If you caught up with me in part one of this post, you’ll undoubtedly know that I am now registered for my first tournament action of 2018. The scary part is that tournament is just two weeks away and my game is rusty as all get out. Yes, I haven’t hit balls in over a month. Yes, I’m coming off a surgery. Yes, I’m posting a handicap for this. And yes, it’s going to be very, very ugly. That said, as I started planning my route around The Golf Club at Redmond Ridge, I thought I would share my pre-round routine and execution plan on the course with you so you can see what I do prior to playing an unfamiliar course with a rough game. So, again, if you didn’t read part one, make sure to sneak back to that post and read it first. If you have already, the back nine awaits.
The inward nine starts off with a 420 yard par 4. Even with the distance increase, if it’s dry out, it may be the first hole to really go out with my 16° hybrid setup. A good 250 yard hybrid off the tee with a draw should run down close enough to give me a nice 7 or 8 iron into the green, which should be more than manageable. The risk of running a driver off this hole brings the right hand side fairway bunker into play and could also bring the front right greenside bunker into play if the pin is on the right. If not, driver is an option, but the safe play has me thinking hybrid all the way. A short par 4 follows the 10th and honestly, the best play on this 332 yard hole is a cut 5 iron for me. At 200 yards, it will leave me a full 51° wedge into the green for my second. It sets up very well for this play as well as the hole curves slightly to the right. The 12th hole is another par 3 hole that plays far different from the front placement to the back placement. Needless to say, I’m starting to see these huge greens and starting to worry about leaving myself 50-60 foot putts on every one of them. Still, a 9 iron plays to the front of this 175 yard hole, while a 6 iron would reach the back. I betting middle placement is a solid 8 iron on this hole, but again, it will depend on the pin placement which club actually gets used.
For the par 4, 13th hole, I’m lost. It’s a hard dogleg right that cuts hard at 270 yards out, but requires a left to right shot from the tee box. Normally this would be a cut driver, but if I overshoot the distance on this one, I’ll face a down hill lie in what looks to be a cut of rough instead of a fairway. Still, the driver may be the play unless I am feeling good about cutting the hybrid. If I can perch it at the top of the hill, I’ll end up with a light gap wedge or a sand wedge into the downhill green. The 14th sets up perfectly for my 16° hybrid off the tee with it’s favorite little draw. I’ll be aiming at the right fairway bunker and letting the ball drift around to the left. That should leave a nice 60° wedge into the green due to the slight downhill flow of the hole. As I pull up to the 15th tee, a small amount of panic will set it. This is a 205 yard par 3 from the tips. The front edge is 175 from the box, so a solid 7 iron, but if the pin is back, I’m going to be target shooting with either my 22° hybrid or my 5 iron. Either way, I’m praying for a front placement on this gigantic green.
The 16th is another hole that should play well for a recovery hole if the par 3 goes awry. This 375 yard hole plays straight up the middle with a draw to the dogleg left fairway. From there a soft 56° wedge should find the hole, but if the hybrid runs a bit, I may be able to run my 60° wedge up to the hole instead. The 17th sets up perfectly as a driving hole for me. Long, slight curve to the right and not much trouble to be seen. It looks like the play is left side of the fairway and let the ball come back to the right side. Nothing fancy, just get it out there and leave a 8 iron or less into the green. That brings us to the par 5, 18th hole, and 550 yards of finishing power. This is one of those holes that won’t easily be hit in two, so I’m planning on it being a three shot hole. A driver off the tee should leave me about 260 into the green. A solid 7 iron should leave me a 60° wedge to the green for a possible birdie. The play off the tee looks to be starting it at the water line on the left and letting the ball come back to the center of the fairway. Nothing too hard, just a long finishing hole.
So that’s the plan for the tournament on the 19th. Part of me thinks I’m crazy for even trying this, but the other part of me is thinking, what’s the worst that can happen (scoring wise, not health related.) I played the Ridge back in the day when it was Trillogy and did pretty darn well there. I figure if I can come in about 80 or so on my first round back in some time, I’ll consider it a victory. From there I’ll just have to see what happens and see how my game reacts over the next few weeks. Until then, I’ll just get in what I can for practicing and see if there’s a way I can make the most of the game that I have at the time the tournament starts.
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