Talk about a collapse. I played the first 11 holes 2-over and the last 7 7-over. It was another disastrous day off the tee, but I putted well enough to keep things respectable. The difference from yesterday to today was the iron play. I only hit 6 greens, and I missed in the wrong spots and couldn’t turn in enough elite wedge shots to make up for them.

The best drive I hit all day was the first one. I started on the wide par 5 10th hole. I hit a beautiful baby draw 290 yards to the top of the hill that left me with just a 4-iron into the green. I made a great lag putt that almost went in and tapped in for the easy birdie. That was arguably the high point. I had a couple over the top swings, some slight blocks, some toey draws, and some hooks. I kept it more under control on the back (my front) with my only penalty being an unplayable thanks to a hook that barely skipped into the woods on the No. 1 index par 4 13th on which I made double. On the 1st, I took too aggressive a line over the pond trying to cut the corner to make eagle or birdie. Instead of hooking or even drawing back into the fairway, I hit my straightest ball of the day, and it would have needed to carry 300 yards which I can’t really do unless something miraculous happens. I then hooked a ball into the pond on the final hole trying to just smash one and finish with birdie on the short par 4 but instead made another double

If I don’t figure something out on Saturday at Belk Park, I am going to hit the range on Sunday and find a fairway finder and try to iron out the swing so I can hit bombs confidently again.

Part of the problem with missing the fairway was it left me with some awkward sidehill lies that I wasn’t compensating well for and missed greens left and right as a result. I also blocked a couple irons off the tee on par 3’s. I was short-sided a ton especially on the front nine. I basically had to hit flop shots and I didn’t get them close and a couple forced me to chip again.

One possible difference between the front and the back was the change in golf ball. I was testing out the Snell MTB-X and MTB Black. I played the MTB-X on the back and the MTB Black on the front. They are both great balls and I will have a full review sometime soon. The X reacts nearly identically to my Pro V1x. The Black is modeled after the Pro V1. I can’t blame the Black for some of my shots, but like the Pro V1, the Black has a lower ball flight and less spin. The flight didn’t seem that much lower to me on anything but the driver. However, the spin difference was noticeable on at least two shots. I got what were essentially fliers on two different iron shots that made me fly the pin by at least 10 yards on shots I figured were going to land below the pin or at most pin high on the 4th and 8th. The one on the 8th might have been close to 15 to 20 yards farther and cut through a wind into and off the left, as I was on the back of the green instead of the front. I ended up three-putting from back there.

I’ve still got some Snell balls from the test pack, so I am going to continue to use them both. However, I am definitely an MTB-X player. The price makes it tough not to consider making the switch from Pro V1x because they are so close to identical.

The PuttOUT continues to prove it helps dramatically. I was once again all over the cup. The three-putt, which was caused by a misread and a little too much pace because of it, was my one lone blip. I dropped in some long putts and was outstanding on start line today. The best birdie putt of the day was my 20-footer on the 18th. If I can keep this up when I find my driver again, things could get interesting.

Side Note: St. Peters brought carts back today. Like I said before, they drastically reduce the enjoyment of a round there. I also teed off late because they had to wait for carts to come back in and sanitize them which is fine. That’s the world now. However, I will go to my grave saying the course is built for walking and should get rid of carts. The course just runs better with everyone walking.