Carnoustie

Travelled up to Carnoustie to play the beastly course today. The weather was decent (only kind of windy – not crazy windy and rainy). That said, it’s still a beast of a course. I hit some absolutely awful shots – hooked drives OB on 1 and 18, a lob wedge that went directly under the ball in thick heather, a dumb idea with a hybrid on a near impossible lie that went right into the gorse – when I should have just wedged one out. But I also hit a couple great ones – most notably a couple of absolutely pure 2-iron drives on 16 and 17 – a couple of the toughest holes in golf anywhere. And while my erratic putting pace left me with a lot of long come-backers, I holed a fair amount of short, non-gimme putts. At 95, I broke 100, which was my goal, but probably should have broken 90 on a relatively nice day like today. A couple of very big numbers hurt me, which has been the story of this trip so far. I was paired with two low-handicap French guys, which made for some good John Van de Velde material – and I think I probably beat them both today.

I got a good deal on a room at the resort-style hotel right at the course, and pampered myself a little with some spa, sauna, and steam room before and after the round. I’m getting old – my back doesn’t hold up for 36 holes a day like it used to.

My golf-mobile (yes, it's American-made...a Ford Fiesta) is all packed up and ready to go at the Priestville Guesthouse in Edinburgh, which graciously stored my clubs and suitcase while I was in Paris.



The Simpson Golf Shop at Carnoustie, where I got a good deal on a shirt.



Hogan's Alley - the drive on 6, a long par 5. I opted not to take Hogan's line and instead bailed right. But still made par, which I was happy about.



My drive on 17 - perfectly placed 2 iron on the island formed by the burns that seem to run everywhere at Carnoustie.