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When Par is a Beautiful Thing

Thu, Jun 21 2012 5:57 PM (13 replies)
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  • mkg335
    5,491 Posts
    Wed, Jun 20 2012 8:07 PM

    Everybody loves birdies and eagles, that's a given...but sometimes a hard-fought, scrambling par is just as gratifying, if not more so.

    Case in point:  I just shot the best round of my WGT life so far, a 26 on the front 9 at my usual hangout, St. Andrews.  The round featured two eagles, six birdies, and one lonely but significant par.

    The round started out nicely with birdies on the first three holes.  The one at the 2nd was especially nice because that's a tough little hole with either pin placement.  So I move on to the 4th with a right-to-left breeze and back pin, thinking I might bag another bird or at least a par to keep the round alive.  Alas, I push my drive and it lands in the small pot bunker on the right...no chance to reach the green, probably a bogey, and a potentially stellar round cut off at the knees.

    I mumble a little to myself and pitch out about 40 yds to the fairway.  No sense in trying anything crazy here because there's trouble in every direction, including fescue and gorst and the Loch Ness monster for all I know.  My next shot is a poorly-struck 7-iron that finishes 30 ft. short of the pin and now I'm facing a crazy uphill-downhill-breaking putt for par.  Took a little extra time and with luck, the sucker found the hole for a much-needed par, so now instead of losing a stroke I feel like I've just gained one.

    I move on to the par 5 5th, still three under, and eagle it after a nice drive and a 3-iron to 12 ft.  After birdies on 6 and 7 to get to 7 under, a poorly-struck 4-iron leaves me 17 ft. above the hole on #8, but the putt finds the hole with its last little tumble and I go to #9 at 8 under.  A helping wind lets me drive to the edge of the green exactly 17 yds from the hole, perfect distance for a pitch with the 64° Cleveland.  As luck would have it, the ball hops into the hole for another eagle and a 10-under 26.

    The funny thing is, when I go over the round in my head, the hole that sticks out is #4.  The scrambling par there is what kept the round going, or at least kept the train from careening off the tracks. 

    I guess the point of all this is to pay tribute to the lowly, mundane, overlooked, but oftentimes indispensable par.  I suppose par is like a lawyer...you don't appreciate one until you really need it.

  • Richard4168
    4,309 Posts
    Wed, Jun 20 2012 8:34 PM

    That is an amazing round to say the least. And yes, a good par can be better then a birdie any day. : )

    Congratulations on a great round. Saint A isn't so easy like some may think. Especially from the tips!

  • mkg335
    5,491 Posts
    Wed, Jun 20 2012 8:47 PM

    Richard, thanks very much.  I notice you're a Cards fan.  I'm a Braves fan...needless to say, both our teams are scuffling at this point in the season.  The Braves are especially hurting now that Beachy is out for the season and facing Tommy John surgery.

    Here's hoping both teams start playing better!

  • promark1
    412 Posts
    Wed, Jun 20 2012 9:15 PM

    great round pal but the thing on this game with the amount of great players pars are just not good enough.i have had 18 great pars on olympic but that would maybe get me in the top 1000 in a tourney.still a fantastic 26 though

  • mkg335
    5,491 Posts
    Wed, Jun 20 2012 9:28 PM

    promark1:

    great round pal but the thing on this game with the amount of great players pars are just not good enough.i have had 18 great pars on olympic but that would maybe get me in the top 1000 in a tourney.still a fantastic 26 though

    Thank you, much appreciated.  Your point is well-taken, and Olympic is indeed a very tough course.  I've only played a practice round there and would do well to get around at level par.

    I'm just saying that sometimes a scrambling par is the difference between a great round and a so-so one.  Cheers!

  • Milfshake
    1,260 Posts
    Wed, Jun 20 2012 9:49 PM

    When Pharmaceuticals are a Beautiful Thing.

  • mkg335
    5,491 Posts
    Wed, Jun 20 2012 10:06 PM

    Milfshake:

    When Pharmaceuticals are a Beautiful Thing.

    Har!  If I played Olympic regularly I'd need plenty.

  • MBaggese
    15,367 Posts
    Wed, Jun 20 2012 11:57 PM

    mkg335:
    guess the point of all this is to pay tribute to the lowly, mundane, overlooked, but oftentimes indispensable par.  I suppose par is like a lawyer...you don't appreciate one until you really need it.

     

    Ya got it M!!

  • mkg335
    5,491 Posts
    Thu, Jun 21 2012 2:27 AM

    MB, I get the feeling you practice law...if so, more power to you and I promise to limit the number of lawyer jokes I may or may not make in the forums henceforth, being the party of the first part and subject to local customs and regulations notwithstanding future claims of liability and/or responsibility in the case of further litigation due to malfeasance thereof and guaranteed not to rust, bust, collect dust, bend, fin, or spin off the line.

  • CerinoDevoti
    3,232 Posts
    Thu, Jun 21 2012 6:40 AM

    Great Round there mkg and I agree about pars. Making tons of birdies is great but like you said a hard fought par is what I usually remember from my rounds. Taking the medicine in the fairway then making par usually takes more concentration and intuition than making birdies for those great rounds to get on the card.

    I thought I was the only one who relished hard pars. Great to hear I'm not alone. St A is full of hard pars. I usually end up looking for them. ;-)

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