Going Low in the Valley

Horsham Valley Golf Club
Ambler, Pa
Yards: 2536/2579 - 5115
Par: 33/33 - 66
Rating: 62.2, Slope: 101
Score: 43/42 = 85
Date: August 29, 2010

Yesterday, I played a round at Horsham Valley Golf Club, a challenging, Par 66 layout in Ambler, Pa. I really like playing there. It is short, playing just over 5,100 yards, but don't let that fool you; this course can jump up and bite you very easily. After playing our last two rounds together at The Fairways, my golf buddy decided it was time for him take his game to a different course, so he made us a tee time at the Valley.

 My scorecard from Horsham Valley

Although my last round at Old Landing left a lot to be desired, I felt like I had found something in my swing while on the range at Bensalem Township Country Club a week ago. It seemed like I had found my old, more upright swing. I was hoping that this new swing would be with at Horsham Valley. It certainly was!

The Par 3 Fourth Hole

After an inauspicious start, going 6-5-7 over the first three holes, while pushing my tee shots to the right, I started to find my game and swing at the Fourht Hole, a 127-yard Par 3 that is protected in the front by a very large bunker and has a green that slopes front back to front. I made par there, then ripped a Driver at the 387-yard Fifth Hole. Even though I chunked my sand wedge approach shot, I still managed to get up-and-down for a par. The next ball brought be briefly back to earth as I shanked--yes, shanked!--my tee shot and made a triple-bogey 6. But I parred two of the last three holes on the front nine for a score of 43.

The tee shot at the Thirteenth Hole

The back nine starts with an uphill, 171-yard Par 3 with a severely sloping green, which I missed long and right. But I hit a nice lob shot onto the green that rolled to about 10 feet below the hole and I made a satisfying 4. I then parred the short, 296-yard Eleventh Hole and made bogey at the downhill Par 3 Twelfth Hole. The 403-yard Thirteenth is one of the most challenging holes on the course. Power lines run in front of the elevated tee box and the fairway below is guarded by a stand of trees on the left. A creek intersects the fairway just before  the green. I again hit my Driver and smacked a nice draw that rolled to within 15 yards of the creek. I then hit wedge onto the green and two-putted for my fourth 4 in a row. The Fourteenth requires a tee shot over the creek and the power lines again come into play. A small sandy waste area sits in the fairway about 50 yards short of the green. I hit 3-Wood, wedge and two-putted (lipping out my birdie from just off the front of the green) for my fifth straight 4. As you remember from an earlier post, the Fifteenth Hole at Horsham Valley is in my "nightmare nine," holes that seem to get you every time you play them. Yesterday was no exception. A tee shot off the heel that just stayed in bounds, a chunked wedge, a skulled wedge into the water all added up to a 7 on this 184-yard Par 3. I got my last of eight pars at the short, 283-yard, dog-leg left Sixteenth Hole. A 5-6 on the last two holes brought me in at 42 and a round of 85.

 The "nightmare" Fifteenth Hole

This round--with eight pars--was by far, the best I have played this year. I didn't have one 3-putt all round. And while I hit my Driver only three times, I hit it long and with a slight draw. I think I may finally have my new TaylorMade R9 dialed in correctly. I put the shaft in the "neutral upright" position and changed the weights to 4-6-4 (grams) in the toe-back-heel. We'll see if this combination continues to produce such results. I also made one other change to my arsenal for this round, replacing my 5-wood with a 2-hybrid, which I used effectively off the tee on several of the short, narrow Par 4s.

Photos by The Muni Golfer