Playing Like a Fox at Juniata

Juniata Golf Club
Philadelphia, Pa
Yards: 2805/2185 - 4990
Par: 34/31 - 65
Rating: 63.2, Slope: 106
Score: 43/43 = 86
Date: October 25, 2009

A break from the rain last Sunday allowed me to get in a round at Juniata Golf Club. It was a beautiful fall day, with sunny skies and temps in the low 60s. For so late in the season the course is in terrific shape. I made one change to my bag since my last round at Island Green two weeks earlier, replacing my Tommy Armour 845 Stripe Driver with a TaylorMade 360XD. Because of a small outing I had to begin my round on the back nine. At the 10th Tee, I paired up with Sam, an older Asian gentleman whom I have played with in the past at Juniata. Sam is a friendly sort and I have enjoyed my past experiences playing with him, so I felt good about my pairing.

Juniata Golf Club Scorecard

I played steady on my first nine. Nothing spectacular, but I was going along nicely. I was the ball solidly, except for my driver. I was playing mostly bogey golf through the first seven holes, but I lost my driver on my eight hole (the Par 4 Seventeenth) and was forced to take a drop on the other side of the Tookany/Frankford Creek. This led to a triple-bogey seven and after three-putting the Eighteenth Green (my ninth hole) after getting out of the wet sand in the bunker to the left of the green, I had a 43 on the easier of the two nines.

The Fourth Hole, a 390-yard Par 4

I went to the First Hole to play my back nine and felt if I could continue to play steady, I could post a decent score. I parred the First Hole (my tenth) and continued playing bogey golf through the next four holes. I still wasn't hitting the driver the way I would have liked and that finally caught up with me at the Sixth Hole (my fifteenth). After hitting a low short duck hook that forced me to chip out, I chunked my third shot, but still managed to get on the green with my fourht shot. A three-putt left me with a seven. I went to the next tee detremined NOT to let that hole carry over to the next few holes and spoil my round. This was accomplished when I striped my hybrid down the middle of the Seventh Fairway. Although I bogeyed the hole, I made a nice par at the Eighth (my seventeenth). I decided to hit three wood off the tee at my last hole and made a bogey five for another 43 and a total of 86 for my round.

The Fifth Hole, a 370-yard Par 4

Although I didn't hit my driver particularly well--I'm probably going back to my TaylorMade Tour Burner--I was pretty happy in the way I played overall. I had par putts on 12 of the 18 holes during my round, and even though I only made three pars, you can't ask for much more than that. As I had hoped after playing some really bad golf in Delaware during Labor Day, I have found some consistency during the fall. There is still plenty of golf to be played before the season is over and I hope to continue to build upon this steadiness and carry it forward into 2010.

Juniata's resident red fox

One little side note on my round Sunday. On the Eleventh Fairway, a red fox that has taken residence on the course made an appearance before running back into the woods. This is the second time this year, on two different courses in two different locations, that I have spotted a red fox while playing. The other time was July 3rd at Green Pond in Bethlehem, Pa.

The fox makes his escape into the woods

Photos by The Muni Golfer

Return to the Range

Fishers Glen Driving Range
4717 Fishers Lane
Philadelphia, Pa
215/533-9466

Since I have been on-and-off with my Driver this year, I cut cut its length down to 44.5-inches in an effort to get more control and accuracy off the tee. Unfortunately, I was only able to hit Driver three times last Saturday at Walnut Lane, so tonight I headed over to Fishers Glen Driving Range to hit a small bucket of balls. I wasn't really looking for an organized practice session, just a chance to hit balls with the Driver. I took up my customary position on the lower level of the range and alternated between two Drivers tonight: my TaylorMade Tour Burner and an old Tommy Armour 845 Stripe, which has a smaller 350cc head and a Bi-Matrix shaft. I did try to work a little on rhythm and ball position. I found that when I played the ball more my front foot instead of just inside my left heel, I hit it much better. I might try keeping the Tommy Armour Driver in my bag for my next round, which will hopefully be this weekend. I finished up my brief practice by hitting 10 balls with my TaylorMade 300 Series 7-Wood, which I shortened by 3/4-inches. I hit five off the tee and five off the turf.

Photo by The Muni Golfer