It was the best of sides, it was the
worst of sides, it was the age of birdies, it was the age of triples,
it was the epoch of hope, it was the epoch of disappointment.
After the Par 3 Challenge at Iron
Valley got snowed out on Black Friday, I played The Architects in
Phillipsburg on Sunday afternoon. The course is composed of holes
designed to pay tribute to some of the great course architects (e.g.
C.B. Macdonald, Harry Colt, A.W. Tillinghast, Donald Ross, Robert
Trent Jones). I've been there each of the past two years and they
have half price replays; my former boss and I have taken advantage of
that to play 36 on of the best courses in New Jersey.
I arrived around 11:00 for a 12:00 time
and was wearing shorts as usual. There is generally a bit of a
breeze there so I put a pair of pants in my bag before I left my
apartment. The temperature was in the mid-40s, but I detoured to the
locker room after I checked in at the pro shop. The clerk asked if I
wanted to go right out, but I needed to warm up at the range,
especially since I had just been in the car for an hour.
I've worn pants twice in my 12 year
golf career. Now I can say it's three times. I sent this to my
friend from work who sometimes doesn't believe that I even wear a
winter coat when I show up in just a polo or maybe my thin adidas
pullover.
The grass range was closed so we're
hitting off the mats. I said hello to two guys hitting near the ball
machine and walked back to the cart that I parked a few mats away. I
flushed a few 8- and 6-irons before taking my 3h out and started to
hit hooks like never before. I quickly put that away and proceeded
to dump a few balls with my 3 wood. The driver stayed in the bag on
the range since I am teeing it very low with the new setup and the
rubber tees are too tall for me. There is a big bunker and a short
game area to the side so I chipped a few balls, focusing on different
carry distances.
It's about 11:30 and I drove back to
the clubhouse. I was planning on walking so I parked the cart where
I found it, took the scorecard and dropped my bag by the putting
green. It didn't take me very long to get the speed of the greens
and the twosome that I saw at the range was on the first tee. There
wasn't a starter outside so I patiently dawdled off to the side while
they teed off and then asked if I could join them. One of them said
that he hadn't been playing for very long so I might not want to play
with them, but I don't mind that one bit. I told him that we were
all beginners at some point!
Sidebar: I often play as a single on
the weekends since my usual golf friends are married and have kids or
are newly expecting (congrats Joe!). I'm 33, but look younger than
that and am an athletic, but skinny, 6'3”. I have the RBZ Stage 2
driver, 3W, 3h, and the matching bag, although I'm not on the
TaylorMade staff; the seams on my Ogio stand bag ripped and the bag
was on sale and had the dividers and pockets that I was looking for.
I also walk as much as I can and carry a scorecard holder in my back
pocket. I know most casual players don't walk as often as I do and
probably don't have a scorecard holder, but I never imagined that I'd
get the amount of comments about being a “good player” that I do
just by walking up and writing their names on the card after
introducing myself. Does anybody else get that?
I got onto the tee box with Rick and Dave and promptly donked my tee shot into the left rough. See, not a very good player! I ended up pin high off the green in three and two-putted for bogey on the wide open easy par 5. Two bogeys on the next two holes and then a birdie on #4 where my drive on the 405yd par 4 landed right next to the 150 stake. I hit a 6 iron just over the bunkers in the front of the green to 10 feet from the difficult back pin position. This increased my confidence going to #5 where I haven't managed to find the fairway in any of my rounds. I still missed the short grass, but landed in front of a bunker on the left with an exaggerated sidehill lie below my feet. From 70 yards, I gauged my gap wedge pretty well and my ball rolled to just short of the hole. I left my birdie putt a few inches away and tapped in for par.
#6 is a 116 yard downhill par 3 to a
big green that tilts from back to front and drastic slopes just off
the green. The main objective is to leave your tee shot below the
hole. I met that objective and rolled in a second birdie putt and
scooted off to the next tee. #7 is one of the reasons that I chose
to walk. It's a dogleg right and cart path only with the cart part
on the left. My normal shot is way off to the right and I normally
have no idea what club I should use. I landed my drive over the
right hand bunker and got a kick off the hill to the left. I hit a 8
iron to just off the green and used my hybrid in the thick rough. I
saw the break, but still missed the par putt on the canted green.
I hit a good drive on #9, the #1
handicap hole on the course, and from the top of the hill, I could
see the hole cut towards the back left of the green. There is a pond
which starts off short of the green and runs down the left-hand side
so I made sure to aim for the center of the green, but my approach
shot is a bit fat. The ball stayed in the fairway and avoided the
water. The green has a Biarritz character to it and I got my chip to
land on the back tier. Dave had some issues with the slopes on the
green and I made my putt for par and 39 (+4) on the front.
I walked over to #10 and they went
inside for a minute. They took longer than I was expecting, but they
finally appeared and joined me on the tee and they brought me a
Guinness! They both smoked and we had discussed cigars on #4; I
rarely do that since it takes most of my focus to play somewhat
decently and that doesn't leave much attention for keeping a cigar
lit. I proclaimed drinking as my vice and produced my flask as proof
(80 proof, actually). I was enjoying playing with them and I have
trouble saying no to a good beer so we toasted to a good back nine
and headed off.
I bumbled around #10 for bogey and #11
is an uphill dogleg right with a number of bunkers on the short side
of the dogleg. I should be able to clear the last one with my new
driver, but I didn't make a very good swing and left it in one of the
traps. My fairway bunker play has improved a lot this year (thanks
Rutgers!) and I hit a 6 iron to about 90 yards out. By the time it's
my turn, I noticed that the twosome behind us at the turn was
actually behind us and I nervously dumped my next shot into the
bunker about 40 yards out. I barely made the front of the reasonably
large green and again nervously three-putted for double. I've
mentioned my nerves and flashbacks to being really bad before when I
see a group behind us. This has to stop next year or I'm always
going to have those few blowup holes which keeps me from a low score.
#12 is a par 3 Redan. I took one club
less since I generally pull my irons and figured that it would run
down the slope of the green. Obviously, I hit this one straight and
it stayed on the fringe to the right. I can use my putter from there
and gave the slope way too much respect. I two-putted from there and
we went around the corner to the par 5 13th. It was playing about
470 and features a small stream just in front of the green. I put
some strange topspin on my drive and I'm left with 240 to the green.
I would normally hit my 3 wood without a second thought in the
summer, but I decided to make the “smart, professional play” and
lay up. I figured a 9 iron and 9 iron/PW would get me on in three,
but of course, the best laid plans...I took the biggest divot of my
life and advanced the ball about 60 yards. I laughed and buried my
face in my hands as I retrieved and replaced the enormous chunk of
sod.
Rick and Dave asked if it's a
“three-tone” and they explained to me that they've seen a friend
do the same thing and you could see the clay layer on the bottom,
then dirt, and then topsoil. Luckily, I hadn't replicated their
friend's feat. Rick proceeded to hit his next two shots fat and I
told him to stop watching me play. They were a lot of fun to play
with and we could good-naturedly needle each other about hitting
godawful shots like that.
Unfortunately, my adventures on 13
weren't finished. I had my third from about 180. I tried to gauge
an easy 3h swing and yanked it dead left out of bounds. It was so
obviously bad that I was in my pocket for another ball before I saw
my shot go through the treeline. I put my hybrid away and took my
4-iron out...and made the exact same swing. The ball took a bounce
off a thin tree trunk and landed just short of the green on the far
side of the hazard. Up and a two-putt for the “dreaded other” 8.
I spent random times over the next two
days (watching Sunday and Monday Night football, taking a shower on
Tuesday morning) and came to the conclusion that I just should have
used my 3 wood on the second shot.
- Best scenario: On the green or over the hazard and practically level with the green in two
- Second-best scenario: Short of the hazard and 20-30 yards out in two
- Third-best scenario: In the hazard (which is totally dry, but rocky in November) and either hitting three from the bank in the hazard or dropping 30 yards out for four
The green is wider than it is deep and
there are multiple levels from right to left so I think I will just
go at it in two the next time I'm there, regardless of laying up
being the smart play. This is the first of the three consecutive
difficult holes on the back (#6, 4, 2 handicap), even though #14
isn't that difficult if you can keep your tee shot out of the right
hand bunker. The fairway goes down a hill toward the hole and the
green slopes from back to front; not terribly difficult if your tee
shot is in play, but can get tricky if you're too far to the right
and in the fairway on #13. Rick and Dave picked up on #14 and left
after Rick got a call that his granddaughter is about to make her
appearance to the world. I chipped to two feet after they drive off
and tapped in for par.
#15 is definitely the #1 handicap hole
on the course, regardless of the rating. There is a tee shot to a
blind landing area (hit a draw toward the aiming stake to get the
best roll down the hill) and about 150-160 downhill to a contoured
green that runs from front right to back left. I put another dead
pull on my ball from 150 and it ended up 25 yards past the green. I
chipped on and left my par putt three inches off to the side of the
hole. I was bordering on devastation from my bad shots on #13 and 15
and tried to compose myself again as I waited for the group ahead of
me on #16.
A mediocre drive and 3h left me just
short and left of the green in a small culvert that was neither
marked nor mentioned in the local rules. I made a meal of that chip
and ended up on the back of the green. I made a good lag putt and
then lipped out the second putt, using all 360 degrees of the cup. I
had a vague idea of my score at this point and I knew I had to keep
up the struggle to break 90.
#17 is well guarded with a wide bunker
in the front of the green and a few bunkers in the rear of the green.
I wasn't sure where to aim my tee shot since my irons had been all
over the place on the back nine so I take dead aim at the flag. If
you're going to hit it straight, you might as well get something out
of it!
I pulled it into the front bunker and
left it in there after my second shot. I could feel my chest
tightening up and my arms acting like complete newbies to the game.
I got it out and left my third on the short rough outside the bunker.
I used the entire circumference of the cup on my first putt and had
to tap in for triple. After the last few holes, I was a wreck and
was glad that nobody was with me to see my meltdown. On a similar
topic, I didn't feel a bit of nerves as I drove down Rt 78 or pulled
into the parking lot. Normally, I'm a wreck thinking that I don't
belong/ fit into the place. This is one benefit of belonging to a
club; you may not know all the members who play there, but you'll get
to know the pros, starter, and caddies, especially if you play as
much as I plan in 2014!
#18 brings a relatively simple par 4 on
the way in. There are a few bunkers in play on the left with a
below-average drive, but I cleared those and was near the 150 stake
on the right side of the fairway. This green seems like the largest
on the course and the hole was cut all the way to the back. My
second shot cleared the greenside bunker and stopped on the fringe,
about six inches from the green. I made a good putt from the fringe
and then eked out a two putt after that for bogey and an 89 (+18
overall).
Regardless of my score, I feel that the
front nine is easier than the back. I need more practice on the
course in order to make a better score, but things seem to still be
in progress. My drives were almost all playable, my approaches were
more consistent until the wheels fell off, and my pitching/chipping
was going well when I remembered to follow through. All in all,
breaking 90 for the first time at The Architects was a good day.
