Boxing Day Golf

 Boxing Day golf ... because Golf Day boxing just sounds like a really bad idea.

After I got my Handicap Index down to 17.5 at season's end, rain left opportunities to play in December scarce, and an upper-body injury sidelined me for a week, I came back for a post-Christmas 18 at home in what's quickly turning into a new holiday tradition. And, while I was disappointed in my play overall (OK, I need to keep my expectations in check — it's winter golf, after all), there were a few bright spots which are encouraging as we head to 2025.

The good

I stuck my tee shot on the 95-yard par-3 third to within three feet and holed out for birdie (below). Two holes later, on the 319-yard par-4 fifth, I comfortably dropped a 146-yard approach shot onto the green in regulation. And then, four holes after that, I converted from 21 feet for my second birdie of the day and capped a net-two-under 39 front nine.

My 46-degree wedge on #3 rolled past the hole maybe two cup widths from an ace! Fortunately, I converted this three-foot birdie putt to kick off a seven-hole stretch of even par golf.

Given it's winter golf and mistakes don't count against my Index for the next 2-1/2 months, it's a great time to iron out (ha!) some issues on the course rather than the range. As such, the 3- and 5-wood got some more reps than usual, and largely the results were favourable. Five or six total shots with the fairway metals yielded clean contact and OK distance.

Driver control has been better since I got it chopped down from 45-1/2" to 44" a couple weeks ago. I hit 7 of 14 fairways today, and three others were within a club length of the fairway. Improvement, for sure!

The bad

I made two doubles on the front nine, and both were avoidable. The first was on the par-5 opener, thanks to every mis-hit imaginable after having not had a club in my hands for eight days — pop-up drive, lay-up off the toe, chunked gap wedge. The second was on the seventh, a short par 4 with a gentle dogleg right, and it was, in retrospect, a complete mental breakdown on my part. After a poor 5-wood off the tee left me a long iron out, I tried to muscle for the green in regulation with a club that is honestly hit-or-miss rather than take my medicine and get comfortably within wedge range. A badly topped 5-iron travelled all of 30 yards, and my 8-iron in from the resulting 130 yards ended up well left of the green.

Toes and chunks resulted in more lost shots than I'd've liked, and three sand shots on the back nine didn't help, either. Dropped five strokes vs. course handicap on the back, but did well to minimize the bleeding and play boring bogey golf the entire back nine. That said, it stung knowing how many par chances I squandered thanks to poor contact.

The takeaway

There are bright spots, for sure, and I've definitely improved over the past year! I've got some clear goals for 2025, and a clear path toward achieving them through the offseason. More about that in the next post.

Tees: Green (4,963 yards, 63.7/110)

Gross Score: 39-45—84 (net +3)
Birdies: 2, Pars: 4, Bogeys: 10, Doubles: 2

Fairways: 7/14, Greens: 5/18, Net Greens: 9/18
Putts: 29, Strokes Gained Putting: 4.75

Match vs. Course Handicap (9): lost, 3 and 2
Differential: 20.8

Distance Walked: 5.97 miles
Calories Burned: 832
Peak Heart Rate: 133 bpm
Time: 3 hours, 16 minutes

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