My buddy wasn’t able to make it out today, so I decided to just head out to The Vineyard by myself and play a round. My tee time was at 3, but when I got there at 2 they told me I could just go right away since nobody was there, so I promptly drew my 1st tee shot on the tight #1 driving hole into the hazard on the right. This 1st tee shot at the vineyard is becoming a massive problem for me, I honestly have hit it into the hazard probably 8 of the last 10 rounds I’ve played there, there is just no room for error…I think I should just hit an iron off the tee from now on…might be a good idea! Was able to save bogey with a solid 3rd shot and 2 putt. On the difficult 2nd, I hit my tee shot in the fairway and had 123 in to the thin green. I hit a solid gap wedge, right at the flag stick, but the wind picked up and knocked it down so much it actually came up short in the water! I was shocked as I had struck it really well, I obviously misjudged the strength of the wind and it cost me on this hole, double bogey 6.
After penalties on both the first 2 holes, I hit a good shot and made a 2 putt par on the 3rd. My driving on the first 8 holes was a little suspect, I was only hitting 3 and 5 woods and I didn’t hit them bad, but I was just slightly off and as a result, I was left in very tricky spots where I had terrible angles into the greens, having to cut it around trees (not my most comfortable shot). I was able to birdie #7 and #9 to finish off the front 9 at +4, after a 5 over after 5 start, not bad.
Hit the ball great on the back 9, hit 5 of 7 FW’s and 6 of 9 GIR; 0 birdies, 1 bogey and 8 pars for a +1 36 on the back finishing at a very solid (+5) 75 for the day. Missed two birdies that were right in the center, but stopped 2 inches short!
I putted very well today and the adjustment I made with my shoulder alignment after last week’s terrible putting seemed to really make a difference. All my putts were starting on the correct line and tracking like they should be. I also moved my elbows in closer to me and to the center of my chest and it helped to keep my arms in a more rhythmic stroke and my right hand doesn’t break down as much as it was before. This is helping me make a much better stroke and my contact was extremely better this round and as a result my lag putting was great.
So overall, I’m very pleased with this round, not so much with the first 5 holes, but I got it together and shot Even over my last 13 holes. I feel good about what I’m doing in every area of my game right now, my driving is so much better, it cost me earlier in the round, but I still hit 50% of fairways, my iron game remains solid and my 100 yard and in wedge and putting game is improving. I do need to start hitting it closer on my chips, I’m still not converting a lot of what I would consider “easy” up and down attempts, so that is something I’ll continue to work on. I’ll be playing tomorrow with a few friends, so I’ll update after.
The Vineyard Escondido Par 70 71.0/126 6,531 Yards
Score: 75 (+5) FW: 7/14 GIR: 11/18 Putts: 32 Up/Down: 4/7 Sand Save: 0/0 Penalties: 2
My Journey 2 Scratch 