3/30/2021
I played my first traveling round while in the Orlando area at the Kings Ridge “Championship” course. I played the “Sapphire” tees, which were just under 6000 yards, with a par of 71. I played the odd holes lefty and the even holes righty and shot a 96 – I was seven over on the righty holes, and eighteen over on the lefty holes.
Despite being similar in length and rating to my home course, the course was very different. This course was built into a real estate development, so many holes had OB on both sides. There were also a lot of bunkers, something that Gypsy Hill is completely devoid of. By Florida standards, the course was pretty hilly, but not in the same ball park as Gypsy Hill. I only recall having a couple of shots all day where I didn’t have what was effectively a flat lie.
Overall, I didn’t play particularly well, but I definitely learned a few things. First, from the left side I’m much better around the greens when I play it on the ground. I just don’t have the skill yet to hit lofted pitch/chip shots yet. I also need to find a way to practice green side bunker shots. I went into one green side bunker on a left handed hole, and despite the fact that I have a good understanding of bunker technique, I really struggled. Since there was nobody behind me I took some extra practice shots, and I still wasn’t able to get out.
I also need to put in some real range time with the driver and hybrid. I feel pretty comfortable swinging through the ball with my irons, but I definitely find myself trying to steer the ball with the driver/hybrid. At this point I’m better off from a scoring perspective just hitting the six iron off the tee from the left side. I can probably get close to bogey golf level fairly quickly by just teeing off with the six iron, but that’s as good as I’ll be able to get with that strategy.
By the end of the season I’d like to be able to shoot in the 80’s consistently. That’s going to require my left handed game to truly be at the bogey golf level. In order to do this, I will need to be able to start making more pars left handed. That is going to require that my long game improve enough to be able to reach some par 4’s and 5’s in regulation.
Alternate Golf 