Image: 16th green at Riverbend Golf Complex (18 hole) in Kent, WA.
Knowing that June was going to be a very busy month for me, I wanted to try and sneak in one more round before the holiday weekend next weekend and Riverbend was the course of choice for the week. I have to admit the first shocker of the day was the sticker shock as rates had increased $8 over the week before. Normally, I wouldn’t have an issue with the “summer rate” increase like this, but when the course isn’t in summer playing shape, it’s not exactly good form in my book to charge for it. That said, at $42, Riverbend was still in good enough shape to save me writing a nasty-gram to the City of Kent over the increase. I will say this to them though, please fill the bunkers and get a morning groomer out there prior to the 8:00 tee times going out. With rates over $40, it’s the least you could do for us out there.
Now moving on to the round. This week we played from the blues, which really tested my “3 iron from the tee” theory. The first hole lengthens out to 347 yards from the blues, which meant having to strike a pretty firm 3 iron from the tee. Starting out of the blocks, I managed to knock one 252 down the right side of the fairway with a little draw. It was a perfect start leaving me about 95 yards to the front pin. A perfect sand wedge landed softly on the green and set up an easy 2 putt for par. The second hole was playing 425 and the breeze was definitely helping to defend it. The trees to the left and right make this hole a bit more challenging when you are pulling out a driver. I ended up left on the drive, leaving a pretty near impossible, downhill, 165 yard, hooking 8 iron to the green. After making perfect contact, the ball didn’t shoot off the downhill slope to the right like I thought it would and it hit square in the tree. A perfectly done punch 3 iron to the front of the green saved me and I escaped the hole with a bogey. My driver experience on the second hole shaped my thoughts for the 3rd, and once again, I clipped the tree line with my 3 iron out of the blocks. A quick 3 iron down the fairway and a 5 iron just short of the green left me lying 4 with a pitch and a putt to finish the rather easy hole. After three, I was two over.
The 4th was another hole that adds just enough distance to make me rethink my 3 iron from the tee once again. Of course, given the first two shots I’d really hit with it for the day, I figured a 230-250 yard tee shot would still leave me something manageable on the 422 yard, par 4. I managed to bash a 260 yard shot out to the right center of the fairway and followed that with before landing a 9 iron just short of the green. A quick lob wedge to the green before lipping out a putt landed me a 5. The 5th played 130 on Sunday, which is just under a full PW for me. I knocked it to the back of the green before 3 putting for bogey. The 6th hole played more friendly for me today as well, a great driver off the tree found the right fairway bunker. A 7 iron out left me about 205 to the flag. My 5 iron settled just behind the green for a lob shot and two putts. The 6 was hard fought on that hole, but it was better than the past few rounds.
Image: Ball on the green at the Par 3, 7th.
The 7th doesn’t play very long, regardless of the tees you select, so the 3 iron from the tee was the obvious choice. Playing just 314, I hit it 230 dead center and had only a lob wedge in. Hitting the center of the green and 2 putting out left me with a par. The 8th was also a bit more of a challenge from the blues, but the 190 yard hole location was a perfect 6 iron for me. In fact, I parted my tee ball about 7 feet from the hole. After lipping out the putt, I managed to escape with a par. The 9th hole reared it’s ugly teeth with a side breeze moving across the hole. My 3 iron found the left bunker from the tee, which left me a 9 iron in. I caught it a bit thick and had to pitch on with my lob wedge. 2 putts later, the front side was complete and I was 5 over par.
Moving to the back side, I rocketed a 3 iron off the 10th tee to the right center of the fairway. With 150 in, I left a 9 iron just short of the green. A lob wedge and 2 putts later and the hole was done. We moved across the river to the 11th with a similar result. A great 3 iron from the tee, but my 160 yard 8 iron was caught by the wind and landed in the front bunker. A sand wedge from the terrible bunker had me flipping a lob wedge back to the green before one putting to save my bogey. The 12th yielded similar results as the wind continued to play havoc with my higher trajectory shots. After a good 3 iron down the middle of the fairway, I left a sand wedge short of the green. A quick lob on and 2 putts later, my first three holes of the back had me pinned at 3 over.
Image: Ball checked up on the green at Riverbend Golf Course.
Moving along to the par 3, 13th, my beautiful 135 yard pitching wedge was again caught by the wind and dropped just short right of the green. a pitch on and 2 putts later my bogey streak was intact. With the wind moving from left to right off the tee, the par 5, 14th had no issues to contend with, except for the right fairway bunker. I pulled the driver to take it down the left side of the fairway, but something went very wrong with that swing. The ball sailed off an open club face at about a 20 degree angle to the right, and it continued to move that way in the wind. It settled in the pond on 12, where I had to drop lying two. I placed a 3 iron through the gap between 12 and 14 before hitting a 140 yard wedge over the 100 foot tree and landing it softly on the back of the green. Getting the Wilson Staff Zip and Duo to stick to the greens was no problem at all and this was another example of how easy it was to hit these balls with a bit of spin. I tapped in my second putt for a 6, even with the water penalty.
The par 4, 15th was playing quite a bit longer than the week before. The 413 yard hole stretched my 3 iron about as far as possible off the tee. After going slightly left with my tee shot, I caught my 8 iron heavy and left myself a bit of a pitch in. A lob wedge and 2 putts later, my bogey streak continued. The par 3 16th was also playing a bit more difficult with the swirling winds. A 7 iron made short work of the hole as I landed it softly on the back edge. After running my first putt about 8 feet past the hole on the downhill slope, I lipped out my second to tap in for another bogey.
The 17th yielded my first par of the back side. I beautiful 3 iron left me a pitching wedge that landed on the left side of the green. A quick two put finished out the hole. The 18th was nothing short of brutal today. A strong wind was blowing from right to left, which set up perfectly for me to draw another 3 iron off the tee. Unfortunately, I managed to hit is a bit better than normal and carry through the 240 yard landing zone. At the same time, the wind died down and the ball carried into the water at the right edge of the fairway. A drop (and some fun trying to clear the water from that location) and a 3 iron down to the 150 marker. A 9 iron took me the rest of the way to the hole before a two putt ended my round with my 8th bogey for a 44 and a final total of 85.
My round wasn’t nearly as strong as I had hoped for, but I’m really starting to dial in clubs from 150 in. By the time the ‘real season’ hits, in July or August, I should be able to drop those scores right back into the 70’s where I want to be. I saw plenty of opportunities to shave about 5-6 strokes off this round with just a few shots going differently and maybe a bit less wind. I have a 2 iron arriving next week to start working off the tees a bit more and I will keep plugging away with the wedges to get a bit more accurate with those. Overall, my game is shaping up nicely for summer and I haven’t had any capital expenses at all this season.
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