Opening at Mountain View

Mountain View Golf Club
West Trenton, NJ
Yards: 3120/2997 - 6117
Par: 37/35 - 72
Rating: 69.8, Slope: 122
Score: 52/52 = 104
Date: May, 22, 2015

My first official round of the 2015 season took place today at Mountain View Golf Club, a Par 72 municipal layout just off I-95 in West Trenton, N.J. It is the second time in three years that I have opened my season with my first official round at this course. One of three courses owned and operated by the Mercer County Park Commission, Mountain View is a testing layout that is always in great condition. We booked our round through Golf Now and paid $44 with cart, but have paid as low as $31 in the past.

Mountain View starts off with back-to-back Par 5s, and has three one the opening nine. My swing was plagued today with a layer of rust, which I had a hard time shaking off. I seemed to be dropping my right shoulder on a lot of my swings, causing me to hit behind the ball. This is something I hope the rectify at the practice range and as I play more rounds on the course. My chipping and putting was also disappointing, but that is to be expected this early.

I opened with two 8s and had three "Snowmen" on my card for the round. While I did have two pars, at the 330-yard Par 6th Hole and 124-yard Par 3 16th Hole, I failed to make par on at least three other holes because I missed short putts. It got some bad that I actually started putting cross-handed on short putts during the back nine and my success improved.

Although I failed to break 100, overall, I was pretty happy with how I played. While it was cool most of the day, strong winds swept across the course severely impacting club selection and shots. For a stretch, it seemed like we were teeing off into the wind on almost every hole. I know my swing will only get better the  more I practice and play and this opening round gave me clues as to what I need to work on going forward.