International Bunker Day: 62 at Cooper Colony back 9

Back at Cooper Colony for the back 9. The front 9 was rough, so this time the plan was simple: less talking, more playing.

The goal was the same as last time: at least one par and 45 or better. I shot 62, with no pars, and ended up far from both. Golf took the episode 34 to 1, and the season score is now Vlad 4, Golf 71.

The rules

Same rules every episode. Golf scores for every shank, chunk, top, whiff, big slice or hook, lost ball, water ball, double bogey or worse, and every three-putt. Vlad scores for bogeys (1), pars (2), birdies (4), drivers in the fairway and long putts made. An eagle is 1000 points.

My only point this time came from one drive in the fairway. No bogeys at all.

The back 9

All about the course itself (no tee times, the prices, the practice area, why it's great for beginners) is in the front 9 article. It's an executive course, and the back 9 is even shorter than the front: 1,595 yards from the red tees against 1,690, and par 31 against 33. Only one par 5 (hole 10) and two short par 4s (13 and 18). The rest are par 3s.

The round

We played on October 30, 2026. It was a bit muggy, around 79°F (26°C), and on the first hole of the day, hole 10, a light drizzle even started. Overall the course and the sand were wet and soft. My wife Elena filmed again, and the 9 holes took about an hour and a half.

Hole	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Total
Yards	325	105	135	250	140	125	155	125	235	1,595
Par	5	3	3	4	3	3	3	3	4	31
Vlad	11	5	6	8	7	5	5	7	8	62
To par	+6	+2	+3	+4	+4	+2	+2	+4	+4	+31

Three strokes fewer than the front 9, but on a course two strokes shorter, so it's really just one stroke better to par (+31 against +32). Two things cost me the round: bunkers and putting. I went into a bunker on practically every hole: I think there were only one or two holes where I stayed out of the sand. And I took a lot of putts: holes with four putts, holes with five, and only two or three holes with two putts.

Without those two things, I think 45 was actually doable here, since the back 9 is shorter.

Hole 10: lost ball and four shots in the sand

The worst hole, and the very first one of the day. My drive went right, into the driving range next to the hole: a lost ball and a penalty stroke. Then I got into a bunker and needed four shots to get out of it. 11 strokes on a par 5.

Hole 15: International Bunker Day

By hole 15 I was in a bunker again, and I said to the camera: guys, today must be International Bunker Day.

So the episode has a little gag for it: a picture of me at a big holiday on the sand, with people everywhere and International Bunker Day banners, plus a short song, about 5 seconds long.

Hole 17: maybe I need a new putter?

The putting really upset me this time. On hole 17, after my third putt, I asked the camera: maybe I need a new putter? Probably the most typical beginner thought there is: the problem must be the putter.

That got its own gag too: me running out of a store with my arms full of putters, a putter sale in the background and putters everywhere, plus a short song telling me to go buy a putter already.

Club by club

• Driver. Only three drives on the back 9. Two of them sliced right, one of them on hole 10 into the driving range. The third one found the fairway, and that was my only point of the day.
• 7 iron. It sliced right almost every time.
• Wedges. More or less OK.
• Putter. The big disappointment of the round.

My numbers for every club are on the yardages page, and the whole bag is on the gear page.

How it felt

Honestly, the impression from this round isn't great. I got really upset: every bunker found me, and I took way too many putts. There was no best hole this time.

Next: my first full 18

Next episode is my first full 18 holes ever. 18 holes, one beginner, zero chance this goes well.

Think you can do better? The same back 9 is in my game, Vlad vs Golf: The Game, with real pars and distances, a bunker wherever the map has one and pixel Vlad hitting my real yardages. Beat my 62.