Saturday, February 12, 2011

Boschenmeer–11/02/2011

Well I had a rare third week in a row of golf – this time at Paarl Golf Course. Once again it turned out to be a hot day, topping out at about 34 degrees, although it felt more like forty on the course.
Tip: When you expect to play on a hot day, leave a water bottle full of water (or energy drink) in the freezer over night. Mine melted completely just as I stepped onto the 18th – the ice providing a much needed cool drink throughout the day.

I’ve never really done too well at this course, but was optimistic following my performance at Worcester.
Paarl Golf course has 27 holes, and we got stuck with the Boschenmeer eighteen (10 – 27). The Boshenmeer nine (19 – 27) imo is a bit more difficult than the standard course, so keep this in mind if you’re given a choice of which eighteen to play.

The practice facilities are very good, with quite a few greens available for honing your putting and chipping game. There’s also a driving range available if you need to flex the longer irons before the game.

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The front nine got off to a rough start with a snap hook – luckily I was just short of the water:

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It was pretty much the same for the rest of the nine. My swing balance on the tee was atrocious, resulting in anything from a heavy draw to a hook.
Something amuzing – on three occasions 3 of our 4-ball tee shots landed a few meters apart.
On the first occasion – we all found a bunker: (my ball is hiding behind the lip on the left)

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The second was a short part four – where a Driver, 3 hybrid and 5 iron all landed like so:

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The third was a short par three (playing 100m), we all pulled left – my chip just lipped out:

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If nothing else, the scenery is something to take in while walking the course:

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The back nine went a bit better, and for the second week running I closed with a 39 – despite a horrid last hole which was only saved by a decent putt. There were a few missed opportunities, and a few good approaches:

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… sadly the putt was missed Sad smile.

The course is in great shape considering the amount of heat this region gets in the summer months. Play was rather slow on the day though, so be prepared to spend a fair amount of time waiting on the boxes.
The clubhouse food is great, and the service good, if a bit on the slow side.  If you haven’t played here before, it’s well worth the visit to play such a well conditioned course. I’ll be giving it a skip for a while until I’m more confident in my swing off the tee.

Here’s the album with all the pics from the day:

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