Joey's Golf Bag

On Sunday, John and I played 14 holes of match play at Coyote Ridge Golf Club. We went off at around 2PM on a 50 degree day, cool but sunny with barely any wind. The course was playing very firm and fast. Unfortunately, we were behind some very slow groups and were only able to complete 14 holes.

My round:

• First hole. I hit a 5-iron thin off the tee, leaving me an 8-iron from behind the tree to the right of the fairway. I hit that one very thin and was left about 15 yds short of the green. I then shanked a lob wedge right of the green, chipped on and two-putted for double. Halved the hole.
• Second hole. I hit a perfect drive right down the center of the fairway, and then a perfect 8-iron layup to about 95 yds to the pin. Unfortunately, I hit my 3/4 approach wedge thin and long, leaving me with a downhill lie in the rough above the hole. I hit a chip long and two-putt for bogey. John hit a stellar chip to about 4 ft and nailed the par putt to go one up on me.
• Third hole. I hit a 5-iron 10 yds short and right of the pin. I hit a good chip about 6 ft by the hole and nailed the par putt. John just missed his par putt and I got the match back to even.
• Fourth hole. My drop-kicked drive was in the center of the fairway. I hit a nice hybrid shot to about 75 yds from the green in perfect position to fire at the pin. I hit a sand wedge to about 20 ft and two putt for par. John also hit the green in regulation, but left with about a 35 ft putt for birdie, which he ran 3 ft by the hole. He made the par putt to halve the hole and leave us even.
• Fifth hole. I hit a nasty duck hook into the left rough no more than a 100 yds from the tee. From there, I pulled a 6-iron into the left rough. My wedge from there was short, and I chipped poorly and two-putt for double. Fortunately, John didn’t play the hole any better and we halved the hole to stay even.
• Sixth hole. I popped up my 5-wood into the fairway. My hybrid 2nd shot was pin-high just left of the green. I chipped long and two-putt for bogey. John chipped nicely and nailed his par putt to go one up.
• Seventh hole. I misjudged the wind and overclubbed, going well over the green. However, John hit virtually the same shot. He hit a low chip that ran well past the pin, but on the green. My lob wedge was hit short, so I had to chip, but went about 9 ft past the hole. I two-putt from there for double. John two-putted from a longer distance and won the hole with bogey to go 2-up.
• Eighth hole. My 5-wood tee shot was well struck, but was right of the fairway. My second shot was a little short. I hit my pitch to about 12 ft and three-putted for double. John’s second shot was in the bunker to the right of the green and it took him two to get out. He two-putt from there to halve the hole, but he was still 2-up on me.
• Ninth hole. I hit a perfect hybrid off the tee to the center of the fairway, then a nice hybrid just short of the green. I hit a nearly perfect chip from there to less than 2 ft and was conceded par. John had hit his tee shot into the pond left of the fairway, but he played the hole well from there and managed a bogey. I made the turn down 1 hole.
• Tenth hole. I hit a hybrid off the tee a bit left of my target line. My hybrid shot from there was in the center of the fairway, but with a lengthy third. My third was thin and left. The ball hit a tree left of the green and fortunately stopped in the rough without rolling into the creek. I hit a decent wedge from there and just missed my par putt and tapped in for bogey. I don’t recall what John scored on the hole, but I won the hole to even the match.
• Eleventh hole. I hit a 6-iron off the toe short of the hole. My chip didn’t go far enough up the ridge, and rolled back nearly to the spot I’d hit from. My second chip was much better, but I missed my bogey putt. John played his hole much the same way and we halved the hole to remain even.
• Twelfth hole. I hit a perfect 5-wood into the center of the fairway, leaving me with a 7-iron to the green. John hit an iron off the tee and had a 5-iron. His shot was well left of the green but pin-high, mine was just right of the green and pin-high. John chipped onto the green, but misread his putt and made bogey. I hit a very nice chip to about 4 ft and nailed the par putt to take my first lead in the match. Alas, it didn’t last.
• Thirteenth hole. I hit a fat 5-wood well right of the fairway, leaving me behind a tree. John hit an iron into the center of the fairway. I had to lay up as I didn’t have a shot at the green. I hit my 7-iron thin and low, hitting a branch. The ball ended up right next to John’s ball, but he hadn’t taken his 2nd yet. My third shot was badly pulled and should have been lost in the woods, however, it hit a tree solidly and trickled back into the fairway below the hole. My 4th with a lob wedge was struck thin and well over the green. I conceded the hole as John had a short putt for par.
• Fourteenth hole. The flag was well up, as was the pin. John hit his tee shot into the bunker very close to the edge, leaving him with virtually no shot. I took that as a sign to hit the ball into the center of the green. However, my pitching wedge was hit very high and the ball ended up in its own crater. Even though it took John two to get out of the bunker, my own shot was hit thin over the green, where the ball rolled well down the hill. My lob wedge was short (again!) and I had to concede the hole when John rolled in his putt. I was one down at this point.

That was one ugly match play, but I greatly enjoyed being out on a gorgeous, if chilly, afternoon. The only bad thing about the day was the very slow pace of play of the groups in front of us. John and I both like to play fast and we can finish nine in an hour and a half if we don’t have to wait. But wait we did, so long that we didn’t get our match completed.