Day 3 at TPC Sawgrass: Monster in the Valley

The day after we played the Stadium Course, we had a 1:35pm tee time to play Dye's Valley, the "other" course at TPC Sawgrass. Although the Nationwide Tour is played here, Dye's Valley is more of a resort course and the greens fees are a lot cheaper than at the Stadium. Because it was twilight, we didn't get a forecaddie, so we bought a yardage book for $5 at the pro shop. Driving over in our golf cart to check in with the starter at the first hole, it felt like we were a world away from the excitement of the previous day. Even though it was 10 degrees warmer here than back home, the low 60s temps felt chilly because I was only wearing capri pants and a light jacket. If I'd have brought long pants and a turtleneck, I would have been just fine.

Luckily, hubby and I got to play as a twosome, and it turned out to be a calm, relaxed round, despite the constant drizzle.

 

At Dye's Valley, there is water everywhere.

And some distinctive bunkerage that reminds me of a volcano.

The course is adorned with trees draped in Spanish moss, dewy from the rain.

The best part was that hubby got to see my Loch Ness monster drive. Maybe it was the long fairways that beckoned. Maybe it was the lack of sun to distract me. Or, maybe I had finally gotten my muscles to memorize some decent technique. Whatever the reason, I was easily driving 170 to 180 yards on each hole. Although I scored a 103 here and caught a cold in the rain, I considered the round a success.

On each drive, I had that simple swing thought about shaking hands. On the backswing, I imagined I was reaching out with my left hand to shake the hand of an imaginary person standing to the right. Hubby and I had seen Greg Norman give a tip about shaking hands on the Golf Channel, although we still weren't sure if he had meant the right hand or the left hand. I thought it was the left hand, and that's what worked for me.

But, swing thoughts can be fleeting, and I wondered whether my longer drives would hold up back home. But we still had another day left in Ponte Vedra, and another few days before I would find out.