I ended the year with a handicap index of 13.3, one-half stroke better than last year’s final number and one stroke above my low for the year of 12.3 on September 1st.  This very much mirrors my scoring pattern of last year but I have been maintaining a lower scoring average through the end of the year better than in my earlier golfing years of  2005-08. I’m sure getting much below 12.0 is going to be very difficult.

I’ve always liked fall golf but my scores have not usually been all that good once the leaves begin to cover the edges of the fairways.  Things have been a bit different this year, though.  This morning I shot a ho-hum seven over par 79 at Mt. Si, my second sub-80 round in two weeks.  It was an unspectacular but very steady round.  No long drives, no long putts or chip ins.  Just eleven pars and seven bogeys.  The short game carried the day for me.  I hit just one green in regulation and two fairways over the last eleven holes but knocked enough chip shots close to  get by with just 13 putts over that stretch.  I’m looking forward to seeing where my handicap ends up with next week’s final update for the year.

As I prepared to tee off this morning I wasn’t expecting much of a round.  Winds were howling at 30-40 mph and following yesterday’s 76 I figured I’d most likely shoot a score more in line with my 13.6 handicap.  Anything under 90 would have been fine.  And that’s how the day started: eight over par through the first six holes.

Then on the 500-yard 7th hole I launched a 270 yard wind-aided drive.  I followed that with a 5 wood that stopped on the green just 18 feet from the cup.  I missed my first ever eagle putt but the tap-in birdie was followed by two pars for 43 on the front nine.

The back nine was an unusual adventure.  Following an easy par on hole 10 I hit my next tee shot into the woods and flailed through holes 11 and 12 five strokes over par.  Amazingly enough, though, I 1-putted every hole except number 16 for just 10 putts on the final nine holes and 23 for the round.  In spite of some inconsistent ball-striking I shot an 85.  That took my scoring average for the year down to 87.87.

A weak initial drive and bogey 5 on the frosty opening hole offered little hint of the round I ended up with this morning at Mt. Si.  After bogey, double bogey, bogey on the 6th, 7th and 8th holes I approached the 9th tee five over par; an ok score but nothing remarkable.  But I played the final ten holes at one under par to shoot 76, tying my personal best score (last done, Sept. 15 2010).  Three birdies and nine pars, along with just 27 putts supported generally good ball-striking.