My New "Go To" Course

On Saturday I treated my friend and client Digger to a round of golf at Stonecreek Golf Club. Stonecreek has become one of my "go to" courses. The course is in great shape, it is very convenient from central Phoenix, it is reasonably priced, it is walkable and it plays almost 6,900 yards from the back tees. The course is a par-71 with a course rating of 72.8 and a slope rating of 131 from the back (green) tees. At times the course can be very slow, but we played Saturday morning in less than 4 hours. The course also has a replay rate of $20, although we did not take advantage of it this time.

Digger is a member of Moon Valley Country Club so he does not often venture out to play other courses in the area. He had not played Stonecreek for a number of years. Digger was hitting the ball pretty well, but he has a penchant for fading the ball (and sometimes even slicing the ball!). This golf course is not set up for a left-to-right hitter. Somehow, the creek seems to only run along the right side of the fairway. Digger started off with two double-bogeys, but then parred 3 of the next 7 holes for a 46 on the front side. I was driving the ball really well and parred both of the par-3 holes and one par-4 for a 44 on the front 9. I was having my normal trouble hitting my chip shots thin. I generally use a lot of wrist action on my chips rather than a straight-arm chip. After hitting another chip shot thin, Digger recommended that I try to chip with my putting stroke. I re-hit the chip and rolled it right into the cup for what would have been a birdie (but I took my double-bogey since I am now carrying an official USGA handicap index).

When we made the turn, there was a man selling golf balls from his backyard. I bought 9 like-new Titleist Pro-V golf balls for $1 each and one TaylorMade Penta TP golf ball for $1. The Penta TP is a 5-piece ball and is supposed to be the best ball on the market. On the back 9 I continued to drive the ball straight and in the fairway or short rough. I made a birdie on No. 13, a 548 yard, par-5, and had 3 pars for a 43 on the back 9, including a par on the 609 yard, par-5. I triple-bogeyed the 227 yard par-3 hitting my first tee shot into the water (thus losing my Penta TP golf ball!). Somehow, this par-3 is considered the no. 18 handicap hole. I assume the handicap is based on one of the shorter tees (166 yards from the gold tees and 147 yards from the black tees). On the par-3 197 yard 12th hole, Digger and I both won $20 gift certificates from the pro shop by hitting the green (or coming pretty darn close). We paid $10 each for the opportunity so it was a net $20 gain (it was actually a $20 gain for me because Digger paid my fee). I bought a Stonecreek golf hat to add to my collection. Digger bought a Boston Red Sox logo golf hat and claimed it was for a relative (but I think he may be a closet Red Sox nation fan).

I was able to string together two reasonably consistent 9-hole stretches for an 87. I still leave a lot of strokes on the course because of my short game, but my putting seems to be improving. Because of the course rating and slope rating, my handicap differential for this round was 12.2, which is my lowest differential for my last 20 rounds and should reduce my handicap index.