Playing the Executive 9 Golf Course with Discount Golf Clubs
Kevin T. Fairbanks
I haven't played a round of golf in about 2 or 3 weeks. I wanted to see how my swing was compared to how I was playing golf earlier. I used discount golf clubs and am very pleased with their performance. I would guess that I am a bogey to par golfer. I have never figured out what my handicap is or even how to figure it. I usually try to play by the golf rules that I know, but sometimes I even stray from those.
Well, as I mentioned, since I haven't played for so long, I selected an Executive 9 hole course that is a par 30. I like playing from the back tees. That way I get my money's worth when playing golf. This particular course has a length of 1773 yards from those back tees.
As a little background, my golf bag has 4 woods. 1 is a 10 degree driver. I do not know the cc's, but I usually drive around 250 yards to 300 yards. Not always straight, but I have straightened out my slice in the last year or so. I have a 3 wood, 5 wood and 7 wood. The 5 wood is shorter than the 7 wood. I think that was a mistake when the woods were made. My 3 wood goes about 220 yards to 250 yards. The 5 wood goes about 220 yards. The 7 wood goes about 200 yards.
My irons are 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, pitching iron, and sand wedge. The 3 iron goes about 190 to 200 yards. My 4 iron goes about 180 yards. The 5 iron goes about 170 yards. The 6 iron goes about 160 yards. My 7 iron goes about 155 yards. My 8 iron goes about 150 yards. My 9 iron goes about 130 yards. My pitching wedge goes about 120 yards. My sand wedge goes about 80 yards. Round this out with the putter. It is a blade type putter.
Back to the course, the first hole is a par 3 at 100 yards headed straight east. This hole has a 9 handicap, the ninth hardest hole on the course, or the easiest of the nine. The wind was from the south about 20 to 30 miles per hour. I used my pitching wedge and choked down to shorten the distance. I ended up right on the front edge of the green with the wind helping to bring the ball back to the middle of the fairway. The flag was in the front of the green about 15 yards on. I putted to about 3 feet and put the next putt in for a par 3.
The next hole was 173 yards par 3 headed east again. This hole is the 4th hardest hole. I used a 4 iron teed up and ended up on the left side of the green on a hill above the green. The wind pushed the ball a little to the left. I used a sand wedge to pop the golf ball up and landed about 4 feet from the hole. I putted for a par 3.
Hole 3 is a par 4 headed straight south into the wind. It is 352 yards long with trees on each side of the fairway at about 190 yards out. It is rated the hardest hole on the course. I used my driver off the tee and hit a little fade skirting the trees on the left side of the fairway. The ball landed on the right side of the fairway about 110 yards out. I used my pitching wedge from there and ended up short and on the left of the green. I used my pitching wedge again and ended up about 6 feet from the hole. 2 putts gave me a bogey 5.
Hole 4 is a par 3 at 141 yards heading straight west with a line of trees along the south edge of the fairway. The handicap on this hole makes it the 3rd hardest hole of the 9. I used my 8 iron teed up and landed the green on the left side about 30 feet from the hole. I didn't read enough break and my putter left it down hill of the hole about 7 feet. The next putt was uphill and I left it short about 1 foot from the hole. The next putt was in for a bogey 4.
Hole 5 is 121 yard par 3 headed north with the wind. It is the 7th hardest hole on the course. I used my pitching wedge and landed the green short of the hole about 20 feet. 2 putts later and I had a par. My short irons are going fairly straight and about the right distance!
Hole 6 is a par 3 at 152 yards going with the wind to the north. It is the 6th handicap hole. I used my 8 iron teed up and landed on the right side of the green on a slope that allowed the golf ball to bounce left onto the green about 35 feet from the hole. 2 putts and I had another par. My putter is working fairly well!
Hole 7 is headed straight south into the wind with a gentle dogleg left. It is the 2nd hardest hole on the course at 324 yards and a par 4. I teed up and hit my driver. I hit a slight fade and the wind took it even further right into the rough about 120 yards out. That darned fade takes yards off of my driver. I used my pitching wedge and ended up short of the green about 5 yards. I used my pitching wedge again and ended up about 12 feet from the hole. 2 putts and I had a bogey 5.
Hole 8 is a par 3 at 110 yards headed straight west with a line of trees along the south edge of the fairway. It is the 8th hardest hole on the course. I teed up a pitching wedge and landed the green about 8 feet from the hole. I am very pleased with my irons and wedges so far. My driver isn't working quite as well as I would like. I 2 putted and came away with a par.
Hole 9 heads straight north with the wind and is 300 yards long. It is handicapped as a 3 and is a par 4. I drove the ball to within 65 yards of the green right in the middle of the fairway. Again, it was a slight fade, but the end result was good. I used a sand wedge and landed the golf ball about 3 feet right of the flag and ended up about 5 feet from the hole. I was hoping for a birdie, but the putt just grazed the left side of the cup. Another put and I had another par.
If I added up correctly, I ended up with a 33, 3 over par. I was very please with this round, especially after taking off that much time. My irons, wedges and putter were working very well. My driver was a little short, probably because of the fades and wind. I ended up in the fairway 2 out of 3 times when I used it, so I can't complain about that too much.
About the author: NoneKevin is the husband of Becky and the father of 2, Nicholas and Kirsten. He is an avid sports fan and over-all good guy. He has taken his love of sports and developed web sites that offer that love of sports to others.
http://www.GolfClubsHome.com
http://www.Collectible-Sports-Memorabilia.com
http://collectiblesport.com/golfmemorabilia
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