We Talkin' About Practice, Man!

On Sunday, I signed up to play as a single at the Indian Bend Course at Camelback Country Club. When I arrived at the course, I was told that the course was wide open and I could play by myself, but that the fairways had not been overseeded. I hit a few balls on the driving range, chipped and putted some balls on the putting green and skulled a few balls out of the practice bunker and I was off to the first tee. I checked the score card and decided to play from the tips, which are 7,014 yards with a course rating of 72.6 and a slope rating of 122. The sign at the first tee said only single-digit handicap players should play from the back tees. I teed it up from the tips and let its rip!

Without the contrasting overseeded green fairways and wheat-colored dormant bermuda roughs, it is a little difficult to visualize the fairways, but unless you have tree-trouble at this course you can play just fine out of the rough (actually there is little or no difference between the rough and fairway). Until you get used to the color of the golf course, it is difficult to find the white golf ball in the dormant bermuda grass (even in the fairways). Since I was playing by myself and thought it would be slow, I played two balls on some shots but I tried to keep my score with my first ball, although I am not going to attest to my score for USGA Handicap Index purposes (I do not want to get suspended from the USGA before I even get my playing card!). I also took some putts that may have been slightly outside the "gimme" range. But this was just a practice round.

With a couple of exceptions I struck the ball really solidly and my putting distance control and line were good for me (although I did not make any putts over 7 feet). Many of the bunkers had very small lips and, given my new bunker phobia, I was able to putt the ball out of the bunkers. I shot an 83 with 35 putts (which does not include the putts out of the bunkers or Texas wedges). I drove the ball 250+/- yards consistently and kept the ball in play. I had eight pars and only one double bogey. I played the four par-3s in two over par with one three-putt. When I miss the green, in order to score better, I need to be able to get "up and down" to save par.