Course: Honey Bee Golf Course
Date: September 30, 2021
Time: 8:30 AM
Conditions: 58* & sunny
WITB:
Ping G425 LST 9* (turned to 8*) with Diamana D+ 60X
Ping G400 Stretch 3W 13* (turned to 12.5*) with Diamana D+ 70X
Taylormade SIM Max 5W 18* with Mitsubishi HZRDUS Smoke Black 70 6.5
Wilson Staff Utility 18* with HZRDUS Smoke 100 6.5
Mizuno JPX 921 Hot Metal 5-PW with KBS CTaper 130X + 3/4*; 2* Upright
Mizuno MP T20 50, 54, 58 Wedges with DG Tour Issue S400
Odyssey Toulon Las Vegas H7 36”
I took the morning off to burn some PTO and headed to my home course, but when I pulled up, it was clear the course was closed for a charity tournament. I kept driving and headed for Battlefield, but when I pulled in, the first tee was jammed….man, was I even going to get to play? One last option….headed for Honey Bee Golf Course, another local favorite. It’s a sister course of my home course, and I enjoy it, but it has a few funky holes. After not playing a stroke-play round in over a week, I was interested to see how the swing was doing. Had a so-so day with some great shots and some not so great, but it was good to get out, and I was done and back to work by lunchtime.
*They started me off the back as a solo, so we’ll go 10-18 then 1-9.
Hole #10
No range time, just a few warmup swings with my new Golf Stick Pro (No affiliation, just a fan!), and jump on the box. This isn’t the longest Par 5 in the world, but from the back you have to hit a decent ball over the bunker to have a good shot at the green which slopes hard from back to front. I hit an absolute seed right over the edge of the bunker and it was center cut, 296 yards first swing of the day, and an 8i into this Par 5. Good start. I flushed an 8i just left of the stick, and it carried a little longer than I thought. It looked pin-high from the fairway, but when I got up to the green, I was about 40 feet past the flag, and looking straight down the slope for eagle. The greens were running INCREDIBLY fast, much faster than the other courses I’ve played in the area, and I hit this putt about 18 feet past the hole. YIKES! I almost de-greened myself because the slope just took the ball and it ran away. I hit a great putt right up the hill that hit the flag and dropped into the cup for an opening birdie. Let’s go!
Score: -1 (-1)
Hole #11
This was just a bad result from an average swing. I hit a decent 7i that took off just right of my target, landing pin-high in the bunker. I had a decent lie, but the sand was very wet and packed. I went to hit my usual splash shot and the club just bounced off the washed-out bunker and the ball rocketed across the green and trickled into another bunker. A total Saddam Hussein, bunker to bunker…..woof! I splashed out of that bunker to 30 feet, and my first putt missed on the lip, so I tapped in for double. Gave that birdie right back, and then some….
Score: +2 (+1)
Hole #12
This hole plays tougher than it looks for me, because driver or 3w can reach the water if it goes left, and it can go well through the fairway if you go right. Gotta hit the fairway or have a long way home. I opted for 2i and hit a perfect high, tight draw to the left edge of the fairway. The new driving iron is a great club for this hole because it keeps me just short of the water, but give me enough distance to hit a short club in. I grabbed my 58* and threw a shot just past the pin that hit the green and hopped an inch or two onto the fringe. I took putter from the fringe, leaving myself 10 feet, and just barely missed the par putt. Not a good bogey. Should have been par at worst, or a birdie. Inside 100 I continue to hit it too far from the flag.
Score: +1 (+2)
Hole #13
Long par 3 here that always plays tougher than it should. It’s hard to know what to hit here. I’ve hit hybrid in the past and I’ve hit 7i depending on the tee box placement, wind and temperature. Today it was 187 to the stick, so I grabbed 6i and hit a decent 6i just left of the pin. It hit flag-high and released to the back fringe of the green. I rolled it off the fringe and it just took off down the slope, running 13 feet by the hole. I just could NOT get used to the speed of these greens. Luckily I hit the 13 footer coming back up the hill to salvage the par.
Score: E (+3)
Hole #14
Coming off the par on 13, I felt good about this tee shot. Driver is too much unless you cut it perfectly, but 5w felt like the perfect decision, and it was. I hit a high bomb to the absolute center of the fairway, leaving myself 115 to the pin. I grabbed my 50* and hit a decent wedge, but the greens were just so firm and fast. The ball hit the green and hopped off the back into a grass pot bunker. I hit what I think was about as good a 58* wedge chip from behind the green as I could, but the ball just would not stop. It rolled past the cup, and settled on the fringe. My putt from the fringe lipped out and I knocked in the 4 footer for bogey. Yet ANOTHER wasted perfect drive. I do that so often it’s ridiculous.
Score: +1 (+4)
Hole #15
Last time I played this hole, I hit a big high bomb over the corner and left a very short wedge in, but today the tee box didn’t leave me much of an angle to get through the corner, so I opted for 3w at the fairway bunker. Left myself a great shot from just in the first cut of rough. I had 174 to the flag and hit a perfect 7i that flew directly over the flag and just kept going forever off the back of the green. There’s no way it should have flown that far! Frustrating, but not the first or last time the ball went longer than I anticipated today. I hit a good chip from behind the green that trickled down to 5 feet, and I buried it to salvage another par. (And waste another good drive).
Score: E (+4)
Hole #16
I never play hole 16 well. It plays long, slightly uphill and there’s almost always wind. I tried to hit a 5i, but caught it on the toe and it died in the wind, coming up woefully short. I was settled down in the rough a bit, and hit an ok chip, but the ball hit and released onto the back fringe. Captain 2-chips today, apparently…..I hit a good putt from the fringe that looked like it might drop, but just missed and settled to the left of the cup, which I tapped in for bogey.
Score: +1 (+5)
Hole #17
Hole 17 is always a tough decision, but I think I’ve officially just decided to hoist driver up over the corner and let the chips fall where they may. The course instituted an ‘Internal O.B.” between 17 and 18 because people kept hitting it through each fairway and it was both dangerous and taking a long time to play across. I hit a great drive here with a little draw on it, but it disappears behind the trees, and until you cross the bridge, you can’t tell if it’s in good shape or not. I took 54* and hit it soft so I could take a little spin off because this is yet another green at Honey Bee that slopes hard. I hit it well and flew it just right of the flag, pin-high. I missed the putt on the amateur side and had to hit a 5 footer back up the slope for par, but good to get off the birdie train.
Score: E (+5)
Hole #18
Drive was MELTED right at my target, which is a lone tree in the middle of 18 fairway. I had 169 into the wind to the flag, but with the way the ball was flying, I still opted for 8i and hit it solid, but blocked it a little right. It still flew longer than I wanted, and settled just off the green to the back right. Another missed green, another chip down a slope. I got scared of the slope, and the didn’t hit the chip, so it stopped on top of the slope….leaving me a very delicate putt down a slope. I hit a good one, but there was no way to stop the ball. It was make or die, and I didn’t make. I had 15 feet coming back up the hill and just lipped out. Tapping in for bogey after being 180 out in the middle of the fairway on a par 5. Brutal.
Score: +1 (+6)
Hole #1
You can’t see it here, but this is my least favorite hole in my city. A set of power lines runs directly across the tee box about 30 yards from the back tees, and I’ve hit them more times than I can count. It’s a free drop, but those power lines live rent-free in my head. I don’t tend to hit the ball left ever, but on this hole with the power lines messing with me, I’ve gone in the water left more than I can count too. I aimed right and piped a drive. It missed the fairway, but right is safe and I was glad to be past the power lines without issue. I hit a good 5W down the tree line on the right and left 100 yards over a tree, for my 3rd. I hit it awesome and it jumped up over the tree and landed 14 feet to the right of the flag. Spoiler alert…..another sloped green here…..I trickled the putt down to the hole and tapped in for par. Would have loved another birdie, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Score: +E (+6)
Hole #2
This is a straight forward par 3, and by now I’d caught several groups in front of me, so play slowed dramatically. I hit a pretty solid 8i that I thought was going to be right on the stick, but the wind knocked it down and it landed in the front bunker. I hit hit a perfect splash to 6 feet, and proceeded to power the par putt by the hole, tapping in for bogey. It was one of those putts you REALLY don’t want to think about. There’s just enough break in it to keep you honest, but not enough to play for much, so you either baby it or hammer it and it misses. Tough one. Also, not sure what’s up w the GPS here…I was NOT playing in traffic.
Score: +1 (+6)
Hole #3
This hole owns me. I’m not ashamed to say it. If I’m not in the water right, I’m over the green. Today I was not in the water, nor was I over the green. I hit a 2i off the tee that did leak enough to scare me, but settled by the cart path, and I was happy to be on dry land. I hit 54* again with the intention of knocking spin off since this green runs so hard from back to front, and it worked well, stopping pin high about 25 feet from the flag. I hit a pretty good putt, but it was another make or die, and it ran by on the high side, and ran down another 12 feet past the hole. I hit a good putt up the hill, but it stopped about 2 revolutions short, and I tapped in for bogey.
Score: +1 (+7)
Hole #4
This was just a poor swing. It’s a long par 3, with wind, and for some reason it just doesn’t fit my eye very well. I hit a 5i off the toe that kept leaking in the wind and snuck into the long reeds at the edge of the water. I took my drop and hit a wedge onto the green leaving myself 30 feet. No great. I hit the putt well, but it missed and I had a short tap in for double bogey. Par 3 play killing my score at this point.
Score: +2 (+9)
Hole #5
Hole 5 is a driveable par 4, but I’ve actually hit driver over this green before and ended up in bad shape. Up around the green, there’s nothing but trouble, so I opted for 5w off the tee. The wind was in, so I only hit it about 215, but it was a perfect shot on a good line, which moved just slightly right with the cross wind. My wedge was subpar, finishing just off the green to the left. I putted it from the fringe to about 4 feet and tapped in for par. Not a bad score with the conditions. I also joined with a twosome here because play had really slowed to a crawl.
Score: E (+9)
Hole #6
I hit a blast here right up the shoot that just leaked right at the end. I saw it fly over a hill on the right a long way from the tee, and it kicked down into the trees. I was afraid I’d have to hit a bump and run and settle for a bogey, but I hit a perfectly flighted 54* wedge that kept it under a tree branch, but flew pin-high and took one hop and stopped. A Great shot considering the options! Another sloped green, so I knew I couldn’t be too aggressive, but I lagged it to an inch, and tapped in for par. Solid result.
Score: E (+9)
Hole #7
This was a complete disaster from the word go. I should have just gone straight out and played it like a 3 shot hole, but I tried to go up over the corner, and clipped a tree, kicking me out just 100 yards or so from the tee. I had another set of trees about 60 yards away from me and if I could get 5w up and over it, I’d be in great shape for birdie. Instead, I nuked a 5w on the exact line I wanted, but it came out a little low and it squared the tree up and shot off to the right, near the 8th tee box. How embarrassing. I punched a 5i under a tree and tugged it left, but had a perfect PW distance to the flag (143 yrds). I flushed the PW and it flew the green and settled in the fringe behind the green. This was about the 4th or 5th iron I hit right at the flag, but just flew it way too long. I hit a chip to about 15 feet, and had a long putt down the hill to avoid double bogey. I read it perfectly and it curled right in. Great putt, terrible bogey. I hate this tee shot. Those trees should be chopped down….right after they chop down the power lines on #1!
Score: +1 (+10)
Hole #8
This iron shot came off the toe a little funny and took kind of a nose dive into the bunker. Nevertheless, it was flag-high and I splashed out to 6 feet, knocking the putt in for par. Finally a par on a par 3. Bunker play was solid all day except that first shot back on 11.
Score: E (+10)
Hole #9
I stood on this tee box telling myself , “Don’t hit it left here.” I should have known to go with positives not negatives, but as soon as I got to the top, I rushed in transition and came over top of it, and smothered it left. It was still high, but left going left. Luckily it was high enough it caught some trees and dropped straight down. I popped the ball back into the fairway and hit a PW that hit the hill behind the green and ran down behind it. I don’t know why the irons and wedges were going so far today, but it was not a good thing. I popped a 58* wedge up over the hill and it ran just by the cup, stopping 15 feet past the hole. I lined it up, and right up the hill, it never left the stick, dropping into the cup for a bogey. Not happy with that finish at all!
Score: +1 (+11)
Total Score: 81 (+11)
Driving and putting remain a strength, while approach continues to really hurt my scores. It’s especially frustrating today because I wasn’t hitting it all over the place with irons, it was just going way too long. That’s just not gonna get it done.
3-KEYS ANALYSIS:
PENALTIES: Only 1 penalty off the tee on #4, and it was just a bad swing off the toe. The long clubs from the tee were pretty solid today except for the disaster where I hit the tree on #7.
2-CHIPS: Not a good day here, but not traditional 2-chips where you flub it and leave it short. Instead, I went bunker to bunker, and had a couple chips run through the green because they were just so fast and/or so sloped. I don’t know what I’d do different with most of those shots, but 3 two-chips is not the answer!
3-Putts: Gotta eliminate these, but the greens at Honey Bee are the course’s major defense. They’re all incredibly sloped, and when they’re running as quickly as they were today, it’s easy to miss the first one by a bunch and have an uncomfortable distance coming back for par. Missed a couple of em today. Gotta clean it up.
Current Handicap: 9.2 (Not updated yet after this round)
Just good to get back out there today, but getting kinda tired of shooting these 80-83 rounds that should/could have been 75-78. I know I’m still just a 9.2 so there’s plenty of not-great golf shots in me, but when I hit REALLY good ones, or start with an easy birdie like I did today, it’s hard not to expect great rounds.
Gotta keep grinding! The weather is cooling off, so I’m hoping that will “thin the herd” a little bit on these overcrowded golf courses. Everywhere seems jammed all the time! I miss my 6:30AM summer golf….