Blowin' in the Wind

Fairways Golf Club
Warrington, Pa.
Yards: 2200/2248 - 4448
Par: 32/33 - 65
Rating: 62.1, Slope: 104
Score: 44/46 = 90
Date: October 21, 2018

Indian summer has finally given way to more traditional autumn-like weather. Temperatures barely reached 50 degrees when I teed off with my cousin on Sunday morning at Fairways Golf Club. But steady winds gusting at 35-40 miles-per-hour across the course made it feel much colder. It also made playing a challenge as club selection became a guessing game, while trying to play with or against the strong gales.

Fairways Golf Club Scorecard

I enjoy the challenge of playing golf in adverse conditions, whether is be windy or rain. On a day like this, my strategy is to play conservatively and accept bogey as a good score. A bogey is becomes a par and a par is often becomes the equivalent of a birdie. Thus, the par 65 for the course is thought of as a par 83.

The strong winds had the pins bent like this one
at Juniata a few years ago

On the front nine, my strategy worked through the first five holes, with one par at the 109-yard par 3 Third Hole and four bogeys. On the Next four holes, I again made a par at the 168-yard Par 3 Seventh and just lipped out a par putt at the 133-yard par 3 Ninth. But the 284-yard par 4 Sixth and 365-yard Eighth holes both caused me problems. I made a 7 at the Sixth when I failed to get out of a bunker and made a triple-bogey and an 8 at the Eighth when I hit a tree with my second shot. This left me with a 44 for the opening nine holes.

Wilson Staff Di11 Iron

On the back nine, I started with a par at the short 248-yard Tenth Hole, then bogeyed the next two holes. A double bogey at the Thirteenth Hole--I fatted a chip on my third shot--was followed by three more bogeys. Bad drives and poor putting the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Holes saw me finish out my round with a quadruple bogey and a double bogey for a 46 on the back nine and a total of 90 for the 18 holes.

Except for the 7 and two 8s that I posted, I was happy with the way I played in the windy conditions. I also had two new irons in bag: Wilson Staff Di11 5- and 6-irons, which replaced the Ci&s I had been carrying. These irons are designed for more distance and they delivered when I hit them during my round.

Saturday, Muddy Saturday at FDR

FDR Golf Club
Philadelphia, Pa.
Yards: 2865/2855 - 5720
Par: 35/34 - 69
Rating: 63.9, Slope: 105
Score: 44/51 = 95
Date: September 22, 2018

Despite September's overabundance of rain, I decided to play FDR Golf Club in South Philadelphia. One of the City-owned courses, FDR gets its name from Franklin D. Roosevelt Park, which is known to many native Philadelphians as The Lakes due to the numerous bodies of water found throughout the park. Rain tends to make the course muddy and soft; conditions that linger longer than usual.

FDR Scorecard

Teeing it up on the first day of the fall, the temperatures were just a little cooler and the sunny skies gave way to cloudy and windy as the round progressed. Still, I got off to a blazing start as I parred the first two holes. Of course, the Third Hole at FDR is a par 5, and as usual, I struggled to a triple-bogey six. Still, I played consistently through the front nine, parring both par 3s and finishing with a 44 despite a bad double-bogey at the Ninth Hole.

The Par 3 Fifth Hole

As the winds picked up on the back nine, I struggled off the tee, my iron shots weren't solid and my putting erratic. By the Seventeenth Hole I had figured out what I was doing wrong on the greens. I was using a forward press to begin my putting stroke, but that was causing me to miss putts to the left. It is something I need to work on moving forward.

The 418-Yard Tenth Hole from the Tee

I ended up making double-bogey or worse on seven of the nine holes, parring the par 3 Thirteenth and par 4 Eighteenth Hole. I shot a disappointing 51 on the back nine for a round of 95.

I Needed More Than a Mulligan

Mulligan's Pointe
Georgetown, De.
Yards: 3072/3195 - 6267
Par: 36/36 - 72
Rating: 71.1, Slope: 127
Score: 50/57 = 107
Date: July 8, 2018

Visiting the Delaware shore for a family reunion provided the perfect opportunity for a round of golf with a few of my cousins. Looking for someplace new to play, I found Mulligan's Pointe in Georgetown. Formerly Sussex Pines, a private country club, Mulligan's Pointe opened to the public for play earlier this year.

With a newly remodeled clubhouse, Mulligan's Pointe still has the look and feel of a private, "member's only" club, but with green's fees of $40 including cart, it is definitely public-friendly. It was evident the new owners are putting money into restoring the course and facilities. The course still needs some work, but overall, it was a bargain compared to surrounding courses.

Coming off last week's heat wave, temperatures only reached the upper 70s on Sunday when we played, and a gusty breeze made it feel more like September than early July. Except for the breeze, which made hitting some shots rather difficult, it was pleasant conditions for a round. The breezy conditions certainly didn't help me deal with a course that was already a bit of a beast. It is nearly 6300 yards in length and there is water on numerous holes, just waiting to drown wayward shots.

Mulligan's Pointe Scorecard

My game has not been at its best the past few weeks and Mulligan's Pointe wasn't the place it was going to reappear. I had trouble off the tee, and when I did hit a good drive, I often had a very long approach shot into the green. My short game was fair, but my putting was really poor. So poor in fact that I played the last three holes putting cross-handed. While I never made worse than an eight during the round, I had three of them, along with three sevens and six sixes. In fact, I only made one par, at the 180-yard par 3 Third Hole, during my round. I think it was a combination of my game being off, breezy conditions and unfamiliarity with the course.

Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed with my round at Mulligan's Pointe, but I can't get discouraged. I will work to get my game back to where it was earlier this year. And by the time September gets here and we head back to the Delaware shore for vacation, I will be ready for a mulligan at Mulligan's Pointe!

Pre-Season Prep Continues

Practice Range
Bensalem Township Country Club
200 Brown Ave.
Bensalem, Pa.
215/639-5556

What a difference a day makes. From Saturday's sunny, warm day to today's cloudy, windy and cold conditions. But I need the practice, so I headed to the practice range at Bensalem Township Country Club late this afternoon. I ordered a small bucket, which had 45 balls, and took a spot on the sparsely populated range.

Due to the conditions and the lateness, I only brought two clubs and a putter with me. I started my session with some light stretching, then placed an alignment stick on the mat. I hit 20 lob wedges and 20 9-woods, before finishing off that part of my practice with five more wedges. I hit the ball okay, but not as well as I did yesterday. I experimented with the 9-wood to see if it is something I want to put in my bag this season. The jury is still out on that decision.

From the range I walked down to the practice putting green, where I spent about 45 minutes hitting putts using The Big Putt (see video below), which is an oversized ball that has the same weight as a regular golf ball. The theory is after putting with the larger ball, the hole will seem much bigger when putting with a regulation golf ball. I wasn't as worried about making my putts as I was about just getting a feel for putting a golf ball.

I am hoping to get at least one more practice session in this week. If I can do that, I feel at least I will ready to play in the golf outing on Friday.

Opening at Mountain View

Mountain View Golf Club
West Trenton, NJ
Yards: 3120/2997 - 6117
Par: 37/35 - 72
Rating: 69.8, Slope: 122
Score: 52/52 = 104
Date: May, 22, 2015

My first official round of the 2015 season took place today at Mountain View Golf Club, a Par 72 municipal layout just off I-95 in West Trenton, N.J. It is the second time in three years that I have opened my season with my first official round at this course. One of three courses owned and operated by the Mercer County Park Commission, Mountain View is a testing layout that is always in great condition. We booked our round through Golf Now and paid $44 with cart, but have paid as low as $31 in the past.

Mountain View starts off with back-to-back Par 5s, and has three one the opening nine. My swing was plagued today with a layer of rust, which I had a hard time shaking off. I seemed to be dropping my right shoulder on a lot of my swings, causing me to hit behind the ball. This is something I hope the rectify at the practice range and as I play more rounds on the course. My chipping and putting was also disappointing, but that is to be expected this early.

I opened with two 8s and had three "Snowmen" on my card for the round. While I did have two pars, at the 330-yard Par 6th Hole and 124-yard Par 3 16th Hole, I failed to make par on at least three other holes because I missed short putts. It got some bad that I actually started putting cross-handed on short putts during the back nine and my success improved.

Although I failed to break 100, overall, I was pretty happy with how I played. While it was cool most of the day, strong winds swept across the course severely impacting club selection and shots. For a stretch, it seemed like we were teeing off into the wind on almost every hole. I know my swing will only get better the  more I practice and play and this opening round gave me clues as to what I need to work on going forward.

Blown Away at Juniata

Juniata Golf Club
Philadelphia, Pa
Yards: 2805/2185 - 4990
Par: 34/31 - 65
Rating: 63.2, Slope: 106
Score: 50/44 = 94
Date: October 16, 2010

On Saturday I took my friend and occasional golfing partner MS to Juniata Golf Club for a real taste on muni golf. We have previously teed up this year at The Fairways and Horsham Valley, so he was experiencing a true "public" golf course. The rains from a few days prior had softened up parts of the course, but the greens were running fast and the wind was howling.  This made club selection extremely difficult and keeping the ball below the wind on many holes paramount.

 Juniata Golf Club Scorecard

After a decent start, with a bogey and a par at the first two holes, I struggled in teh blustery conditions through the rest of the front nine and shot a respectable, though somewhat disappointing 50.  The Third Hole was a prime example of my misery. Hitting a new Wilson Staff Smooth Driver, I crushed teh ball off the tee, only to be left with over 200 yards for my second shot. A 5-Wood into the wind only emphasized my draw and left me well left and still about 15 yards short of the green. A short pitch, a chip and two putts meant a double bogey 6.

 Windy conditions like this made scoring difficult

The back nine was just as treacherous, although I was able to take advantage of some of the Par 3s to shoot a much better 44. Bogeys and double bogeys were the scores of the day, although I did mange to par the Eighteenth Hole after a nice up-and-down from the right bunker. This left me with a 94, not bad considering the very windy conditions.

 The Wilson Staff Smooth Driver

As I mentioned earlier, I put a new Wilson Staff Smooth Driver into play for the first time during this round. I have been having trouble with several TaylorMade Drivers, most notably the R7, with was causing me to hit short duck hooks off the tee. I had not such problems with the Smooth. The ball flight was high, straight and long considering the windy conditions. I hit five out of eight fairways with the Driver, which felt solid and very controlable, despite its 45.5-in length. I'm hoping this might be the solution to some of my problems off the tee this year, which has generally been hit-or-miss. If I can hit the Driver consistantly, this will take pressure off the other parts of my game, as well as some much needed strokes off my score.

Weathering My First Full Round of the Season

Juniata Golf Club
Philadelphia, Pa
Yards: 2805/2185 - 4990
Par: 34/31 - 65
Rating: 63.2, Slope: 106
Score: 95
Date: May 9, 2010

On an usually cool and very windy Sunday in early May, I ventured out for my first full round of the 2010 season.  Since I have not been able to get to the Driving Range and have done virtually no practicing since early April, I wasn't sure what to expect out of my game.  I had played well in spurts over my first nine holes of the season the previous week, but I wasn't sure if that was just early season luck or what.  I tried to downplay my expectations, but at the same time, I was hoping to build on the five good holes from the previous outing.  I was fortunate to run into a colleague from work on the second hole and we played together through nine holes, which made the front side more enjoyable to play.

 My Scorecard

The strong winds made club selection, as well as shot selection a bit difficult, especially with only nine previous holes played under my belt.  I tried to play for the hard hooks I was hitting last time out with my irons, but that wasn't as much of a problem this time and I probably over-compensated for that swing flaw causing me to hit a few shots dead right.

 The wind had flagsticks bending on the greens

I hit the ball a little better off the tee and with my approach shots, even if they were often affected by the wind.  Where my game, and my scoring, really let me down this week was in the area you would probably most expect it this time of year--the short game.  The lack of touch or feel on my chips and pitches caused me to waste shots, often adding at least a stroke or two to most of the holes I played.  And my putting, while not bad, didn't feel as confident as it had the previous week.  I did make two pars, but I let too many opportuntites go to waste.  This will only be corrected by more playing and practicing, something I feel won't be happening on a consistent basis until the middle of the summer.

The new tee box at the Twelfth Hole

Construction of the new Sixteenth Tee

I am happy with the continuing improvement of Juniata Golf Club.  More cart paths have been added and barriers have been put up along the cart paths around the tee boxes.  The new tee box at the 12th Hole is open and construction looks like it is continuing on the new elevated tee box for the 16th Hole.  And a new, fitting memorial to those who have served in our Armed Forces (below) has been erected outside the ever improving clubhouse.

Photos by The Muni Golfer