Lighthouse Miniature Golf (Waukegan, IL)

May 26, 2008, afternoon

Hopefully I'm still rounding into form for 2008, because I struggled a fair amount in the year's second outing, a trip to Lighthouse.  Things started fairly well thanks to the generous par; I birdied #2 and had a good par save at #4, where the hole-in-one track requires knocking the ball off a wedge just behind and to the left of the cup.  While Alma aced it, I ended up behind the wedge, but tapped an easy layup putt just past the wedge to set up the par save coming back.  Even the double-bogey at #5 was something I would live with, given how long that hole has been my nemesis.  I birdied 6 and 7 and parred 8, but on #9 I was stupidly careless with my par putt, which seemed like a gimme, and managed to push it halfway back up the fairway.  I settled for double-bogey 5 and was suddenly one over par with the back nine looming.  I've scored either better or the same on the back nine in all three previous attempts, but while today was the same I had a couple bad holes and finished two over on the back nine; #13, which situates the hole on the middle of a ridge, somehow proved impossible for me to finish, and at #15 I couldn't squeeze the ball between two blocks on the green and eventually gave up, hitting it around them - but by then I had to settle for scraping out a bogey.  Three birdies on the back nine weren't enough, as I wound up with a 53, +3 to par.  Alma, who went out in 29 despite her ace at the fourth, made only one score worse than three on the back nine - a 5 at #17 which, it turned out, cost her the win.  I had been up four shots going into #13, but she birdied it when I made the six, tying us for the round.  She proceeded to go up a shot at #15 by parring it, but gave back two shots at #17 as I made par.  She nabbed a free game with a second ace at #18, however, and it was this shot which ensured a tie for the day.

June 24, 2007, late afternoon

It's hard to believe it had been nearly two years since my last trip to Lighthouse, but it had.  Nevertheless, I was in the mood for some Sunday afternoon mini golf and it was the closest place at the time, so we headed over.  As it turned out, they had put in all-new turf for 2007, and this ended up being to our advantage.  The turf slowed down the greens considerably, and after settling for par on the opening hole as I adjusted to the speed, I began to pick things up.  We both birdied #2, and both eagled #4 with aces (it's a pretty easy ace so long as you can hit it straight, which is actually true of a surprisingly large number of holes on this course).  Then came the dreaded fifth hole.  It was set up the same way, but thanks to the slower turf, it was much safer to attack the hole after having the initial shot trickle down to the left (as of course both of ours did).  We both had it roll back as we took more careful second shots, but Alma knocked in her third for par and I left mine just a couple inches short for a bogey that I would definitely take.  I birdied three of the next four holes and made the turn at 22, two shots better than even my first try at the course.  Alma had a couple bogeys at #7 and #8 and went out at 26, even par.  On the more difficult back nine, I had a few holes where I took lousy first shots - fortunately most had pars of three and I was able to regroup.  I made par all the way through 15, then birdied 16 and aced the last (earning another free game), coming in at 22 and breaking my own record with 44.  Alma had a fine back nine - with three birdies, she topped me in that category - but unfortunately took six (though a legitimate six) at #15 and ended up with a 27.  Still, she was a respectable three over par.

July 8, 2005, afternoon

Alma joined me for the first time at Lighthouse, which may be the last time I play it after this miserable experience.  I don't know if the first was beginner's luck or what, but I couldn't seem to do anything right.  While the first time out I birdied six holes on the front nine and ten total, this time saw just one birdie on the way out - and not until the eighth - and just four total.  Alma matched me with four under-par holes, though two of hers were eagles - holes-in-one at #11 and #16 (at which I took a gentleman's six).  We both failed to master the fifth, which I'm convinced is just unfinishable.  Taking that triple, I scraped out par on the rest of the holes to finish +3 on the front nine - five shots worse than last time.  I was six shots worse coming in, thanks to a 4 at #13, a 5 at #15, and the aforementioned six, plus I failed to hole out the 18th, meaning no free game.  Alma, seven shots behind me at the turn, closed to within one shot after the five-shot swing at 16, but I held her off with a birdie at 17.

June 28, 2005, afternoon

The course at Lighthouse doesn't have a lot of obstacles, but its par is a fairly high 50 (26 out, 24 in), so it's easy enough to break par, and so I did in my first attempt.  The front nine featured six birdies, including three in a row on holes six through eight.  The only blemishes were a triple-bogey six at the fifth, which had one of the most ridiculous greens I've ever played, and a bogey four at the ninth (similar problem, only less so).  Two under at the turn, the back nine featured another four birdies, plus a bogey four at the 15th.  The final birdie was a hole-in-one at the 18th, which netted me a free game - so you can bet I'll be going back, even if that's the major reason.  It's a little bit of a mixed bag as a course, but it's certainly playable - I'll take twelve scores of 2 on the card any day of the week.