Practicing for Delaware

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

Tuesday night I hit the driving range at Bensalem Township Country Club to hit a large bucket of balls. My visit was the result of several factors: the hot weather and death of a close friend keeping me off the course for a week-and-a-half, a new driver in the bag, and preparation for a trip to Lower Delaware.

 The Driving Range at Bensalem

I warmed up by hitting 10 sand wedges, then hit 10 7-irons. While hitting the 7-irons, I opened my stance slightly and found I hitting the straighter or with a slight draw. I then worked on hitting the driver. I put a new TaylorMade Burner Superfast 2.0 in my bag prior to my last round at Horsham Valley Golf Club, but only hit it three times during play. So I wanted to get a better feel for this club moving forward. I focused on my balance, rhythm and making solid contact as I hit 30 balls with it. I hit a few duck hooks and pushed a few shots, I mostly I hit shots that would find the fairway, an aspect of my game that has been sorely missing this season. I then hit 12 3-woods off the mat, 12 4-irons and finished off with five balls hit with my hybrid for a total of 79 balls hit. Overall, I pleased with how I hit the ball. I now need to take that from the driving range to the first tee.

 The Rookery in Milton, Delaware

Speaking of the first tee, I am traveling to the Delaware Shore this weekend to visit family and I am looking forward to teeing it up with my cousins. This used to be a Labor Day weekend tradition for me and my cousins, but we haven't been able to do it since 2010. So I am really looking forward to it. The clubs are all packed and ready to go. I am also looking forward to playing one of the courses down there, since I haven't teed it up down there in a while.

Farewell to Horsham Valley

Horsham Valley Golf Club
Ambler, Pa
Yards: 2536/2579 - 5115
Par: 33/33 - 66
Rating: 62.2, Slope: 101
Score: 43/51 = 94
Date: June 29, 2012

Yesterday I teed it up one last time at Horsham Valley Golf Club, which will be closing for good on July 3. The property will reportedly be developed for housing in the not-to-distant future. The closing of HVGC is a sad event for the region's golfing landscape. While the course would never remind anyone of an upscale country club, this 5,115-yard, par 66 course was a fun and challenging course to play. Joe Logan, former golf writer at The Philadelphia Inquirer who now runs the My Philly Golf web site, once compared Horsham Valley to a neighborhood tavern--friendly and comfortable.

 I've played HVGC about a dozen times over the years and always enjoyed the experience. It is a course where I once recorded a 21 on a single hole and had eight pars during another round. I've birdied the 364-yard First Hole twice and the 493-yard Par Eighteenth Hole once. The 184-yard Par 3  Fifteenth Hole, which has a creek that runs across the front and right side of the green, has given me fits over the years. It is one of the holes in my Nightmare Nine. While I won't necessarily miss the Fifteenth Hole, or the power lines that come into play on the back nine, I will miss the fun times at HVGC. Like the time my buddy and I were buzzed by the A-10 Thunderbolt IIs from nearby Willow Grove Naval Air Station while we walked up and down the fairways. I did get one souvenir from my final round at Horsham Valley. I bought the last HVGC polo shirt hanging on the rack in the almost empty pro shop. I'll wear it with fond memories.

As for my round, it was the same as usual. A good front nine and a bad back nine. I put a new TaylorMade Burner Superfast 2.0 and a Never Compromise Z/I Omega putter in my bag for the round. I struggled early, as usual, with triple bogey 7s on the first two holes. But I then parred four of the next seven holes, including all three Par 3s on the front for a 43. One problem I was having throughout the round was my lack of conviction on my pitches and chips. I was babying the ball and left a lot of easy shots short.

The back nine started OK with three straight bogeys, but lost balls on the tee shots at the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Holes, as well as having trouble with a fairway bunker at the Fourteenth, gave me a 7 and 9 respectively on the scorecard. By this time, my legs were giving out on the extremely hot and humid afternoon. I'm sure having walking 18 holes on Wednesday at Middletown Country Club also contributed. I played very loose golf the last four holes and limped home with a 51. This gave me round of 94. I think I will try to find time to hit the practice range this week to work on some things before I tee it up again, hopefully next weekend.

Memories of Horsham Valley Golf Club:

Photos by The Muni Golfer

Up and Down at Middletown

Middletown Country Club
Langhorne, Pa
Yards: 2909/2837 - 5746
Par: 35/34 - 69
Rating: 66.7, Slope: 116
Score: 48/49 = 97
Date: June 27, 2012

Yesterday I teed it up for the first time at Middletown Country Club in Langhorne, Pa. Located just minutes off Route 1, Middletown is a classic, tree-lined golf course. The course was designed in 1913 by Alex Findlay, who designed such local courses as Llanerch, Doylestown Country Club, Reading Country Club, Paxon Hollow, Walnut Lane, John F. Byrne, Woodbury and Tavistock Country Clubs. The course was once owned by George Fazio and was represented on tour by Gary Player early in his career. Such golfing legends as Player, Ben Hogan, Lloyd Mangrum and Johnny Miller have played Middletown, as well as actor Michael Douglas.

 Opening Tee Shot at Middletown CC

Conditions at Middletown were very good. The course features rolling, hilly terrain and tree-lined fairways. The greens are a generous size and very slippery. Except for a few "well-used" tee boxes, my only complaint about the course was the lack of sand in the bunkers. It made escaping the bunkers very treacherous as there was noting to slide your wedge under when hitting the ball out. It was easier to chip from the bunkers than hitting a conventional sand shot.

 The Sixth Hole, a Par 3

I played my round with two of my cousins who tried to convince me to ride in a cart rather than walk because of the hilly nature of the course. But I walked and survived just fine. Middletown was a lot of fun to play, even though the course doesn't set up well for my game. The course seems designed more for someone who hits a fade, with no less than eight holes having doglegs that went to the right. Only three holes when right-to-left and favored a draw, my natural shot. But I was happy that I manged to get around in the 90s, despite never having played the course and it favoring players who hit a fade as opposed to a draw.

 The Par 3 Tenth Hole

My round started off in ominous fashion with two lost balls on the First Hole. I pushed both my original tee shot and a provisional tee shot well right and into the woods. That led to an opening 10. But I managed to par the 384-yard Second Hole, the 335-yard Fifth Hole, the 159-yard Par 3 Eighth Hole and the 302-yard Ninth Hole. Even with the 10 and three double-bogeys, I managed a respectable front nine 48. I was driving the ball better as the round moved along.

 The Par 4 Eleventh Hole

The back nine has been my achilles heel this season and this round was no different. The back nine at Middletown begins with a 184-yard Par three that I missed way left and had to pitch between two trees and over a bunker. I dumped it short in the bunker then skulled it across the green. That led to a triple bogey 6. But I drove it over the green at the short, 256-yard Par Eleventh Hole, chipped to two feet and tapped in for a birdie. I made two triple-bogeys and three double bogeys on the back nine for a 49. This gave me a round of 97.

 The Approach to the Thirteenth Green

My biggest problem at Middletown seemed to be putting myself into bad situations, usually with my second shot. Three examples were the Fifteenth, a 430-yard Par that doglegs left; the Sixteenth, a 405-yard Par that requires a second shot over a valley and pond in front for the green; and the Seventeenth, a straightaway Par 4 of 282 yards. At the Fifteenth, my tee shot found the left rough, but my second shot was pulled short and left under a tree. It took 5 to get down from there. At the Sixteenth I hit my best drive of the day and was about 145 yards from the green. But I hit an 8-iron fat into the pond and made a 6. And I hit a 3-wood on Seventeenth to about 50 yards, but my pitch rolled off the back of the green for a bogey.

 The Sixteenth Green from the Fairway

Except for the First Hole, Middletown was one of my better rounds off the tee. Despite an opening 10 on that hole and some poor second shots, I was able to keep my game under control and grind out a round in the 90s. I think it shows my game is moving in the right direction. Now, if I can just play a bit better on the second nine, I can start posting some really good scores going forward.

Photos from The Bausch Collection

No Whining at Twining (Valley)

Twining Valley Golf & Fitness Club
Dresher, Pa
Yards: 2932/2650 - 5582
Par: 37/33 - 70
Rating: 64.7, Slope: 114
Score: 45/46 = 91
Date: June 24, 2012

Twining Valley can only be described as a no-frills, hard-scrabble golf course. If you are looking for country club conditions, Twining Valley is not the place. But if you are looking for a cheap golf course that will challenge your game, as well as your patience, then Twining Valley is it. The tee boxes often look like a plowed up field and are so hard, it is often difficult to get a tee into the ground. The fairways are very dry, very hard and very fast. Tee shots can run forever, but so can chips and pitches. Yet the greens can be so slow you feel like you are putting on shag carpeting. And bunkers feature hard dirt instead of sand. At times you almost have to play Twining Valley like a British-style links course. And because Twining Valley attracts players of all skill levels, play can be very, very slow. But the course does offer an interesting layout and is rather cheap to play; I payed $20 to walk on Sunday afternoon. If you want to play a course for practice, check out Twining Valley.

 Twining Valley Front 9 Scorecard

I decided to shake things up for my round at Twining Valley. I put an old TaylorMade Tour Burner Driver in my bag and replaced my Wilson Staff irons with a old set of TaylorMade 200 irons. These irons have a habit of finding their way back into my bag every couple of years. Although they are a cavity-back iron, they look more like a blade, with a thinner sole and top line. Plus the reminder-ribbed grips just feel good in my hands. I think these irons may stay in the bag for the foreseeable future.

 Twining Valley Back 9 Scorecard

With a partially re-constituted arsenal in my bag, I hit the course. Twining Valley starts off with a modest Par 5 of 434 yards that plays uphill to a plateaued green. After hitting three straight pulls, I was just left of the green and chipped to about 10 feet. After my first putt, I still had about 5 feet left for par. I told you, these greens can be slooooow. At the Second Hole, a downhill Par 4, I had a short chip to the green, but watched as it hit in front then rolled well off the back, leading to a 7. I managed a two-putt par at the Third Hole, a Par 5 that runs along Twining Valley's Driving Range. I followed that with a double bogey and three bogeys. The Eight and Ninth Holes are both very short Par 4s; 255 and 256 yards respectively. I made par and Eight and birdie at Nine after nearly driving the green with my 4-hybrid. As I said, you get a lot of roll from the fairways. The front nine is a par 37 and I went out in a respectable 45.

 Approach to the Fifteenth Hole

As has been the case for most of the season, the back nine has been my nemesis this season, and Sunday at Twining Valley was no different. The Tenth Hole is a 174-yard Par 3 that plays uphill and is followed by a 545-yard Par 5. I made double bogey at both. I did make par at the Twelfth Hole, a 322-yard Par 4. But I followed that up with a double-, triple- and triple-bogey. The Fifteenth is probably the most difficult and awkward hole on the course. The 331-yard Par plays from an elevated tee to a small, hard landing area, then doglegs right over a a creek to a small green on the side of a hill. The tee shot requires probably nothing more than a 9-riron. I hit the hybrid and put it through the fairway and into the creek.After a drop, I then chunked my approach into the creek. Fitting five, I wedged on and two-putted for a 7. But I pulled myself together and parred two of the last three holes, including the Sixteenth, a 190-yard Par 3 that plays straight downhill to a green that is tough to hold and the Eighteenth, a 156-yard Par 3 that plays uphill. I played the Par 33 Back Nine in 46 for a total of 91 for the round.

 The Downhill Par 3 Sixteenth Hole

Despite some of my struggles, I was pleased with how I played. Some of my problems stemmed from failing to adjust to the fast, hard fairways and slow speed of the greens. While I'm still not hitting it how I'd like off the tee, I was happy with my iron play, chipping and my putting. I feel like I was able to carry over the positive play from my previous round at The Fairways. Now, I just need to keep it moving forward.

Photos by The Muni Golfer