Round Three Commentary

Entrada Snow Canyon
windy,normal,medium
Score : 61 (-11)
Fways Hit: 85% G.I.R.:88% Putts: 25
1 Eagle,9 Birdie,8 Par

Hole 1
Driver aimed at right edge of the fairway elbow at 292yds. Shot to green 211.3yds, 23ft downhill, slight downhill lie wind at 315 degrees. Hit 5iron with fade and aimed 35ft right of flag, got to 17ft and had a straight putt for eagle, a nice start.

Hole 2
5Wood off the tee aimed (at 225yds) in centre of stream, allow wind to take to fway.Shot to green 134.3yds, 13.2ft downhill, wind at 270 degrees. Hit 8iron with fade 50 feet right of flag, too much club! 21ft birdie aimed 5ft left, hit it short, made par.

Hole 3
4W aimed off left rough. Shot to green 160yds, uphill 7.3ft. Hit 6iron with maximum loft and aimed 45ft left because of the extra loft, wind at 45 degrees, got to 8ft but left the straight putt an inch short.doh ! a shot thrown away,so just a par here.

Hole 4
4W aimed just off left of fway to avoid bunker, leaves 201.9yds and 25.1ft uphill. Wind at135 degrees, hit 4W with draw and aimed 15ft left (watch lie) and smacked it to 33inches for birdie.

Hole 5
Par3 of 156.4yds and 13.8ft uphill. Wind at 20 degrees, hit 8iron clicked 1up loft and aimed 35ft left and got it to 3 feet. Another birdie.

Hole 6
Driver, hit into left rough as wind flickered as hit shot. Left with 164.4yds, 10" downhill and wind at 110 degrees. Aimed 35ft left with 6iron hoping to run it up onto green, hooked snap but made it to 23ft from cup. Aimed 32" right of cup, which was too much, another two putt for par.

Hole 7
Driver with draw at centre of fway to avoid both water hazards. Left with a tricky 82yds, 3.2ft uphill and wind at 90 degrees. hit LW clicked one down loft, aimed 35ft left and got to 26", birdie.

Hole 8
Long Par3 222.3yds, 18.1ft downhill. Took the 2W and aimed 15ft left as the wind (180 degrees) maybe slightly to right, hit to 9 feet and holed the putt inside hole right centre for birdie

Hole 9
Driver with fade to centre of fway.Cant get on in 2 so lay up with 3iron, left with 121.9yds to uphill green with bad slope and wind in face. Here comes the course knowledge, I have bad backspin problems here so I use a "half-shot" a cut down 3iron, hit at 12 dots and aimed 10ft right of flag. Perfect ! to 4feet and a birdie. Look how hitting at 12 dots (66% distance, see half shots in guide) meant the wind only took off 17 yards, and no backspin either !

So Far....Front 9, Played in a 7 under par 29 with a gimmie putt missed and another long putt going close

Hole 10
Driver aimed on right cart path.155.2yds left, 19.6ft downhill, wind at 90 degrees.Play 6iron fade then set loft to maximum, but underhit it doh! to 33ft.Figuring the wind and lie and break balance out i chip at the pin with 9 dots pace (pw) and hit to 4 ft, almost went in, but a safe par.

Hole 11
Driver at right edge of fway at 275. 275yd second wind at 270 degrees or maybe 280, 12.7ft downhill, so hit 2W aimed 25yds right and got to 20yds from where a full LW chip just past 12 o'clock got to 5ft for tap in birdie (chip aimed at pin..thought the break would cover the wind, it didnt!)

Hole 12
191yd par3, 17.1ft downhill, wind at 240 degrees. Played a 3iron, 2 up in loft aimed 22yds right, got to 12ft and then hooked the putt which was aimed 6" left, would have dropped but snap kept it out, thats 2 shots thrown away now, here and at the third. A Par.

Hole 13
Driver aimed in middle of path. Left with 75yds wind at 45 degrees, 6.9ft uphill and a red lie to right. Clicked loft up one on the LW and aimed 40ft left.Hit to 11ft and putted just outside right edge of hole for birdie

Hole 14
Big Par3, 222.7yds, 5.8ft uphill and a 90 degree wind. Aimed a 5W 30yds left but wind changed to about 50 degrees mid shot so I am 27 feet past pin. Aimed 32" right, close but no cigar. A Par.

Hole 15
Driver to centre of fway at 220yds. Left with 75yds, 7ft uphill, wind in face, aim a 9iron 10ft right and hit a halfshot to 12-13 pips, gets it to 11ft, aim putt 15" left, not enough so another par.

Hole 16
Driver aimed at left rough.239yds left to flag, 26ft uphill wind at 80 degrees, hit a 4W 30yds left and got to 13feet. 13" left of hole, too much break overcompensating for putt on last, so a gimmie birdie but another coulda been.

Hole 17
Driver aimed at right rough. 116yds left, 7ft uphill, wind at 335 degrees, aimed 40ft right with PW, clicked 2 up loft, too much club to 28ft. PW chip aimed 16" left of hole for wind, grazes hole but another par.

Hole 18
Driver aimed off edge of left rough, hooked into rough. 127yds to pin,17ft uphill, lie to left and wind at 90 degrees. Aimed 25ft left with normal 9iron and hit to 9feet, aimed putt 10" left and stroked it in for birdie

So now you know! There is absolutely no need to fear the wind. A solid 61 first time up and to be fair the short putt at the 3rd I would miss one time in a hundred and I also mis-snapped another putt or a 59 would have been carded. Add to that 3 or 4 putts that just missed and it could have been every bit as good as the no wind round. Of course you expect to lose a few shots in the wind, mainly because you cant always get so close and have longer putts, but there are still plenty of birdies to be made. As always when you play a round for practice note down the wind strength and direction and see how you do with the clubs, and make real good notes whenyou get it just right or you're way off and you'll quickly learn the wind is not to be feared but to be sought, because if you play the wind well, not only does that take you immediately above a whole bunch of players but it makes the breeze and the no wind conditions look like childs play.Happy hitting!