I Needed More Than a Mulligan

Mulligan's Pointe
Georgetown, De.
Yards: 3072/3195 - 6267
Par: 36/36 - 72
Rating: 71.1, Slope: 127
Score: 50/57 = 107
Date: July 8, 2018

Visiting the Delaware shore for a family reunion provided the perfect opportunity for a round of golf with a few of my cousins. Looking for someplace new to play, I found Mulligan's Pointe in Georgetown. Formerly Sussex Pines, a private country club, Mulligan's Pointe opened to the public for play earlier this year.

With a newly remodeled clubhouse, Mulligan's Pointe still has the look and feel of a private, "member's only" club, but with green's fees of $40 including cart, it is definitely public-friendly. It was evident the new owners are putting money into restoring the course and facilities. The course still needs some work, but overall, it was a bargain compared to surrounding courses.

Coming off last week's heat wave, temperatures only reached the upper 70s on Sunday when we played, and a gusty breeze made it feel more like September than early July. Except for the breeze, which made hitting some shots rather difficult, it was pleasant conditions for a round. The breezy conditions certainly didn't help me deal with a course that was already a bit of a beast. It is nearly 6300 yards in length and there is water on numerous holes, just waiting to drown wayward shots.

Mulligan's Pointe Scorecard

My game has not been at its best the past few weeks and Mulligan's Pointe wasn't the place it was going to reappear. I had trouble off the tee, and when I did hit a good drive, I often had a very long approach shot into the green. My short game was fair, but my putting was really poor. So poor in fact that I played the last three holes putting cross-handed. While I never made worse than an eight during the round, I had three of them, along with three sevens and six sixes. In fact, I only made one par, at the 180-yard par 3 Third Hole, during my round. I think it was a combination of my game being off, breezy conditions and unfamiliarity with the course.

Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed with my round at Mulligan's Pointe, but I can't get discouraged. I will work to get my game back to where it was earlier this year. And by the time September gets here and we head back to the Delaware shore for vacation, I will be ready for a mulligan at Mulligan's Pointe!

Mental Meltdown

Fairways Golf Club
Warrington, Pa.
Yards: 2200/2248 - 4448
Par: 32/33 - 65
Rating: 62.1, Slope: 104
Score: 48/52 = 100
Date: June 22, 2018

One of my golf resolutions for 2018 was to "maintain a focus on course management and playing all of my rounds under (a score of) 100 throughout the season." That resolution or goal came crashing down at Fairways Golf Club on Friday when I shot an even 100 for my round.

Buoyed with confidence from my last three rounds--75, 93 and 90 at the Fairways, Neshaminy Valley Golf Club and John F. Byrne Golf Club, respectively--I was anticipating another opportunity to go low as I stepped onto the first tee. And while I was satisfied with the way I was hitting the ball early on, I was just not getting the results I expected.

Fairways Golf Club Scorecard

As the round progressed, my tee shots strayed ever so slightly off line, iron shots struck crisply came up short, chips and pitches were hit tentatively and putts repeatedly went left or burn the edges. On those rare occasions on the front nine when I had the opportunity to make a par or bogey, it became a bogey, double-bogey or even triple-bogey. It all added up to a front nine 48.

Now, this round was certainly not the first time I had shot a 48 on the front nine at Fairways. And in the past, I have often been able to concentrate, grind out the back nine and post a respectable score. But during this round, try as I might, I could not get my game headed in the right direction. My mental game sagged when I needed it to soar. My mistakes got bigger and the frustration took hold.

My playing partner, who is my cousin, sensing that things were going south mentally, even suggesting letting a twosome behind us play through so I could hopefully regroup mentally. But it was not to be. My back nine scores included a 7, 8 and 9. At the 323-yard Par 4 Sixteenth Hole, my mental meltdown was complete as I thinned my approach shot from the fairway into the right greenside bunker, then hit it across the green to the left bunker, back to the right bunker, then well off the green to the left.

The Sixteenth Hole where I made a 9

In reviewing what went wrong in my round, I realized I was more disappointed in losing my mental approach than I was in hitting bad shots. As I lost focus, I lost my ability to grind. So, my resolution or goal for the year will be revised to "maintain a focus on course management and playing all of my remaining rounds under a score of 100 for the remainder of the 2018 golf season."