Always evaluating...

Cape Fear National is a beautiful course offering challenging greens and tees for every level of golfer. The greens have subtle slopes that break more than you think they will, and tiered-greens which can make 2-putting very difficult at times. Waste bunkers that run the length of the hole and double as cart paths can be found here as well. They're truly a sight to be seen.

There's a good bit of water on the course, nothing as really a forced carry, but it keeps your margin of error slim, especially running along the right-hand side of several holes and it does get into your head. But this isn't a course review, per se. Let's talk about how I fared.

First, Review...

Just a quick review on the goals for the round (you can go back to check the finer points):
  • Par 3s - No more than 13 on these.
  • Par 5s - I'm allowing myself 23 shots here (+3), but I want to par number 11.
  • Putting - I have already accounted for 16 putts, assuming I stick to the "no more than 2-putt" philosophy and can execute. That allows for 36 putts, my last round out I had only 31, but that wasn't at this course.
  • Par 4s - At least two birdies. Numbers 1, 7, 10, 12 are the best opportunities here.
  • Leave it short - My last time out I flew some greens with my short irons which made for some difficult chips. As long as there are no forced carries over water or bunkers, best bet, leave it short of the green for a little bump and run action.
  • In play off the tee - I'm going to select the club that gives me the best chance to get in play.

 Next, Evaluate

  • Par 3s - I was able to par two and bogey the other half for a 14 total. I hit one green from the tee but was able to chip for a one-putt on number 14, two-putts on the rest. B
    Par 5s - I made par on 11...the rest was an adventure, carding 24 shots on the other three, a pair of 7s and a 10. I hit water 3 separate times on the 8th hole...horrible. D-
    Putting -  Had 37 for the round. 'Nuf said. I didn't particularly have much touch on the dance floor. I should have spent more time on the practice greens to get the speed right. C-
  • Par 4s - Made par on holes 3 and 7, but no birdies for the round. C+
  • Leave it short - the reason I was able to par the 12th was that following a stellar drive, slightly right, I was forced to cut the corner over water to reach the green. Instead of trying to carry all the wet stuff, I angled for in front of the green. I hit well and ended up left of the green near the front, but gave myself a chance for a chip and 2-putt for par. I tried the same thing on the par-4 17th but left it too short and wedged over the green. You can lay up on this course, but you still have to hit the spots to make it work. C
  • In play off the tee - I took 6 penalty strokes, mostly off the tee. My driver, 3- and 5-wood were used about the same amount (7-4-7) with lots of inconsistency. Some were great, some horrendous. We'll bell curve this a little and grade it a C.
Overall, I shot 97. Take out the penalty strokes and I'm at 91, two over my goal. Still not wonderful, but I had a great time. Honestly, I was playing with my younger cousin. He's in better shape at 30 than I was, and I haven't done all that much in the 15 years since, so I'll have to admit, I had a bit of ego off the tee and that hampered my judgement a touch. I wasn't getting much in play anyhow, so it was a gamble with the driver as much as any other club in the bag.

Bag Check

My last round prior to this went 16-19-28 (Woods/Irons/Wedges) with 31 putts. The proliferation of wedge shots had to do with missing greens long and a couple of flubbed chips. This round was 18-15-21 with 37 putts. I hit my 5-iron 7 of the 15 total. I just ended up in that 170-yard range for the green or approach shots fairly often, and I hit the club pretty well.

Overall, I wasn't making crisp contact consistently, coupled with not getting into play off the tee, all of which made for a bit of scrambling throughout.

Still having fun

There is a certain love/hate relationship that golfers have with the game. You might hear it in your foursome one day, like I did in mine. My cousin did the "I hate golf. I hate golf. I hate golf," before striping his drive, long and straight down the fairway, followed by, "I love golf."

Those shots keep you coming back and the bad ones fade away...until you check your scorecard. But I enjoy the company, and the natural surroundings. While we played that day we saw a small alligator (from a good distance,) a heron, and a rabbit. The grass was plush and I only wish that more people would learn how to repair their divots on the greens. Respect the course you play. And other golfers as well. We can talk about basic course etiquette next time...

Looks like I'm going to have to work on the woods some more so I can get into play and give myself a shot at finally breaking 90. I did have a couple of nice punch outs. Uncle Dennis would have been proud.


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