I am now a member of three men's clubs at two different local golf courses. Last year I joined my first men's club to get some experience playing competitively. I quickly got down to a 10 handicap and progressively improved all year, getting down to a 4.2 towards the end of the year. I even won the Net Club Championship!


Cypress Ridge 8th Green

This year I became a charter member of another men's club at a new local course that just opened last year. Both of these men's clubs play monthly tournaments on the weekend and fortunately don't have any conflicting dates. I also just put together a team for a third men's club that plays 9 hole stroke and match play tournaments every Tuesday night at our new course.

Things are off to a great start. I'm currently ranked first in points in the first men's club after playing 5 tournaments and just won the gross competition in our first Tuesday night event. I tied for 3rd gross in the first event of the season at our new course.

We have our sixth tournament at the first course on Sunday. I haven't played this course but once since last month's tournament and it's greens are significantly slower than the new course I now play more often, so I headed out today for a practice round to get the feel for the greens. Boy, did that turn out to be a good idea!

I 3-putted the 1st 2 greens and again on the 5th! My lag putts were just coming up way too short. However, the rest of my game was incredible. I hit a personal record 15 greens in regulation, hitting every green on the front nine, and hit a respectable 12 fairways, barely missing the other 2.

After getting to a quick 3-over after those 3-putts in the first 5 holes, I then recorded 10 pars, 2 birdies, and 1 double bogie to end with a 3-over 75. I nearly eagled 2 holes. I drove the par 4 7th green and came up a few inches short on my 10 foot eagle putt. I then hit the long par 5 13th in 2 with a 3-wood (which I've only done once before), and missed that 15 foot eagle putt by an inch. Those were my 2 birdies. I missed an easy 6 foot birdie putt on the par 5 9th and another on the par 3 11th.

I only had one bad hole. I hit a good drive on 15, but plugged my ball in a green-side bunker on my 9-iron approach. I got the ball out with a sand wedge, but it ran across the green into a bunker on the other side. I then got on and nearly made my bogie putt. I almost got another eagle opportunity on 18, hitting a 5-wood over a lake onto the green from 210 yards out, but barely bounced over the green into another bunker. I got out and 2 putted for par, ending the round 38/37/75 with a whopping 37 putts! If I'd 2 putted those first 3 greens and made just one of the eagle putts or easy birdie putts on 9 or 11, I could have easily gone under par.

Regardless, I had more fun playing this round than I have in a while. I played aggressively and gave myself a lot of quality eagle and birdie chances. I really only hit one bad shot all day, the one which ended up being plugged in the bunker on 15. That wasn't even that bad a shot. It was a very rewarding and fun round which I hope prepared me for a great round on Sunday with better putting.

What I learned today is how well I play when I don't over emphasize scoring. I truly enjoyed my company today, playing with a friend and a couple we hooked with from Southern California, and simply took pleasure in making good shots. I didn't even react one bit to any of my 3-putts. I just picked up my ball and walked to the next tee, happy to be playing golf!

Labels: Cypress Ridge, Rounds