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I’ve been playing comps at my local club for a little over 2 years now. Initially I didn’t really buy into the comp vibe and only decided to enter because it was the only way to guarantee a reasonable tee time on a Saturday. In other words, I got fed up following the last comp pairing/3 ball just to get a round in, with the inevitable slow play that followed.

So I signed up to play in comps, and I wan’t phased by it. I’m competitive in other sports and I usually up my game when the pressure’s on. So I had zero trepidation off the first tee when I addressed the ball for my tee shot …

Until I started my swing

Because:

a) we were now off the white tees and even though on the first, that’s only 15-20 yards back, it’s different.

b) this was a medal and every shot would be recorded.

c) i’d never done this before, ever

So I hit 111 and put the whoile thing down to experience.

It took maybe a year before the inevitable 0.1 increase was occasionally halted by the buffer zone.

So I’ve played maybe 30 club competitions on a Saturday in the last 30 months, medals, staplefords, bogeys et al.

And my handicap had crept up from 18.0 to 20.0 and therin lies a tale.

When my handicap was first assessed, I had very little golf experience and I was far from a natural golfer. Looking at my cards, I’d have put me on a 23 handicap and that, I believe was where I really was. But the handicap committee gave me 18, so I just accepted that I’d struggle. And I did.

For about 28 competitive rounds.

The thing is I can play golf and I know how to play it well.

It’s a mental process …

First, you see the shot in your mind, say it’s your 2nd to a par 4 after a decent drive – it’s 139 yards to the pin . The light wind is into off the right. There’s a bunker on the left short of the green. To the right are trees/rough. Short of the green is a run off leaving a 25 yard chip. Long is light rough, chipping back with not much green to work with. Your lie is just off the fairway in light rough slightly above your feet and on a slight downhill.

It’s an 8 iron all day long …

But the last 8 iron you hit, an hour ago was a bit of a pull, which here would leave you in the bunker, and the last bunker shot you hit, 2 hours ago cost you a shot.

You’re aiming right and praying …

So you line up and aim right and the ball goes right and you land in the light rough right of the green, take 2 chips to get there, 2 putt and make 6.

That’s what we do, sometimes all day, sometimes once in a round, but it’s always a probablity at least once in a round.

And that’s where I’ve mainly been. Competent ish but ineviatably, one, two, three and sometimes more holes would trip me up.

Until last Saturday 🙂

When I won a competition.

That’s a club competition where 116 people entered,

And I won

I’ll try to explain why I think that happened next time …

So I’ve been playing for a little over 3 years now and I’ve probably played over 400 rounds of golf and hit over 200,000 balls on the range. I get that that’s extreme. My worst completely recorded round ever was 171 at Windermere golf club.

Recently I’ve been playing close to my 19.2 handicap having started at 18.0 and slowly found my level.

But something strange happened yesterday.

I’ll preface this by saying that I played at my local course which was all on winter greens, so the course was considerably shorter than usual.

Here’s what happened ..

Playing my usual 8.15 am tee time Tuesday moring 2/3/4 ball with 2 guys playing off 12 and 13

I hit 32 on the front 9 and 38 on the back 9 for a 70. My playing companions hit 86 and 85.

So I broke 80 🙂

Here’s the round: par, par, bogey, eagle, par, birdie, par, par, birdie for the front 9 and birdie, bogey, par, bogey, bogey, par, birdie, bogey, par on the back 9.

The shorter course obviously helped but so did chipping in from 20 yards 2 or 3 times and putting well.

The oddest thing is that 2 weeks ago, I could barely hack my way around in 100. I was playing rounds where the frown lines were still etched on my face a day later. I was even shanking my chips!

I did hit the shed a lot and I did practice chipping a bit, but I never expected a 70.

So now I have a new benchmark, and even rainy days look sunny.

Enjoy your golf my friends …

I’m pleased to say that I continue to make progress, generally hitting in the low nineties. Last Friday I had my best round ever when I went round in 42/42 for 84. That’s 6 under my current 19 handicap. On Sunday I played a 4BBB Stapleford open with my mate Gez and we turned in a respectable score of 42, five points off the winning score.

So on a good day I can hit 84, and on a bad day I can hit 104. That’s about my range.

So how have I made these improvements?

1. I play 3-4 times a week and practice at the range most days. I know that’s unrealistic for many people, but I’m a self employed digital marketing services freelancer, so I can always work when it’s dark.
2. My kit is continually improving. I’ve recently added a modern putter (review to follow). My old putter was loaned to me by one of my friends when I first began to play. It’s probably 30 years old and very basic – named the Bronte Rustler. Also added a Cobra 3-4w which I’m now using off the tee. I find that I can get almost as much distance as my driver, with greater accuracy. Next is a Cobra 2-3 Hybrid. I’m still struggling with this one. Finally a 50 degree gap wedge from Cobra for 40 – 60 yard chip shots and around 100 yard pitches.
3. My yardage with the short irons and pitching wedge has increased. I used to hit my wedge 100 yards, now it’s around 120 yards with 10 yard gaps up to 6 iron.
4. I play my club course a lot, so I know where the smart plays are and where the bail outs are.
5. I’ve grown more confident in my ability so can start to express that in my shot selection.

Update: Today I hit 83, that’s 39 out and 44 back

It’s a funny game. Don’t know about you but when I’m playing well, it seems easy and when I’m not it’s more difficult than difficult things. Hitting 107 in last Saturday’s medal brought that home to me. Still, it’s just a game. It’s just hiting a ball around a field for a few hours …

 

Wow, how time flies, as does my golf ball when I catch it sweet with my 7 iron. So I haven’t checked in for some time, mainly because I’ve been playing a lot of golf and generally enjoying it. My last 4 rounds have been 95, 94, 93 and 97 in varying conditions including rain and 40mph winds. Here’s what I’ve been up to …

I joined my local club – Ulverston Golf Club around a year ago and I’ve played around 150 rounds in the last year, if you take numerous 10 hole practice sessions into account. I’ve probably hit 50,000 balls on the range which whilst bordering on obsessive has given me a degree of repeatability.

I know my numbers within probably a 10% tolerance level so I drive around 190 to 250 yards depending on wind and terrain. My 7 iron is around 145 yards, pitching wedge 100 – 110 and 56 degree around 60 – 70 yards. I’ve done a fair bit of chipping practice in the last month or so as the nights draw in so I’m getting more accurate from 50 yards out.

My weakness currently is long irons to my rescue hybrid. I can’t reliably hit them, so if I’m 200 yards out, I’m usually taking a 6 or 7 iron short then chipping in. That’s something that I need to work on over the winter.

My handicap is 18, a mark I have so far failed to play to, but I have played a few comps, so officially I’m at 18.2. My best round of the summer was a 91.

But I’m happy with my progress and I’m enjoying the game. My aim by the end of next season is to be regularly breaking 90 and I’m motivated to achieve that.

 

It’s been some time since I updated my blog, mainly because I’ve spent most of my spare time either at the range or on the course, so a progress report is long overdue. When I find time, I’ll write some more specific posts but here are my highlights and frustrations (inevitably) from 2014.

Practice:

The local driving range closed suddenly. I don’t know why, but as I was spending about £5 every other day there to hit 100 balls a time, I had to find a replacement. So I visited my local golf club and signed up as a Social Plus member to gain access to the range. It cost me £50 for a year, then I had to buy cards at £5 for 150 balls. After a few weeks of this, I found out that I could buy a ticket for unlimited balls for 12 months for £85. I know a bargain when I see one, so that’s what I did.

I go to the range and practice most days and I probably hit an average of 200 balls each time. I’m well aware that jut hitting balls offers no guarantee of improvement. I try to be a little more targeted though and either work on something from a lesson, or from my last round. So ultimately, I’ll probably hit around 50,000 range balls this year.

Why?

Well practically everyone I play golf with has much more experience than I do and consequently, they shoot lower scores than me. I find that irritating, so I’m playing catchup, as quick as I can. What sticks in my mind is a quote from Lee Trevino about how to learn to play golf. “You put your left hand about here, and your right hand about there, now go hit 2 million golf balls.”

Lessons:

It’s different on grass obviously and as I was struggling with topping iron shots on the course, I took a lesson playing off grass. The pro couldn’t help me sort it out.

I’m sure you’ve felt the same thing; a decent drive, leaving you maybe 130 – 155 yards from the pin. In your mind you can see the shot that you need to play and you select the appropriate club. Whatever your routine, the outcome is a topped shot finishing about 30 yards in front of you and the possiblity that you’ll do it again. Meanwhile, your golfing buddies, try not to laugh, or worse still, offer advice, and you hack your way to a 9 instead of the par or bogey you’d visualised only moments previously.

It’s something that’s dogged me all year, and it’s why I’ve spent so much time at the range.

I took some lessons indoor, and made some progress, usually temporary with the pro at Barrow Golf Club. There’s something missing though, when you effectively hit a ball into a wall/net and look at a screen to see what happened. A huge element of feedback is missing.

So lately, I’ve been taking lessons with Alyn Cousins, the new Pro at Ulverston Golf Club. The tuition area is like a very large garage with a door that lifts to reveal the practice range. Video analysis revealed that my previous lessons had enabled me to learn to keep my posture correct and head still on my backswing, but that my head bobbed down then up on the downswing = topped shots or big divots. Inconsistancy, whichever way you look at it. I’m working on that.

During the year I’ve had periods where I’ve left the driver out of my bag, because I was guaranteed to slice it wildly off the tee or duff it 20 yards and 30 degrees left. Once or twice, the ball actually ended up behind my tee. So for a time I just 7 Ironed my way around and became reasonably confident and competent with that club. Legend has it that Seve learned to play golf with a 7 iron and a putter, so I thought it might be beneficial. Then I started topping, slicing and pulling those shots too. Lessons didn’t help and I was struggling and thinking, maybe golf isn’t for me.

Courses:

Mainly I’ve played Windermere. On reflection, it’s quite a brutal course to learn on. The fairways are often narrow and the rough is an Aladins Cave. 5 off the tee wasn’t uncommon, and once when playing alone, I had to give up after 9 holes because I’d run out of balls. I’m fairly certain I went out with at least 15. Miss the fairway off the tee at Windermere and most of the time, the ball is lost. But I’ve played there most weeks, alone or with a wide variety of others, but never in competitions. I don’t have an official handicap. In one glorious week in July ish, I had three conseutive rounds of 92, 95 and 98. I remember that I was driving well at the time. The next time I went out I hit 121 and my game, and my confidence went backwards.

I’ve also played Barrow Golf course a few times with Andrew Turner, scoring around 110; and Furness Golf course on windy walney with Pete Trelore. I don’t remember the score, somewhere above 110 and below 120, I think.

A few months ago, a bloke I met playing in the local tennis ladder (yep, I’m an all round ageing sportsman) invited me to play on his usual 8.30am Tuesday morning slot at Ulverston Golf Club. It’s Ladies morning so it has to be 8.30 to get ahead of them. Improves the view immensly though.

So I’m duffing my way around in 116 or 108 or so whilst Johannes goes round in the mid 80’s. I take some more lessons and hit a 102. One of the par 3’s I take 9 on and one of the par 5’s takes me 11, or 12, or 13. I don’t really remember because my brain had turned to mush.

I decide to join the club. I’m now playing there every week and paying for it, so it makes sense.

In the meantime, I meet up with an old school friend, recently retired. We play a few rounds at Windermere whilst his wife waits in the clubhouse knitting or stitching monkeys made of socks. I took 17 on the 4th one day (this is about 2 months ago) and, despite telling Martin that I’ve parred this SI 1, 340 yard uphill par 4 to a blind green a few times, I can still see the look of pity, or sympathy in his eye. Golf, I hate it, fucking stupid game.

Equipment:

When I was having a lesson at Ulverston golf Club with the interim pro, Ernie Foster, we work working on my inability to use a driver. Ernie looked at the club and told me that the flexible shaft was only suitable for women or old people. I think he meant people with a slow swing. I understood, so I bought a Cobra Bafffler Driver and a Cobra Baffler 4 Hybrid (I’d watched Aki using a hybrid at Windermere one day and it seemed to work). I also traded in the sand wedge that I’d bought in a charity shop for £2 against a Cleveland 56 degree wedge.

I couldn’t use the driver.

In 2 weeks I was heading for Portugal again for another golf trip and here I was, struggling to get off the tee. So I spent 2 weeks solid practicing with the Hybrid. All 5 rounds in Portugal I played off the tee with it. When it works, it works well. I had 4 consecutive 9’s of 53 in Portugal and one round of 106.  About 9 shots better than my scores out there 4 months earlier. I did implode on the final 9 though.

And so to today

I’ve never broken 100 at Ulverston in the dozen or so times I’played there. Today I went out in 42 but came back in 56 for 98. It should have been 93, but after a perfect drive at the 18th, leaving a 135 yardshot to the pin, a shot I’d executed perfectly a week ago; I somehow managed to find not one but two bunkers instead and thrash my way to a 10.

I broke 100 for the first time though and birdied a par 3 that I’d previously taken 9 on.

I fucking love golf 🙂

 

 

It started, as it usually does with a chat over a post round pint “what about going to Portugal in January for 3 days of golf?”

Mike organised the deal via Golfbreaks – 3 nights b&b in Pestana with unlimited Golf and transfers to and from Faro airport for £179 each for the 4 of us.

I don’t know how that compares on price with other golf breaks – click here to visit their website, but it seemed like pretty good value to me as 3 rounds on decent courses could easily cost that.

We all booked flights seperately – Ryanir on the flight out from Manchester and Monarch for the return journey.

I opted to take my clubs with me, mainly because I’ve practiced a lot with my driver and it has 15 degrees of loft which helps me get a decent flight. I knew that this angle was way above the standard 10 degrees of loft for a driver and having tried one with that loft, and struggled, I didn’t want to risk it.

That cost me an extra £50 with Ryanair and £30 with Monarch

Gez took a similar deal but Mike and Big Dave opted to hire clubs in Portugal.

I also booked a hold bag which cost me another £40 or so

And I bought a flight bag for the clubs – click here to see what I bought.

On reflection, I’d have probably just gone with the flight bag (lots of room to pack clothing in) and a 10kg cabin bag. I was also aiming to bring back 3kg of Golden Virginia though, so I took an unusually cautious approach to baggage.

We arrived in Faro at midnight Wednesday and were met by our transfer driver, who was happy to call in at a motorway services for us to purchase a few bottles of beer to chill out with once we reached our accommodation.

On arrival at Pestana, we stopped at the security barrier and the security bloke showed us to our accommodation which was about 15 yards away.

And it was great – big kitchen, big lounge with French windows to garden, two decent sized bedrooms ( one en suite) with twin beds.

We’d booked tee times around 9.45am for each day, with the first days round at Vale da Pinta – a 10 minute free shuttle away.

But first breakfast, so we strolled over the the Gramacho clubhouse for sausage, bacon eggs and coffee.

At Pinta we hired 2 buggies at E43 each, warmed up on the putting green, then commenced our round.

The course was a joy to play with most holes, other than the par three’s requiring a drive off the tee, unless you’re called Gez in which case a 250 yard 3 iron works just as well.

I got plenty of bunker shot practice, a shot that I don’t normally have to deal with, and there’s one tee shot across water which was very entertaining.

Mike struggled with his hired putter and Big Dave just strugled as he was suffering with a heavy cold.

I hit 118 and considering that the course is longer than most courses I play on, and that the sand traps work well!, I was happy with my round. The greens, I should add are quick and with the occasional impossible pin position.

After a quick lunch of pint and a burger, we went back out and played another 10 holes till dusk called time on golf for the day.

We ate at the clubhouse – decent food and reasonably priced, but we had to wait an hour for it to arrive which seemed odd given that the place wasn’t busy.

Day 2 and after breakfast we strolled over to Gramacho – literally a few hundred yards from our apartment.

Hired buggies again and were then treated to a short history lesson and course instructions by Nevada Bob

In our opinion, the course isn’t as pleasant as Pinta and it was definitely busier. As at Pinta, the marshalls kept an eye on play. Most reviews that I’ve read complain about slow play problems and a lack of marshalls. We experienced neither of those problems. However, we did feel hurried, much more so than Pinta and we did let a 3 ball comp play through.

When we finished the round, for which I carded 115, we spoke to the starter who told us that we’d gone round in 4 hours and that the average for a 4 ball was 4.5 hours, so we certainly weren’t slow.

After a similar lunch to the previous day, we went out again, but this time were asked to pay again for buggies, we declined, but big Dave decided he needed one.

I was suffering from toothache and really didn’t enjoy the dozen or so holes we played that afternoon. Nothing seemed to be working for me and I duffed my way around another dozen holes or so.

After buying beer, food and tobacco at the supermarket located about 50 yards away, we stayed in and chilled out, ready for our final day tee time of 9am back at Pinta.

A thouroughly enjoyable round ensued with all 4 of us playing well in bright warm sunshine – I shot 114 and was happy with that.

After a couple of beers, our driver picked us up at 2pm and returned us to the apartment.

Packing done, the minibus arrived at 3pm and took us to the airport.

A really great 3 day break – we plan to do it again in October.

It’s been a little over 7 months now since I first picked up a golf club and I’ve neglected to update my progress recently as, well, golf is just so time consuming …

So I’ll start this update with my last round at Windermere Golf Club on Sunday 29th December 2013

First the numbers:

51 out and 56 back for 107 on this par 67 course

3 pars, 5 bogeys (why are they called bogeys?) and a worst hole score of 10

Now the round:

I’d played Windermere the day before with Gez and Mike and hit in the low 120’s

3 of the greens are winter greens and Fairway mats are in use.

Today was a little sunnier and warmer and I was playing on my own

In general I played the shorter holes well, and the longer, uphill holes poorly …

I used the driver sparingly as the previous day it landed me in trouble, more than once

And my 7 iron has now become my “go to” club …

I can reliably hit 150 yards with it from most lies, most of the time.

I sunk a few great 8 feet putts to 2 putt a number of holes and four putted a par 3 after landing my tee shot on the edge of the green.

I was 5 off the tee at one hole and I lost a few more balls at others …

But I was happy with my score as I can see sub 100 rounds on the horizen

And that means cutting out the big errors, plus improving my putting – something I don’t practice.

I have however played a lot of golf in the last 3 months and I’ve also spent a lot of time at the driving range …

So I’m beginning to build up a mental library of shots to attempt in different situations.

And having had my grip, address, swing and follow through corrected over a series of lessons, the mechanics of propelling a golf ball are coming together.

I did shoot 170 one day though

That was mentally draining

Anyway, enough rambling

A happy 2014 to every golfer 🙂