Joey's Golf Bag

This morning, I played nine at the North Texas Golf Center on a hot, hot morning. I arrived at the range, putted a while, did the sand drill in the bunker, hit a small bucket of balls and hit the course. There was very little wind when I started. The round was slow due to a junior golf camp.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

My round:

• First hole. My round started inauspiciously when I hooked my 8-iron left and long next to a tree, causing me to take an unplayable. From there, I pitched over a mound long, lipping out a 9 foot putt, then tapping in for double.
• Second hole. The tees were all the way back today, and the flag was in the back right corner of the green. I hit a nearly perfect 7-iron 10 feet short of the hole, right in line with it. My putt went three feet by the hole, and I missed the short putt when the ball hit a clump of grass and bounced left. Tapped in for bogey. I was not happy.
• Third hole. Hit a pitching wedge a little thin and short. My chip was thin and short as well, leaving me 10 feet for par. Lipped out again and tapped in for bogey.
• Fourth hole. Hit a nice pitching wedge 10 feet from the hole and rolled in the birdie putt.
• Fifth hole. Hit a sand wedge too high and short, chipped poorly to 10 feet and lipped out (again!!!) the putt. Tapped in for another bogey.
• Sixth hole. Hit an approach wedge thin and right of the hole. Chipped to 7 feet but just missed the putt, and tapped in for bogey.
• Seventh hole. The pin was just behind the bunker. I debated whether to hit an AW or a PW, decided on the AW. Just as I hit, the non-existent wind was blowing hard in my face and my ball plugged deep in the bunker. I used the sand wedge to blast out, just barely clearing the railroad ties. I had a 15 footer from the fringe, which I barely missed and tapped in for another bogey. Seven holes played and not one par.
• Eighth hole. Hit another AW, this time the wind took it 36 feet past the hole. I hit the lag putt to six inches and tapped in for my first par of the day.
• Ninth hole. The tees were nearly all the way back, but the flag was on the front. I hit a nine iron just short of the green, chipped poorly to 9 feet, but nailed the putt for par.

I wasn’t happy with my game today. I hit a couple of good iron shots, but many were hit a little thin (my divot was a good 2 inches in front of the ball — very unusual for me). My chipping really let me down, as I didn’t hit one closer than 9 feet all day. My putting would have been stellar if I hadn’t lipped out three putts. I blame the 3-putt on the bumpy green. Still, a pretty good day of golf.