conditions, when there are literally 2 holes open in front of you, I have no tolerance. If this has offended you in any way while reading this, then you are probably that guy, and I don't really care if you get pissed off. Go read a book on etiquette, not this blog.

Ahem, anyway, back to the topic at hand. Last round I snap hooked driver off of #10, so being the course management expert I am, I pull 3 wood this time, and snap hooked it. Pulled a 9 iron left of the green, but made a great up and down. Routine par on 11, then SMOKED a driver on the par 5 12th, had 8 iron in. Of course, if I knew I was going to hit it so fat, I'd have probably hit 7, ah well. Anyway, tentative chip to 6 feet, miss the putt (short again, slow ass greens). Par on 13, then come to #14. Par 3, water right, junk left. The 6 iron in this set of clubs I bought is at least 2 degrees more upright than the others, and I'm thinking this as I'm pulling the club back, while at the same time thinking about not blocking it into the water. I'm really shocked to report a pull hook, ok not really. Anyway, we find the ball in a 3 foot wide cement canal with dirt in the bottom of it. We looked high and low and found no OB stakes. So I'm 30 yards left, in a concrete canal, with water over the green. As I'm about to hit the shot, I bump the ball with the wedge and move it 1/2". Great. I replace it, and hit the most ridiculous, miraculous and beautiful shot out of the canal to about 8 feet, and miss the putt. Enjoy your double Paper Hogan.

Make 2 more pars, then get to 17, remember the catalog boys? Well they just pull away as we get to the tee on 17. As we're waiting for them to find their balls and play out, I notice that one guy is holding the flag, the other guy is standing next to him, and the 3rd guy is off the right side of the green just standing there. Weird, he just keeps standing there. He finally turns a bit and I can see that he's on his freaking cell phone. There comes a time in everyone's life when they realize that they actually should have bought that sniper rifle they saw at the hunting store, this was one of those moments for me. That was it, my patience was shattered and I made back to back bogeys on 17 and 18 for a 76.

So all in all, minus 14, 17 and 18 I was 1 over and left so many makeable putts short. If I wouldn't have bumped that ball on 14, I would have had one of the worlds greatest bogeys there, 17 and 18 was nothing but a result of a complete meltdown of my composure. Make some putts and get my head back down to earth and I could have had a great round there. Encouraging to be sure. Short game was great, and I've never felt so good about my routine for short putts. We're on the verge of a profound breakthrough here, I absolutely feel it. Until next time!!!