Scores and Temps are High at Limekiln

Limekiln Golf Club
Ambler, Pa
Yards: 3059 (Blue)/2864 (Red) - 5960
Par: 35/35 - 70
Rating: 67.9, Slope: 117
Score: 55/47 = 102
Date: June 12, 2015

The first heat wave of the season had settled over the Delaware Valley as I teed it up for the first time ever at Limekiln Golf Club. Founded by Philadelphia Phillies' 1905s Whiz Kids Robin Roberts and Curt Simmons, the course has 27 holes located on Limekiln Pike in Ambler, Pa. The course was in excellent shape and we got an excellent deal from GolfNow; only $25 plus cart.

I teed off with my cousin at 11:45 a.m. on the Blue Nine as temperatures climbed into the mid-90s, with very high humidity. We were joined by a husband-wife pairing of Larry and David. I had a lot of confidence in my game after the 42 on the bank nine at Neshaminy Valley last Sunday, but I struggled off the tee from the start, hitting my opening right to the right and narrowly avoiding the woods on the dogleg left. I played army golf through the front nine, hitting tee shots left and right throughout. Even when I did manage to put my ball in the fairway, I followed it up with a poor approach shot, pitch or chip. And my putting wasn't much better, missing several short putts. I ended the front nine with a bogey 6 at the Par 5 Ninth Hole after missing another short par putt. It left me with a very disappointing 55.

Limekiln Scorecard - Blue/Red

The back nine, played on the Red Nine, didn't start off any better as I hit a tree on the left side of the fairway after hitting my 4-wood off the tee. My play got a little better as I started hitting my driver better off the tee, but it seemed like I couldn't put two decent shots together and I continued to struggle on Limekiln's greens. My one good hole of the day came at the 418-yard Par 4 Fifth Hole on the White Nine. I blasted my driver 271 to the middle of the fairway, leaving me just 147 yards to the green. I then hit a 7-iron to 15-feet behind the hole and two-putted for my only par of the day. As the back nine went on, I was getting longer and more consistent with my driver off the tee, so I'm hoping that I'm starting to adjust to the TaylorMade Aero Burner. My back nine was a 47, an eight stroke improvement over the front nine, but it still left me with a 102 for my round.

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.