Avia By Dave McKibben
I
had launched a towering eight-iron shot over a pond and onto the back of the green on the downhill 162-yard par-3 11th hole at the Aviara Golf Club, but I knew there was little time for celebration. Having played this magnificent 7,007-yard Arnold Palmer-designed layout in Carlsbad several times since it opened 30 years ago, I knew I had a lot of work left to make par.
Standing over a nearly 90-foot downhill putt, I saw two breaks, possibly three and remembered the advice I’d offered to my playing partners a week earlier: “Better practice your long putts. The greens here are massive.” Naturally, I three-putted, missing a comeback 15-footer for par. There were several three-putts in our group and even
24 Golf Vacations • November 2021
www.golfvacationsmag.com
