Glenmarie always had a bit of dysfunction in terms of the quality of its course vs the quality of its services. The course – especially the Valley – is a joy to play in. The service like caddy and marshals are as bad as extracting your wisdom tooth with a rusted plier. And as expected, today’s game, our caddy was once more hopeless. On the 2nd hole already, he wanted to start smoking, until one elderly gentleman from our flight scolded him properly. I don’t know why they are so idiotic like that. Can you imagine me doing training formally with my client in his office and then start smoking while in the training? Glenmarie, please spend more in getting proper people to run your course!
The marshal is also another joker. She came to us on the sixth tee claiming we are slow. I looked back and saw nobody on the green on the previous hole. How are we slow? We played the next hole and even on the tee of the hole after next, we saw nobody on the tee on the previous hole. She kept asking, are you a member, is anyone a member, you are slow. I said OK, sure we will hurry up but I don’t see anyone behind me.
But Valley course, while not as joyful as mines, usually serves a good score for me, but today, the greens were quick. And mostly on quick greens I suffer. My driving wasn’t as bad as in Mines, but my putting was awful. It’s very strange that the driver and putter never want to go to work together.
Hole 1
Tough par 4 and I started the day by pushing my drive into the water. Its common that in the first few holes I always struggle, and from there on, I couldn’t recover and ended up 5 on and 2 putted for a triple bogey. (+3).
Hole 2
This is a broad par 5 and friendly. A good drive and a duffed 5 wood saw me around 130 meters away which I duly put on but unfortunately 3 putted on a quick green, missing an easy 3 footer. (+4). 3 putt.
Hole 3
This is a very nice hole where a good drive can find you less than a hundred to the hole. Which was what happened to me. I flighted in with a gap wedge around 100 and two putted for par. (+4)
Hole 4
An uphill par 3 around 140 meters, where if you challenge the front bunker you will be duly rewarded. I took a pitching and stuffed to about 5 feet and sank in the birdie! (+3)
Hole 5
And right after the birdie, it went downhill quickly. This hole was tough because it was narrow and does not favor the guy who hooks. I hooked my drive, punched out and with around 160 to the hole, I mistook the distance and my 9 iron was left with a difficult 20 m flop over the bunker which I stubbed to around a few feet away. My 5th was too hard and it rolled over the green down the other side, and my 6th was barely on. Two putted for a nice triple, yay. (+6)
Hole 6
This was where the marshal came after us and told us we were slow. We never saw anyone behind us and we were all fast players, so what the hell was she babbling about? This was a reasonably tough par 4. I found the bunker on the right even with a good drive, and from there hit a pathetic shot out to around 60 meters. I flopped my 60 degree to around 5 feet but this time, missed the par putt (+7)
Hole 7
A very nice dogleg right that needs to go over the water on the second. A five iron left me
around 150. I almost hit the perfect 9 iron but started too far left and couldn’t draw the ball back in. My ball plopped into the green bunker, one out, and two putter for (+8)
Hole 8
Long par 3 which my five iron found the side. It was not a great lie, with a lot of rough between ball and green but because my chipping was so retarded, I opted to putt. It barely crawled on the green and I two putted for bogey. (+9).
Hole 9
The final hole this nine is the signature par 4. However I hooked my drive and from around 140 at the bottom of the hill, I duffed my nine, chipped poorly on but managed to two putt for a bogey. (+10)
Hole 10
As great as my putter was last round, it was kaput this round. A great drive to start, but
shortchanged my approach when my pitching was short. Again, I opted to putt but was once more very poor and only had to 2 put for a bogey (+11)
Hole 11
Great par 4 here, but my drive found the trees on left. A punch out found my next shot at my dreaded distance, the 30 meters chip/flop. I obliged my idiocy by skulling my chip over the green into the water (!). I hit a reasonable flop for five on and two putted for triple bogey (+14) my third of the game.
Hole 12
This was a par 3 which I finally hit a perfect 5 iron into around 180 meters to the fringe.
However, I managed to sabotage all my efforts by three putting from around 20 feet for a bogey! (+15)
Hole 13
Tough hole but I managed to hit a very good drive that left me around 140 to the green. Instead of a nine, I thought I could muscle a pitching in there. Like Hole 10, shortchanged myself, and once more on the side of the green. Opting to putt, it was not a good one (again) and I had to two putt for a bogey. (+16)
Hole 14
The signature par 5. Everyone’s favourite. I clobbered my 5 iron and then positioned myself with an 8 to around 100 meters. A simple gap wedge gave me a 10 feet or so putt. I am a putting idiot today as I blew the first putt past and missed my 3 feet comeback. AGH! (+17)
Hole 15
The par 3 was playing from black tees and basically I just couldn’t shape my five iron into the green due to the wide expanse of water on my left. Instead, from greenside bunker, I slapped one out to the fringe and two putted for bogey (+18)
Hole 16
A reasonable drive which gave me around 130 meters to an uphill green. I used a gap wedge in (much to the confusion of my caddy because he kept looking at my gap wedge in disbelief – to be honest, its probably the distance marker that is a little screwed up), and stuck it safely on the green, two putted for a par that was a long time in making. (+18)
Hole 17
Hate this hole. It favors the fader, but I set myself to aim so far right I drove the ball into
the trees and was spitted out to around 50 meters away. A poor 5 iron duffed left me around 140 meters to a downhill green protected by bunkers and water. I hit an OK topped pitching wedge that miraculously rolled to around 5 feet, and guess what? I three putted when I charged for the first putt and left with a tasteless double bogey (+20)
Hole 18
Finally a par 5. The drive once more wasn’t a good one but caught a break when it sat up ont the left rough. I hit perhaps the best 5 wood I ever hit to around 30 meters of the green, although that’s no man’s land for me. That meant my 5 wood went around 220 meters or so if the markers can be believed. I hit a bad chip, but at least I was on for regulation. A two putt routine par to end the day. (+20)
So there it was: I 3 putted around 7 holes, inclusive of the ones I tried to putt outside the green and it just shows the how low confidence my game is on chips. If I can sort those chips out, I could probably play at an easy 14 handicap or lower.