Friday at The Fairways

Fairways Golf Club
Warrington, Pa.
Yards: 2255/2248 - 4503
Par: 32/33 - 65
Rating: 62.1, Slope: 104
Score: 47/39 = 86
Date: June 19, 2015

I teed it up for the first time this season at The Fairways Golf Club, a short, but well-maintained track in Warrington, Pa. The Fairways reminds me a lot of Juniata Golf Course, where I learned to play the game. Both are Par 65, with a combination of Par 3s and 4s. While Juniata sits in urban setting that sometimes encroaches upon the course, The Fairways has more of a suburban country club feel as it winds through a housing development. Both courses have small greens, but The Fairways' greens are protected by many more bunkers. Given the struggles to find consistency  this season, I thought The Fairways would be an ideal place to try and gain some confidence.

The Fairways Scorecard

Teeing off on a warm day, with the humidity rising a bit, I started out just fine. Even though my approach on the First Hole found a greenside bunker, I nearly made a good sand save. A tee shot off the heel of my driver at the Second Hole went left and nestled under a large evergreen tree. This led to a dreaded "snowman" 8. I played decently, if inconsistently through the rest of the front nine and finished with a 47. My putter continued to plaque me and I missed several short putts, included a downhill two-footer for par at the Fifth Hole.

The Tenth Hole, which I parred

On the back nine, my game started to heat up like the weather. I made a putt at the Tenth Hole for my first par of the day. At the Eleventh, I made a 12-footer for a nice bogey 5. I found the green at the Par 3 Twelfth, but three-putted; again missing a short par putt. The Thirteenth Hole gave me my only real problem on the back; a poor double bogey after hitting a great drive with my 4-wood and having only a gap wedge to the green. I made a par and bogey at the back-to-back Par 3 Fourteenth and Fifteenth Hole. At the 323-yard,Par 4 Sixteenth Hole, I hit my driver up the right side, hitting the car path and gaining several extra yards. My ball was in the rough, just off the path, a little over 100 yards to the green. I hit my gap wedge, which hit on the front of the green and rolled up to 10-inches from the hole for a tap-in birdie! At the Seventeenth Hole, I pulled my driver into the Sixteenth fairway, but made a respectable bogey, and at the closing Eighteenth, I crushed a drive, then hit an 8-iron to the back of the green, but three-putted for a 5. It totaled up to a back nine 39 and round of 86.

The Sixteenth Hole, which I birdied

While my putting, especially short putts, continue to be a problem, I hit the ball off the tee much better today. As I noted in my last post, I shortened the length of my TaylorMade Aero Burner Driver to 45.25-in. in an attempt to find more fairways. Today was the first time I used the shorter driver in a round and I used it on six holes. Although I only hit actual fairways (First and Fifth), I only hit one really bad drive (Second). The other three where just off the fairway and very playable--even the drive at Seventeen which I hooked into the adjacent fairway. And the drives were pretty long as well. So far, given the results, I would say shortening the driver shaft was a positive move.

Going Shorter to Hit It Longer

As I previously wrote, I bought a TaylorMade Aero Burner Driver about three weeks ago to replace the Wilson Staff Smooth Driver that had been in my bag. I like the new driver, but I've had a tough time getting consistency with it. When I manage to square the clubface and hit it on the sweet spot, it is probably the longest driver I have ever hit. However, during the two rounds I've played with it, along with the two sessions at the practice range, I have been unable to consistently find the fairway or hit my comfortable draw. I have had more fades, slices, pull hooks and shots off the heel than I would like.

TaylorMade Aero Burner Driver

One of the reasons I believe for this inconsistency is the length of the driver. My Wilson Staff Smooth was 45.5-in in length, while the TaylorMade Aero Burner is 45.75-in. While quarter-inch might not seem like much, I believe it has been huge in getting the correct timing on my swing. Considering that the average length of a driver on the PGA Tour is 44.5-in., I contemplated shortening the length of the Aero Burner.

Wilson Staff Smooth Driver

After much research to determine that cutting down the driver shaft from the butt end would not seriously alter the shaft's flex or overall distance, I decided to shorten it by a half-inch to 45.25-in. This is a little shorter than the Wilson Staff Smooth, which I have hit so well for several years, but I feel that the slightly shorter shaft, combined with the hot face of the Aero Burner, will still give me the overall length I'm seeking, as well as help me put the ball in the fairway more consistently with my familiar draw. So last night, I removed the driver's grip and sawed the half-inch off the butt end, then re-gripped it using a Winn Dri-Tac grip; the same model of grip which had previously been on the driver. I also added some lead tape on the club's sole, towards the heel, in order to approximate its previous swing weight and also to promote a draw. The newly re-configured Aero Burner will be in the bag tomorrow for a round at The Fairways Golf Club, so I will quickly get an idea how well it works.