Back 9 Breakout at The Fairways

The Fairways Golf & Country Club
Warrington, Pa
Yards: 2255/2248 - 4503
Par: 32/33 - 65
Rating: 62.1, Slope: 104
Score: 44/39 = 83
Date: July 23, 2012

After recently lamenting my plight on the back nine during my rounds this season, I finally managed to get over the mental hurdle and put together a solid round of golf. Sunday I teed it up at The Fairways. Iguess everyone had the same idea as me: watch the final round of The British Open, then head to the golf course and play. The course was unusually crowded for so late on a Sunday afternoon, bu the started teamed me up with Phil and Brown, which turned out to be a very enjoyable pairing. I re-did the makeup of my golf bag, putting the Wilson Staff Smooth Driver, Adams Redline RPM 4-wood, Wilson Staff ci7 irons (4-GW) and Snake Eyes MCS-2 putter back in play.

 The Fairways Scorecard

The new bag set-up immediately paid dividends and gave and early indication of how the round might unfold on the First Hole. I crushed my drive up the right side, leaving me just an 8-iron over the pond into the green. Although I three-putted (missing an easy tap-in for par), I felt really good about the opening hole. I pushed my tee shot right at the Second Hole, but found the green and made the first par of the day. I followed that up with a two-putt par at the Third Hole. I then hit the only real bad patch of the day. I over-cooked my tee shot left of the green at the Par 3 Fourth Hole and failed to get up and down for a double bogey. At the Fifth Hole, I REALY, REALLY messed up. I topped my drive, then pushed my lay-up 6-iron right and off a tree. I tried to punch a 4-iron under the tree and over the creek at the end of the fairway, but shanked it into another tree. Another attempt at a punch shot ended up in the narrow creek, but on a small strip of grass. Pulling a Jean Van de Velde, I tried to hit it out of the creek, but to no avail. After taking a drop behind the creek and hitting over the green, I chipped on and two-putted for a 10! But I bounced right back at the Sixth Hole, with a 4-iron lay-up off the tee and a pitching wedge onto the green, where I made my putt for birdie. I bogeyed the Seventh, Eight and Ninth Holes for a 44 on the front nine. I was extremely happy with my score, especially after the 10 at number Five. But how would I hold up on the back? I had shot a 43 on the front my last round at The Fairways, but recent history has not proved fruitful.

 The Sixth Hole

I opened the back nine with a good 4-wood off the tee that left me in the middle of the fairway, less than 50 yards from the green. But my half wedge came up short on the front of the green and I tree-putted from there. Was this the beginning of the usual? It didn't get any better at the Eleventh, when from the middle of the fairway (a place I rarely find myself on this hole), I chunked an 8-iron that went right and out-of-bounds! I swear there is a ball magnet over there because I always wind up hitting it out-of-bounds right. I took my drop, then hit a poor pitch with my fourth shot, but then chipped to tap-in range for double bogey. But instead of continuing my slide to the back nine abyss, I found my righted myself. I made a two-putt par at the 139-yard Twelfth Hole and a bogey after hooking my 4-wood left at the Thirteenth. My tee shot found the sand at the 134-yard Fourteenth Hole, but a good out and a two-putt left me with bogey. I found the green at the 123-yard Fifteenth Hole and sank the 10-foot downhill putt for my second birdie of the round! I pushed my tee shot right at the 323-yard Sixteenth Hole, but I hit a branch and my ball ricocheted into the fairway, 170 yards from the green. My 5-iron found the bunker right of the green, but I escaped and two-putted for bogey. Another crushed drive at the Seventeenth Hole left me 155-yards to the green, but I toed my approach shot and came up just short. I putted from the front fringe with my hybrid and made another bogey. My drive at the Eighteenth split the fairway and left me a wedge into the green, where I finished off my round with a solid par. That gave me a 39 on the back nine and an 83 for the round. It's the first time I've managed to break 90 this season. My two birdies and four pars helped offset the horrible 10 I posted early in my round.

 The Fifteenth Hole

Despite the 10, I felt I played the best round of the year so far. I drove the ball the best I have this season. My approach shots were solid and I gave myself chances to score. I will take a lot of confidence from this round moving forward. I also think my Wilson Staff Smooth Driver performed the best it has this year because it was jealous of being out the bag. I hope it demonstrates that it wants to remain there the rest of the season.

Photos by The Muni Golfer

Prepping for Golf in Delaware

As the Labor Day Holiday fast approaches, it's time to start prepping for my annual golf trip to Lewes, Delaware. While my wife hits the beach with a good book, I'll be hitting the links with my clubs. First up will my annual outing with my cousins on Friday. The past two years we've played at Baywood Greens. This year I'm hoping we try a different course. The Rookery or Bear Trap Dunes are two possibilities. Either way, I will probably play four rounds over the seven days I'm there. The Rookery will definitely be on my itinerary one way or another. I may return to Jonathan's Landing near Dover or head south to one of the numerous courses in Ocean City, Md.

The Lewes Beach (above) and
the Fourth Hole at The Rookery (below)

So far, I have changed the spikes in two pair of golf shoes and marked two dozen golf balls in preparing for the trip. My packing list also includes:

* TaylorMade Burner Driver
* TaylorMade Burner 3 Wood
* Golfsmith Big Gun 5 Wood
* Nickent 3DX DC Utility 2 Hybrid
* Nickent 3DX DC Ironwood 4
* TaylorMade Irons
* Solus Sand Wedges
* Snake Eyes MCS2 Putter
* Odyssey White Hot XG#9 Putter
* Two Dozen Titleist Golf Balls
* 3 Golf Gloves
* 2 Pair Golf Shoes
* Granola/Cliff Bars
* 2 Golf Shirts
* 2 Mock Polos
* 3 Pair of Shorts
* 4 Pair of Golf Socks
* Wind/Rain Shirt and Vest
* 2 Golf Visors
* 2 Golf Hats
* Sun Tan Lotion
* Elbow Support

I laundered the shorts tonight and the golf shirts will be washed tomorrow. The golf bag will be packed and ready to leave Thursday night. I am hoping to have a new set of TaylorMade irons to take on the trip.

FDR in Need of Public Works

Franklin D. Roosevelt Golf Club
Philadelphia, Pa
Yards: 2865/2855 - 5720
Par: 35/34 - 69
Rating: 63.9, Slope: 105
Score: 47/42 = 89
Date: August 15, 2009

Yesterday I ventured south on I-95 to play Franklin D. Roosevelt Golf Club, just next to the City's Sports Complex in South Philadelphia. Built as WPA project during the Great Depression, the course opened in 1940 and is affectionately know as "The Lakes" to many native South Philadelphians. I usually play FDR once or twice a season because I like the course's layout and challenge. Last year, the course's management was taken over by Billy Casper Golf on behalf of the Fairmount Park Commission and it seemed that better times lay ahead for FDR. My initial visit last July was a disappointment, but I told myself that the management was new and they probably just needed some time.

FDR Scorecard

A little over a year later, I decided to revisit FDR and see if conditions had improved. What I found was that FDR is in need of some of the public works that built the course nearly 70 years ago. Tee boxes were in horrific condition, with several being nothing more than dirt. Many fairways had bare spots. While the rough was thick and acceptable, the grass in the fairways were in need of a mow and resembled what you would find in the first cut of rough on many other courses. I played in the early-to-late afternoon, on one of the hottest and most humid days of the summer, and was disappointed to find that several of the water coolers on the course were empty. Surely someone should have been checking them. In all fairness though, I must say that the greens at FDR were in very good shape. I give them props for this; especially for the 14th Green, which last July was half dirt. For $27 to walk at 1:30 p.m. on a Saturday, FDR is no bargain. I have equal or less to play at other courses that were in much better shape. The City needs to pressure Billy Casper to make more improvements at FDR or BCG needs to discount prices at the course until improvement are made.

The Sixth Tee Box

The area in front of the 14th Green

As for my round, I didn't hit the ball as well as I did last week at Bensalem, but I did scramble very well, which had been a big part of game last year. And I had one of my best putting rounds of the year. I put an old Snake Eyes MCS2 putter, which I have not used for over 10 years, in my bag for the round. I found myself striking my putts more aggressively yesterday, which led to several one-putt greens. This helped my score tremendously. I was particularly effective in the 5-10 ft range, which had been hurting me so often this year.

The 14th Green in 2008 (above) and 2009 (below)

I was disappointed with my game off the tee, which had been so good last week. I seemed to be hanging back and pushing the ball dead right or coming over the top and pull-hooking the ball. I was pleased however with making a birdie at the Third Hole, a 464-yard Par 5. After striping my tee shot down the right side of the fairway, I hit my 3-wood to rough in the left front of the green. I chipped to 10-ft past the hole and sank the putt for birdie. I took a lot of confidence away from my performance the past two weeks and hopefully I will continue to build on it.

The 17th Tee Box

Photos by The Muni Golfer