Back Where I Belong

Juniata Golf Club
Philadelphia, Pa
Yards: 2805/2185 - 4990
Par: 34/31 - 65
Rating: 63.2, Slope: 106
Score: 41/45 = 86
Date: June 4, 2011

I returned to Juniata Golf Club, my home course, on Saturday for the  first round there since last October. I thought the familiar surroundings would give my game a good vibe as I look to get my game in shape after a late start to the season. Juniata, despite its location and reputation as being a "city course," continues to improve into a true hidden gem. The work of the Juniata Golf Foundation and the Juniata staff is to be commended. The playing conditions just keep getting better and better. If you haven't played this course in a while, or your reluctant to play there because of its location, you are missing out on a good golfing experience.

Juniata Golf Club Scorecard 

I met Tim, a fellow solo golfer on the First tee and we teamed to play a round as a twosome. My round got off to a terrific start as I parred three of the first four holes. The only hiccup was a poor drive and missed short putt that led to a double bogey at the Third Hole. One new course this year is a fairway bunker on the Fourth Hole, about 100 yards from the green. This means a either laying up short or playing down the left side of the fairway, which I did. Starting at the Sixth Hole, Tim and I had to begin dodging sprinklers on the tee, fairway or green--sometimes a combination--on at least half of the holes we played. I made two more pars on the front nine--the Seventh and Ninth Holes--for a 41.

New fairway bunker at the Third Hole 

The back nine started out with a bogey, then a double bogey at the Eleventh when I flubbed a chip after flying the green on my third shot. After two more bogeys, I had a momentary lapse of concentration that resulted in back-to-back double bogeys. At the Fourteenth Hole, a topped tee shot left me a blind shot to the green. Instead of punching out in front of the green, I tried to go over the trees with a 9-iron, but hit it into the wood on the left. I punched my fourth shot out, chipped on then two-putted for a 7. At the Fifteenth Hole, I rushed my tee shot to avoid the sprinklers and shanked the ball right. Because I was on the cartpath, I took a drop and hit another shank as I tried to punch low under the trees. A lob wedge short, chip on and two putts left me with a 6. I regrouped at the Sixteenth--where a new elevated tee box has been installed, stretching the hole to 400 yards--with another par after lipping out my 20-foot, downhill birdie putt. A bogey and double-bogey finished a 45 on the back nine and round of 86.

The Sixteenth Hole's new tee box

Overall, I was pretty happy with the way I played. I think my back nine woes could be attributed to the disruption caused by the sprinklers. I made one equipment change for this round, replacing my 17-degree Adams Redline RPM 4-Wood with a 16-degree Sonartec SS-07 4-Wood. I will keep it in the bag for my next round, which will played on Monday at Paxon Hollow Country Club in Broomall, Pa. While I have played a few rounds at Paxon, I have never scored well there, so I am hoping to carry the good play I've experienced so far this season into tomorrow's round.

The First 9 of of 2009

Juniata Golf Club
Philadelphia, Pa
Yards: 2735/2070 - 4680
Par: 34/31 - 65
Rating: 63.2, Slope: 106
Score: Practice Round
Date: April 5, 2009

The weather and my schedule finally allowed to hit the links for the first practice round of 2009. I headed over to Juniata Golf Club for the first nine holes of the year. Because of the beautiful weather--sunny skies, 60+ degrees and moderate April winds--the course was a bit crowded and slow. I teamed up on the 1st hole with Frank and his stepson, Tim, who is just starting to learn the game. We had a great time playing together. Also, the walking I have been doing twice a week has helped my physical conditioning as I felt no fatigue, especially in legs, during or after the round.

The 4th Hole at Juniata

Overall, with only making it to the driving range once so far this season, I should not be too disappointed with my results today. I played some decent holes, some mediocre holes and some very bad holes. Off the tee, I did well when I didn't use the driver, hitting four out of seven fairways. I especially hot my new Sonartec SS-07 4-wood well. My irons were mixed, but it is only the second I have played with the Wilson Staff Di7s I purchased at the end of last season. I did not, however, hit one green in regulation. My chipping and pitching was mediocre at best, but that is mainly due to the winter's build up of rust. Putting wasn't that far off and I only three-putted one green, while averaging two putts per green. I think with some consistent practice. my game will round into shape rather quickly.

New Juniata Golf Club Scorecard

As for Juniata, the course was in pretty good shape for so early in the season. There were only a few bare patches in the fairways and the greens looked and played pretty well. There was also a lot of evidence of the ongoing work being done at the course. One interesting new wrinkle is the new Juniata scorecard, which is the centerfold of a course yardage book. There is also room to chart your round's stats, such at fairway hit, GIR, sandsaves and putts.

New Juniata Golf Club Yardage Book

An Afternoon at the Victory Golf Show

This afternoon I attended the Victory Golf Show at the Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia, Pa. This show was very different from the Greater Philadelphia Golf Show I attended last month. Today's golf show featured exhibits from many more local golf courses and golf destinations than the GPGC. There seemed to be fewer equipment vendors, but those that were there offered much better merchandise.
Everyone entering the Victory Golf Show, with the their paid admission, received a one-year subscription to Golf Digest, a $20 gift card to Chesapeake Bay Golf Club a $10 gift card to Horsham Valley Golf Club and a $10 gift card to Golfdom Golf. There was also a goodie bag that contained coupons for several area courses and Dicks Sporting Goods, an offer of a free sand wedge from SMT Golf and a free hybrid from Magique Golf, information about the PGA's Play Golf America Day on May 9, information for junior golfers and junior tournaments, and the spring issue of Eastern Pennsylvania Golf magazine.
The Victory Golf Show also featured free lessons from local PGA professionals, skills challenges, putting contests, a closest to the pin contest and a demo range to test some of the latest equipment. There were also rules seminars and golf instruction lectures, comedic entertainment, and celebrities such as Philadelphia Eagles mascot 'Swoop' and Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders.
As I mentioned earlier, numerous local courses, golf academies and golf getaway packages were represented at the Victory Golf Show. Many were distributing coupons for discounted green fees or 'three pay four play' deals. Among the courses I collected info from were Ron Jaworski's Valleybrook Country Club and Riverwinds Golf Club in South Jersey; Brandywine Country Club and Rock Manor in Wilmington, Del.; Northeast Philadelphia's Island Green Country Club; The Hershey Hotel; Baywood Greens and The Rookery--two favorites of The Muni Golfer--in the Lewes/Rehoboth Beach area; Ocean City, Md's Eagles Landing; The Links at Brigantine Beach--still on my golfing wish list--just outside Atlantic City; Tyoga Country Club in Wellsboro, Pa.; and Lehigh Valley golf. One bright note, I learned that Ron Jaworski has recently acquired Riverwinds, so we should see that links style gem along the Delaware River being returned to its previous luster in the very near future.
One section of the show that was pretty impressive was the area devoted solely to kids and golf, where they had lessons, contests and a putting green.
As with the previous golf show, I was looking more for golf accessories--gloves, apparel, headwear and Wilson Staff products--than I was for golf clubs. But I also kept an eye out for a bargain that might be too good to pass up. I didn't find any Wilson Staff equipment, but I did pick up a brand new Sonartec SS-07 4-wood with a Grafalloy ProLite shaft for $50 from the Golf Tour Trailer at Westfields. Although Sonartec is no longer in business, it was once a highly regarded fairway wood on the professional tours and is still in the bags of several Tour Pros. In addition, I picked up a Victory Golf Pass wind shirt/pullover from the Philadelphia Section PGA Pro Shop for $19.99.

Photos by The Muni Golfer