Putting Practice Pays Off at Juniata

Juniata Golf Club
Philadelphia, Pa
Yards: 2805/2185 - 4990
Par: 34/31 - 65
Rating: 63.2, Slope: 106
Score: 88
Date: July 24, 2009

Having worked to strength my putting, which has been the weakest of my game recently, I decided I test myself on the greens of Juniata Golf Club. It has been over a month since I last teed it up on my home course and I was looking forward to playing some familiar holes. I also wanted to test my sore elbow, which I have been icing every evening. I met up on the first tee with Bill and Shane and we formed a threesome, which became a foursome on the 5th Hole when Jack, who had been playing solo behind us, joined our playing group. For this round, I had my Odyssey White Hot XG #9 putter--which I have re-gripped with a new Winn Jumbo putter grip--back in the bag.

Juniata Golf Club Scorecard

My round started off a bit shaky, with a fat tee shot on the 1st Hole, then two blocked tee shots--4-iron off the 2nd tee and a Driver off the 3rd. I was leaking a little oil, but playing OK. I found myself not staying down and through on shots, and worked to correct it over the next several holes. I was also hitting a bunch of my shots off the toe, so I need to pay better attention to my stance and ball position. My putting, however, was showing vast improvement. After two-putting the 1st, a had one-putts on the next three greens. My best putt of the front nine came at the 8th Hole, where I put my tee shot on the back part of the green and faced about a 35-foot putt to a hole that was in the very front of the green. The putt was slightly downhill about the last third and I left it just a half-roll short of a birdie. I managed to keep the number of three-putts to two and had five one-putt holes. Overall, I took 33 putts, which averages less than two putts per hole.

The double green of the 9th and 18th Hole

As for my elbow, it was a bit sore while playing, but not as bad as it had been recently. I iced it when I got home from playing and again later in the evening. I'll continue to ice it each evening and see if that continues to decrease the soreness.

The downhill 12th Hole, a 185-yard Par 3

Scoring wise, this round was the best round I have played at Juniata this season. Hopefully it is a sign that my game is finally rounding into shape for the latter part of the season, especially with my annual golf trip to the Delaware shore only a little over a month away.