Myrtle Beach ver.2005
Well, I arrived home late last night flying in from Charlotte, NC. I'd spent a week in beautiful Myrtle Beach playing golf and seeing the sights. It had been my second golf trip to that area this year and the second time proved to be more satisfying from a golfing perspective. We played five different courses, some of which I'd played last year, all of which were in great shape and beautifully laid out.
Sunday started at Farmstead Golf Club, which has the distinction of having the region's only par-6 (679 yards from the white tees) where you actually tee-off in North Carolina and putt out in South Carolina. The golfing vacation got off to an inauspicious start when my first drive went out of bounds into what I was to discover was impossible waist high rough. A drop later and my 160-yard approach to the first green goes left again for yet another drop. Not bad, two swings, two lost balls. Next hole, tee shot is fine, approach shot with a 5-wood goes right into the reeds guarding the hole. Two holes, three lost balls. I did manage to settle down a little after that but the afternoon wasn't great. By the end of the round I'd lost or had to drop ten balls, and ended up shooting a 106, could have been much worse under the circumstances. Still the course was in great shape and very challenging.
Next up was the Moorland course at Legends. A difficult course with lots of water, I played better on this one until I came to their signature 16th hole, a short 275 yard par-4, nicknamed "Hell's Half Acre" for the one-story bunkers that ring the green. Of course, I went for it and wound up with an 8. That'll teach me. Still, a score of 95 was far better than the 118 I'd shot earlier in the year.
We went from there to Aberdeen Golf Links, a course I'd never played. It was very hot that day with the heat index well into the 100's, but I liked the course and shot a 90, birdieing the last par five and parring the final hole. Still couldn't creep into the 80's though.
Thisle was the next course, one I'd played a year ago on my first trip to Myrtle Beach. I'd loved the layout and conditions then and it was just as nice this time around. The course played very tough with tons of sand and water protecting the greens. I once again managed a 90 by three-putting the last two holes. At this point I was wondering if I should be checking to see how close I was, perhaps knowing would cause me to play differently (better)? In any case, it was a marked improvement over how I shot last year and was great to play again.
My last shot was Brunswick Plantation. I started off with a lost ball so didn't think things would go well, but I settled down and came in with a 45 on the front nine, birdieing one par four. One shot lower on the back and I could come in with an 89. Coming into the last two holes, a par 4 & 5, I needed to shoot a combined ten to make 90, a nine to hit 89. I took too aggressive a line on my tee shot on 17, clipping a bunker and forcing me to layup. My approach shot made it to the green and I holed a miracle fifteen footer to keep it at a bogey, so I needed a birdie on the last hole to break 90. The final hole was bracketed by water on the right, and sand on the left. Figuring sand was safer than water, I took a line to the left and proceeded to rip a beautiful duck hook straight right directly into the lake. There went my ball and my shot at the 80's. I managed to lose two more ball on that final hole, closing out with an abysmal ten to finish at 95.
All in all a great week and something I'll look forward to doing next year.
Sunday started at Farmstead Golf Club, which has the distinction of having the region's only par-6 (679 yards from the white tees) where you actually tee-off in North Carolina and putt out in South Carolina. The golfing vacation got off to an inauspicious start when my first drive went out of bounds into what I was to discover was impossible waist high rough. A drop later and my 160-yard approach to the first green goes left again for yet another drop. Not bad, two swings, two lost balls. Next hole, tee shot is fine, approach shot with a 5-wood goes right into the reeds guarding the hole. Two holes, three lost balls. I did manage to settle down a little after that but the afternoon wasn't great. By the end of the round I'd lost or had to drop ten balls, and ended up shooting a 106, could have been much worse under the circumstances. Still the course was in great shape and very challenging.
Next up was the Moorland course at Legends. A difficult course with lots of water, I played better on this one until I came to their signature 16th hole, a short 275 yard par-4, nicknamed "Hell's Half Acre" for the one-story bunkers that ring the green. Of course, I went for it and wound up with an 8. That'll teach me. Still, a score of 95 was far better than the 118 I'd shot earlier in the year.
We went from there to Aberdeen Golf Links, a course I'd never played. It was very hot that day with the heat index well into the 100's, but I liked the course and shot a 90, birdieing the last par five and parring the final hole. Still couldn't creep into the 80's though.
Thisle was the next course, one I'd played a year ago on my first trip to Myrtle Beach. I'd loved the layout and conditions then and it was just as nice this time around. The course played very tough with tons of sand and water protecting the greens. I once again managed a 90 by three-putting the last two holes. At this point I was wondering if I should be checking to see how close I was, perhaps knowing would cause me to play differently (better)? In any case, it was a marked improvement over how I shot last year and was great to play again.
My last shot was Brunswick Plantation. I started off with a lost ball so didn't think things would go well, but I settled down and came in with a 45 on the front nine, birdieing one par four. One shot lower on the back and I could come in with an 89. Coming into the last two holes, a par 4 & 5, I needed to shoot a combined ten to make 90, a nine to hit 89. I took too aggressive a line on my tee shot on 17, clipping a bunker and forcing me to layup. My approach shot made it to the green and I holed a miracle fifteen footer to keep it at a bogey, so I needed a birdie on the last hole to break 90. The final hole was bracketed by water on the right, and sand on the left. Figuring sand was safer than water, I took a line to the left and proceeded to rip a beautiful duck hook straight right directly into the lake. There went my ball and my shot at the 80's. I managed to lose two more ball on that final hole, closing out with an abysmal ten to finish at 95.
All in all a great week and something I'll look forward to doing next year.
posted by Mr. Hand at 3:59 PM
1 Comments:
Well, I took between 15 and 30 strokes off compared to my April trip scores. Lessons with the right coach are worth their weight in gold.
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