For the past week, I have been in Naples, Florida visiting my aunt as she just bought a new house. I of course made it a goal to get out golfing once. And I did. Once at Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club, and then 9 holes at TPC Treviso Bay which was a great experience.
I played the Naples Beach Club course with my aunt's boyfriend Ben. We were paired up with someone else named Jerry. The course itself was fairly nice and somewhat challenging, but you could tell that it was rundown due to all of the tourists. The course wasn't quite up to its full potential. I was surprised how well I played on the front 9 since I hadn't played in 4+ months. On the front I shot a 43. Ben played with us for only 9 holes but I continued along with Jerry for the whole 18. On the par 4 10th hole both Jerry and I hit near perfect drives (I hit my 5 wood) and we were both left with about a pitching wedge to the hole. Both of us ended up hitting 3 balls in the water and I ended up with a 9. Other than that one hole, I finished the back 9 with a 44 bringing my 18 hole total to an 87. This is the start of my 3rd year of golf and I can consistently shoot in the low 80s.
Treviso Bay put all the courses I played so far to shame. My uncle worked there at one time and he helped me get in without playing the hefty $200 fee. I ended up playing with the assistant superintendent of the golf course who's name was Jared. The greens at Treviso Bay were extremely fast, for me at least...a 10.2 on the stimpmeter. I noticed that very early on the putting greens when I barely had to touch the ball to roll it down a shallow grade.
I started off strong with a par on the 1st hole. Then on the 2nd hole at Treviso, which was a 500+ yard par 5, Jared hit a driver off the tee. The wind was strong in our faces so he then hit a driver off the fairway. That driver off the deck landed within 2 feet of the hole and Jared made that putt for an eagle. I on the other hand got stuck in a bunker and made a bogey. But then on the 3nd hole par 3, Jared put 3 balls in the water while I put two. I finished at Treviso Bay with a 47 which I wasn't too happy with, but since I seemed to struggle all day, it was better than I thought.
It really is a shame that the clubhouse of Treviso Bay (which is big enough to be a mall) has been sitting, still under construction, untouched since 2009. I remember meeting Lee Trevino at Treviso Bay about 3 or 4 years ago with my uncle before the owner went bankrupt. But all in all, I am just happy that I got 2 good rounds of golf in before the season officially starts here in Massachusetts.
