18 Is Never Enough

I played 27 holes yesterday at Charles T. Myers in Charlotte. I paid $16 so that's 59 cents a hole. Jimmy played nine holes before he had to leave. I've been working on my driver, and I got off the tee pretty well to start the day. I missed the greens on my approach shots and that meant that I was having to get up and down to save par. At my skill level that usually translates in to double bogeys. I'm still not good enough to hit all of my clubs well for even nine holes but I can hit them well enough to make a few pars and maybe even a birdie to help my score. My goal is to improve my misses and I guess that would by definition mean I'd be more consistent. Jimmy wasn't hitting it his best, but he started to come around toward the end of his nine. Why is it that people always figure their game out when they're running out of holes? I absolutely murdered (in a bad way) holes 6-8. I couldn't even hit a wedge without slicing it. That used to be a problem that I couldn't overcome during a round, but I now know that bad swings and holes happen. You have to remember your practice and rely on fundamentals. I used to try to change my swing during the round if I hit bad shots. That doesn't work. Now I trust my swing. It's usually a minor detail that is causing the poor shots. Jimmy and I both made par on the par-five ninth hole and then he had to go. I moved on to the back nine where my driving wasn't as sharp as it was to start the day. I was by myself, so I took the time to think through my swings until finally I realized that I was still coming to impact with a closed club face. That explained why I had no loft and a lot of pulls and hooks. I opened the face ever so slightly and began to hit much crisper shots. Of course I realized all of this toward the end of my second nine. The course was wide open so, I went back tot he tenth tee and figured I'd play another hole or two, which turned in to nine. I shot a 99 on my first two nines which included a 53 on the front and 46 on the back. The second time I played the back I shot a 42. It felt great to play so many holes with no one around. I think Im going to find some money games to play in so I can learn to play under pressure because these casual rounds are fun, but I need some competition! I'm going to the range today and maybe I'll try to play nine more holes who knows, that nine might turn into 18! Hit 'em good!