Tidewater - Myrtle Beach, SC

I played a terrific round of golf at Tidewater today - playing as a single I matched up with 3 brits and played my first ever round with money on the line. It was only a buck... no big stakes. That said, it added some very nice flavor to the round. I quite enjoyed it, though I did miss a par putt on the last hole to secure a win.

In any case, even though I shot a 107, I feel like I played quite well - I struck the ball fairly well all day, only chunking one badly. The biggest surprise of the round was how far I'm hitting the ball.

Last year, my PW was a 100 yard club - but today, I was able to hit it 110-115 on a regular basis. That pulled my GW distance another 15 yards as well - giving me fits all day long. Even worse (better?) was the 6i I hit close to 170 yards - over the pin, the green and deep into the marsh. I hit it perfectly - new grip and all and paid the price. I'll need to continue to adjust my distance control as I strike the ball better.

Oddly, I chipped amazingly well today - knocking one to 2 feet from the fringe. What a great feeling.

I had one really terrible hole - a par 3 that started well with a beautiful PW that landed 10 yards short and in a bunker. Tidewater has tons and tons of bunkers btw - if you play, watch out! From there, I hit a SW right back into the bunker. The ball was sitting half buried about 3 inches from the edge - perhaps 8-10 inches straight down. Ack! With no other good play, I just hacked at it and it popped straight up and found the lip, rolling down to the green. What a crazy shot. I ended up triple bogey.

I hit lots of great shots, but none better than on the 17th, a par 3 180 yard hole with no where to go but on the green. The hole is pretty much marsh from tee box to the front of the green. I hit a great shot with my 3 hybrid on to the green and managed to 2 putt for the par - my first all season.