So less than 12 hours after I blog about par 5s and my ability to screw them up, they are my new BFF. Why?

Here’s a quick play-by-play:

No. 2: Shortest par 5 at my new course. It’s really about a par 4.5. Playing downwind, I pounded a very good 3-wood with a good draw around the corner. Ball is sitting on the left side of the fairway so the tree that overhangs the right side of the fairway at about 100 yards isn’t an issue. I had about 205 to the back pin. After waiting for the group in front of me to clear the green, I hit a decent 19 degree hybrid. I see it land just short of the green and wasn’t exactly sure where it finished. Walk up to the green and it is about seven feet left of the hole. Drain the putt right in the middle of the hole. Eagle.

No. 5: With a diagonal fairway, this is one of the holes that doesn’t always fit my eye. But I pipe a draw over the tree on the right side of the fairway and end up right in the middle. Hit a 3-wood to about 50 yards short. Hit a kind of chunky, crappy 53 degree wedge onto the green, but not close. Two putts for par.

No. 12: About 500 yards, but dead into the wind. Hit a marginal kind of drop-kick driver that probably turns out better than a deserve. Try my new 17 degree hybrid (a topic for another post later) and kind of leak it into the right rough. I have about 40 yards to the front of the green. My goal is to land my pitch just short of the green and have it bounce there to take some of the heat off of the ball, so it can snuggle up next to the pin. I hit pretty much the perfect pitch. It lands short, bounces again on the green and dunks into the hole. Another eagle.

No. 16: The longest par 5 on the course at about 565. Hit an average tee shot that ends up a little further from the corner of the dogleg than I would like — making the hole play longer — but it’s in the fairway. Hit an OK 3-wood into the wind that hooks a little bit into the first cut of the rough. Pin is on the front third and I have about 95 to the front edge. Factor in the wind and I’m thinking solid pitching wedge. Don’t know what the deal was, but the PW really carried and finished on the back fringe. Decent lag putt an a 4-footer or so for par.

The result: After butchering the par 5s for the better part of a week, I make two eagles and play the long holes at 4-under in an after work round. It certainly makes the game a little easier. Totals: 12 pars, 4 bogeys, 0 birdies, 2 eagles equals even par 72.

Now 4-under might be a bit much to expect, but taking advantage of the easy holes certainly helps.