A Great 'little" Course

I recently had the opportunity to play a course in the Philadelphia, PA area called Walnut Lane Golf Club.
Walnut Lane G.C. is part of a large park in the greater Philadelphia area and it was designed by Alexander Findlay in 1940.
The total yardage of the course from the way back is 4509 and you can imagine there are no par 5s.  The front and back nines are a blend of 4 par 4s and 5 par 3s.  Now, at 4509 and 5- par 3s there are some pretty challenging par 3s.  In fact there are a few par 3s that are over 200 yards coupled with postage stamp sized greens!  The rest of the par 3s had you dealing with elevation changes, strategic bunkering and trees hugging the hole from tee to green.

The par 4s we're all some kind of dogleg with trees lining each one.  There were few places to go except the fairway so a controlled shot was imperative.

I happen to LOVE golf like this.  If you can hit a good iron shot, you can do pretty well.  The short game is at a premium and good putting is always needed.  Length while important on some of the par 3s gives way to the need for accuracy.  When a hole is literally cut out of the woods, and has some elevation changes but not too drastic to keep me from seeing the shot as it unfolds, it's so much easier to focus on the exact type of shot I want to hit.  And when I hit it, I get the reward of being able to watch its entirety.

All in all a very pleasant round of golf.  I walked 18 and didn't feel like I was just put through a military training camp.  I'd recommend this course to anyone visiting or living in the Philly area.  Just a fun bit of golf and only 2 1/2 hours to finish 18!

I Can't Find My Ball!

This time of year it's not uncommon to get onto a course that has pretty tall grass.  With all the rain we're having here in Maryland, it's tough to get the mowers out on the course without messing things up, so the grass just pops up and keeps on going.
The grass is happy, but the golfers are not!  I was at the course today and boy was it furry!  I heard rumors of people storming off the course saying that they lost the ball in the fairway, and so I thought I would go out and see what all the commotion was about.
I teed off on the first hole and watched my ball sail out into the open air headed toward the left rough.  I thought to myself "if it's as bad as everyone is saying, I better hit another one just in case I can't find the first."  I made a note of where the ball went and headed off to find it.
The grass was very tall and I thought it might be possible to lose a small child in rough that deep but as I walked in the direction of my ball I knew I'd find it because I watched it carefully.
I played 8 holes without even a worry about finding my ball.  On the 9th hole I hit a great drive down the right side and I saw it bound to the left and then I took my eyes off f it.  I took for granted that I would just walk up and find the ball that was struck perfectly and was heading in the direction I wanted it to go.
The ball was gone, and I couldn't find it anywhere.  I looked on the left and right side of the fairway, in the middle of the fairway, but couldn't find it.
It dawned on me that for 8 straight holes I paid very close attention to the shot and where it went.  I made mental notes of where it landed and possible landmarks along the way.  I didn't even play that great all the way through, but I found about 6 balls and didn't lose one until the 9th.  It was probably the best drive of the day and I took my eyes off of it, thinking that it was so good I couldn't possibly lose it...until I did.

Finding your ball is a learned skill.  Like anything else, you have to practice.  Here are a couple of guidelines for always keeping track of your ball.

1. ALWAYS watch it until it finishes moving (if possible)
2. Draw a mental line from you to the ball and beyond and make note of landmarks that are beyond your ball so that when you are nearing your ball's location you can use it to guide you.
3. Try your best to make a mental note of a landmark that is left or right of your ball.  This can help you figure out if you need to go farther down the hole in your search
4. The most neglected of all guidelines but one of the most important for finding your ball...know how far, on average, you hit each club.  Use this average to help your search.