So yesterday during the CC event I played a round but switched to some old ball from the bottom of my bag so I wouldn't waste any credits on the event. I played Congressional back 9 and plunked the ball in the water on the 18th.
Today, of course, I didn't check my equipment before starting the UEL event. Why would I? I never switch balls.
I was more than a little dismayed at seeing a WGT starter ball appear on the first tee. But on a single play event, there's no recourse, so I was forced to make the best of it.
I birdied 1 and 3 after what normally would be considered mediocre to poor wedge approaches (24 and 11 feet, respectively). My first danger came on 4 when I misplayed the sidewind and hit my drive a whopping 247 yards into the right rough. I failed to get my 3-iron layup on to the fairway, but then hit this beauty to salvage a par.
With starter balls, my average approach was 24 feet. That doesn't make for a lot of birdie chances. The rest of the front nine consisted of routine pars (thanks partly to a poor layup on the now-unreachable 5th) and a simple birdie on 9 after a good wedge.
I never did figure out the distances for my pitching wedge. This hurt me on 7, 10, and 12, all of which could have been birdied with better approaches. But I sank a putt from the fringe on 11 to make up a bit.
I hit a pretty good approach on 13 but failed to capitalize, then my 3w on 14 wandered left and found a greenside pot bunker. My sand shot was less than successful. But my pitch from a strong left-to-right lie worked a little better.
My approach to 15 was not good, and I missed the ding on my 35-foot putt. It went better than expected. On 16 I pushed a pretty straight putt right.
Then the Road Hole. It's never easy even with full preparation. With starter balls and a cross-headwind, it's a circus. My drive used the downslope from the hotel to run out to 277 yards, but on a downhill-sidehill lie at 239 yards out. But the wind and the hill were both right-to-left, clearing the way for a low running hook that managed to hang on to the back of the green. I missed the putt by a good 2.5 feet on the low side, but a par on 17 is a victory.
On 18 I again misjudged a pitching wedge, but salvaged some semblance of victory with a nice putt for a bogey-free 66.
All in all, the round took well over an hour and was the hardest I remember working in a WGT game.