Ever have one of those rounds where nothing seems to go right, yet, at the end of the day it doesn’t turn out as bad as it should have? Well, that was yesterday’s round of 79 at Riverbend Golf Complex in Kent, WA. With my new FG Tour 100’s in the bag and a new wedge, I wasn’t expecting too much in the way of scoring, but I was very excited to get the 100’s on the course since they will be my gamers going into tournament season next year. The weather was chilled and the air was heavy, but after a quick warm-up on the putting green, I felt ready to roll. Off to the first tee!
We waited what seemed like hours for the group in front to clear the fairway. We were playing an early bird round to save a few bucks this week, so we didn’t get the benefit of warming up at the range. Makes me wish some of these courses would just put in a net next to the first tee box to hit a few shots into. That said, the first shot of the day was sort of an ugly pull/hook landed about 190 yards out into the trees. Not a great opening shot at all. This was followed by a completely opposite PW that found the center of the green, 25 feet from the pin. A quick two putts and my round was off to a great start. The second hole played just as easy, for the second time in a row. My 268 yard drive found the right center of the fairway. I then nailed my new wedge a perfect 132 yards to within about 15 feet of the flag. 2 more putts and we are rolling. Then the par 5 third rolled in to play. My drive found the trees on the right and was knocked down at 200 yards off the tee. I should have pulled a simple 7 iron out and simply put the ball back in the middle of the fairway, but with the new sticks, I wanted to see what they could or couldn’t do. Mental note: the three iron will not carry 235 over the water… After a penalty drop, my 5 iron fell short and right of the green for a chip up and two putt double bogey. I was 3 over after 3 holes.
On the fourth hole, my drive found the right center of the fairway again, leaving me a solid PW into the green. This time, I left my first putt short of the hole and lipped out the second. A three putt bogey finished out that hole. On the par 3 fifth, I managed to land my gap wedge on the left edge of the green and make a quick two putt for an easy par which let me move on to the 6th with some good momentum. For the first time in forever, my drive, although it was short, found the fairway. A 5 iron down to the corner left me with a strong 9 iron to the green. Two more putts and I was still just 3 over par after 6.
A booming drive on the short par 4 seventh left me with a partial wedge into the green. A short lob wedge and two putts netted me another par, my fourth in a row. The par 3 eighth didn’t put up much of a fight once again this round. A very solid 165 yard 7 iron landed on the front edge of the green. My birdie putt grazed the hole once again, which left me with a tap in par. To finish out the front side, I hit a gorgeous drive on the ninth. I then managed to catch a lob wedge heavy and leave it about 30 yards short of the green. Another pitch close to the hole left me with a makeable putt for par, but again, it burned the edge of the hole and I tapped in for bogey. I finished the front side at 4 over.
I started off the backside of the course the same as the front, or close to it. I blasted my drive left into the trees leaving myself a very long second shot. I hit a perfectly fading 4 iron from under the trees to the right side of the green. 2 putts later, I walked away with another par. Ah, the 11th, home of my heroic 3 iron from the last round. This time, things didn’t work out so well for me. Again, my drive found the right trees, but this time it actually rolled through them just enough to really create an issue. I tried the punch again, just to move the ball closer to the green, but I caught a tree dead solid that managed to kick the ball backwards about 50 yards. I pulled an 8 iron out trying to clear the trees and still reach the green, which luckily I did. From where I was, which was a different zip code than the flag, I ran my first putt down to about 12 feet. I then lipped out the second one, which left me with a double bogey. The 12th was also less than kind today as my perfect drive was followed up by a wedge that landed right of the green. A chip on and two putts left me with a bogey on 12 and a 7 over round.
For the rest of the round, things settled down. I found the green on 13 with a fading 9 iron. Two putts and a par was a welcomed result there. 14 played more text book for me today with a left center drive, nicely laid up 7 iron and a SW to the green. Two putts again and another par was in the books. My play on 15 made me very happy as well. I love it when I can take the tougher holes on this course and write one line about them because of how simple I was able to play them. Fifteen was basically, a 260 yard drive down the right side of the fairway. a solid 9 iron to the green and two putts for another par. Again, had any of my longer putts that burned the edge dropped in, this round would be looking much stronger that it is.
The 16th played just as easy as I pulled out a 3/4ish 6 iron and landed it on the back half of the green. From there, another 2 putts and I was in with another solid par. Which brings me to the 17th. I’m going to omit the second ball I was playing for some distance testing and just say, I’m not going to be hitting my 3 iron off the tee too much as the distance just isn’t on that club like it is on my 1 iron from the 49’s. The distances on these don’t seem to be longer like they appeared at the range, but rather, they seem to travel about the same as the 49’s. That’s not a bad thing, but I need to make sure I have that go-to shot with my driver at all times. So, back to 17… 3 Iron found the left rough. 8 iron found the left side of the green and two putts saved the day. Which brings us to the 18th, and my completely nuts idea of cutting the most aggressive (can I say stupid?) line over the water with my tee shot. Somehow, it worked. I left myself 230 into the stick, which should have been a solid 3 iron, but I toed the shot slightly and the ball came to rest just short and right of the green. A pitch on, another lipped out putt and a tap in netted me one more par for the day. I finished the round at 7 over, 79.
For playing with a bag that was brand new as well as balls that I had never played with, I’ll count that as a success. Especially considering the fact that I had at least 5 putts that could have dropped that somehow didn’t. The roundup for this round is going to be ugly, but here’s a few stats for you if you want a preview. I had 40 putts (normally this is around 32), I hit 83% of my greens in regulation and 62% of my fairways. The good news is that my putter was frozen but it didn’t kill me. My drives were a bit shorter, but I manage to hit one more fairway that the last round. The best one though, even with my new irons in the bag, I still managed to hit 83% of the greens. This is going to be a great setup once I get them dialed in.
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