TL;DR. First outdoor 9-hole round went well. Hit driver well, hit five of the nine greens, made 7 pars, shot 38 in the face of 20-30 mph winds.
Long version: Made it out for a twilight 9 this evening. Mostly played really well. I hit five greens and made 7 pars.
The wind was howling at about 20-30, worse as the round went on. I played cautiously, planned every shot, and committed to the plan, with only two exceptions. One was a 9-foot birdie putt that I read as a right-edge putt, but then when I got over it I decided it was straight. Missed the putt low.
The second was a scary approach on 7, with wind behind, a fairly narrow green that slopes away toward a lake and a bunker short and left. I had a hard time choosing a club, with the wind swirling. Chose one, but didn't commit, decelerated through the ball and dumped it in the bunker. Tight, wet sand with a lot of trap to cover. Hit it too far and you're in the drink. I hit it pretty well but it was a few inches short of clearing the bunker edge. The sand was softer there and I managed to get it to within about 12 feet, but I missed the bogey putt, so I carded a double.
I was proud of how I shuffled that off and hit a perfect drive right to the center of the eighth fairway straight into a 25-mph wind. I only had 140 left but it was uphill into the wind. I striped a 5-hybrid right at the flag about 16 feet short. The birdie putt I read as right edge, and it was tracking until the last foot, when it turned the other way and missed right. Tap-in par.
Final hole I striped a drive again to the right-center of the fairway (the driver was amazing today, and really fun to hit). The wind here was left to right and in. It was only 104 to the hole, but I hit 9 hard. I aimed about 15 yards left of the flag and committed. Started it right online, and the wind carried it right toward the flag. I thought it was going to be 4 or 5 feet, but it was about 13. Birdie putt ended up 7 inches short and dead center. Easy tap-in par, for a 38.
Overall, I was very happy. Bright spot was the driver, but I also hit a lot of solid short and mid-irons. I really only hit one horrible shot, and it was one of the two that I didn't commit to.
