It was definitely not the hardest course I’ve ever played and it was playing short so that’s a huge advantage for me … then again it’s certainly not the first time I’ve played a short course, it is still the first time I’ve shot 68. Or ever been more than two shots under par at any given time during a round (I was 5-under on the back nine). It might be the only round I’ve ever played with only one bogey. I made five birdies—more than I’ve ever had in a single round. And I was about half an inch from a hole in one. Hell of a day.
So, to celebrate and because I now you really care, here’s a lost of the 5 best rounds of golf I’ve ever played.
#5. Tie: June 1994, Meadow Hills Golf Course, Aurora, CO (82, 12-over par). I’m calling a tie for these two landmark rounds. On the last day of eighth grade I played with a few friends at Meadow Hills. I had never broken 90 before, though I’d been close all spring. Out of nowhere, I played completely out of my mind and so the first time I broke 90 it was by shooting 82.
August 1995, Legacy Ridge Golf Course, Westminister, CO (79, 7-over par). By the next summer I was fighting to break 80. One Friday my Dad and I played a course called Mariana Butte in Loveland and I had a great chance to do it but made a double bogey on 17. The next day we played Legacy Ridge. I had a horrible front nine, shooting 9-over, which meant even if I played the back nine in even-par I would shoot 81. On the back nine, I made six straight pars—then made about a 30-foor putt for birdie on the par-3 16th and somehow birdied the 440-yard par 4 17th. I almost blew it on 18, but manager to make a sand save for par and shot my first 79.
#4. Summer 2002. El Rio Golf Course, Tucson, AZ (69, 1-under par).
This was the summer I lived in Tucson and I played a lot of golf. I played some of the nice courses at their discounted rates, but mostly I liked playing a few of the city courses—if you played after 4 and walked, it cost $4. Hard deal to beat, even if the heat was unbearable and I was alone on the course, and probably seriously risking my health. El Rio was the course I played the most because it was just about a mile from my apartment. El Rio is an old, traditional-style course, very short, but tough with a lot of elevated greens. Plus, because it was summer and extremely dry the course played strangely hard. It drove me crazy all summer. Finally, late in July I played a round where I made pars like crazy, just a few bogeys and a birdie. I went to the 18th at 1-over. 18 was a medium-length par 5, a severe dogleg right around the driving range, but it was tough to reach in two because the dogleg was short and there wasn’t much of a way to cut the corner. On this day, somehow, I figured out how to hit a cut around the corner, and then hit an iron in. I ended up with only about 15 feet from eagle, but I was putting from the fringe. Made the putt, for eagle, and shot 1-under. Because that course was a par 70, that became the first time I’d ever shot in the 60s.
#3. (Today) May 2008. Club West Golf Club, Chandler, AZ (68, 4-under par). Made tap-in birdies at 3, 4, 6, and 8. Had other decent birdie tries at 1, 2, and 9. Probably the best nine holes I’ve ever played. Nice inward half, too: missed a few make-able birdie putts, but finally made one at 13, and also made a few good par putts. I went to 18 5-under and without having made any bogeys. It hit a bad drive and from there just got a couple bad breaks, which I can’t complain about since I had 17 holes of good luck previous. Still, my par putt lipped out and I wanted to drown myself in the lake. Still as solid as I can play, and my best score both in relation to par (by three shots) and in strokes.
#2. May 2001. PGA West (Stadium Course), La Quinta, CA (81, 9-over par).
I’ve played a lot of really hard golf courses in my life, but nothing even comes close to how hard this course is. (See the 17th hole above? That’s not even a short par 3. It’s 170 yards. No. 6 is a 255-yard par 3 that’s all carry over water. I had to hit 3-wood to the bail-out area on the left. This hole would be a tough par 4, if it were a par 4. On the courses web site, they have a quote from the designer: “Golf is not a fair game, so why build a fair course?” That’s about right. Everything about that place is brutal. Shooting 9-over was the lowest possible score I could have made, probably could ever make. I was playing great that day, driving it straight and long, hitting irons well, putting well. And I still shot 9-over.
#1. Labor Day Weekend 2004. Ventana Canyon (Mountain Course Front-Canyon Course Front), Tucson, AZ (71, 1-under par).
A combination, finally, of a really good score and a really hard course. One of those good but boring rounds. I made pars all day long and almost never had birdie chances. I made bogey early in the round, got it back early, made another bogey and then just stayed steady at 1-over. Finally I birdied 16 (Canyon no. 7) and was at even par. I missed the green at 18 and was sweating about whether I could get up and down … and then chipped in for birdie.
