Larry Gude
Strung Out
...first round of the year for me. Finally.
From the blues, breezy, pretty dry fairways and greens, walking.
#1. 394 yard par for with the wind coming hard at you from left to right. Hit a good driver, drew real nice back into the wind, finished on the left side of the fairway, 130 yards to go. Came over the top of an 8I, pin back right, finished front left, about 60 feet. came up 10 feet or so short, missed it. Bogey. A fairway, a green, a three putt, decent enough start. +1
#2. Uphill 155 yard par 3, wind crossing, L to R. Middle right pin, bunker short, bunker long. Not sure if I should be expecting to hit a perfect 8I just yet. So, 7I, came across it a bit, back right bunker. The nightmare begins. Left two in the sand, hit a good 6" behind the ball. Third one barely gets out, on the collar. Chip 12 feet past, made the putt. Triple, but happy about the putt. +4
#3. 368 yard dog right, par 4. Cut the corner a bit tighter than I wanted, but NAILED it, almost makes the fairway but comes up in the right hand rough, ball below my feet, about 75 yards to a middle pin. It's about 65 to the middle of the front right bunker...where my fat toe job comes to rest. The nightmare continues. Left only one in the bunker this time. Four on the collar, 5 about six feet left, made the putt. +6
#4. Same direction as #1, so, back into a cutting wind, 387 yard par 4. Hit it solid but pulled a bit, which was fine with the wind, fairway, left side, at the 150's. Back middle pin. Hit a worse 7I than on #2 but, well, good enough. A low, screaming cut that clears the front bunker, skids across the green and comes to rest almost pin high, right rough, 3 feet off the green. 20' to the pin. Tried to get cute with PERFECT touch, dicey lie, grass against me. Golf gods inform me my already weak short game will be even weaker to start the season. Left it in the grass, moved about a foot. Now I'm thinking 'just get it on the green' so, of course, this one is pure and too hard, far collar, still 20 feet to go. Tap in the second one, devil golf; three straight 6's. +8
#5. 391 yard par 4, crossing wind, R to L now. PURE stroke. Dead middle of the fairway, 90 left to a front middle pin. Murmurs of steroid use begin to circulate amongst the gallery as I practice my "I believe you're away" to no one in particular because I am all alone. A very slightly pulled 52 degree lands pin high and sucks back off the front. Note to self "next time hit it one groove fat to take off spin". I'm feeling it now. A crap first putt and missed second brings me back to reality. Purse to sows ear. +9
#6. The prettiest driving hole on the course. Elevated T, killer view, 491 yard par 5. "Just hit it smooth" gives way somewhere on the back swing to "Die, MF'er, DIE!". Banana into the right rough, hay actually, deep. I luck out and find it, walk right to it. it is DOWN in there, thick and deep. This swing is twice as hard as the T shot, SW moves it onto the first cut of the fairway, 15 feet away. Actually a good shot. Tiger couldn't have moved it any farther. Sure he couldn't. Next up, a PERFECT 8I for position, leaves me with about 100 to go to a back right pin. I was loving the 52 degree but it comes up 1/2 club short, right collar. The putt is real, real good...but not that good. Tap in bogey. +10
#7 The brute. 420 yard par 4, usually back into the wind, not today. I'm watching the idiots in front of me on a search and rescue up in the hay on the hill to the right, a favorite miss. How the hell does anyone miss that far right? Dumbazzs. I don't even bother looking for mine, laying 3 on the right rough about 170 out. And that's only because I got lucky again and my second one wasn't as far right, bounced out and down the hill into a playable spot. A smooth, topped, fat 5I leaves me about 60 yards to a back left. Real nice LW lands on the right side of the stick and trickles to about 10 feet. Rags to riches. I miss it. Riches to rags. Another triple and +13.
#8. 193 yard par 3, down wind, heading for the club house, front right pin. A slightly pulled 6I lands on the collar and trickles to 12 feet long and a few feet left. Straight putt, slightly downhill. I can hear Venturi, 'He can't give away the hole here". Draino. +12
#9. Uphill par 5 to the clubhouse, 543 yards. OK driver down the right side side, rough, 5 feet off the fairway, ball above my feet. Choke down, stand tall, aim a bit right, it's gonna wanna go left. It comes out real good but DEAD straight into the hay, 10 feet off the fairway to the right. No more luck. I drop one in the vicinity...on the fairway. First fatty of the day is next, leaving me just short of the green, middle right pin. This is the toughest green on the course, a true three tier, front to back, right to left affair. My chip is blah to 10 feet, tap in the next one. Double. +14 for a nice, even 50.
15 putts. Sand play is horrific. Two lost balls.
#10 Another par 5, kinda downhill, away from the clubhouse, same direction as #1. I wait for 10 minutes for the kids behind me to get their Gatorade and go ahead of me. I'm walking and I ain't gonna rush my pace. Not scoring, but I am enjoying a good many solid swings and a few good putts.
I get impatient, of course, an dribble one about 175 yards but it's in the fairway. T'd to low, rushed swing. Flatbelly and his pal Pudge show up, thank me for letting them through and Flatbelly, a lefty, sticks his peg in the ground, stands up and SMOOTHS this big draw over the right hand bunker to the heart of the fairway which crowns so you can't see where it lands but you know the course. It's gotta be 300, easy. #### you, kid. It hurt MY back watching you with that big and effortless a pass at the ball. PERFECT balance and follow through. Pudge is almost as good but takes two practice swings before killing one that may not yet have come down. But it's 20 yards left of the fairway. Ha.
Anyway, I top/worm/dribble a 3 wood into the right rough about 180 out from ma back middle pin. I top/bury the 5I to about 90 yards and hit another solid 52 degree to about 15 feet for a tap in 6. +15
#11. The weird hole on the course; a downhill, R to L 268-358 yard par 4. The kids play the whites and drive the green. I'm back at 319 where you have to fly the trees to get it on. Pass. A nice 3W leaves me just off the fairway with 80 to go, front middle. A decent SW, a bit right and long and I've got my first par of the day.
#12 Another par 5 (3 in four holes) dog left, 474 yards. A real good driver hits the fat part of the fairway, leaving me 220 but this green would make a tough short par 3 let alone hitting it with a long club. My layup 5I is good but insists on leaking right into the rough. A pulled LW ends up below the middle pin and about 20 feet. GET IT THERE. 'There turns out to be four feet past, I miss again and leaks back down about 3 feet past. On in three. 4 putts. I say '####' out loud. +17
#13 par three 163 to a back middle pin. Yanked 6I, pin high, right rough. I ain't leaving this one in the grass. It ain't stopping. 20 feet past. Bogey and +18
#14. 384 yard par 4 with trouble left and right, deep grass. Solid drive, 140 left to a front middle pin. I don't wanna be long, so a need a REAL solid 9 and this thing is Sports center, hits just short, bounce on to 9 feet. Graze the cup. Solid par.
#15. I feeling it now. 341 yard par 4. Big hill on the left, the abyss on the right. A solid 3W to 130. This green is a bisected wave, buried elephants. Another solid 9I, but pulled, pin high ON THE DAMN RIDGE. I got a sweeping 30 footer that has to die on the ridge, 15 feet up from the middle right pin and trickle down. This is nearly perfect and one of those 2 minute putts you get to stand back and watch. It grazes the lip on a nearly perfect line, nearly perfect speed. Back to back pars, baby!
#16. 389 yard par 4, downhill, dog right. Another solid t ball leaves me 130 to a back middle. Ball slightly below my feet and slightly downhill. This wants to go right, down in to the gulch. I hit it solid but pull a PW 10 yards left of the green. Now I'm on the hill, downhill lie to a downhill green. Not much I can do, DON'T leave it, it runs across the green. A good chip to 4 feet, make the putt, +19.
#17. Uphill par 3 playing 170 with a L to R wind. A well struck 6I leaks right to a middle right pin. Short side. Sand. Oh, no...
Yep. Leave one in there. Three on the collar. 4 goes long, 5 misses, tap in triple. 3 of them today. +22
#18. Uphill straightaway finisher with an elevated T shot. 360 yards. One more real good t shot leaves me at 130 to an uphill green, middle, middle pin.
A PERFECT PW or a light 9???? A perfect PW never left the flag but is still a 1/2 club short, collar. ALWAYS ADD ONE ON 18. ALWAYS. A so so chip 8I is 6 feet short and I can't finish strong. Bogey, +23, 50/25 and 18 putts on the back.
All in all, good ball striking. Decent putting. Four bad swings cost me probably 8 strokes. 3 triples. 2 lost balls. One four putt. One three putt. Sore feet, sore back. Can't wait to get back out there.
From the blues, breezy, pretty dry fairways and greens, walking.
#1. 394 yard par for with the wind coming hard at you from left to right. Hit a good driver, drew real nice back into the wind, finished on the left side of the fairway, 130 yards to go. Came over the top of an 8I, pin back right, finished front left, about 60 feet. came up 10 feet or so short, missed it. Bogey. A fairway, a green, a three putt, decent enough start. +1
#2. Uphill 155 yard par 3, wind crossing, L to R. Middle right pin, bunker short, bunker long. Not sure if I should be expecting to hit a perfect 8I just yet. So, 7I, came across it a bit, back right bunker. The nightmare begins. Left two in the sand, hit a good 6" behind the ball. Third one barely gets out, on the collar. Chip 12 feet past, made the putt. Triple, but happy about the putt. +4
#3. 368 yard dog right, par 4. Cut the corner a bit tighter than I wanted, but NAILED it, almost makes the fairway but comes up in the right hand rough, ball below my feet, about 75 yards to a middle pin. It's about 65 to the middle of the front right bunker...where my fat toe job comes to rest. The nightmare continues. Left only one in the bunker this time. Four on the collar, 5 about six feet left, made the putt. +6
#4. Same direction as #1, so, back into a cutting wind, 387 yard par 4. Hit it solid but pulled a bit, which was fine with the wind, fairway, left side, at the 150's. Back middle pin. Hit a worse 7I than on #2 but, well, good enough. A low, screaming cut that clears the front bunker, skids across the green and comes to rest almost pin high, right rough, 3 feet off the green. 20' to the pin. Tried to get cute with PERFECT touch, dicey lie, grass against me. Golf gods inform me my already weak short game will be even weaker to start the season. Left it in the grass, moved about a foot. Now I'm thinking 'just get it on the green' so, of course, this one is pure and too hard, far collar, still 20 feet to go. Tap in the second one, devil golf; three straight 6's. +8
#5. 391 yard par 4, crossing wind, R to L now. PURE stroke. Dead middle of the fairway, 90 left to a front middle pin. Murmurs of steroid use begin to circulate amongst the gallery as I practice my "I believe you're away" to no one in particular because I am all alone. A very slightly pulled 52 degree lands pin high and sucks back off the front. Note to self "next time hit it one groove fat to take off spin". I'm feeling it now. A crap first putt and missed second brings me back to reality. Purse to sows ear. +9
#6. The prettiest driving hole on the course. Elevated T, killer view, 491 yard par 5. "Just hit it smooth" gives way somewhere on the back swing to "Die, MF'er, DIE!". Banana into the right rough, hay actually, deep. I luck out and find it, walk right to it. it is DOWN in there, thick and deep. This swing is twice as hard as the T shot, SW moves it onto the first cut of the fairway, 15 feet away. Actually a good shot. Tiger couldn't have moved it any farther. Sure he couldn't. Next up, a PERFECT 8I for position, leaves me with about 100 to go to a back right pin. I was loving the 52 degree but it comes up 1/2 club short, right collar. The putt is real, real good...but not that good. Tap in bogey. +10
#7 The brute. 420 yard par 4, usually back into the wind, not today. I'm watching the idiots in front of me on a search and rescue up in the hay on the hill to the right, a favorite miss. How the hell does anyone miss that far right? Dumbazzs. I don't even bother looking for mine, laying 3 on the right rough about 170 out. And that's only because I got lucky again and my second one wasn't as far right, bounced out and down the hill into a playable spot. A smooth, topped, fat 5I leaves me about 60 yards to a back left. Real nice LW lands on the right side of the stick and trickles to about 10 feet. Rags to riches. I miss it. Riches to rags. Another triple and +13.
#8. 193 yard par 3, down wind, heading for the club house, front right pin. A slightly pulled 6I lands on the collar and trickles to 12 feet long and a few feet left. Straight putt, slightly downhill. I can hear Venturi, 'He can't give away the hole here". Draino. +12
#9. Uphill par 5 to the clubhouse, 543 yards. OK driver down the right side side, rough, 5 feet off the fairway, ball above my feet. Choke down, stand tall, aim a bit right, it's gonna wanna go left. It comes out real good but DEAD straight into the hay, 10 feet off the fairway to the right. No more luck. I drop one in the vicinity...on the fairway. First fatty of the day is next, leaving me just short of the green, middle right pin. This is the toughest green on the course, a true three tier, front to back, right to left affair. My chip is blah to 10 feet, tap in the next one. Double. +14 for a nice, even 50.
15 putts. Sand play is horrific. Two lost balls.
#10 Another par 5, kinda downhill, away from the clubhouse, same direction as #1. I wait for 10 minutes for the kids behind me to get their Gatorade and go ahead of me. I'm walking and I ain't gonna rush my pace. Not scoring, but I am enjoying a good many solid swings and a few good putts.
I get impatient, of course, an dribble one about 175 yards but it's in the fairway. T'd to low, rushed swing. Flatbelly and his pal Pudge show up, thank me for letting them through and Flatbelly, a lefty, sticks his peg in the ground, stands up and SMOOTHS this big draw over the right hand bunker to the heart of the fairway which crowns so you can't see where it lands but you know the course. It's gotta be 300, easy. #### you, kid. It hurt MY back watching you with that big and effortless a pass at the ball. PERFECT balance and follow through. Pudge is almost as good but takes two practice swings before killing one that may not yet have come down. But it's 20 yards left of the fairway. Ha.
Anyway, I top/worm/dribble a 3 wood into the right rough about 180 out from ma back middle pin. I top/bury the 5I to about 90 yards and hit another solid 52 degree to about 15 feet for a tap in 6. +15
#11. The weird hole on the course; a downhill, R to L 268-358 yard par 4. The kids play the whites and drive the green. I'm back at 319 where you have to fly the trees to get it on. Pass. A nice 3W leaves me just off the fairway with 80 to go, front middle. A decent SW, a bit right and long and I've got my first par of the day.
#12 Another par 5 (3 in four holes) dog left, 474 yards. A real good driver hits the fat part of the fairway, leaving me 220 but this green would make a tough short par 3 let alone hitting it with a long club. My layup 5I is good but insists on leaking right into the rough. A pulled LW ends up below the middle pin and about 20 feet. GET IT THERE. 'There turns out to be four feet past, I miss again and leaks back down about 3 feet past. On in three. 4 putts. I say '####' out loud. +17
#13 par three 163 to a back middle pin. Yanked 6I, pin high, right rough. I ain't leaving this one in the grass. It ain't stopping. 20 feet past. Bogey and +18
#14. 384 yard par 4 with trouble left and right, deep grass. Solid drive, 140 left to a front middle pin. I don't wanna be long, so a need a REAL solid 9 and this thing is Sports center, hits just short, bounce on to 9 feet. Graze the cup. Solid par.
#15. I feeling it now. 341 yard par 4. Big hill on the left, the abyss on the right. A solid 3W to 130. This green is a bisected wave, buried elephants. Another solid 9I, but pulled, pin high ON THE DAMN RIDGE. I got a sweeping 30 footer that has to die on the ridge, 15 feet up from the middle right pin and trickle down. This is nearly perfect and one of those 2 minute putts you get to stand back and watch. It grazes the lip on a nearly perfect line, nearly perfect speed. Back to back pars, baby!
#16. 389 yard par 4, downhill, dog right. Another solid t ball leaves me 130 to a back middle. Ball slightly below my feet and slightly downhill. This wants to go right, down in to the gulch. I hit it solid but pull a PW 10 yards left of the green. Now I'm on the hill, downhill lie to a downhill green. Not much I can do, DON'T leave it, it runs across the green. A good chip to 4 feet, make the putt, +19.
#17. Uphill par 3 playing 170 with a L to R wind. A well struck 6I leaks right to a middle right pin. Short side. Sand. Oh, no...
Yep. Leave one in there. Three on the collar. 4 goes long, 5 misses, tap in triple. 3 of them today. +22
#18. Uphill straightaway finisher with an elevated T shot. 360 yards. One more real good t shot leaves me at 130 to an uphill green, middle, middle pin.
A PERFECT PW or a light 9???? A perfect PW never left the flag but is still a 1/2 club short, collar. ALWAYS ADD ONE ON 18. ALWAYS. A so so chip 8I is 6 feet short and I can't finish strong. Bogey, +23, 50/25 and 18 putts on the back.
All in all, good ball striking. Decent putting. Four bad swings cost me probably 8 strokes. 3 triples. 2 lost balls. One four putt. One three putt. Sore feet, sore back. Can't wait to get back out there.
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2 6s, the rest 5s,4s and a 2..and I only cheated 12 times.
