So close, and yet so far. I had a putt on 18 to finish an even-par 72 at Bear Creek Country Club but pushed the putt just wide. I can’t really complain though about my best round ever. I made more birdies than I ever have. I hit the most greens I have hit this year. It was a great round, but it could have been legendary.

I played the first 8 holes close to perfection. I hit all but one green in regulation and parred all but two holes, which were birdies on 6 and 8. The 9th hole erased all of that work. I had an odd lie at the bottom of the hill on 9 because I had to take relief from the cart path after my drive rolled too far. I had about 115 yards in and tried to hit a soft pitching wedge to the back tier pin. Because it was so uphill and I didn’t get the ball up really high, it hit and skipped off the back of the green. I then compounded the error by blading the chip down off the tier and three-putted trying to come back up the crazy ridge.

The back was much more of a roller coaster. I alternated bogeys and birdies from 10 to 15. I made a bomb from 40 ft for birdie on 13 after my 60-degree didn’t stop and rolled to the back. I nearly made eagle on 15 where I only had a 9-iron in following a 330-yard nuke of a drive that got some good bounces off extremely dry ground.

My bogeys in that stretch came in the form of two tee shots that found hazards because I didn’t make smart plays and tried for hero shots and a three-putt on the huge green on 12.

I made pretty easy pars on 16 and 17 to set up the 18th with a chance at immortality. The wind was blowing hard into and from left to right. I tried to hit a draw that would hold up against the wind, but instead, I hit my first block of the day that almost got to the 17th tee boxes with the help of the wind. I was able to hit a safe 5-iron just to the right of the green and short of the back pin. If I hadn’t just blocked a shot right, I would have swung harder and maybe been pin high, but I was scared of blocking another one either into the parking lot or clubhouse. I made a good chip off the side of the hill and left myself a slight downhill and right-to-left breaker. I felt the nerves over the putt and readjusted my clubface open at the last second and ended up pushing it just past the raised cup.

It’s hard to say you left strokes on the course when you shoot a personal best and make 5 birdies, but I still feel like I did. I hit 13 greens! Aside from some of the long bad lag putts that caused three-putts, I was all over the cup all day. A few of those could have easily gone in with just a bit more pace or a better read. My mental game can still improve. The two tee shots that cost me drops were just dumb, and I missed in the only spot on those holes you can’t miss.

If I can take this ball striking (which has been my one true weakness) going forward, there is almost no limit to what I can do with Going Low or Quest for Par.

However, I think I am going on an extended break from golf. Possibly the longest this year, even when it was snowing and cold in January. The Coronavirus cases are ticking up here in St. Charles County. We still don’t have a ton, but the curve is inching close to exponential, so I want to hunker down for a bit. Also, we are entering a “cold” snap. I was begging for 50 degrees a couple months ago, but after 70’s most of the last week or two, 80’s yesterday, and 90 degrees today, it just doesn’t make sense to be cold playing golf while risking catching and spreading a deadly virus.

If this is my last round for a couple of weeks, it was a good one to end on.