Moving along

Did you ever have one of those days where you thought that you played well, but added up the score at the end and discovered three digits? Yeah, that was me yesterday. Yesterday I had the opportunity to play the Bob O'Connor course in Schenley Park in Pittsburgh, home of the First Tee of Pittsburgh program. I wrapped the front and back nines around a doctor's appointment that I had at the VA. That's right, I'm a veteran, could I be any more well-rounded? I'm also a cancer survivor, hence the appointment. Why has nobody thrown a reality show at me yet? The course is a short, par 67 layout with most par-4 holes in the 250 yard range. This sounds easy, but the hilliness of the layout leaves many challenging uphill and downhill lies. Also, the routing crosses a road several times, which can be a bit unnerving.

For being a municipal course that costs $15 per round, the course was in remarkably good shape. Given the low rate and the time of year, I expected brown patches in the fairway and bumpy greens. Surprisingly, the fairways and rough were in great shape, and the greens were smooth and faster than average public courses. The course was gorgeous, with the autumn colors coming in and a view of the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning in the background. This course also has a fun leftover from when it was built in 1897. There are several 'hazards' that are just ridges that cross the fairway. These are from the early days of modern golf course architecture when designers were usually just the best golfer around and just wanted to punish anybody that could not get the ball in the air. This is described in the book Golf Course Architecture: Design, Construction and Restoration by Michael Hurzdan.

I shot an unfortunate 105. However, I felt like I played better than last time. I had fewer mishits and more solid contact. My putting and chipping were also much better. I had two solid up-and-downs for par. My best contact of the day ended up hitting an overhanging branch and kicking straight left. That was a tad frustrating. This course would be a great one to bring your buddy who kills the ball with his driver, but can't hit an iron. There are only four holes over 300 yards. An accurate iron player would definitely trump a long-baller. There are two 190 yard par-3's to mix it up, on one of which I just missed the green with my four hybrid and parred.

The bad weather looks like it's starting to settle in for the winter, so the improvement will be tough. Especially since I HATE cold. Yes, HATE. Not an overstatement. I would hibernate if I could.

Stats:
Handicap: 43
Money spent: 79
Time spent: 11.5 hours