Interior of a golf cart with several receipt-style notes scattered across the dashboard, each detailing golf shots and moments from a casual round. Wildflowers and a sunny fairway appear in the distance.
Laid-back round, fully documented. Not keeping score—just keeping receipts.

Par saves, lag putts, and a best ball round that turned into a short game audit.

⛳️ Pre-Round Vibe

We teed off at Bird Creek Golf Club in Port Austin on a bright Sunday afternoon, with wildflowers in full bloom and a game plan that could generously be described as: “Just vibes.” This was a best ball round with Jay, and I promised myself I wouldn’t overthink it.

So naturally, I tracked every chip, judged every club, and mentally wrote an entire blog post mid-round.

🧠 My Goals for This Round

  • Stick to my pre-shot routine (mostly succeeded)
  • Practice under light pressure, even if not always playing my own ball
  • Dial in chipping feel and putting tempo
  • Notice alignment and reduce rightward bias
  • Enjoy the course (hard not to—see wildflowers above)

🔦 Round Highlights

  • Short Game MVP:
    I chipped in emotionally and physically, including a beautiful setup on Hole 10 that led to a clean par save from 4 feet. Another chip-and-putt combo on Hole 7 reminded me that short game practice really is starting to pay off.
  • Jay’s Birdies + My Practice:
    Jay knocked in two birdie putts like it was nothing. I still played the holes out for reps—and one of those holes ended up being my cleanest GIR.
  • The 7 Wood Situation:
    I used it to lay up on 18 and stuck it exactly where I wanted to—just before the creek, next to a newly hatched robin’s egg. Naturally. The shot was so good I started Googling 7 wood vs hybrid comparisons before I even got back to the cart.

📸 Snapshots from the Round

A golf ball and a broken robin’s egg sit side by side in the grass, with a fairway and flower-lined slope leading up to a clubhouse in the distance.
Landed my 7 wood layup exactly where I wanted—right beside a brand new resident.
A golfer lines up a short putt with a mallet putter on a green with trees and a checkered flag in the background.
Jay drained both birdie putts—and gave me putter envy in the process.
Purple and yellow wildflowers line a wide open fairway, with trees and a green visible in the distance.
This course punished bad lies gently—with beauty.
A sandy greenside bunker with visible deer hoof prints and an unused rake resting at the lip, with a flag visible in the background.
Someone else had been in this bunker before me—and didn’t clean up after themselves.
Bright yellow and purple wildflowers bloom along the edge of a creek under a clear blue sky.
Bird Creek lived up to its name—with blooms like these, it was hard to stay mad at a penalty stroke.

🔢 Key Stats

7 of 14

Fairways Hit

8

Greens in Regulation

35

Putts

2 of 3

Ups and Downs

3 of 5

First Chip Successes

4

Penalties

4

Sand Shots

176 Yds

Longest Drive

89

Final Score

4:1

Balls Lost:Found

(Yes, I know 89 sounds exciting. But this was best ball with mulligans. If you want actual tips on how to break 90 in golf, this probably isn’t that.)

🏌️‍♀️ Club Confidence Snapshot

My personal club confidence tracker got a serious update after this round:

  • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for my wedges and mid-irons (consistency!)
  • ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the driver—thin contact and rightward bias still lurking
  • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (yes, really) for the 7 wood—its official course debut was a win

You can see the full breakdown of my club confidence tracker here. Spoiler: the putter was not invited to the winner’s circle.

😵‍💫 The Putter, the Problem, the Plot Twist

I missed four 3-footers and used Jay’s mallet putter a couple times just to compare. Reader, it felt amazing. I’m not saying it’s over for my gamer… but a putter shopping trip is now in the works.

📎 Final Takeaway

This wasn’t a serious round. But yes, I wrote down everything. I tracked club confidence. I analyzed shot patterns. I noticed that routine 2-putts feel weirder than chip saves when you’re not expecting them.

And because I wasn’t keeping score?

I kept the receipts.

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