Royal St George's (Day 2)

Well after a tough but great day on Royal Cinque Ports (RCP) yesterday and sitting up late supping a few jars, it was off to Royal St George's Golf Club (RSG), a course I had heard so much about and was quite excited and yet equally anxious to play.

I left my hotel on the seafront at Deal and was suitably informed to drive through RCP and I'd come to RSG, so how did I end up at the Prince's Golf Club then! A quick u-turn and a drive through a private housing estate where I noticed a security hut just before the golf club, with no barrier down I just drove straight past without stopping, only to notice a man waving at me in my rear view mirror, which I found out afterwards wanted £4 for a toll, sorry chap, no time to stop and no camera's, so no £4 tax off me was going to be gleaned.    

Now slightly on the back foot I got my golf gear together and met everyone in the bar area for a quick coffee, apparently there were bacon butties but I didn't see any so missed out on those.  A quick return to the car as I wanted my thermals and suddenly couldn't find my car keys! I backtracked to the bar, the locker room, back to the car, they were nowhere to be found, I then went over to my golf bag near the clubhouse and found them sitting on the carpark floor, no time now to change anymore into my warmer thermals so it was shoes on and get to the practice putting green with my heart pumping and feeling a little flustered, time to settle down before going to the 1st tee.

There was some minor banter being had on the 1st tee, as should be expected at these meets, we all want to play well individually but were all there to enjoy ourselves and have the craic as well, talk of baby draws, power fades and duck hooks seemed to be the current hot topic, so I duly obliged with a duck hook of sorts, and although I was over on the far left on my own but still just on the edge of the fairway, I had actually drove mine further than those hitting it straighter with better looking shaped shots!

I hit a decent 2nd shot with my trusty 4w but it hugged the left hand side and took a little while to find on the high bank overlooking the green, but that was only because I hit it 30 yards further than I'd thought! Anyway, my chip onto the green released to the other side, a 2-putt ensued and I was off and running with a bogey start and 2 points on the card.

For some reason 5 seemed to become a favorite number, as that was what I scored on the first 5 holes for level handicap and 10 points, so not all bad playing bogey golf on an amazing grown up course with huge undulating fairways and greens to match, couple that with not knowing where I was driving to or knowing what was in front of me most of the time, I was more than hanging on in there.  I picked up a nice par on the 8th in regulation and I was still level handicap and even more surprising, I still had the same ball, so things were going well, but then it was the dreaded 9th!

What is it with me and the 9th holes, so many times I have a good score going and then mess up and don't return a score on the 9th, I think I must be thinking too much and getting ahead of myself before actually getting to the turn, but whatever it is, I've got to cut it out as once again the 9th cost me.  I actually hit a great drive and was in perfect position, I could see a couple of fairways bunkers on the steep incline up to a raised green and after a very nice par on the 8th, overconfidence got a grip of me and instead of laying up over the bunkers but short of the green with an easy iron, I  tried to force my 4w and went for it and found a pot bunker with my scuffed shot, and although I got out first time but with no distance achieved, a short iron to the green and then a 3-putt recorded a Nil Pois and stayed on 16 points at the turn.

Came out the traps well again on the 10th with another great regulation par and I just lipped out for the same on the 11th, the 12th took its toll but I scrambled a point but then I had a huge wobble on the 13th!  I didn't know where to drive to, the course planner said the right of the lodge in the distance with a draw but I just didn't feel comfortable lining up to that and the duck hook returned as I tried to force my drive over the grassy mounds to an unseen fairway in the distance,  all body and no arms it was as ugly as sin and felt awful and I deserved to lose my first and only ball of the round, the 13th was definitely an unlucky hole and number for me as I suitably blobbed the hole.

I battled with the 14th even though I hit a great drive in anger right down the left side of the fairway well away from the OOB which hugged the full length of the right hand side of the hole and then I followed that up with another great 4w over the ditch leaving me only 120 yards to the pin, so how on earth did I come off with 1 point on this great par 5?  I chunked my wedge then chunked my sand wedge and eventually got on the green for 5 leaving a 2-putt for a scabby point, that's how!

It was everything to keep my head from dropping, especially as I hit my next drive into the cabbage on the index 1 par 4 15th, digging it out with only an 8 or 9 iron but then I blitzed my 4w and thought it was going to make it to the green, unfortunately I didn't see the long slit bunker protecting it and as I walked up to it I found my ball was pretty close to the deep faced front lip, a bit of encouragement was offered from a playing partner and I not only got out, but I got it up and well onto the green 30 yards ahead, a great scramble after a very poor tee shot and finding a bunker and I came out of it unscathed.

That felt so good I then found the green with a lovely iron shot just missing the birdie putt on the nice par 3 16th hole, another good drive and regulation par followed on the 17th and suddenly I was back in the hunt, the 18th now beckoned and unusual for me I cut my drive to the far right, it was sat a little bit scruffy in the cut down stubbly straw but I managed to get my 4w on it just short of the bunkers leaving it 90 yards from the pin, a nice gap wedge up and over the deep faced bunker in front of me to 3ft of the pin and I was suddenly putting for my 3rd straight par run-in, unfortunately as the adrenalin was pumping I just lipped out but it was still a great finish to what is an amazing course and I can't wait to go back next year with a little bit more knowledge to what I had on this visit. I finished the back 9 with 17 points giving me 33 points for my round, 1 lost ball and 2 blobs, a huge improvement on the day before at RCP but on a much tougher and demanding course, well chuffed.

Back into the clubhouse for a shower in the best facilities (showers) I've ever been in and that followed the best seafood starter and then carvery I've also had at any golf club, although The Berkshire runs it's close.

With the food over it was time for the winners and sinners to be announced, and I only went and won, I honestly thought some of the lads who are quite steady and have played the course before would have put a good score together, so I was really surprised to have won, but it was a battle at times but a battle I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thanks everyone, it was, emotional :D

The #YOTF is up and running ;-)

Royal Cinque Ports, Day 1

Two days of links golf was booked on the Kent coast some time ago with the guys off the Golf Monthly forum and I had been looking forward to it for some time, especially with so many courses being closed all over the winter, including my own, due obviously to the adverse wet weather conditions, so what better way to blow the cobwebs away than 2-days of links golf on 2 prestigious south coast golf courses, Royal Cinque Ports being the first port of call.

Up at 5am on a Monday morning for a 6am start leaving what I thought was going to be plenty of time for the 3-3.5hr drive where a full English breakfast was waiting for me at 11am followed by a 12.20 tee time so lots of time to relax, but oh no, our great motorway systems were racked & stacked down the M40, M25 and then the M20, the driving rain and spray made the journey extremely stressful and added a further hour meaning I arrived some 4.5hrs later and a little ruffled around the edges.

The forecast was never favourable, I was monitoring it for some time and at times it looked like it could have been quite scary, but although it was raining for the first 7 holes, the wind wasn't up that much and it was strangely mild, so not overly uncomfortable, although I was sporting my Galvin Green snood to match all my other GG layering system.  I must say I find the snoods an excellent bit of kit, I don't like my jackets or tops buttoned or zipped up under my chin, they rub and irritate me, so the snood is an excellent accessory with it's super soft insula material, although it seems it can be frowned upon by some (Nick) ;-)

I didn't get off the 1st tee brilliantly, although I still made the green in regulation, the greens caught me out initially being so fast even in the wet & driving rain, so I started with a 3-putt!  I then picked up a nice par and a birdie and found myself 10 points to the good in the first 4 holes and thought to myself, I could have a good day here, but then I had a minor wobble on the par 5 5th hole picking my ball up too quickly in disappointment of missing a short putt only to realise afterwards I still had a shot!  I let this get to me a little which is something I need to address and as such 2 daft bogeys followed, this wasn't all bad with shots in the bag but then I had a horror show on the par 3 8th, I got totally caught up with indecision as the flag was clearly between clubs for me and I tried to force my tee shots putting both my first and provisional balls into the cabbage never to be seen again, a lonely walk to the next tee followed and I took the time to remove some of my layers as the rain started to slow down and stop.

For those that have played RCP I just didn't get the 9th, I had the impression from the blocks I had to drive over the large bunker which looked quite close but was a decent carry in the conditions we were in, I thought the fairway was immediately behind it but it turned out there was acres of fairway to the right of it, as such with the disappointment of the previous hole firmly in my mind, I attacked my drive far too much and hooked it slightly left of the bunker into the clag, my provisional didn't fair too much better but at least I found it but it was going to be a tough ask to score after 3 off the tee and having to dig my 4th shot out the cabbage and still a long slog to go, so back to back blobs wasn't the way to finish what was a decent start to the front 9 and a miserly 13 points recorded :(

The back 9 started well much like the front with a nice par on the 10th but then I blobbed the 12th, again just getting my drive completely wrong and then forcing my usually dependable 4w off the deck into the deep folding grass slightly off the right side of the fairway for another donation to the course.  I then had a steady run in recording 16 points on the back but only the 1 blob compared to the 3 on the front, I finished with a disappointing 29 points but some of the other guys didn't fair that well, but like always, it could have been so much better.

The course was excellent, but very penal if you missed any fairways with deep folding grass either side, there were some huge undulations both on the fairways and greens, you could be happy with your drive knowing it's down the middle only to walk up to it and find it's on a steep downward lie with still 180 yards plus to go, the bunkers will always cost you a shot, deep faced pot hole style and littered everywhere, it's a great test of golf, tough but fair and certainly you need to play it a few times to know your way around it as there are quite a few blind drives and blind approaches and it's not always obvious the direction to drive your ball or which side of the fairway is then best to be on as there are no markers, get it wrong and it's not just 1 shot lost, but a lost ball also, I know, I lost 4 :(

A quick drink followed in the clubhouse along with the announcement of the winners and sinners and then it was off to book into the hotel (Kings Head) on the seafront in Deal.  A quick shower & change, a couple of pints down in the bar and then a very nice curry (Lamb Shank) followed, it was then back to the hotel and I sat up until midnight chatting and chewing the fat with a few of the guys off the forum I'd not met before which is what makes these meets around the country all the worthwhile.

Off to bed and looking forward to playing Royal St Georges the next day........

A short summary first.....

Following my last post I visited Hayling Island Golf Club, I had heard very good things about the course and it didn't disappoint, but the wind was brutal.  I was watching from the clubhouse everyone taking drivers and 3 woods off the par 3 start which I had at only 172 yards, but once I got down to the tee I understood why as I took out my 12 degree mini-driver and gave it a good full swing, as the spin stopped my ball caught the left to right wind and started to sail towards the gorse, luckily it sat between 2 very large bright yellow gorse bushes, I chipped on, 2-putts for bogey and so the round began and pretty much followed suit all the way around, I really struggled with the wind but I loved the course, although I saw a little more of it than I would have liked!

A return trip in better conditions is a must, especially with so many blind drives and approach shots, I now know a little bit more about the course so it's not so much a case of where you'd ideally want to be, it's more a case of where you definitely don't want to be!

The weather then changed for the worse and my course was closed again for a week but then last Saturday (20th) I popped down to get some practice in prior to 2-days golf down on the Kent coast playing Royal Cinque Ports & Royal St George's which I will write about next seperately, but, once I arrived at my club I found we were having a 3-Club Challenge and our 5 new greens were now open, so no temps.

I quickly selected my 4 wood, 8 iron & putter as my chosen 3 clubs, I thought this would be best as I can get a decent length off the tee and off the fairway with my 4w, I could bump & run with my 8i when needed, I also thought I could end up with quite a few 130-150yd approach shots after a decent drive, so I was pretty happy with my overall selection.

A spare place became available in a 2-ball with my Club Captain which I quickly slotted in with to make up a 3-ball and off we went...

Not a great start returning no score on the first 2 holes but then I started to get some nice par's and a decent score started to form, I was getting off the tee really well with the 4w and with using the 8 iron all the time I was starting to get the measure of it for some stronger shots and then some 3/4 shots into the greens, so much so I only went and won the first competition of the year and after looking at the results, I was the only person to record an under nett par score winning by a clear 4 points :-)  

The #YOTF is well underway and I'm heading to the Kent coast for some links golf at 2 very prestigious courses, being Royal Cinque Ports & Royal St George's, so stay tuned ;-)

Cookin' on gas....

With a break in the weather I've now managed to get on my course for 4 rounds over the last 7 days, with today being the 4th and just like the song, it feels good.

Saturday was my first day out on a golf course since my trip to Enville Golf Club and the first round on my own Coventry Golf Club course for some weeks due to the poor weather and it being closed!  It certainly blew the cobwebs away and I found myself a little anxious at times and as you all possibly know, that feeling certainly doesn't help when playing golf and only leads to poor ball striking and extra strokes, but hey, I was out on my own golf course, who's counting, just enjoy the moment and the good company.

I was generally surprised and as such suitably pleased with my driving with both my big dog and my mini-driver on Saturday which I've started to rotate on some specific tees and it's starting to pay dividends, my chipping and putting is still by far the best part of my game but, it's that bit in the middle I've got to work on more, the long game with long irons and my fairway wood is by far the weakest part of my game, get that right and the #YOTF will be easy to achieve.

So with clearing that bit of rustiness I decided to hit the course again early for the Sunday morning roll-up, I played with 2 members I'd not played with before which is always nice and we had some good fun out there.  I didn't get off to a great start even though I drove the ball well again off the tee, I slapped a couple of 2nd shots in the wet and somewhat muddy parts of the course and as such only scored 1 point on each of the first 2 opening holes, after some nice pars and getting back on track and more importantly back to level handicap, I then hit a wild block into the trees on the 9th which resulted in a blob (no score) meaning all the hard work after a poor start and getting back level was undone in a single hole, and so I turned 2 over handicap.

The back 9 was much more positive, our 10th hole is a long par 4 and until that Sunday I'd never reached it in regulation, a good drive followed by a personal best with my 4w put me on the front of the green, the mandatory 2-putt secured my par, I then birdied the par5 13th and although I dropped the odd shot on the run in, I pulled them back on the following hole with the end of the round resulting in a 1 over handicap.

I managed to get out again on Thursday and once again the improvements in ball striking, club selection and course management all came together, so much so I was only 6 over gross on the turn and 2 of those were from a silly double bogey on our par3 5th hole which is a comfortable level par hole for me but I over thought the shot and clipped the top of a tree only to give me an impossible angle back to the green.

I'll be back on the course today (Friday) in what are currently very windy conditions, perfect practice for my trip to Hayling Island on Wednesday next week where I will be exposed to all the elements on a great coastal links course, obviously you'll all hear about that trip next week, so please look back in.

With my golf and practice being so limited due to the weather and course closures all around me since before Christmas, and what with having new clubs which need plenty of time to bed in, the improvements in all aspects of my game are starting to shine through now that I'm getting back out there, the #YOTF is definitely becoming more of a reality than a hopeful wish.  

A round at last......

A friend off the Golf Monthly forum contacted me as a player from his Shifnal Golf Club had dropped out of an AM AM competition run by TeeTours and duly invited me along to play at Enville Golf Club on the Highgate Championship course. I now know what it's like when my dog hears that magical word "walkies", I found it very difficult to hide my excitement, at last I was getting out to play, I had been suffering cabin fever with my own Coventry Golf Club being closed most of the last 3-weeks no doubt like many golf courses across the country suffering from all this wet weather.

So I was playing Enville on the Highgate course for the first time, not in the most ideal conditions with the heavens opening up as I pulled into the car park and it was bitterly, bitterly cold, but, I have to say, for what we've all seen and endured over the past few weeks the course was in remarkably very good condition, the greens were a little bumpy as we were the 2nd but last group out and the fairways had just been tined, but it was more than playable and more importantly, I was out there, swinging my new clubs and the conditions are the same for everyone, so, bring it on...

I've just started not getting my big dog out straight away and favouring my mini-driver for a little more accuracy at the expense of distance whilst I warm into the round, this proved dividends at Enville as I found the fairways straight from the off, it did however see me still have well over 220 yards into the greens off some very long par 4's, especially with little run on the ball in such wet and cold conditions, I just now need to stop myself reaching for the 4 iron too early as it's just not happenin', but when I did hit a couple later in the round in regulation, it's a nice feeling.

I eventually reached for my main driver after a few holes, but only when I thought I had a decent bailout area just in case it didn't perform, because as we all know, our drivers can have a mind of there own at times! But luckily I hit some really nice long drives immediately with my favoured baby draw, the couple I messed up were simply down to overconfidence, normally straight after I'd just hit a great drive on the hole before, I'd then follow that up by trying to take the skin off the ball only to see it take out 150 yards of worm casts, but they were still straight and on the fairway!    

Early in the round I found myself in some really unlucky positions just around and off the greens with debri from the overhanging trees leaving twigs and small branches lying against my ball which I couldn't move, I was surprised by some of the overhanging branches in front and over some greens, it made course knowledge very important, if you were approaching from the wrong side of the fairway you had to manufacture some low bump & run shots rather than my preferred lob it in the air style, however, I was genuinely very pleased with a good handful of up & downs with my new wedges.

I thinks it's always nice to finish with the same ball that you've started with, especially on a new course, and although I did test its resolve a few times I always managed to walk straight to it when I blocked a couple of drives, I did however get a couple of friendly rebounds back onto the fairway off the tight treelined fairways.

A very nice Enville draft beer was enjoyed afterwards along with a generous Turkey & Cranberry filling sandwich, the journey home was horrific in the driving rain but I didn't care, I got a round in at last so the twitching has eased somewhat, I just hope its not a few weeks until the next round, after all, I need to keep it going and get these clubs dialed in, because in case you hadn't heard, it's the YOTF.

Cold Turkey

First and foremost, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my followers who are reading my blog, I've had a very mixed 2015 both in my golfing exploits and personal scenarios, so, I'm quite happy to see the back of it to be honest, 2016 can only be more positive and hopefully bare more fruit, after all, it's The YOTF.

Well I know after Christmas Day it can seem that every snack and meal for days on end afterwards can include cold turkey, what I didn't think or ever bank on was that I could actually be experiencing it due to all the wet and horrendous weather we have experienced which has led to my golf course here in Coventry being closed for days during the holiday period!

With a few new golfing presents in hand to add to my bag, when was I going to get back out swinging?

So, for a few days immediately after Christmas I have been reading Ken Brown's "One Putt" book which was a present, my first impressions of it, is, that it will and should help me in my quest to drop some serious shots in 2016, because if there's one place where we all drop silly shots, it's on the putting green!  After discussing this book with a few other people and informing them of my targets for next season, I was encouraged to look at 2 other books called "Every Shot Counts" and "Golf Tough", so I went ahead and purchased them both, so I now have all 3 to read and absorb!

As you can see, I'm really serious about my 2016 golfing season and my targets, it's not just a hopeful whim without putting in the work, this is why I am very focussed already and preparing myself as best I can through the winter but without putting too much or any unnecessary pressure on myself, it's very important to me that I still enjoy myself out on the golf course, which I did yesterday when my course opened for the first time since before Christmas.

I managed to join up with 3 other members to form a 4-ball and play my first 18 holes in over 9 days, which felt more like 99 days, hence the title, Cold Turkey.

I joined up with our celebrity member Andrew Carman who's now off 1, my newly elected Vice Captain (Russ) and another long standing member, Bill, the balls went in the air, I was partnered with my VC who's off 8 and off we set.  I got off to a great start, even though I was first to drive and in such company and not having played with them before, I was so pleased to see my drive sail down the righthand side of the fairway, a deliberate easy 6 iron followed so I was short of the bunkers leaving me 110 yards to the pin, it was wet, damp and with a slight head wind so I gripped down on my 8 iron and stiffed it to 2 feet leaving me an uphill putt for par, 1-up. 

Overall I was having a very steady round, although I did knock 1 OOB (out of bounds) on our 4th (si2) the second time around with my 2nd shot, however, I was still 2 under handicap on the turn but unfortunately we found ourselves 2-down after 9 losing those holes to birdies! I didn't finish our 8th on the second loop of the front 9, I could have only got a 6/5 at best but another birdie killed us off and the hands were firmly shook.

As I've previously written, I just need to get off the tee with a better degree of consistency and stop trying to take the big dog out all the time, I also need to stop trying to make adjustments whilst in a match when it's not performing, especially as when I use my 12 degree Mini-driver it's just as long at times but far more accurate and controllable. 

So, it was great to get out on the course, although our back 9 was still closed, I'm also feeling a few aches this morning with not playing for nearly 2-weeks and piling on the Christmas pounds, and with it being quite soft underfoot, which I think takes a bit more out of you, a day's rest today will be enjoyed reading my books, but, I'm then off playing at the fantastic The Centurion Golf Club on Wednesday, which no doubt you'll read about soon.

No more Cold Turkey for me... 

Practice does pay dividends..

Well it nearly didn't happen, I read and looked at the many weather forecasts available to us all online nowadays to see if any of that unwelcomed wet stuff we have been receiving and which has closed my golf course for 2 (two) days during the week and only just about kept my front 9 (nine) holes open yesterday (Friday), was going to make an appearance.  All the forecasts were positive and they all stated no rain would show its ugly face until 11am onwards, so, I got ready early to hit the course at 8am, only then to come out my front door at 7.30m to face a wall of rain!  It was evident that it had been raining quite a lot in the night and was still falling, but hey, I was up and ready so I still drove the short distance to Coventry Golf Club.

On arrival, the Pro was just coming off the course and one of the greenkeepers was still doing a further inspection, however, the heavier rain I experienced just up the road north of the club hadn't fell on my course but it had rained through the night and with water tables so high any rain that falls at the moment just adds to that which hasn't had the opportunity to drain away, but then the news came through, were open, but still only on the front 9, but that's better than nothing.

So a few of the 8.30 rollup crew were now in attendance, a few 4-balls were quickly put together and the balls thrown in the air to decide what the pairs would be and off we went, time to put my 2 winter practice sessions to date into play.

Although were slightly forward on our yellow tee blocks, our 1st, a long 457 yard par 4 is almost impossible to reach in 2, especially with no run on the ball, but it also doesn't help when you've left the driver on the naughty step and have decided to use the ever dependable 12 degree mini-driver and then draw it a little too much into the left tree line at around 200yds, luckily I get a shot (index 6) so it's an angled chip out, a sensible short iron just short of the green staying away from the bunkers looking then to chip close enough to secure a single putt for a bogey, but it was not to be, a double bogey (6/5) start and the loss of the first hole!

This unfortunately continued for most of the first 9 holes and we returned to the 1st for our second lap 3-down.  I was really struggling off the tee, you constantly hear the saying "drive for show, putt for dough", well I don't agree, if you don't get off the tee with any degree of consistency it doesn't matter how good your short game is, your on the back foot, and when the opposition has a fist full of shots each and they're both playing off my partner, the pressure was on me to step up and use my shots in reply, but chipping out from treelines doesn't help!

But then, on our 2nd which was effectively our 11th for the round, a small adjustment was made, I relaxed, I committed more and Boom, it was back, a huge drive with a controlled baby draw around the dogleg leaving me a clear view and short iron into the green, back to 2-down, and so the fightback began as I started to drive the ball well and although not always getting to the green in regulation, my short game practice with my wedges really came into their own setting me up for a few easy gimmies.

Unfortunately just as my partner and I could smell blood to turn this match completely around and on it's head one of the other guys in the opposition pairing slipped and jarred his knee halfway up our 6th (15th hole), which we won also, he didn't take part on the par 3 7th which the 3 of us all parred for a half as he was struggling to walk, so we all decided to come in even though we felt we could have won the last 2 holes, it was the honourable thing to do.

So, in conclusion, my wedges and short game just about kept me in the game for the front 9, the amount of scrambling for a half here and there to keep us in touch felt exhausting at times as my driving was very poor, but then when the drives returned and I started to find the fairways, those drives coupled with my dependable short game brought me back into the match, and there was nothing to say we couldn't have gone on and won it, in fact, we both felt comfortable in that thought if it hadn't been for an injury.

So my practice with my new wedges and time on the putting green paid dividends, and my practice for the coming weeks will now be at the range with my driver and mini-driver, if I don't drive for show, I won't win any dough, let's see how a few range sessions work out, if they don't, it might mean I need a lesson to highlight what's happening as my driving has been pretty good of late, so something has changed and I need to identify it, quickly.

Winter practice begins....

In association with my declared, 2016, The Year of the Fish announcement and although I clearly stated in my, Put up or shut up blog post that I didn't like practicing, I actually went out and did some on Monday afternoon, and even more bizarrely, I really enjoyed it! although I wasn't overly impressed with the critique I received by some on the Golf Monthly forum when I posted up a video of me chipping, banter they say, hmm, I beg to differ!

Anyway, irrelevant of how my style looks to the curtain twitchers and purists, it is very effective and as the saying goes, "if it ain't broke....." and anyway, how many handicap club golfers have textbook swings, not many me thinks!

So, I spent just under an hour on the putting green, I have to be honest and say that this was the hardest of the practice exercises I did that afternoon to hold my concentration, I need to research a little more and find some various, but interesting and different drills to help me keep focussed I think!

I'm generally satisfied with my putting, although I did notice that I was far more confident and successful with much longer putts with various breaks in them than those straight forward  3-4 footers that are a must sink, the overthinking that can go into those are frightening and it's here where I need to improve and put the work and practice in, I think I will try a 4ft clock method that I've seen Peter Finch do in a video.

I then moved to the chipping area with a 2 pin green, although again this is an area in my game that I am very comfortable and confident with, I can't afford to take the foot off the pedal with what I believe is a critical part of my game, that's because I don't hit as many greens in regulation (GIR) as I'd like, so I really rely on my chipping to get me close enough to single putt saving pars, well that's the idea anyway.

However, I've just taken delivery of some new wedges, I stayed with Mizuno and upgraded from my MP-T4's to the new Blue S5's.

 

 I started chipping initially from 25 yards with my sand wedge which is 56/10 (56 degrees with 10 degree of bounce), I'm very comfortable with this wedge but in the current soft conditions I found that when they landed slightly short due to not having much green to work with and a forward pin position, my ball would check and stop too quickly, so, I then started to chip with my 52/09 with much better results, so mission accomplished.  I then moved to the longer chipping practice area we have at Coventry Golf Club and increased my chipping distances slowly out to 50 yards and again, I came away very happy.

With my course closed today I'm going to take advantage of hopefully a very quiet practice area and work on my short game irons, mainly my 7, 8 & 9, these are critical I think for me to not only find the green from anywhere inside 140 yards, but hopefully also find the area of the green to help me secure more single putts, if I can improve this side of my short game over the winter to match my current chipping and putting stats, I'll be in very good shape for my 2016 quest of The year of the Fish.

SkyCaddie mappers do it in all weathers.....

For those that don't know me through the various golf forums or social media sites I frequent, I also work for SkyCaddie as a course mapper and I look after the Midlands & Central England area, covering the B, CV, DY, LE, NN, ST, WS & WV postcodes, and believe me, there's a lot of golf courses within those areas!

A glamorous job I hear you say, well not exactly, yes I get to walk around some great golf courses in my area and see some real hidden gems tucked away, but unfortunately you don't get the time to play them as you need to update the changes they've made and move on to the next golf course in that area, but you do get to take note of those courses and hopefully arrange to return and play them, and to be honest, there's been a good few just lately and some right on my doorstep that I hadn't really come across before.

Being a SkyCaddie Ambassador isn't a full time position, although throughout the year I keep in touch with all the golf clubs throughout my area by following them through social media sites, reading their own club websites along with email subscriptions and around this time of the year I will telephone my contacts for course updates as I'm always on the lookout for changes that clubs are making or proposing to make to their course, and dependent on when they make and complete those changes will depend on how quickly I can update them by walking their course, as only we do!

Most golf clubs will have a winter programme of changes for their course, so my busiest time as a ground mapper will be between January & April, this is where the glamour side of being a SkyCaddie mapper is found wanting, I will be out in all weathers during this period, I will be walking and mapping changes in pouring rain, freezing cold icy conditions and even snow, as long as it's not too deep!

Personally I like to have all the updates that I am aware of for my area completed by the end of March so every player using a SkyCaddie GPS will hopefully have a fully updated device with all the changes not only for their own course, but all the courses across the country updated which we have been made aware of, these could be courses they are visiting as a club team player, a local society outing or even golfing holiday, either way, our team of UK mappers will endeavour to have all golf course changes completed by May so you can all enjoy your golfing season with a GPS device that we keep upto date ourselves without the reliance or dependency of any third party which will only use aerial imagery!

As a golfer (loose term), when I'm walking and mapping a golf course and I come to a new hazard, lets say a bunker that now has a fairway run-off of 6 yards into it and a large mound immediately after it, I will mark the hazard where a ball can come to rest before rolling into the bunker and I will also mark the carry distance so the ball cannot roll back into the hazard, this is something aerial imagery cannot define from the sky, it will only see and measure, as best it can, the actual outline of the bunker, this in my opinion is where SkyCaddie and it's team of mappers really sets itself apart from all the other providers, what's the use of knowing that a stream is 175 yards away if the banks of it and fairway rolls into it at 160 yards and needs a carry of 195 yards even though it's only 10 yards wide!

Ground mapping is essential if you want and demand accuracy, that is something only a SkyCaddie mapper like myself can deliver for SkyCaddie members, no other GPS brand can boast the same!

Anyway, I don't want this to turn into a sales pitch, that's not my objective or position, but I will say I get a great deal of satisfaction from knowing whatever measurement I see on my device on any course I'm playing, and I play all over the country in opens and forum meets, I know it will be accurate and up to date and I can take my next shot with total confidence, I'll probably duff it 50 yards but that's another story for later.

I will announce in a few months all the golf courses I have already updated (walked) for 2016 and I will highlight any that I think are standout courses and worth a look at, this time last year I updated Longcliffe Golf Course in Leicestershire and I promised myself I would go back and play it in the summer, unfortunately due to injury and missing most of the golfing season I didn't get to do that, but I must say I was very impressed with the course, it had some lovely holes and was very well presented, so that course will be added to any more I come across this term to play later in the year.

So, when you see a lonely figure walking around your course with a satellite protruding from his backpack in horrendous weather or in the remote chance it's a nice sunny day, don't panic, we're not looking to build houses, although it does get a few members biting when we say that, it will just be me or one of my fellow SkyCaddie ground mappers updating your course, please pop over and say hello, or better still, a nice hot drink when I get in is always well received.

If your club has made or is planning on any changes to it's course, then please let me know, thank you.

Edit: 5th February 2016, unfortunately I have now resigned my position at SkyCaddie for personal reasons.

  

Put up or shut up....

It's becoming very difficult to look forward to the weekends, I suppose it's the consequence of the winter and living on this island with the ever unfriendly and challenging wet weather we experience for what seems an eternity at times, it's certainly making my golfing season feel much shorter than normal and thus I am not swinging my new golf clubs anywhere near enough as I would like.

Competitions are being postponed due to the extensive wet weather we are all enduring across the country and unfortunately unlike a fellow blogger, Martin Bedborough, whom I am gunning for and targeting as a benchmark for some friendly rivalry, I am unfortunately not someone who enjoys going to the range, unless it's a grass bank like they have at the nearby Warwickshire Golf Club so I can emulate my shots and strikes as I would on the course, scabby mats with rubber tee's are not for me, no thanks!

If I have a slight weakness in my game at present it's getting off the tee with a degree of consistency, although others around me say I'm OK and my stats off Pin Seekerz from my most recent competitions over the last couple of months have me at 69% for fairways hit and 33% greens in regulation, however, I know it's the cause for me to have to do as much scrambling as I have to, which I have become very good at, but for all the wrong reasons!

As Tigger has mentioned, numbers and stats on a blog don't really tell the whole golfing story, well they can't because my stats dwarf and outperform those of that pesky big cat and yet were quite a way apart as far as handicaps go, so, I'm going to reinvest in a Game Golf track and display kit to monitor my performance whilst playing so it highlights more where I'm throwing these shots away when I have decent basic stats, only problem is, it's going to cost me a new laptop also as my PC is, let's say, a little outdated and isn't compatible!

So, I'm going to have to knuckle down and get a bit more serious and committed if I want to achieve my goals for 2016 and put aside my dislikes of the range over the winter months and adopt an attitude that I have to put up with things I don't like or want to do if I truly want 2016 to be The Year of the Fish, I can't go pulling anyone else's tails and then not put the work in myself.

 So it's time for me to put up or shut up, get out there as much as I can whether it's in terms of the practice ground at my Coventry Golf Club which will be irons only, a traditional driving range, a roll-up or taking a few clubs out on the course on my own, which in these conditions I would have all to myself!

So they'll be a few posts over the winter regarding my practice sessions, what I worked on and what I think I got from them and more importantly, did I transfer them to the course in my next rounds, so stay tuned folks....

Xmas Texas Scramble

This Saturday see's me entering our Christmas Texas Scramble, a 3-man/lady & mixed teams will battle it out, for hopefully anything but a Turkey!

Unlike my previous post and dislike of Greensomes I really like a good Texas Scramble as you don't essentially only play half a round and you should go through your bag and clubs no different to a normal round, although here at Coventry Golf Club the format is slightly different to how we played it at a previous club!

Everyone tees off on each hole and you simply select the best drive, however, each team member must have 5 drives each of which 1 of them must be on a par 3, that then leaves 3 wild (free) drives for whoever may be driving well that day to take some pressure off those of us who may not be!

Once the drive is selected the others collect and pick up their balls, the person whose drive is chosen marks to the side of his ball and proceeds to take their next shot, the other players then place their ball near to the mark and subsequently take their shots also, and so it continues like this until the ball is in the hole and so this is a strokeplay competition.

This format is slightly different to how I used to play before at a previous club, whereas whoevers ball was chosen whether it be the drive, 2nd, 3rd shot or even a putt, that person did not take their next shot, they simply marked where their ball came to rest and picked it up, this meant that immediately after a drive or any decent shot nobody could dominate a hole with a strong drive followed by a strong approach, which I think is a good format personally.

Anyway, tune in on Sunday to read how I fared, will I have contributed well to my team and its fillet steak and a nice vintage port afterwards, or will I be still at the club plucking the Turkeys!

Greensomes & Marmite

I think I've come to the conclusion that both of these fall into the same criteria, you either love them or loathe them, there is no inbetween and nothing to separate them, what's my verdict, I'm sorry but I don't like either!

I've given Greensomes a good go now, and my last outing on Sunday I played just as poorly as I've ever played before in all the previous Greensomes I've entered, I just can't get synced into the format however good the company is with me, it's simply not my game.

OK I didn't get off to a great start on Sunday in the unannounced and very unwelcome pouring rain as we tee'd off at lunchtime which doesn't help matters, and I can at times be a little cold out the traps, especially if I don't get a few good swings in the nets prior to warm and loosen up, but I do have it in my locker to come back stronger on the back 9 or sometimes the other way around, but in Greensomes I just can't get into the mindset at all!

I started on the 17th on Sunday with my partner and the first time I used any of my 4 wedges was on the 12th, I'm sorry but that's just plain daft, all of a sudden it's a big shot and I've not had a wedge of any description in my hand for a feel shot for 13 holes! I also don't think I had a proper putt until our 3rd or the 4th hole in the competition, and that was for a birdie, I subsequently left it a good 3 foot short as every green before I either didn't have to get my putter out as my partner sunk them or I tapped them in from 2 inches, I'm sorry but how on earth can you get into your game when you might be either just hitting all the approaches into the green and never putting or chipping for hours or not getting any mid irons out because of taking your own drives!  

So, in conclusion, we finished with a miserly 32 points, the winners who were our playing partners amassed an excellent 43 points, and a stat which was worked out over dinner afterwards was, they only took 26 putts!!  I had 7 drives chosen and what was surprising from that stat was that 4 of those were all our par 3's!

Anyway, no more, I'm sorry but Greensomes goes into room 101 or at the back of the cupboard just like that dusty jar of Marmite, it's hard enough finding new playing partners without burning them in a format I just can't associate with so I'm not risking burning any more.

Greensomes R.I.P

Galvin Green Test Pilot

Whilst following Golfposer on Twitter an opportunity came about to test some Galvin Green clothing through a competition, which I duly entered and won.

Although I mention it in the review which I will link to shortly, I have to state that since becoming that test pilot and wearing the Galvin Green merchandise I was sent to wear and test, I have purchased around £700 worth of Galvin Green clothing covering items such as polo shirts, trousers, insula top, thermal jacket, insula hat and a full waterproof jacket!  I would have never considered spending the kind of money associated to Galvin Green prior to becoming the test pilot, but I have to say, or you can simply read my review, you most definitely get what you pay for, and that's quality and comfort on the golf course.

Read my review HERE  

The weekend cometh

There isn't usually a lot to get excited about over the winter months, the weather is very unpredictable, the course will be wet, muddy in places, the odd winter green in operation and leaves, oh no, please no more leaves! So, normally on a Friday afternoon prior to ordering my traditional Chinese at 5pm, I would usually have 1 (one) eye on the weekend and give my clubs a quick clean, my shoes a polish and go through the pockets in my bag ensuring I have no last minute panics (or old bananas) as I'm a little OCD in my preparations, however, with new clubs and new shoes in hand there's not a lot for me to do, so, I thought I'd write you all a few lines.

I'll be going to my golf club for a practice session tomorrow (Saturday), mainly concentrating on my gaps with the new clubs between 50 & 130 yards, so that's my 2 (two) new Mizuno S5 wedges along with my 9 & 8 RSi Tour Preferred irons, I'm really looking to home in on these yardages to give myself more par opportunities when I don't hit the greens in regulation, but when I do, also be able to go pin hunting for the birdie opportunities, so a little time will be spent on the putting green.

Then, after a few hours on the practice area and putting green I'll retire to the clubhouse for a nice pint, or 2, of Bombardier and watch the football scores come in, this, I hope will set me up nicely for Sunday.

Sunday Festive Greensomes followed by Christmas Dinner and I've got a partner (woohoo), I'm playing with the A-team captain who is also our newly appointed Competitions Chairman, the other 2-ball accompanying us is the past A-team captain who's off scratch along with his wife, so I'd better behave, note to self, no potty mouth!   Really looking forward to Sunday, although Greensomes isn't everyone's cup of tea, it's a knock and hopefully any work from the Saturday session will bare fruit, if it does, you'll all be the first to know ;-)

Billy No Mates

I think one of the hardest things and decisions to make is to move and change golf clubs, although I've not found that decision alone very hard myself as in a very short amount of time since taking up the game I've got an astonishing 5 under my belt!  OK a couple of them were very short lived, 1 being a matter of months and another a matter of weeks, but it's still a big move, mainly because although you might like and enjoy the new club's course, you will never know how you will fit into the social side of the club and how quickly you'll find playing partners if you have moved on your own!

I've now been at Coventry Golf Club since February 2015 and I couldn't be happier, the course is excellent and everyone is extremely friendly and approachable.

 I threw myself at many of the various roll-ups on weekdays and the weekends when I joined to meet as many members as possible of all ages and abilities, the Pro and his assistants have found me partners to play with in competitions and I now play in a regular 3-ball in all monthly medals and team events, but, I still don't have a regular pairs partner and so I end up with a different playing partner in every pairs betterball, greensomes & foursomes competition, these tend to be members whose usual partner can't make it for various reasons so I'm passed around like a substitute, this is the only negative when moving and joining a new club on your own, it's very frustrating as everyone is obviously settled with playing partners so you just find yourself waiting for someone to become free!

I'm constantly informed that I punch well above my weight as far as my handicap is concerned, so I can become very popular at times, but, they only want me for my shots and to stick a few 4 pointers and 3 pointers on the scorecard, so, I wonder what will happen when my handicap starts to tumble next season, which it's going to do, and with no regular partner and less shots to offer, will it become a serious case of Billy No Mates

What's in the bag?

Its nearly a complete bag change for me but I felt the time was right.

I had been playing with Mizuno MP-52's for nearly 3 years and got on very well with them, but an offer to have new irons as a gift was too good to turn down, so, I now have the new RSi Tour Preferred irons from 4-P/W by Taylormade. I chose these as I wanted to stay with a muscleback forged iron similar to my previous MP-52's and believed that a change to CB's would be a step backwards.

I also had a Daddy Long Legs putter which again I was very comfortable with, but only on smaller greens, when it came to much larger greens I never felt in control of it so I have reverted back to an Odyssey Works Versa bladed putter with a fat Superstroke grip, and I am extremely happy with it.

I have just taken delivery of the new Mizuno Blue S5 wedges, I have stayed with Mizuno as I had the MP-T4's before so this is simply an upgrade, I have opted for the 52/09, 56/10 & 60/06 so I have good range of bounce options.

Whilst writing this I am still awaiting delivery of my gap wedge but here are the 2 other new additions.

The top of my bag has only slightly changed, in that, I still have my custom fit SLDR with a Matrix Black Tie shaft (stiff) and this is now supported by the SLDR 12 degree Mini-driver and then my trusty Cleveland 17 degree (4w) Launcher.

I am very happy with my bag now and see little to change or swap anything out over the coming season.

2016, The Year of the Fish

I was really looking forward to the 2015 golfing season, I had recently moved club to my city's prestigious Coventry Golf Club and was getting quickly used to the course and playing very well around it, so well in fact that I immediately joined the B-team and although I played with a couple of different partners in the two months of March and April, I was unbeaten both at home and away right up until I injured myself!  I had also qualified through the early monthly competitions into the knockout stages of a number of the club's board competitions, but again I had to withdraw myself due to the hand surgery I had to have in early April.

So, it's time to work on my game over the winter period after missing over 20 qualifying competitions in 2015 and look forward to 2016, and with new clubs in hand, along with a new putter, and already showing signs of a decent game in me, I am going to make great inroads in reducing my handicap, which has been a monkey on my back since starting to play this great, but very frustrating game at times, in 2011.

So, if you come across me on your travels, you were warned, 2016 will be, The year of the Fish! (#YOTF)