Post by Richie3Jack on May 23, 2012 12:52:32 GMT -5
This Saturday I’ll be playing La Cita CC in Titusville, FL. My history of La Cita is that I’ve played it four times, one of those times being in a 4-man scramble. IIRC, my last time playing there was in the 4-man scramble on October 1, 2010.
Since then, my swing and clubhead speed has improved quite a bit and I’ve also had a complete change in equipment. IIRC, my WITB looked like this:
Driver: Adams Speedline 9.5°
3-wood: Cleveland Hi-Bore XLS (15°)
Hybrid: Mizuno Fli Hi CLK 20° (steel shaft)
3-PW: 1967 Hogan Percussion
SW: Titleist Vokey 54-10
LW: Cleveland 588 BeCu (60°)
Putter: Yes! Victoria II
Here’s a look at the scorecard:
As you can see, it’s a 6,602 yards par-72 course. With a handicap index of 72.8 and slope of 134. I think this gives a good depiction of the course…short, somewhat difficult, particularly for higher handicaps, but there is room to score if you play pretty well. I also steadfastly believe that I’m the only Orange County resident to have ever played here. =]
La Cita was designed by Lee Trevino with the help of Ron Garl. It plays like a Trevino course, the optimal play calls for the ability to work the ball both left and right. However, with today’s modern golf ball flying so straight, I believe the course calls patience, sound strategy and course management because there’s too many holes where a golfer of my distance is really playing against the odds by hitting driver, although it can be awful tempting. And, it’s a course where a few slightly errant shots can cause some early bogeys, which can cause frustration and the feeling of needing to press in order to make up for them.
I feel the holes I can score well on are:
#3, #5, #8, #13, #15, and #18
I think the difficult holes will be:
#4, #6, #9, #12, #14, #17
And the tricky holes will be:
#1, #10, #16
So that leaves:
#2 (short par-3), #7 (par-3), #11 (cool par-4 that can be tough or easy)
I think the key to playing La Cita well will be to avoid impeded shots, stay patient and to get thru the ‘lull’ on the Danger Zone shots. A lot of times when I’m playing well and I’m hitting shorter irons into each green, then having to hit a Danger Zone shot can be difficult since the ebb and flow of the round has now changed.
For example, if I hit the ball well, I could go thru the first 11 holes without a Danger Zone shot. Then I have a 195 yard shot on the par-3 #12, over water and bunkers. And if the wind is in our face, that could really alter things now into a 3-iron instead of a 5-iron. Then I could go thru holes #13 thru #16 without an DZ shots and then have a 220 yard shot into the par-3 17th hole.
Here’s my feeling as far as a general gameplan:
#1 – Probably a 3-wood off the tee because the hole turns around the trees. I would have to get a reading on the distance from the back tee to the fairway bunker to see if I can use driver. The main goal would be to hit 2-shots about 460-510 yards, hit on the green and see if we can make a putt for birdie.
#2 – Very short par-3 into a very small green. Essentially trying to hit the middle of the green and leave myself with a short putt because the green is so small.
#3 – More room to hit a driver here, but I probably want to hit a 3-wood instead since it’s about 390 yards. So 240-260 off the tee puts me at 130-150 to the green.
#4 – Goofy hole because of a large oak tree that is by the back tee that you have to manipulate (if it weren’t for that tree, this would be a cool, short par-4). Anyway, this is a hole I just want to avoid making double bogey. Take a bogey if I must, then make up for it later on.
#5 – Design calls for a fade off the tee, but with the driver you can hit it over the trees and have plenty of room to be fine, with just a flip-wedge into the gree.
#6 – Here’s where my extra length from the last time I played here makes it a little tricky. 420 yard par-4, but the hole doglegs hard left early on, with the fairway sloping downhill and hard to the right…towards the water. I’m thinking 3-wood off the tee and that putting me around 150 yards to the green (downhill lie to a very elevated green). Again, nothing more than a bogey, then see if we can make up for it later on.
#7 – Par-3 (nice design), probably a 9-iron off the tee. I will measure the distance to the back of the green since it’s surrounded by water.
#8 – Very tight par-5. Not sure if I can hit driver off the tee now or not. I could hit 3-wood about 250 and have 280 in, but I could hit my driver off the deck on the approach.
#9 – Another tight par-4. Not sure if hitting driver is the play here or not.
#10 – Same with this hole. I’m leaning towards hitting driver here.
#11 – Driver off the tee. Hole is fairly open by La Cita’s standards
#12 – Big tee shot here, because it’s a Danger Zone shot (195 yards). Find the green, 2-putt and move on.
#13 – Possibility of hitting the green in 2 on this par-5
#14 – Another difficult hole because of the tee shot. No real way around it, you have to hit driver off this tee (fairway sloped uphill). Like #4, just try to take no more than a bogey and move on.
#15 – I think I can hit driver here, even though it’s only 356 yards.
#16 – I’m thinking 3-wood off the tee, having about 140-150 into the green.
#17 – 220 yard par-3.
#18 – 498 with water in front of the green and all carry to the green. If the drive is good enough, I could easily have a 5-iron into the green.
My overall feeling is if I can get by #4, #6, #12, #14 and #17 at around Even Par and not make any other blunders, I can get into the 60’s.
3JACK