golfing at LaVerendrye, Carman and Kingswood

LaVerendrye Golff Course is in LaBroquerie, very close to Steinbach. We decided to take advantage of their special - all you can golf for one green fee.

The course is fairly wide open and is a perfect place to fine tune your drives. Some of my highlights included paring number 4, a par 4 with water in front. You normally would have to try to wedge on the green after your second shot near the water. I decided to try a five-iron after my drive landed about 170 yards to the hole. The five-iron landed a few feet from the green. During my first round, I also tried to make the green on my second shot but it landed in the water.

During my second round, I managed to birdie the 715-yard par 6. It wasn't playing quite that long, but still getting par or birdie is an accomplishment for me on such a long hole. It truly requires a nice drive and two solid 3-wood shots to set up a wedge shot to the green.

I mostly played with a Top-Flite Tour ball.


Later on, I switched to the Titleist Pro V.


Both balls feel similar. The Top-Flite Tour is equal to or better than the Top Flite Strata in terms of feel and distance. The Titleist Pro V is quite possibly the most famous ball in the world, since it is played by so many pros. Unfortunately, it's not meant for the average player since they don't usually have a fast enough swing speed. For me, however, the Pro V is among the best-feeling and longest-hitting balls that I have ever played. I have been able to hit the ball about 280 yards, but distance is not the main reason people play this ball. It's main appeal lies in the ability to bite the green and spin. This is a part of my game that I hope to improve this year. By and large, I have played my approach shots with the wedge poorly. I've left many shots short, taking divots that were too deep. I shot 99 and 93, breaking 100 for the first time this year.

Carman golf course is about an hour from home and is another favorite of mine. It's deceiving because of all the planted trees. Time and time again,I ended up behind a tree. The groups in front of us were really slow. So slow, in fact, that we ended up playing holes 2 and 3 a second time, to create a huge gap between us. Along the way, we encountered the geriatric group that was slowing everyone down. I've never seen such a slow moving threesome. Fortunately, they let us play through. I improved on the back 9 but careless playing resulted in me not breaking 100.

Kingswood is another fine semi-private course and it is located about twenty minutes drive from home. The forecast called for 70% chance of rain but the most we had was a very light sprinkle near the end of the round. The only bad thing about the round was the tournament in front of us. Waiting over twenty minutes to play is just no fun. I tend to score the worst when I'm waiting and the best when there's no waiting. A lot of my bad habits crept into the game. If it hit a good drive, I messed up the next shot. Number 16 is a tough par 4 due to its length adn the fact that you need to sail the ball about 230 yards to clear the water, if you choose the straightest path to the hole. I felt tired and lazy and simply didn't care too much about how I scored. We enjoyed playing Kingswood, though, since it has a combination of tough, tree-lined holes and a few easy ones. It also has a lot of bridges crossing the La Salle River, making walking the course quite a chore.