The Muni Golfer: Fox

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Playing Like a Fox at Juniata

Juniata Golf Club
Philadelphia, Pa
Yards: 2805/2185 - 4990
Par: 34/31 - 65
Rating: 63.2, Slope: 106
Score: 43/43 = 86
Date: October 25, 2009

A break from the rain last Sunday allowed me to get in a round at Juniata Golf Club. It was a beautiful fall day, with sunny skies and temps in the low 60s. For so late in the season the course is in terrific shape. I made one change to my bag since my last round at Island Green two weeks earlier, replacing my Tommy Armour 845 Stripe Driver with a TaylorMade 360XD. Because of a small outing I had to begin my round on the back nine. At the 10th Tee, I paired up with Sam, an older Asian gentleman whom I have played with in the past at Juniata. Sam is a friendly sort and I have enjoyed my past experiences playing with him, so I felt good about my pairing.

Juniata Golf Club Scorecard

I played steady on my first nine. Nothing spectacular, but I was going along nicely. I was the ball solidly, except for my driver. I was playing mostly bogey golf through the first seven holes, but I lost my driver on my eight hole (the Par 4 Seventeenth) and was forced to take a drop on the other side of the Tookany/Frankford Creek. This led to a triple-bogey seven and after three-putting the Eighteenth Green (my ninth hole) after getting out of the wet sand in the bunker to the left of the green, I had a 43 on the easier of the two nines.

The Fourth Hole, a 390-yard Par 4

I went to the First Hole to play my back nine and felt if I could continue to play steady, I could post a decent score. I parred the First Hole (my tenth) and continued playing bogey golf through the next four holes. I still wasn't hitting the driver the way I would have liked and that finally caught up with me at the Sixth Hole (my fifteenth). After hitting a low short duck hook that forced me to chip out, I chunked my third shot, but still managed to get on the green with my fourht shot. A three-putt left me with a seven. I went to the next tee detremined NOT to let that hole carry over to the next few holes and spoil my round. This was accomplished when I striped my hybrid down the middle of the Seventh Fairway. Although I bogeyed the hole, I made a nice par at the Eighth (my seventeenth). I decided to hit three wood off the tee at my last hole and made a bogey five for another 43 and a total of 86 for my round.

The Fifth Hole, a 370-yard Par 4

Although I didn't hit my driver particularly well--I'm probably going back to my TaylorMade Tour Burner--I was pretty happy in the way I played overall. I had par putts on 12 of the 18 holes during my round, and even though I only made three pars, you can't ask for much more than that. As I had hoped after playing some really bad golf in Delaware during Labor Day, I have found some consistency during the fall. There is still plenty of golf to be played before the season is over and I hope to continue to build upon this steadiness and carry it forward into 2010.

Juniata's resident red fox

One little side note on my round Sunday. On the Eleventh Fairway, a red fox that has taken residence on the course made an appearance before running back into the woods. This is the second time this year, on two different courses in two different locations, that I have spotted a red fox while playing. The other time was July 3rd at Green Pond in Bethlehem, Pa.

The fox makes his escape into the woods

Photos by The Muni Golfer

Sunday, July 5, 2009

A Holiday Round at Green Pond CC

Green Pond Country Club
Bethlehem, Pa.
Yards: 3205/2949 - 6154
Par: 36/35 - 71
Rating: 69.4, Slope: 122
Score: 53/51 = 104
Date: July 3, 2009

While once again doing the family thing in Easton, Pa. during the holiday weekend, I finally got a chance to play Green Pond Country Club. Located just a short distance off Route 33 and Easton Road, Green Pond bills itself as "the public's country club." The course, designed by Scottish immigrant Alex Findlay and opened in 1931, is a classic layout with a lot of tree-lined fairways, doglegs, sand traps and medium-sized greens. Unlike many of the area courses, it is relatively flat--a few holes play slightly uphill or downhill, except the Par 17th--and is a very easy walking course.

Green Pond Country Club Scorecard

Conditions are Green Pond were excellent, except for the tee boxes, which could have been a bit more level. Nevertherless, the course was in great shape. It is a course where you definitely want to put the ball in the fairway as the rough was thick. The greens were fast, and I struggled with my speed throughout the round. They also featured just enough break to keep your full attention until the ball was in the hole. The greens are also well protected by numerous bunkers as I found out throughout my round. It is understandable why Green Pond is the host course for the Lehigh Valley Amateur Tournament each September. Green fees are also very reasonable: $32/42 to walk/ride during the week and $55 with a cart mandatory on the weekends. Twilight rates are $22/30 to walk/ride after 2 p.m. during the week and $32/42 to walk/ride after 3 p.m. on weekends.

The 1st Hole at Green Pond, a 342-yard Par 4

Since a lot of people had off Friday in observance of July 4th, the course was crowded when I arrived. The pro shop staff was very friendly, especially considering they were having computer problems. They informed me that there were presently five foursomes waiting to tee off. The young woman went out and spoke with the starter then came back to tell me he indicated he would be able to get me out, but that it might take awhile. I said I was in no rush and would wait. After about 20 minutes, the fourth foursome indicated they only had three golfers, so the starter paired me up with Mike, Rich and Robert. They welcomed me into their foursome and we had a great time throughout the round. Play was semi-slow through the first 7-8 holes, but moved along well after that.

Approach shot to the 9th Green

As for my round, I hit my 3-Wood off the 1st tee into the middle of the fairway and then a 9-iron to the back of the green. A good start, I thought, until I hit my first putt about 15-feet past the hole and three-putted. The 2nd Hole, a 544-yard Par 5, I hit Driver to the right side of the fairway, layed up, then hit a short iron onto the green in regulation...then again three-putted. So instead of starting par-par, a started bogey-bogey. At the 3rd Hole, a slightly downhill Par 4 that doglegs left, I hit my 2-Hybrid into the middle of the fairway, then left a 7-iron out to the right and into a bunker, the first of many I would visit at Green Pond. In fact, I spent more time in the sand at Green Pond than Charlton Heston did filming The Ten Commandments. I did manage to play out of most of the bunkers rather well, but I was never able to get the speed of the greens and three-putted numerous times. In fact, only made one par all day, at the 10th Hole, where I hit my tee shot far enough right that missed the dogleg and hit a 9-iron over some trees to the back of the green, then two-putted. I was happy overall with how I played off the tee and my iron game was pretty good, but my chipping and putting really let me down. It added up to a 104.

A pond fronts the 14th Green

One cool note: on the 16th tee box, a young red fox was playing around with what looked like a field mouse or some other small creature that he had captured. Unbothered by our approach to hit our tee shots, he sat and watched as we played through!

Our wild gallery of one on the 16th Tee

Green Pond adds another golfing option when visiting the Lehigh Valley and I look forward to returning to Green Pond for a round in the not too distant future.

Some additional photos of Green Pond CC: