Wet Play at The Fairways

Fairways Golf Club
Warrington, Pa.
Yards: 2200/2248 - 4448
Par: 32/33 - 65
Rating: 62.1, Slope: 104
Score: 46/44 = 90
Date: August 12, 2018

Several days of heavy rains gave way to for a brief respite yesterday, allowing for 18 holes of golf under eventually sunny, skies and humid temperatures. But even though the sunshine beamed down on the Fairways, the course was water-logged in places, making for some sloppy play during the round. The rule of the day was cart paths only and bunkers were often mini ponds. Puddles could be found in numerous places and many times, the water squished under your feet as you took your stance. Still, it was an opportunity to play golf, no matter how wet the conditions.

Fairways Golf Club Scorecard

Following last week's round in Bethlehem, Pa., under similar wet conditions, I managed to play much the same way. I shot an identical 90 for my round. My problems at the Fairways were much the same as they had been, when I hit it poorly off the tee, big numbers follow. I made an 8 and two 7s on the front nine (a 46) and each could be traced to a very bad tee shot. The back nine was a little better (a 44), as I was able to overcome my errors off the tee.

TaylorMade AeroBurner Driver

I had put a TaylorMade AeroBurner driver in my bag for this round and it did me very few favors in finding the short grass. On the three holes on the front nine where I can hit driver--1st, 2nd and 8th--I topped my drive (1st), hit it way right (2nd) and plunked a ball in the creek (8th). Only at the 2nd Hole was I able to recover and make a par. On the back nine, the three holes that require driver: 16th, 17th and 18th, I fared no better, missing all three fairways short and in the rough. Needless to say, that driver will be replaced for the next round.

Roughed Up at The Rookery

The Rookery South
Milton, Del
Yards: 2886/3253 – 6139
Par: 35/36 = 71
Rating: 68.6, Slope: 123
Score: 53/54 = 107
Date: September 11, 2015

It has been a few years since Mrs. Muni Golfer and I have taken a Labor Day week vacation at the Delaware shore, but we got away for five days. I was hoping for two rounds, but unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. I did manage to tee it up at The Rookery South last Friday, but the course was soggy and didn't help my rusty game.

The Rookery South Scorecard

I knew it was going to be a long afternoon when my opening tee shot went way right into the Eighth fairway. For there I hacked it up towards the green and when my second putt finally found the bottom of the cup, I had an opening 10. I had trouble off the tee most of the day--I hit four balls in the water--and consistently put myself into difficulty with the thick, wet rough. My iron game was a struggle and I was tentative with my chipping and pitching all day. The fact that there was little roll didn't help either.

The Eighth Green where I made birdie

I had three highlights for my round:

   * At the 362-par, par 4 Eighth Hole I hit it into the right rough and from a side-hill lie, gouged a 6-iron onto the green about 10 feet from the hole. I made the putt for a birdie.

   * At the 155-yard par 3 Ninth Hole, I hit my tee shot to the front of the green, chipped to two feet and made par.

  * At the monster, 566-yard par 5 Eighteenth Hole, I found the fairway with my driver, laid up with my 4-wood, then hit a 7-iron to about 15 feet. My birdie putt was just wide of the hole and I tapped in for a par.

The Ninth Hole where I made par

Overall, I shot a 107; a disappointing score considering I shot an 87 at The Rookery in July 2014 and a 92 with borrowed clubs in September 2013. As we now enter the fall season, the rounds are coming further apart, so it may be difficult to regroup.

Photos by The Muni Golfer

A Wet Season Opener at Fox Hollow

Fox Hollow Golf Club
Quakertown, Pa
Yards: 3218/2886 - 6104
Par: 36/35 - 71
Rating: 68.5, Slope: 120
Score: 50/48 = 98
Date: May 22, 2011

The first round of the 2011 season was played at Fox Hollow Golf Club, a nice public course in Quakertown, Pa. After a very rainy, wet spring, the course was saturated and swampy in many sections. Because they have been unable to mow, the rough was deep and thick, the fairways very soft and the greens slow. It played much longer than its 6100 yards. So you can imagine my surprise with a score of 98, especially when my practice to date had only been two sessions of hitting balls at the driving range. And the cherry on top: two birdies. I made only four all of last year, so I am half way to that total after my season-opening round!

 Fox Hollow Scorecard

The round started off with a decent tee shot that plugged in the fairway, I hit a worm burner for my second, then splashed my third in the pond fronting the first green. After hitting my fifth shot over the green, I barely chipped on then three-putted for an opening 9. But pars at the Second and Third Holes righted the ship a bit. The Fourth Hole is a long, 552-yard Par 5, which was playing much longer and missing the fairway right made it seem like a mile.  I one-putted for an 8. The Fifth was a beautiful Driver off the tee, then a 6-iron to about 20 feet, which I made for my first birdie of 2011. The Sixth is another 500-yard-plus Par 5 that I two-putted for a 7. A bogey 5 at the Seventh was followed by a double bogey 5 at the Par 3 Eighth Hole. I finished off the front nine with a three-putt double bogey after hitting a beautiful shot to the green from a fairway bunker. That gave me a 50 on the front nine and not much optimism for the back.

The Fifth Hole, a 552-yard Par 5

The back nine begins with a 370-yard Par 4 that doglegs left straight up a hill. After hitting my third shot over the green, I made a double bogey 6. The Eleventh is a downhill Par 3 that plays to a small green protected by two bunkers in front. I tried to baby a 9-iron but came up well short and made a bogey 4. The Twelfth Hole is a 485-yard Par, that I split the fairway with on my tee shot. I laid up and then hit a lob wedge above 20 feet past the hole on a green that slopes from back to front. I lipped out my three-foot par putt for a bogey 6. The Thirteenth is a short Par 4, but the fairway slopes from right to left and my draw of the tee found the left rough, leading to a triple bogey 7. The Fourteenth is a short Par 3, but I made bogey when my tee shot was knocked down short of the green by the wind. The Fifteenth Hole is one of my "Nightmare Nine" holes, a 560-yard Par 5 that plays downhill, then doglegs 90 degrees right to an uphill green.  After chopping the ball down the right rough and three-putting, I had my second 9 of the day on the scorecard. But I came right back at the 128-yard Par 3 Sixteenth Hole, hitting my pitching wedge about 25 feet past the pin and then holing my second birdie of the day! A 5 at the 362-yard Seventeenth Hole brougth us to the Eighteenth, a 397-yard Par 4 that plays slightly downhill. I hit one of my best drives of the day to the 150-yard marker, then a 7-iron to the green, but a three-putt left me with a closing bogey five. A back nine 48 gave me a 98 for the round; not bad when you consider I had two 9s, an 8 and two 7s.

The Par 3 Sixteenth that I birdied

Fox Hollow is a traditional, tree-lined course that I would highly recommend. It will demand accuracy off the tee and challenge all the clubs in your bag. Now that my golf season has begun, I'm looking forward to the next round this coming weekend and I hope to build on some of the success I had at Fox Hollow, especially as the weather dries out the courses and the maintenance people can get them into regular playing shape.