Bad front nines and good back nines are becoming a worrying pattern. The last two rounds I have started slowly, and then locked in on the back to make my round somewhat respectable. At Golf Club of Wentzville on Tuesday, I was seven-over on the front and just one-over on the back and even on the last eight holes. Today at Bear Creek, I was 5-over on the front and 1-over on the back. I don’t know if it’s just my failure to warm-up enough or figuring out the greens or just figuring out my misses and swing for the day. I need to experiment more going forward and put two nines together like my back nines.

Today was more rushed than a lot. I was running late because I’m a chronic procrastinator. It’s not like I had anything to do before the round, but I still got there like 5 minutes before my tee time. I still had time to swing the speed sticks, but I didn’t putt at all. The first hole certainly showed the rushing. I hooked two drives (a breakfast ball didn’t help). I punched out from behind some trees but didn’t get up and down. The lack of knowledge about the speed of the greens certainly showed on the first. My ball striking was also shaky for most of the front.

For the rest of the day, my driver remained inconsistent. I was missing to both sides. Blocks and hooks. Thankfully, I saved my best drives for the two most attackable Par 5’s. On the 8th, I hit an absolute bomb 315 yards to leave myself with just an 8-iron in. I missed the eagle putt but tapped in for the easy birdie. I nearly killed the group in front of us because it is blind over the hill and they inexplicably were still 200 yards out without leaving any hint they were still in the fairway. Thankfully, I hit my slightly higher ball flight, so it sailed over there heads and settled 50 yards in front of them. On the 11th, I hit a 330-yarder down to the bottom of the hill at the edge of the pond and had just a soft pitching wedge into the green. It was a repeat of the 8th on the green.

The wind was pretty crazy today which is partially why I didn’t have more birdies. I putted much better than at Golf Club of Wentzville, but I didn’t have that many great looks because the wind was not only blowing at 15-20 mph, it was blowing hard for 5 minutes stopping mid-swing or changing directions multiple times while waiting to hit. I picked up and dropped more clubs before and after addressing the ball than I think I ever have. Plus Bear Creek is tree-lined so sometimes the thrown grass, flag, trees, and whatever was happening above the trees was different.

My bogey on 14 was probably the most eventful hole I have ever played. I hooked my driver and a tree in front of the tee box blocks your view of the left rough. I naturally ran to the right to track it because there are houses on that side and the rough is deep. Below that side of the tee box there is apparently a thin tree trunk cut knee height that you can’t see or at least I didn’t as I was sprinting that direction. I banged my right knee directly into the top of the cut tree and scratched up my other leg in the process. I immediately was hobbled, but was thankful it wasn’t broken and I could still walk on it. I actually hit two good shots after that — a 4-iron that was knocked down by the wind and a flop over the bunker. My knee was sore and was bleeding, but felt relatively fine when I swung the club or walked. I bent down on the green to read my par putt and align my ball and I saw stars. It was the most pain I have been in a long time (probably since I popped my shoulder out for a second diving for a softball in the outfield a few years ago and I kept playing HARDO!). I buckled onto the green and stood up to attempt to save par on one leg. I really have no idea how I even got it close to the hole, but I missed just low. I tapped in and hobbled off the green using my putter and wedge as canes. I somehow felt the after-effects in my ears driving to the next tee. I couldn’t hear. It was the strangest feeling I have ever had. I patched it up while we were waiting on the next tee and I parred out, so it didn’t bother me that much after that. However, I certainly didn’t go into my normal catcher stance when marking, reading, and aligning on the green for the rest of the day.

I thought for sure it would hurt after it stiffened up driving home and I would have to crawl into the house, but it feels okay. I took some ibuprofen (here’s hoping I don’t catch the ‘Rona or the theory ibuprofen helps kill you is wrong) for the inflamation and am currently elevating and icing it.

I am supposed to walk 18 at St. Peters tomorrow, and I plan on still doing that. If my knee hurts more tomorrow or swells up tonight while I’m sleeping I guess I’ll rethink that. I might only walk 9 as a precaution unless it feels 100%.

Side Note: Do you see that Duration time below? 5 HOURS!!! It took me over 5 hours to finish 18 holes of golf. That is an abomination. All three of my playing partners quit early because it was so slow. It was carts-on-path because it was wet, but that is still completely unacceptable. The group in front of us was playing a 2v2 scramble and refused to play even close to ready golf. Let’s just say I didn’t feel as bad about buzzing the tower by accident on the 8th when we figured out what was happening on the back nine and it had fully sunken in that this normal midday weekday round was going to last more than 5 hours. I walked The Falls in under 4 hours on an equally busy day. I walked St. Peters in less than 3 hours and 20 minutes. Speed it up, people. This is why golf is dying and why Bear Creek has been on my banned courses list multiple times. Nowhere else does this happen. Links at Dardenne, Golf Club of Wentzville, and The Falls have been just as busy recently and nowhere close to 5 hours. St. Peters packs people on that course when it’s fully running and can be infuriating with people driving all over the place, but it doesn’t take 5 HOURS! Get it together.