Carl Hit a $%^& ! Provisional

 May 2, 2021, I was playing in my second golf tournament with a wonderful golf organization, Austin Golf Association.  Austin Golf Association has been around since 1940.   Wow!  I carried into the tournament at 20 handicap, so I was assigned to Flight 4.  

We were playing Forest Creek Golf Club.  It was under a very interesting circumstance in that hole #9 was closed due to flooding.  The Marshall told me the cart path was 4 feet under water.  The really cool thing is that Forest Creek is very prepared for this scenario.  They have an extra fully maintained green on the par 5 hole 3.  They can split the hole into a par 3 and a par 4.  This really messes up GPS tools and the actually scoring, but that may be another post.  

This story begins on hole 5, which is affectionately named "Tilt".   Fifth toughest hole and from the white tees you are looking at 322 to the green.  Up to this point I am playing ok at +5.  I have been driving the ball reasonably well.  I confidently stepped up on the tee.  I swung with a positive energy.  I exclaim, "Oh no, I cut it".  The ball hits the right side of a mound in the right side of the fairway and rolls into the woods.   My brain is like I will find that ball then punch out into the fairway.

You guessed it!  We get up to where the ball went into the woods and we could not find it.  League rules are on a lost ball you can move laterally into the fairway with a 2-stroke penalty.  I chose to move line of flight back into the fairway.  Long story short I was mentally lost.  "You should have hit a provisional" kept ringing in my head.  I did not hit shot 4 very well, when I hear a playing partner say "what were you playing?".  I respond Nike with 2 black dots.  I already hit shot 4 so that discovery was a bit too late.  It was my ball.  Steam is coming from my ears at this point and I proceed to get a quad, a snowman, an eight.

The journey does not stop there.  I did manage to momentarily stop the bleeding on hole 6 where I got a par (Par 3 called Respite). Hole 7, the Sentinel, is an intimidating hole, dogleg left, par 5, and you cannot hit a driver.  For emphasis I am still mentally on a different planet.  I hit a pop fly with my 5 wood that went maybe 100 yards.  I did make it past the front tees!!  The next shot I blast it.  It goes long rolling into the woods.  Guess what?  I did manage to learn something from hole 5, I hit a provisional, but not well.  Of course I could not find shot 2 in the woods, so I move to the provisional, hitting 4.    I pull hook it right into the creek.  So I am hitting 6 and I simply give up. The league permits maximum score of +4 to keep pace of play up.  I sit in the cart and I pop open a beer.  I definitely needed some mental adjustment at this point.  I managed to par the next hole.  Par 3's were pretty good to me this day.  The result was shooting a 50 on the adjusted par 34 front nine.  

I stop at the clubhouse for some additional swing lube, attitude adjustment, also known as beer.  I proceeded to have an amazingly successful back nine hitting some of my best drives of the day and scrambling from trouble where needed.  I 3-putted hole 18 for a 44.

I call this a typical Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde round.  My handicap reflects two blow up holes a round.  The biggest lesson for all amateur golfers is ALWAYs hit a PROVISIONAL if you think you may have lost your ball.  You will not be able to return to the location of your last shot in today's faster paced game.

Until next round, play on, have fun!