My first game in my attempt to get to Dubai
in the League to Dubai for 2014 was against Wayne Pearce at the Vale resort
near Cardiff on the Lakes course. I had played there once before, probably in 2009 or thereabouts
and had a vague recollection of the finishing hole, but that was all. I
definitely did not remember all the ‘out of bounds’ areas. Nor did I remember
the ‘slight’ undulations, I could have done with some mountaineering practice
for the front nine!
I was feeling pretty reasonable about my
game having just completed 54 holes in the previous two days (Ganton Mid
Amateur and PandK Saturday medal).
I met Wayne on the first tee and we were
away. Quite a seriously sloping downhill par 3 to start and we both scrambled a
bogey to get the nerves out of our systems. A dogleg par 5 right was second up
with a deep, deep rough/water hazard in your face on the tee shot. I actually
didn’t know it was there as I was concerned about the very real possibility of
going through the dogleg if I was left at all. That was until I squiffed my
drive straight into the long grass in front, never to be seen again. 3 from the
tee against Wayne (never in trouble) Pearce wouldn’t win in a match and a blob
against his ‘nearly a birdie’ par wasn’t the start I was after.
The par3 third saw me get a point back as
Wayne found his nemesis, the sand, and allowed me to scrape a point from a
bogey 4. The 440 yard par4 4th looked really narrow from the tee
with the corner of the dogleg looking like the safe option. I hit my hybrid
there and watched as Wayne went left with his first and his provisional. Sweet,
things were looking up! Got to the dogleg and saw acres of space to have launched
a drive over the corner and be in a position to have a go at the very well
protected green raised above a hazard. We also got there to see Wayne’s first
ball sitting in the semi-rough, back to reality. At 240 yards to go, I had no
option other than laying up so aimed for a spot about half way with the goal of
going close with my third shot. Wayne had the same plan and we played very social
golf for our approaches. Wayne hit a great shot to get on the green and in for
a bogey and I was just over the hazard and short of the green needing some good
short game to match him. Missed a chance with the putter and a double bogey for
a point would have to do. 4 points verses 6 after 4 holes.
I obviously hadn’t had enough of the 4th
fairway, so I went down it instead of the 5th while Wayne took the
traditional route. I was too close to the tall trees that divide the fairways
to have a go at getting to the proper fairway so I revisited the corner of the
dogleg on the 4th hoping to get up and down from 100 yards over a massive tree.
I opened up my 9iron a bit and unleashed. The shot was perfect and left me with
about 30 feet downhill on a very tricky green for my par. This green was also
guarded by water, glad I didn’t really know! Wayne had layed up short of the
green and was also on the green in three. He won the putting contest with 2
putts compared to my 3. Wasted a point putting again. The par5 6th
hole was uphill and the green was 483 yards away with a very narrow landing area
for the drive. I bounced off the right of the fairway and nestled near a tree
leaving myself a tricky chip-out which I put into the rough on the other side
of the fairway. I was pining for the right rough, so I went back into it with a
sliced lay-up shot for my 4th and was short of the green with my 5th
shot. Starting to steam up now. Finished the hole with 7 shots while Wayne
parred it to power away with 10 points compared to my measly 5 after 6 holes.
“Don’t go right” were the wise words spoken
by Mr Consistant while standing on the tee of the treacherous 7th
hole. The fairway was slanting on what felt like a 30 degree squint from right
to left, Out of Bounds on the right and horrible options to the left. I went
right and had to play a provisional. Wayne found the fairway and I managed to
not quite reach the out of bounds with my first ball but had the ball about 2
feet above my feet nestled down in some pretty thick grass. We both layed up
with our second shots which found the light rough on the left and gave us a
view of what I can only describe as the approach shot from hell. Standing over
(below really) my ball I had to aim way out of bounds as I felt like I was
playing ‘TeeBall’ and knew the ball would go left. Left of the green was not an
option, water, sand, rough and jungle all waiting to gobble up the ball down
there. My options were reduced to just one, which may have actually helped me,
as I hit the only shot I could to reach the green and pulled it off! Wayne went
slightly left and long and found his old enemy again and did battle with the
bunker ending in a bunker win and no points for Wayne. I had a putt for a
birdie and only just missed it leaving an easy par and 2 points. Couldn’t
believe we didn’t get a shot on that brute of a hole!
The 8th hole was a 200yard par3, launched
of the hillside down into the valley below. I guessed that a 4 iron would do
the trick and pulled it long left and couldn’t see where it went so I sprayed a
provisional ball out of bounds just for the fun of it and to keep me in a good
mood (NOT). Wayne was short left with a shot at par with an up and down from a
pretty good spot. I found my ball buried in the lip of a bunker, summoned my
inner Seve and smashed it out and over the green. I hung onto my inner Seve and
stirred in some Luke Donald for my next chip and nearly holed that one! Pretty
chuffed with a bogey on that hole. I think it is one of the only par3’s I’ve
played recently that I had a shot on! Wayne matched my bogey for his 2 points.
Standing on the 9th tee I wasn’t ready for the comedy of errors that
followed and wish I had taken my video camera to catch it. While Wayne went
down the fairway and onto the green in 3 shots, my ball decided to try bumper
golf. Pulled straight left into the trees and bounced out across the fairway
into the rough on the right. Attempted to lay up into the middle of the fairway
for my second to spray it right into the rough behind a medium sized tree. Over
the tree, over the lake and onto the green was the plan…….. Into the tree, into
the rough just next to the path at the waters edge was the result. Knifed my
pitch over the lake and into the deep grass behind the green with my 4th
shot and took 3 more for a blob and threw away the shots I had clawed back to
leave us 14 points to 9 points after 9 holes (3/4 handicap).
A quick regroup on the 10th tee
was required. It was only a shorty but it was pretty well guarded by out of
bounds, water and sand. I managed to hit the green and pop my putt in for my
first 2 in absolutely ages! Stoked to say the least! And I managed to claw back
2 points as Wayne could only manage a 4. The 11th was a pretty
straight forward par4 of only 340 yards. It had a big cross bunker about 120
out from the green so we both chose to lay up short of the bunker. I found the
trees on the right and Wayne must have been feeling a bit lonely because he
followed me in. We both chipped out to where we were aiming to lay up to and it
was then an up and down comp from 120ish. We both came up just short and Wayne
managed to get up and down for a point while I failed to score.
The 12th was a pretty tricky,
short par 4. It was only 240 to go through the dogleg so I hit a really nice 2
hybrid to the fairway in the lay up area. Wayne pulled left of the tee and got
an amazing bounce to a spot he could see the green from and ended up in the
perfect position for this narrow green. His approach was along the green, while
mine was across it. We both had to cross water as the green was an island.
Wayne hit a fantastic shot to about 12 feet and the pressure was on. I needed
to start getting points back! My approach was about 80 yards over water, then
sand, then a narrow strip of green then water behind. I had to ‘just’ clear the
bunker to have any chance of staying on the green let alone getting near the
pin! I had a really clear picture of what I wanted to do and went for it. It
was less than a foot from being perfect and fell back into the bunker. Such a
nice shot though. A sand save was required as Wayne wasn’t going to take more
than 2 putts from where he was and a birdie was likely. I quite like playing
from the sand and fancied my chances of a sand save but just ran on too far and
missed the return putt for a 5. Wayne missed his birdie putt and we went to the
13th tee 14 to 19 points.
A downhill par3 of 130-odd yards with out
of bounds through and right, water waaaaay left and there was a bunker short
across the whole green. Short was better than long and I couldn’t feel the wind
so I aimed for the front of the green and hoped I could 2 putt. I love it when
a plan actually works and that’s what I did! Wayne was closer to the pin and
also took 2 putts. The 14th was a chance to open the shoulders and
belt the bejeezerz out of the ball. It was a long par5 of 608 yards with all
the danger up near the green and lay up area. We both hit the fairway and chose
to lay up (couldn’t have reached anyway!) on the fairway. We missed the fairway
right as the fairway slopes severely left to right and Wayne had a shot at the
green and made it on in 3 with an awesome approach shot. I was blocked out by a
tree and could only chip out to 168 yards from the green. To see the green I
had to walk about 140 yards as it was up hill all the way to a steep drop-off
to the green nestled in a deep swale. It was worth the walk though as I found
out that the pin was on the left and had something definite to aim at. I
launched an 8iron downwind over the hill and hit the green leaving myself an
outside chance at getting par. Wayne’s fantastic putt all the way across the
huge green was excellent and left himself a short putt for par which he just
missed. My putt was pretty good and just missed too with both of us carding 2
more points for our bogeys.
Winding up and around the hill to a very
slippery green was the short par4 15th hole. 7 iron lay up left me
an 8iron to the green over a water hazard and Wayne cut the corner to have a
pitch to the green also over the lake. I knifed my first attempt straight into
the hazard. Fuming. Drop in line with where it went in and my pitching wedge
was a good one to the middle tier of the green. Wayne had stayed just short of
the green and left himself in prime position for a par which he just missed. My
putt was awesome. I played it nearly perfectly and it just rolled passed the
hole and then kept rolling off the green!!! More fuming. Missed the putt coming
back and picked up for zilch points. That debacle left the points tally at 24
for Wayne and 18 for me. I had to get that gap down as much as I could over the
closing three holes!
With shots on 16 and 18, there was a good
chance at getting a couple of 3 pointers although the long 16th hole
was ranked the 2nd hardest hole on the index for a good reason. It
was a monster 457 yard dogleg right and although it was downhill, it was into
the wind. I smashed my drive 300-ish yards down the left of the fairway and
just ran through the dogleg. Wayne found the fairway but was a bit shorter and
chose to lay up short of the large bunkers in front of the green. My ball was
sitting nicely in the rough, raised above my feet a bit and was 178 yards from
the middle of the green. I chose my 5iron and played for a raking draw into the
wind and pulled it off! I was super pleased with that shot, the ball held the
green and left me with a monster birdie attempt. Wayne chipped on and three-putted
for a double bogey and I managed to get in the hole in 2 putts for a hard
earned par and 3 points.
Gap reduced to 4!
17 is a short par 4 at 270 yards with
a sea of bunkers (should that be a beach?) to carry if you want to go for the
green. Wayne and I both chose to lay up short and try to get a birdie the
conventional way. My approach left me about 8 feet from the pin with a really
good chance to make my birdie and Wayne was short of the green. His chip was a
bit short too but he nailed an awesome putt to get down for a par. My birdie
putt burnt the edge of the hole and I got the return putt for my par.
Gap still 4.
The final hole at the Vale Resort Lakes
course is a par5 dogleg left with a green protected by the same lake that
protected the 9th. I hit another awesome drive that went just
through the dogleg but left me a decent shot at laying up on the fairway which
I successfully did, finally! Wayne went into the trees on the inside of the
dogleg and found a line to the fairway at the same distance as my lay up and
hit a great shot. I can’t remember where my approach shot ended up, but I know
I got a par and I also know that Wayne got a birdie for 4 points and increased
his lead to 5 points with the final Stableford scores off ¾ of our handicap 26
to me and Wayne won with 31 points.
I had a great day. Wayne is a Gent and a
pleasure to play golf with and against (although he makes far too few
mistakes!). We had a lovely drink outside the clubhouse and reflected on our
game, talked about stuff and then I went home exhausted after a mammoth weekend
of golf and travel.
Next up is Dayne Bossano at Coed-y-Mwstwr
golf club. I know that course pretty well having just moved from there to P
&K in April. Hoping for a good one there!
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