Round Reflections: The story of how my score swung nine strokes in two weeks

I've had the fortune of playing two weeks in a row and we're overdue for a recap. The original summer plan was to play only every other week to keep costs down (childcare makes a weekly round that much more expensive). But since I'm pregnant now (!), I'm kind of in a rush to golf more, as I don't know if I will wake up one day and just not feel it possible anymore. Pregnancy is like that. So make hay while the sun shines, so to speak.

So last week, fresh off our vacation from the mountains and two weeks from the previous round, and feeling bummed about the way I putted with a suddenly not-broken-but-not-100% putter, I had the BEST ROUND I've had all summer. I felt amazing. I swung with ease and scrambled well, and despite my putting debacle I had only one or two putts per hole. If not for a penalty stroke on the last hole (I lost the tee shot in some native grass, it was a beautiful hit but I was clearly aimed there), it would have been a round of almost all pars and only a few bogeys. I shot only seven over for the day with that triple on the last hole.

The weekly challenge last week was Odds Or Evens. After the round, a member of the clubhouse staff would draw from a hat whether the scores would be calculated from the odd number or even number holes. I waited anxiously all weekend to find out what the result would be, all the while praying they would be evens since I had so many pars on even holes. They drew odds. Of course I only bogeyed and tripled the odds! So that was a bummer. I am SO happy with the way I played though.

Well this past week, things just weren't clicking so consistently. The challenge this time was to play from the back tees. No big deal for me, honestly, as this is a small par three course. I usually take all my woods from the bag to keep things light. I was excited for this challenge, but it turned into a bit of a roller coaster that I'm still mulling over.

I got a par on the first hole (the first time I've ever pared it), and thought, today I will be unstoppable.

I got a bogey on the next hole and thought, well that's to be expected playing from the longer tees.

I took a penalty on the third for a tee shot that went OB. No biggie, I thought. Just keep swimming.

Fourth hole comes along and I crush the drive a little over 200 yards to reach the left edge of the green. It felt and sounded amazing. There was even a longest drive competition that I'm 99% sure I won (they haven't posted it on the site yet). Here I go I think, time for a chip-in!

Then I duffed the chip, and three putt for a double. Drive for show putt for dough, they say. Oh well, I thought, move on and do better, lots of golf to be had.

Fifth hole I think to hit the driver again, but I didn't get comfortable; I topped the shot. Then I over shot the green to the back bunker. Then I got extremely winded climbing up the hill to the green carrying a heavier-than-usual bag with a slightly-more-pregnant-than-previous-week belly. The sand shot shanked right but at least got to the green. Then I SIX PUTT, for a whopping nine.

Slow down and breathe, I thought. Bring that heart rate down. Move on.

Hit the next green but three putted when my second lips around the hole. Still an improvement, I thought, and moved on.

Hit the following green with the most beautiful draw my 3-wood has ever touched, and sink the par putt. Back at it, I think.

Hole 8 was played forward for pace of play reasons since the shot carries water. It was hot but a clear day and things felt like they were flying farther than usual because of the heat, so I went for it with my pitching wedge. It flew right on line. C'mon, I thought, be good! It cleared the water, hit the fringe, took a spin backwards, and trickled down the rocks into the water.

Then I shank my next shot from the drop zone into the water. Finally on the green in 5, I two putt for a seven.

Almost done, I thought, keep your head in it.

A honest bogey on the ninth let me walk off the course on a slightly higher note. Tired and wet from that awkward line of sweat I should now be expecting to only get worse every week between my sports bra and baby bump that is visible through my polo, I welcomed the AC of the clubhouse to add up my nightmare of a 44.

I really didn't play so terribly that I'm feeling bad about it, I am just worried that unless I can repeat the first of these two rounds for the rest of the month, that this one round will edge my handicap out of the A flight. I want to stay there so I can be eligible for the league championship, even though I haven't won any weeks yet so it's not like it's within grasp yet . And I'm also nervous that if I got winded so easily this week, it's only going to get worse from here as the bump continues to grow. They have push carts I can rent but I'm not sure that will be better, and if it does come to it this fall I might be able to argue for use of the motorized carts (this course is walking only with exception of physical handicaps). But I love walking and carrying my clubs.

Oh well. One week, one day, one round, one hole, one shot at a time.

For anyone interested, I'm due in December so I'm just into my second trimester. This is my second kid and this pregnancy has so far been MUCH easier than my first; I'm so thankful for that because it's made golfing easier. I don't intend this to be a pregnancy blog, but since it's a blog about being a mom golfer, and I'm golfing regularly while also growing weekly, it won't be ignored completely. I'd love to hear from any other women who golfed through their pregnancies and what they experienced!

Round Reflections: Four Club Follow-up

So yesterday I explained how I chose my four clubs for today's challenge.  I chose my 6-iron, 8-iron, 60-degree wedge, and putter.

This tournament challenge was a tough one. I'm happy with the clubs I chose, but honestly I did miss having more wedges and a few more irons in the bag. Interestingly, it wasn't the longer holes I had issue with (I played those very well), it was the shorter ones. With longer holes I swung easy because I was mentally prepared for the fact that I would most likely be short. Short holes, however, really get under my skin. It's tough to make a full swing with a high loft wedge, but I find it equally hard to grip down or make a half swing with an 8-iron to try to keep it short. So with only an 8-iron and 60-degree wedge, I was between clubs often today. This is a problem I seem to have every week, however. Especially the first tee, playing only 105 yards to the middle. I have yet to hit that green. And the 8th is a short hole with water to the right playing only 95 yards to the middle. Today I hit the 60-degree, my shortest club in the bag, and I was still behind the green, as I have been every time!

This isn't to say that I am a big muscle or anything. It's true I am in better shape than I have been in a long while (considering my pregnancy and long recovery), but I think today the weather may have helped things along. It was warm and not at all humid or breezy, which made the ball fly a little farther. The two greens I hit, one with a 6-iron and one with an 8, I did not expect to as in past rounds I've had to club up to get there. It actually was a delightful morning and I loved being outside; I may have even started my lovely sock tan again.

I also felt rushed, but an excited to play kind of rush. It took me a few holes to settle myself in and stay focused on the present. With the four club challenge I fortunately found myself distracted from doing any math today (even when I hit two back-to-back pars and thought I would be turning things around from the back to back triple bogeys I started with). Once I was not so rushed I really felt like I stayed in the moment well today. And so it was a fun surprise after to see that my score was only one shot worse than when I played two weeks ago. Considering the constraints on this week's play I felt pretty good about that.

I can still putt better and chip better next round. In particular, I want to figure out how to practice chipping indoors more effectively, maybe even with real balls. I find that because I get so used to chipping with the whiffle balls, when I actually play with the real golf ball it comes off the face very hot. I've also been lazy about practicing full swings lately (well, in my defense it's been raining a lot so putting is easier to do during nap time) and I want to get back to doing more of that so that I can hit more greens! Putting is hugely important but GIR is key to low scores, and I want the lowest I can get.

Off again next week for a fun me-and-hubby only trip, so I have some time to work!

How I Prep for a Four-Club Challenge

This week's league play challenge is to use only four clubs for the whole round. I love these types of challenges. I sometimes had my team do this, and it was always very interesting while providing fun variety. 

Having only four (including putter!) really forces one to learn to trust their decisions. You can't be between clubs if you only have one club to choose! You also learn to get creative with the clubs you bring. There is a popular belief in the artistic world that placing constraints can actually unlock creative potential.  If you've ever watched a pro golfer who seems to play like an artist (I'm thinking about that recovery shot Bubba Watson made at Augusta in 2012 from behind the trees that boomeranged all the way around to the green - magic), they learned over years and years of experimenting with these types of constraints. It's great for growth as a player. And since it's more than just one club, you get to be a little more practical than Kevin Costner. 

Choosing the four clubs takes some thought. You definitely don't want to just wing it, and you can just go back home to get the rest of your bag if you regret your choices. 

I first think about the type of course I'm playing. Is it short? Long? Narrow? Open? The course I play each Friday is an executive course so all par threes. Makes it easy to eliminate woods and driver. On days it plays long I sometimes reach for a 7-wood on a few holes, but I am actually more accurate with irons even if I don't reach the green, and I should actually play that way more often anyway. So I won't fret about not having my long clubs. I'll select an iron for tee shots that will reach some of the holes but leave me short on the longer ones. 

Since it's a par 3 course, two-thirds of my score should be putts following the rules of GIR. So putter is staying in the bag. I also love sometimes chipping with the putter and so it can serve a little more than just on the green. 

Next I think about the types of lies I've experienced in normal play around the green. Usually they are pretty tight, and there are lots of little hills around some of the greens. So I'm going to keep my 60-degree wedge for all pitches and lobs to the hole. 

The fourth club I'm still debating with myself. I've taken full swings from the tee with my pitching wedge so I might use that, but since I can also use an 8- or 9-iron around the green I might use the opportunity to round out my bag with something that can fill some awkward distances I might encounter depending on where they put the tees. This is the only one I'll let my gut decide come morning. 

So my four are: 6-iron, 60-degree, putter, and either 8-iron or PW. 

Otherwise, a sunny day is predicted after almost two straight weeks of chilly rain. I'm very much looking forward to that. I'll be back after the round to reflect on the experience!