Damaikis
Fairway Finder
- Thread starter
- #26
I played Firestone South yesterday, and it was an absolutely amazing experience. When my cousin Jack picked me up from Case Western at 11 in the morning, I had no idea what to expect. As we drove the 40 minutes south toward Akron, I sat in the car waiting in anticipation, having to fill my time with listening to the local talk radio speculate about the Browns (lol). Once we pulled up, I was amazed. We were on a small road, and on my right was a gorgeous clubhouse and a beautiful practice facility, while to the left there was a vast area of different shades of green with water all throughout. It was my first glimpse of the course, and I was in awe. What I was looking at was the North Course, but I didn't know that yet. We pulled into the bad drop and a sharply dressed man quickly grabbed our bags. We pulled into the parking lot and parked the car, and I couldn't believe that we were one of about 7 cars there. It was a beautiful day, and the place was nearly empty! We got out of the car and I really looked upon the clubhouse (this picture was taken at dusk just before we left, so sorry that it's a little dark):
We grabbed our bags and headed inside. When you walk in on your right in the pro shop, then you continue down the hall and up some stairs to get to the locker room. I had a guest locker, so I got changed there. I walked into the bathroom and it was awesome. The thing I liked best about it was definitely the floor:
That's The Green Monster (#16) in case you didn't know. After I changed (I rocked my THP Sligo shirt!), we went back downstairs and I went into the pro shop because I had forgotten a hat and wanted some keepsake from Firestone. None of the hats really impressed me that much, but then I saw the visors and decided I was getting one. After I got my visor, we went outside and decided to hit some balls at the range. The grass range wasn't open, so we had to hit off mats, but it was still beautiful. We hit balls for about 30 minutes, and we putted for about 30 more so I could get green speed. Finally, after all that waiting, it was time to tee off. Jack said we were going off the back first, so we headed to the 10th tee. I grabbed a scorecard and a pencil from the little box by the tee, and walked up to see a long, straight par 4. I decided to hit driver because we were playing from the tips and all the holes were very long. My first drive was a bit of a slice into a fairway bunker. Disappointed, I continued on and proceeded to thin my 6 iron into the lip of the bunker, but the ball barely got out. From there I hit a 9 iron to the green and 2 putted. Bogey. I thought, hey, I'll definitely take bogeys on this course! The next hole was similar, a long, straight par 4. I sliced my drive again, and from behind a tree from about 200 yards, I hit a big Bubba-cut around it with my 6 iron and ended up short right of the green. Pitched on and 2 putted. Another bogey. The greens were very hard yesterday and everything was rolling out a good bit, so I had to adjust to play for that. The next hole was a great one. A par 3 of about 180 yards uphill with a bunker in front of the green:
I pulled a 7 iron and hit one right at the pin. The hole was playing very slightly downwind, but I was still praying that it would be enough to get over the bunker. It barely did, as it hit the top edge of it, and it rolled onto the green. As we drove up to the green, I was hoping that I was really close. We got up there and I was at the very back of the green, about 15-20 feet from the hole. That in itself was a testament to how hard and fast the greens were. I missed the putt low, but tapped in for par. My first par from the tips at Firestone South, how relieving. Next up was a LONG par 4 at 471 yards, and I crushed my drive down the left side, leaving me about 175 yards to the green. I hit another 7, smoother this time, and came up short right. My first putt was about 50 feet and I had to navigate a huge ridge that left the hole probably 2 feet above my level. I hit it close and tapped in for par. I was rolling. Another long par 4 found my drive in the left rough, so I hit a draw with my 5 iron that drew just a little too much and I ended up in a greenside bunker. The sand was very soft, much more than I'm used to, so I flew my bunker shot just over the green. A good pitch left me about 4 feet for bogey, which I made. Then we got to a long par 3 that forced me to hit 4 iron, which I cut a bit left of the green, but pin high. My pitch came out of the rough softer than I expected, so I came up about 10 feet short of the hole. 2 putt bogey. Finally we got to the Green Monster. The Monster is a 667 yard par 5 downhill with a lake in front of the green. My cousin said that he had never played with anyone who had parred it from the tips and he had never done it himself in the 6 or so months of his membership there. The only guy to reach it in 2 last year during the Bridgestone Invitational was Bubba, who hit it in 2 once in 4 days. It is really intimidating standing on the tee:
I teed off and crushed my drive.The line off the tee is right at those bunkers behind me because if you can carry them, your ball will take a big kick down to the left into the center of the fairway. My ball was a bit to the left of that, heading towards the center of the fairway. It took a big bounce a bit to the left, but when I got up to see it, I was just on the left side of the fairway with one of the few flat lies I could see around me. The sprinkler head a few yards behind me read 343 yards to the hole. I suspected I had about 335 left, which means my drive went about 330 yards. I couldn't believe it until I remembered that Bubba hit a 415 yard drive here last year, so it wasn't totally out of the question. I pulled my 4 wood and hit a beautiful high cut with it around the fairway bunker up ahead (see picture of it on bathroom floor above), and while I couldn't see it land, but I suspected it was good. I got to my ball and was to the left side of the fairway again, perfect since the pin was on the left so I wouldn't have to go too much over the lake. I had about 75 yards in. I hit my 56* a bit chunky and a bit right of my target, and for a little bit while it was in the air, I dreaded that I would be wet. Instead, it barely cleared and rolled out to about 15 feet. I walked up and 2 putted easily for a par. That is one hole that I know I will never forget. And I'll always remember that tee shot:
The next hole was a par 4 that was not horribly long, but it played uphill so was still driver-worthy. I hit my drive with a bit of a cut, but was still in the fairway, just on the left side. I had a 9 iron in, and I pulled it a bit. It turned out that I had come up a bit short too, underestimating the hill. I hit my pitch out of the rough about 12 feet past the hole and 2 putted yet again for bogey. Then we came up to 18. The pin placement for 18 was the Sunday pin position for the tournament, so with a huge tree guarding the pin, being on the right side of the hole is imperative to be able to even have a chance to be near the pin. I pushed my drive of course, so I was on the left side of the fairway. I stared my shot up and down, and since I had an 8 iron in my hand, I decided that going over the tree wasn't an option (I probably could have gotten it over the tree, but the drop would have to be very severe or it would fly over the green). I decided I would hit a big cut to try to get it back there. I hit the cut, and it was looking great, but it continued to move to the left and I missed the green left. I shanked my next pitch because I was trying to be extra careful to not go into the bunker I had to pitch over. From there, I had to get up-and-down to keep my double bogey free round intact. I hit a delicate little lob shot to about 6 feet, and confidently drained the putt. I had just finished a +6 front (really the back) 9. A 41. I was very happy with that and hoped to be able to keep up the momentum. A look at my second on 18:
We stopped at the halfway house and I got a hot dog for lunch. I have to say, it was one of the best hot dogs I've ever had. EVERYTHING at Firestone is 1st class from the golf courses to the hot dogs. After a short break to eat, I stepped onto the 1st tee (my 10th). I proceeded to hit a duck hook. From there, I tried to punch out and went back over the fairway. Another punch out, and I finally could pitch onto the green. I 2 putted for double. Well, there goes that! The next hole is a par 5 where I pulled my drive and was behind a bunker with a tree obstructing my way to the green. Instead of laying up smartly, I tried to lay up with a hybrid that would hook around the tree. Instead, it hit the tree and came down. My next shot was a pitch forward out from underneath the tree, and then another pitch to the green. It rolled out a lot and left me with about 50 feet for par. I 3 putted that and took another double. Ouch. Onto another par 4 and another pulled tee shot. I was left about 140 yards into the green over water. I pulled my pitching wedge and chunked it right into the water. A drop just in front of the water left me about 70 yards to the pin. Another chunk, another drop. I finally pitched on and two putted from there for a snowman. Well the back 9 was not starting how I had planned.
That was when my uncle and other cousin showed up to meet us. They were late because my uncle was picking my cousin up from college. After watching me finish off my quad, we went to the next tee. The tips on that hole were under repair so they were moved up to the back of the Member's tee box. Finally, I didn't have to hit driver. I hit my 4 wood and cut it a bit too much into the left rough. I found it in a small ditch buried under a lot of grass. I took a huge hack at it with my 8 iron and attempted to cut it around the tree in front of me. It worked, but I came up just short of the green. A chunked chip lead me to another one which I hit close and tapped in for bogey. Then on to the long par 3 5th. I had to hit 4 iron, and sliced it, but was lucky enough to hit the lone tree on the left side of the green, and it kicked down into the face of a bunker. I had a side hill lie in the bunker with the ball above my feet, but I knocked it out gently to about 8 feet. I nailed the putt for a nice sand save and par. Another long par 4 and a cut tee shot left me in the left rough. I hit a tree trying to come out at the green, but it just knocked it down into the fairway about 100 yards from the green. The pin was back, and I hit my shot to the front of the green leaving me a long putt. I hit it well and tapped in for bogey. After that was a long par 3 and a cut 5 iron. I then chunked my pitch into the bunker, but got out and 2 putted from there for bogey. After that was another par 4 on which I bombed my drive down the middle of the fairway. I had about 150 left and tried to smooth a 9 iron but caught it off the toe and a little chunky so I was right of the green and a bit short of pin high. I hit my pitch a bit too hard and had about 8 feet left which I two putted. (continued in next post...)
We grabbed our bags and headed inside. When you walk in on your right in the pro shop, then you continue down the hall and up some stairs to get to the locker room. I had a guest locker, so I got changed there. I walked into the bathroom and it was awesome. The thing I liked best about it was definitely the floor:
That's The Green Monster (#16) in case you didn't know. After I changed (I rocked my THP Sligo shirt!), we went back downstairs and I went into the pro shop because I had forgotten a hat and wanted some keepsake from Firestone. None of the hats really impressed me that much, but then I saw the visors and decided I was getting one. After I got my visor, we went outside and decided to hit some balls at the range. The grass range wasn't open, so we had to hit off mats, but it was still beautiful. We hit balls for about 30 minutes, and we putted for about 30 more so I could get green speed. Finally, after all that waiting, it was time to tee off. Jack said we were going off the back first, so we headed to the 10th tee. I grabbed a scorecard and a pencil from the little box by the tee, and walked up to see a long, straight par 4. I decided to hit driver because we were playing from the tips and all the holes were very long. My first drive was a bit of a slice into a fairway bunker. Disappointed, I continued on and proceeded to thin my 6 iron into the lip of the bunker, but the ball barely got out. From there I hit a 9 iron to the green and 2 putted. Bogey. I thought, hey, I'll definitely take bogeys on this course! The next hole was similar, a long, straight par 4. I sliced my drive again, and from behind a tree from about 200 yards, I hit a big Bubba-cut around it with my 6 iron and ended up short right of the green. Pitched on and 2 putted. Another bogey. The greens were very hard yesterday and everything was rolling out a good bit, so I had to adjust to play for that. The next hole was a great one. A par 3 of about 180 yards uphill with a bunker in front of the green:
I pulled a 7 iron and hit one right at the pin. The hole was playing very slightly downwind, but I was still praying that it would be enough to get over the bunker. It barely did, as it hit the top edge of it, and it rolled onto the green. As we drove up to the green, I was hoping that I was really close. We got up there and I was at the very back of the green, about 15-20 feet from the hole. That in itself was a testament to how hard and fast the greens were. I missed the putt low, but tapped in for par. My first par from the tips at Firestone South, how relieving. Next up was a LONG par 4 at 471 yards, and I crushed my drive down the left side, leaving me about 175 yards to the green. I hit another 7, smoother this time, and came up short right. My first putt was about 50 feet and I had to navigate a huge ridge that left the hole probably 2 feet above my level. I hit it close and tapped in for par. I was rolling. Another long par 4 found my drive in the left rough, so I hit a draw with my 5 iron that drew just a little too much and I ended up in a greenside bunker. The sand was very soft, much more than I'm used to, so I flew my bunker shot just over the green. A good pitch left me about 4 feet for bogey, which I made. Then we got to a long par 3 that forced me to hit 4 iron, which I cut a bit left of the green, but pin high. My pitch came out of the rough softer than I expected, so I came up about 10 feet short of the hole. 2 putt bogey. Finally we got to the Green Monster. The Monster is a 667 yard par 5 downhill with a lake in front of the green. My cousin said that he had never played with anyone who had parred it from the tips and he had never done it himself in the 6 or so months of his membership there. The only guy to reach it in 2 last year during the Bridgestone Invitational was Bubba, who hit it in 2 once in 4 days. It is really intimidating standing on the tee:
I teed off and crushed my drive.The line off the tee is right at those bunkers behind me because if you can carry them, your ball will take a big kick down to the left into the center of the fairway. My ball was a bit to the left of that, heading towards the center of the fairway. It took a big bounce a bit to the left, but when I got up to see it, I was just on the left side of the fairway with one of the few flat lies I could see around me. The sprinkler head a few yards behind me read 343 yards to the hole. I suspected I had about 335 left, which means my drive went about 330 yards. I couldn't believe it until I remembered that Bubba hit a 415 yard drive here last year, so it wasn't totally out of the question. I pulled my 4 wood and hit a beautiful high cut with it around the fairway bunker up ahead (see picture of it on bathroom floor above), and while I couldn't see it land, but I suspected it was good. I got to my ball and was to the left side of the fairway again, perfect since the pin was on the left so I wouldn't have to go too much over the lake. I had about 75 yards in. I hit my 56* a bit chunky and a bit right of my target, and for a little bit while it was in the air, I dreaded that I would be wet. Instead, it barely cleared and rolled out to about 15 feet. I walked up and 2 putted easily for a par. That is one hole that I know I will never forget. And I'll always remember that tee shot:
The next hole was a par 4 that was not horribly long, but it played uphill so was still driver-worthy. I hit my drive with a bit of a cut, but was still in the fairway, just on the left side. I had a 9 iron in, and I pulled it a bit. It turned out that I had come up a bit short too, underestimating the hill. I hit my pitch out of the rough about 12 feet past the hole and 2 putted yet again for bogey. Then we came up to 18. The pin placement for 18 was the Sunday pin position for the tournament, so with a huge tree guarding the pin, being on the right side of the hole is imperative to be able to even have a chance to be near the pin. I pushed my drive of course, so I was on the left side of the fairway. I stared my shot up and down, and since I had an 8 iron in my hand, I decided that going over the tree wasn't an option (I probably could have gotten it over the tree, but the drop would have to be very severe or it would fly over the green). I decided I would hit a big cut to try to get it back there. I hit the cut, and it was looking great, but it continued to move to the left and I missed the green left. I shanked my next pitch because I was trying to be extra careful to not go into the bunker I had to pitch over. From there, I had to get up-and-down to keep my double bogey free round intact. I hit a delicate little lob shot to about 6 feet, and confidently drained the putt. I had just finished a +6 front (really the back) 9. A 41. I was very happy with that and hoped to be able to keep up the momentum. A look at my second on 18:
We stopped at the halfway house and I got a hot dog for lunch. I have to say, it was one of the best hot dogs I've ever had. EVERYTHING at Firestone is 1st class from the golf courses to the hot dogs. After a short break to eat, I stepped onto the 1st tee (my 10th). I proceeded to hit a duck hook. From there, I tried to punch out and went back over the fairway. Another punch out, and I finally could pitch onto the green. I 2 putted for double. Well, there goes that! The next hole is a par 5 where I pulled my drive and was behind a bunker with a tree obstructing my way to the green. Instead of laying up smartly, I tried to lay up with a hybrid that would hook around the tree. Instead, it hit the tree and came down. My next shot was a pitch forward out from underneath the tree, and then another pitch to the green. It rolled out a lot and left me with about 50 feet for par. I 3 putted that and took another double. Ouch. Onto another par 4 and another pulled tee shot. I was left about 140 yards into the green over water. I pulled my pitching wedge and chunked it right into the water. A drop just in front of the water left me about 70 yards to the pin. Another chunk, another drop. I finally pitched on and two putted from there for a snowman. Well the back 9 was not starting how I had planned.
That was when my uncle and other cousin showed up to meet us. They were late because my uncle was picking my cousin up from college. After watching me finish off my quad, we went to the next tee. The tips on that hole were under repair so they were moved up to the back of the Member's tee box. Finally, I didn't have to hit driver. I hit my 4 wood and cut it a bit too much into the left rough. I found it in a small ditch buried under a lot of grass. I took a huge hack at it with my 8 iron and attempted to cut it around the tree in front of me. It worked, but I came up just short of the green. A chunked chip lead me to another one which I hit close and tapped in for bogey. Then on to the long par 3 5th. I had to hit 4 iron, and sliced it, but was lucky enough to hit the lone tree on the left side of the green, and it kicked down into the face of a bunker. I had a side hill lie in the bunker with the ball above my feet, but I knocked it out gently to about 8 feet. I nailed the putt for a nice sand save and par. Another long par 4 and a cut tee shot left me in the left rough. I hit a tree trying to come out at the green, but it just knocked it down into the fairway about 100 yards from the green. The pin was back, and I hit my shot to the front of the green leaving me a long putt. I hit it well and tapped in for bogey. After that was a long par 3 and a cut 5 iron. I then chunked my pitch into the bunker, but got out and 2 putted from there for bogey. After that was another par 4 on which I bombed my drive down the middle of the fairway. I had about 150 left and tried to smooth a 9 iron but caught it off the toe and a little chunky so I was right of the green and a bit short of pin high. I hit my pitch a bit too hard and had about 8 feet left which I two putted. (continued in next post...)
Overall, it was a wonderful experience and by far the nicest course I've ever played. I am so grateful to my uncle for giving me this opportunity. It's certainly something I'll never forget. Heck, he even said that if I go to Case Western I could play there just about every weekend with him or my cousin if I wanted. The scary part of all this is that as much fun as I had and thought it was a gorgeous and fun course, they told me that both the West and North Courses we better than the South. I can't wait to go out again to play. I also might go out just before or just after the Bridgestone Invitational because my uncle booked tee times for both of those times and playing the South Course with the grandstands still up would be simply amazing. If you have any questions feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them for you!
