Today was smooth sailing for thirteen holes and then my brain got in the way and I started hitting the ball into the desert and into fairway bunkers. I kept things so simple for those first thirteen holes. I didn't let myself overthink my club selection, and I was very content with hitting my shot anywhere on the putting surface because that gave me a chance at birdie and subsequently an easy chance at par.
Once I got to #5, I debated way to long as to which club I shot hit off the tee. The hole is only 380 yards, but it gets very narrow at about 270 yards. Yesterday I hit a driver that reached the narrow area of the fairway and caromed into the desert. I went on to make a bogey. Today, that bogey was fresh in my mind so I thought about hitting 3-wood for accuracy. Unfortunately I was also telling myself that I was hitting the driver too good to not stay aggressive. The resulting pulled 3-wood went into the desert and managed to fly right into a bush.
I found the ball lodged in the bush about 6 inches above ground. I took one swing at it and nothing came out. Upon a 60 second search to relocate my ball I took another thrash at the ball. This time 2, that's right TWO balls came flying out of the bush. My ball bounced out into the fairway and the other ball trickled onto the cart path. Here's a quick question (I know the answer, but let's see if any of you come up with the same answer): If, on my second attempt at getting the ball out of the bush, I had only removed the other ball that wasn't mine, would I have been penalized for hitting the wrong ball?
Weird situation
Back to the rest of the round...I made a few nice par saves on 6, 7, and 8, but when I got to #9 I still had #5 in my brain. The ninth hole is only 360 so once again it's a lay-up hole, but after hitting such a poor 3-wood on #5, I didn't feel confident in hitting it on #9. So I pulled out driver and pulled it into a fairway bunker. I proceeded to hit the second shot short of the green, in the desert, and once again it levitated above ground in the same type of bush. This time it was about 2 feet in the air so I took an unplayable and made another double bogey.
Looking back to 4 days ago, you'll find a similar result to today. Round 2 of the Nebraska State Open was smooth sailing for 13 holes and then it was a grind for the last 5. On Thursday I need to find a way to keep swinging relaxed and without much deliberation for all 18 holes. If I do that, it'll be a fun scorecard to talk about.
I tee-off at 7:40 local time, so look for results in the mid-afternoon.
Stats - Not a surprise that the course average was 1 shot lower today. I thought the course played very easy today. The pins were accessible and with no wind, everything was right in front of you.
Neil
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