Got off at 720 in the morning for spyglass. I opted to hoof it with a push cart, since power carts are path only. I was the only guy without a caddie in my group. The course was incredible, both layout and condition.
I managed to keep the ball pretty safe all round, getting into just 3 greenside bunkers, and played the whole round with the same ball.
The first bunker came on the first hole. The sand was wet, and I was nervous about leaving it short. I sailed the green, had to flop up (tight pin position) and 2 putted to make a dbl to start.
Part of the reason I didn't necessarily want a caddy is I'm pretty confident in my course management, and I did all I could to plan out my shots before I even boarded a plane.
I made a par on the downhill 3rd par 3. I had introduced myself to my group, including the caddies. One of the caddies told me to watch my putt, it would be fast and it could easily roll off the green. It was really the only advice I received during the round. The caddies otherwise tried to guard much of their advice. It was fine, but I had planned to toss a decent tip to each of them, expecting a bit more residual info. I tossed a smaller one to just the more friendly caddy.
Mostly bogeys, a few pars, and a few dbls. I feel really good about my play out there, really never letting the course rattle me, and getting a lot of my approaches to a safe spot to allow myself an up and down, but the greens were just too tricky for me to make many of those recovery putts.
The walk was great, but the push carts are 2 wheelers, so no opportunity to shove off the clubs which can sometimes help. The clubs got pretty darn heavy to push, almost the whole course plays uphill. A caddy realistically saves me 3+ strokes, but I was really satisfied to walk home with the same ball, and shoot a flat 90.
My wife and I have talked about returning to the area. If that works out, I can't wait to try the other courses in the area. Until then I get to feel like I outplayed (for my ability) one of the toughest tests in my golf, and I'm excited to try the others on the sim once I get home.
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