Emerald Lakes

10/18/10

Joey and I headed out to Emerald Lakes for our weekly golf outing. Emerald Lakes is located off Lawyers road in Mint Hill. I had heard good things about the course and for the most part it didn't disappoint. The tee boxes could have been in better shape, but the fairways and greens sere in good condition. I went to the range yesterday and tried to work out the kinks in my driver. Definitely not a one day fix. I hit a few decent drives with the Burner, but nothing special, and I still feel more comfortable with my 3wood. Some of the fairways were tight and required really accurate shots. Others were wide open and didn't penalize you too much for errant tee shots. Joey had mentioned a par 5 that required two shots over water. The par 5 fifth hole is the signature hole at Emerald Lakes. While only 442 yards from the white tees, it requires a tee shot and approach shot over a lake, giving you something to think about. My tee shot wasn't great, but it was dry. I didn't have a good angle to play my second shot because there were trees in the way and I was about 200 yards out. My 200 yard clubs are my 3hybrid and in some cases my 4 iron. Since I needed to carry the entire distance I wanted to use my hybrid, but I din't think I had the loft to get over the pine trees that were staring at me. So, I made the safe play and laid up to about 75 yards. The only problem was that my lay up ended up in the rough. I've been playing my wedges better as my overall iron play has improved, but today I just wasn't feeling my irons. My contact wasn't crisp. I wasn't concerned with the water. I just wanted to make good contact and leave myself a shot at birdie. Not so much. Not only did the rough catch the club, but I hit a fat shot that I din't even have to look up to tell was going in the water. No problem. Joey and I always play one mulligan per 9 holes, so I just used my mulligan. From the rough again, I just wanted to make contact. A good swing and I'm looking at par at the worst. Not so fast. Another chili dip that went swimming. I dropped on the other side, took a double bogey, and went about my business. Joey made par. That was pretty much my day. I hit a few good shots, but mostly I realized that I'm still a very bad golfer, and no matter how good or bad I think I play, my score remains relatively the same. I ended up right at 100 which is frustratingly consistent. I've played much better and worse and had the same score. I'm starting to track my handicap, and I think next round I'll track my putts. I know I lose about 9 strokes to putts. Nevertheless, any day golfing is a good day. I'd play Emerald Lakes again. Especially because we only paid $28 through EZ Links. Can't beat a nice round under $30. Until next time, hit 'em good