well done for the three birds on your nine. That is impressive!

Thanks Max, but it doesn’t mean much unless it is in a comp… Just need to remember to focus on the technique… and hopefully repeat today’s result.

I can still feel yesterday in my legs… and not in a good way. the legs started achy, and just deteriorated – thank goodness I was on four wheels.

A small group (3) in the middle of the Men’s Saturday stableford comp, so of course it was mind-numbingly slow, but I am learning to accept that…. overcast, cool and breezy.

Tee block on 7 back in play…. 9th green will still be a while.

Focus on technique wavered at times (7th and 10th), poor execution of some shots (drive on 6, third on 7, any on 10, third on 13), but overall, it was bordering on acceptable.

Good shots – front nine
1st, drive, hit fairway centre.
3rd, drive and 2nd shot onto middle green.
4th, drive and 2nd shot into prime position.
8th, drive to prime spot inches before fairway bunker – 2nd shot pitched before and rolled 2m past (but just an inch or two wide of) pin… For a golden moment I had visions of an Albatross.

Front nine 40 off stick (19 pts)
1 Birdie (8)
3 Pars (2, 3, 4)
5 Bogeys (1, 5, 6, 7, 9)
5/6 FIR
2 GIR (3, 8)
7 GIHR (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9)
0 Three putt ()
2 One putt (2, 4)
Missed GIR: 7 (missed by a metre or less – 2nd 4th, 6th, 7th)
1st, short, duffed 2nd shot (2-putt Bogey)
2nd, left, pin high left by inches (1-putt Par)
4th, just short, on a mostly Couch course I would be off five (1-putt Par)
5th right, drive faded into green-side bunker (2-putt Bogey)
6th, left, just off green left – a foot or two (2-putt Bogey)
7th, short right, approach struggled to run to green (2-putt Bogey)
9th, short, left, drive started left and stayed there (2-putt Bogey)

First putts were touching the edge of the holes with heart-breaking regularity… on the 16th it stopped on the edge… some things re just not meant to be…. but it would have been nice…

Good shots – back nine
11th, 3rd shot pitch from a few metres off green to inside 1m of pin.
12th – drive to pin high 3m right.
16th – drive to within 5m of pin… Birdie putt stopped on edge.
17th – drive and 2nd shot into prime location, approach onto green but a long way from pin.
18th – second shot finds green.

Back nine – 41 off stick (16 pts)
5 Pars (11, 12, 16, 17, 18)
4 Bogeys (10, 13, 14, 15)
5/7 FIR
5 GIR (12, 14, 16, 17, 18)
6 GIHR (12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18)
1 Three putts (14)
2 One putts (10, 11)
Missed greens: 4 (missed by a metre or less – 15th)
10th, well short, poor recovery from fairway bunker (1-putt Bogey)
11th, right, approach faded right to finish a few metres off green (1-putt Par)
13th, short, duffed approach (2 putt Bogey)
15th, short, approached finished on front fringe (2-putt Bogey)

Saturday, Stableford, Short (altered) course.
result: 81 off stick, (35 pts) Differential 11
1 Birdie
8 Pars
9 Bogeys
FIR – 71%
GIR – 44%
GIHR – 72%
1 Three putts
4 One putts
Putts – 33 – 16 & 17

Handicap blows out .5 to 7.7

Looking forward to my first Tuesday round in nearly a month…. It will be good to re-create a playing routine again.

Now I have sat down and relaxed a while, I find it interesting to reflect on yesterday’s practice round of nine holes, and comparing how I felt playing today in a comp round. Specifically how I felt during the front nine, and the emotional aspect.

As I have mentioned before, it takes some time for me to see what I have done in a more objective light. My mind is quick to grasp and accept any and all possible negative aspects and interpretations of an event of activity, and only with the passage of some time does that wave of negativity recede, and allow more ‘lucid’ thoughts to surface.

Apart from the physical discomfort from walking nine hole through thick Kikuyu, I can think of few negatives from yesterday’s practice round. This lack of negatives from that round gave rise to feelings of excitement, nervousness, and anticipation in the early holes of today’s round. I was aware of having to hold down, and keep in some kind of check, my emotions.

I cannot clearly remembering having the feeling of ‘butterflies in my tummy’ while playing in a comp round. This was excitement and anticipation, not the anxiety and nervousness of my first championship final, or my early Vardon events… this was entirely different… I see it as a good thing… I wonder what it means… I wonder if it is an unconscious awareness of something I can not otherwise recognise…

If Saturday was bordering on acceptable, then today was well into the acceptable range. Having said that, I do need to remember to commit to pitch approaches, and not go easy on them and finishing short. I am just giving away shots with doing things like that, but also putting myself into unnecessary trouble – the 17th being a case in point.

For the rest, I will just let the stats tell the tale of the day.

Front nine 38 off stick
7 Pars (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9)
2 Bogeys (4, 5)
5/6 FIR
5 GIR (1, 2, 4, 7, 8)
7 GIHR (1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9)
1 Three putt (4)
3 One putt (3, 6, 9)
Missed GIR: 4
3rd, short, under-clubbed approach (1-putt Par)
5th, short, under-committed to shot (2-putt Bogey)
6th, just short, The fringe on the 6th get me every time. (1-putt Par)
9th, pin-high left, drive drew to just miss green (1-putt Par)

Three-putts hurt when things are working well, and are even more hurtful when they are on GIR, as both 3 putts were today (4th and 16th)... not fully committing to shots, especially from good locations are almost as bad.

On the 17th, inside 30m from green for two, sitting up nicely. A solid (though not full) 60 degree wedge shot to pop it over the bunker and get it onto the green in the pin’s vicinity…. diluted effort, saw the ball in the sand, and then out but too far past the pin… that is called ‘reaching into you bag, pulling out a carving knife instead of a golf-club, and butchering the hole’.

No point wondering about what might have been… what was is what was… and it was not bad.

Back nine – 39 off stick
1 Birdie (14)
5 Pars (11, 12, 13, 15, 18)
3 Bogeys (10, 16, 17)
5/7 FIR
5 GIR (11, 12, 13, 15, 16)
6 GIHR (11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17)
1 Three putts (16)
2 One putts or less (14, 18) chip in on 14
Missed greens: 4 (missed by a metre or less – 10th and 14th)
10th, just long, approach ran just off back of green (2-putt Bogey)
14th, right, approach out of sand finished a few metres off green (chip-in Birdie)
17th, short, under-committed approach into sand (2 putt Bogey)
18th, way right, approach sprayed right (1-putt Par)

Tuesday, Stroke, Standard (altered) course.
result: 77 off stick, Differential 4
1 Birdie
12 Pars
5 Bogeys
FIR – 79%
GIR – 55%
GIHR – 72%
2 Three putts
5 One putts or less
Putts – 32 – 16 & 16

Handicap drops .8 to 6.9

Double-bogey-free rounds are nearly always good news!

well done on a solid round. Nice stats too.

Thank you Max.
In fact, it’s back to back double-bogey-free rounds for the first time since November 2011.

My hole-by-hole records for rounds at home start 1 May 2010. From those records, only twice have I had back to back double-bogey-free rounds.
15 & 22 November 2011 (82 & & 78 off the stick)
12 & 15 January 2013 (81 & 77 off the stick)

Three in a row has not yet been done

Three in a row has not yet been done

And it STILL has not been done.
On the first hole, I put my drive into the fairway bunker beside the left-side lip, making a comfortable stance unlikely. I just got in out, but put in into the green-side bunker with the third shot… on for four, two putt double bogey…
My drive on the second found sand, on for two, two putt bogey… Three shots more than Tuesday after the second… from there, I repeated what I scored off the stick in the last 16 holes (70), complete with a faithful re-enactment of Tuesday’s butchering the 17th (shot for shot).

What really upsets me about today, is that we played off the standard length marks – long course, but the comp was rated as though we had played off the short marks – rating difference being three strokes. To add insult to injury, the fairways are not being cut as low as usual to protect the fairway in this hard Summer. The effect being that there is virtually no run on the fairways, and the rough is just treacherous… Course is playing long, the fairways are sticky as flypaper, the rating is short, and I finished square in the par comp… I feel a bit peeved…

Today began overcast, became sunny but remained very breezy throughout.

Front nine 41 off stick (square)
5 Pars (3, 4, 6, 8, 9)
3 Bogeys (2, 5, 7)
1 Double Bogey (1)
3/6 FIR
2 GIR (5, 8)
6 GIHR (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
1 Three putt (5)
4 One putt (3, 4, 6, 9)
Missed GIR: 7
1st, short, in green-side bunker (2-putt Double Bogey)
2nd, left, in green-side bunker (2-putt Bogey)
3rd, short, pulled up in thick fringe (1-putt par)
4th, short, pulled up in thick fringe (1-putt par)
6th, short, pulled up in thick fringe (1-putt par)
7th, short, pulled up in thick fairway (2-putt Bogey)
9th, short, pulled up in thick fairway (1-putt Par)

Poor start (under-prepared?), then three putting the fifth, then sticky fairway, and I was square at the turn… I can accept that.

On the 17th, inside 30m from green for two, sitting up nicely. A solid (though not full) 60 degree wedge shot to pop it over the bunker and get it onto the green in the pin’s vicinity…. diluted effort, saw the ball in the sand, and then out but too far past the pin… that is called ‘reaching into you bag, pulling out a carving knife instead of a golf-club, and butchering the hole’.

Back nine – 39 off stick (square)
1 Birdie (18)
5 Pars (10, 11, 14, 15, 16)
3 Bogeys (12, 13, 17)
7/7 FIR
4 GIR (10, 11, 14, 18)
6 GIHR (10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18)
0 Three putts ()
3 One putts (15, 16, 18)
Missed greens: 5
12th, short right, sprayed off the tee into bunker (2-putt Bogey)
13th, short, approach into green-side bunker (2-putt Bogey)
15th, short, pulled up in thick fringe (1-putt par)
16th, inches short into wind (1-putt par)
17th, Oh the Humanity (2-putt Bogey)

Saturday, Par, played off the Standard marks,
rated at the Short (altered) course.
result: 80 off stick, (square) Differential should have been 7, is 10.
1 Birdie
10 Pars
6 Bogeys
1 Double Bogey
FIR – 71%
GIR – 39%
GIHR – 66%
1 Three putts
7 One putts
Putts – 30 – 15 & 15
7 sand shots

Handicap should have dropped .1 to a new low of 6.8… but it blew out .3 to 7.2 (lost a differential 8 from record today).

Still a bit frustrated by effectively having .4 put onto my handicap as a result of the miss-rating of Saturday’s round, right in the middle of losing four consecutive single-digit differentials from my record (8 on Saturday, 4 today, and 8 for each of the next two rounds). But can’t do anything about it…

Sunny day increasingly breezy.

No time for a warm-up

The course was rated short… and it played short… what a novel idea…

Ball-striking was good, putting was on-song… just a few short putts lipped out… that happens. But still those tiny things can hurt… just like missing GIR by inches on hole after hole.

Overall, satisfied and happy at where my game is.

Front nine 37 off stick (22 pts)
1 Birdie (8)
6 Pars (2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9)
2 Bogeys (1, 3)
5/6 FIR
4 GIR (2, 3, 8, 9)
8 GIHR (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9)
1 Three putt (3)
5 One putt (4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
Missed GIR: 5
1st, inches left, rolled off green (2-putt Bogey)
4th, inches short, pulled up thick fringe (1-putt par)
5th short, green-side Bunker(1-putt par)
6th, short, green-side Bunker(1-putt par)
7th, a metre short, 2nd shoe out of light rough (1-putt par)

22 point front nine, 14 putts, 5 one putts which should have been 7, with lipped putts on 2 and 9.

Back nine – 39 off stick (18 pts)
1 Birdie (14)
5 Pars (10, 11, 12, 16, 17)
3 Bogeys (13, 15, 18)
4/7 FIR
4 GIR (10, 12, 14, 16)
6 GIHR (10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17)
0 Three putts ()
3 One putts (11, 14, 17)
Missed greens: 5
11th, inches short, pulled up in fringe (1-putt par)
13th, inches left, long approach ran through (2-putt Bogey)
15th, left, difficult approach into sand (2-putt Bogey)
17th, inches right, approach faded (1-putt par)
18th, way short, recovering from faded drive (2-putt Bogey)

Tuesday, Stableford, Short (altered) course.
result: 76 off stick, (40 pts) Differential 6
2 Birdies
11 Pars
5 Bogeys
FIR – 64%
GIR – 44%
GIHR – 78%
1 Three putts
8 One putts
Putts – 29 – 14 & 15
4 sand shots

Best putting for a LONG time
Personal best – Best gross (non stroke round), 76

Handicap blows out .2 to 7.4

Was going to say, Mekat, great putting, particularly to save those pars. Well done.

One thing I am now doing, and that is the same with my general club grip AND my putting grip – and that is placing my right hand by FEEL, and not visually as I do for my left hand.

For both my general clubs and my putter I visually set my left hand into the desired position.
On most clubs, I set a neutral position, thumb on top, handle wedged under the heel pad of the hand, resting on the index finger, between the first and second knuckle (not the joint, that would put it too deep in the palm).
For the putter, the left hand is placed on the leading side of the putter grip with my index finger extended down along the handle, the thumb is placed on top of the grip. The leading side of the handle of the putter runs from the valley between heel pad of the hand and the thumb muscle, across the palm and down the index finger. this put the shaft in line with the left arm.

The feel I am looking for in placing my right hand on BOTH the clubs and putter, is twofold… firstly, I want to feel the side of my left thumbnail on the life-line of my right hand just under the joint of the index finger. Secondly, I am also looking to feel the joint of my left thumb at the base of my right lifeline, in the valley between heel pad of the hand and the thumb muscle.

On both clubs and putter this ‘instinctive’ grip places the joint of the right hand at the back of the club – in a similar attitude as it would if I were looking to throw a stick or a ball, with my index finger behind it… I find it aids in releasing the club…. As far as putting is concerned, with only my shoulders as the moving part, I can use the index joint as a reference point in the swing… also helps with very long putts.

ALSO, with these two points of conscious connection, I find the palm is more or less in line with the club-face direction.

If the left hand is set correctly, the right hand will be correct too… just by feel.

Setting a secure grip pressure and maintaining it throughout the swing or putt has worked fine for me in the last week and a half.

My last four rounds in relation to par (not rating) have been…. 8, 4, 7, and 3 over.

It appears that last Saturday’s round has been re-entered with the correct rating, so changes need to be done before I review today’s stableford round.

Correcting last Saturday:

Saturday, Par, Standard (altered) course.
result: 80 off stick, (square) Differential 7…

Handicap drops .1 to a new low of 6.8

<tuesday>
result: 76 off stick, (40 pts) Differential 6

Handicap blows out .2 to 7.0

And so to today… a sunny but windy day… no warm up… and just three ladies in the field.

Ball striking was not too bad, sometimes wind affected, sometimes affected by a lack of care on my part. The big brain-fade occurred at the end of the front nine, 3 putting the 7th, and underestimating the wind on the 9th.

Front nine 40 off stick (19 pts)
6 Pars (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8)
2 Bogeys (1, 7)
1 Double Bogey (9)
2/6 FIR
4 GIR (2, 3, 7, 8)
7 GIHR (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8)
1 Three putt (7)
3 One putt (4, 5, 6)
Missed GIR: 5
1st,short right, in green-side bunker (2-putt Bogey)
4th, inches long, ran through green (1-putt par)
5th way left, under-estimated wind (1-putt par)
6th, inches short, the 6th fringe again (1-putt par)
9th, way short, under-estimated wind with a high ball (2-putt Double Bogey)

Only two FIR for the front nine. aiming too far left on 8 may have been costly. a lack of full focus from the 7th to the 9th probably cost me a repeat of Tuesday’s front nine… it just shows that I need to apply myself equally across all shots through all holes.

Back nine – 39 off stick (18 pts)
2 Birdies (14, 17)
4 Pars (10, 11, 12, 13)
2 Bogeys (15, 18)
1 Double Bogey (16) why stop at one?
6/7 FIR
6 GIR (10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18)
6 GIHR (10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18)
2 Three putts (16, 18)
3 One putts (10, 14, 17)
Missed greens: 3
10th, maybe an inch long, pin at back (1-putt par)
15th, left, in green-side bunker (2-putt Bogey)
16th, a metre or two long, over-clubbed into wind (3-putt Double Bogey)

Saturday, Stableford, Short (altered) course.
result: 79 off stick, (37 pts) Differential 9
2 Birdies
10 Pars
4 Bogeys
2 Double Bogeys
FIR – 57%
GIR – 56%
GIHR – 72%
3 Three putts
6 One putts
Putts – 33 – 16 & 17

Handicap remains 7.0

I don’t know what other result I was expecting from my first few holes… but still the start today was abysmal.

No warm up at all, cool-cold morning, breezy to windy, slow stroke round.

First drive to just before fairway bunker. Had the body been warmed up and prepared, it would have been an effortless swing down the fairway – instead, duffed it into the bunker…as with the next shot, still in the bunker, out for four, on the green for five, and three putted for a quadruple bogey 8… three putted the second for a bogey 4 – three putted the third for a bogey 5, and two putted the fourth for a bogey 6… Seven over after four – and that’s my handicap… Par, par, par EAGLE… as for the rest, it just was not there today…

Front nine 43 off stick
1 Eagle (8)
3 Pars (5, 6, 7)
3 Bogeys (2, 3, 4)
1 Double Bogey (9)
1 Quadruple Bogey (1)
4/6 FIR
4 GIR (2, 3, 5, 8)
7 GIHR (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
3 Three putt (1, 2, 3)
4 One putt (6, 7, 8, 9)
Missed GIR: 5
1st, well short, in fairway bunker (3-putt Quadruple Bogey)
4th, inches short, run not making green (2-putt Bogey)
6th short, approach out of rough (1-putt par)
7th, just short, underplayed approach (1-putt par)
9th, way short, under-clubbed drive (1-putt Double Bogey)

After eagling the eighth, focus just switched off, ball-striking soon followed, and apart from a cameo on 14, 15, and 16, nothing came back… a shocker… it just happened… just move on.

Back nine – 45 off stick
3 Pars (14, 15, 16)
4 Bogeys (10, 12, 13, 17)
2 Double Bogeys (11, 18)
4/7 FIR
3 GIR (14, 15, 16)
5 GIHR (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
1 Three putts (11)
0 One putts ()
Missed greens: 6
10th, maybe an inch long, approach ran long (2-putt Bogey)
11th, just short, approach out of rough (3-putt Double Bogey)
12th, left, drive started and stayed left (2-putt Bogey)
13th approach drew left and bounced square left (2-putt Bogey)
17th short, in green-side bunker(2-putt Bogey)
18th, short and way right, approach faded way right into trouble (2-putt Double Bogey)

Tuesday, Stroke, Long (altered) course.
result: 88 off stick, Differential 15
1 Eagle
6 Pars
7 Bogeys
3 Double Bogeys
1 Quadruple Bogey
FIR – 57%
GIR – 39%
GIHR – 67%
4 Three putts
4 One putts
Putts – 36 – 17 & 19

Won NTP on 5

Handicap blows out .3 to 7.3

An eagle in comp is something note-worthy. Well done!

Thank you Max

Imagine playing your eclectic round in one actual round… making real what is possible.

Good Golf is the art of putting the best of what you can do together in a round, rather than partnering massive blow out holes with an eagle, or a bogey-fee with birdie-free.

I don’t know why I was talked into it, but I have learned my lesson about playing on Saturdays, and will not do it again in a hurry.

Today was a stroke round, so I was prepared for a slow round. There being only five women in the group, I thought it would have been better (faster) if we had played as one group, not a group of two and a three… but no.. After Tuesday’s bad round, I was determined to repair the ledger… but it quickly became misery… it was so slow, it was difficult to stay loose, and focussed.

Parring the first was a false dawn, for a long wait on the second tee undid any physical preparation I had made before the round.

Missed the green short-left – bogey. missed the fairway on the third, pulled the second shot into more trouble, under-played the third into the bunker, out of the bunker but short of the green, on for five, one putt.

All that time-wasting allowed the group in front to get a bit ahead… a regulation par of the fourth… perhaps there was some hope??
Ah, no… Found sand off the fifth tee – bogey… unplayable off the sixth tee- triple bogey, my technique and sequencing was breaking down. Hit the seventh fairway, but that was about all – double bogey… on the eighth in reg, but three putted.. and bogeyed the temporary ninth… the usual score for a bad round for me is 47 off the stick… and that is where I was at the turn.

Ball-striking was not working, and putts were hurting me

Front nine 47 off stick
2 Pars (1, 4)
4 Bogeys (2, 5, 8, 9)
2 Double Bogey (3, 7)
1 Triple Bogey (6)
4/6 FIR
3 GIR (1, 4, 8)
4 GIHR (1, 4, 8, 9)
1 Three putt (8)
1 One putt (3)
Missed GIR: 6
2nd, short right, under-clubbed off tee (2-putt Bogey)
3rd, well short left, pulled 2nd shot into trouble (1-putt Double Bogey)
5th short, in green-side bunker (2-putt Bogey)
6th, penalty, pulled drive into trees, drop and not make fairway (2-putt Triple Bogey)
7th, well short, recovered from poor 2nd shot (2-putt Triple Bogey)
9th, way left, pulled drive (2-putt Bogey)

By the tenth, the two ladies ahead of us had played through the guys ahead of them… which seemed to make things worse… even though those two women were quickly a hole ahead of the guys… I just tried to switch off from everything… then putts would run over the middle of holes, or be on perfect line, but stop short.
Regulation par, reg par, 3-put bogey, sanded bogey, reg par, sanded bogey, bogey, reg 3-putt bogey… and then the punch-line to this joke of a round…. BIRDIE!

Back nine – 41 off stick
1 Birdie (18)
3 Pars (10, 11, 14)
5 Bogeys (12, 13, 15, 16, 17)
6/7 FIR
6 GIR (10, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18)
7 GIHR (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18)
2 Three putts (12, 17)
1 One putts (18)
Missed greens: 3
13th, short, green-side bunker (2-putt Bogey)
15th, well left, pulled approach into green-side bunker (2-putt Bogey)
16th, well short, put nothing into drive (2-putt Bogey)

Saturday, Stroke, Long (altered) course.
result: 88 off stick, Differential 15
1 Birdie
5 Pars
9 Bogeys
2 Double Bogeys
1 Triple Bogey
FIR – 71%
GIR – 50%
GIHR – 61%
3 Three putts
2 One putts
Putts – 37 – 18 & 19

Handicap remains on 7.3

Dawdled in the morning lead to having to rush to make the tee on time… no preparation at all…. again…. and being two down after three, I though this could be the same as the last two rounds…. but suddenly, it wasn’t.

Front nine 38 off stick (+3)
1 Birdie (8)
6 Pars (2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9)
1 Bogey (3)
1 Double Bogey (1)
6/6 FIR
5 GIR (2, 4, 5, 7, 8)
7 GIHR (2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
0 Three putt ()
3 One putt (6, 8, 9)
Missed GIR: 4
1st, short in green-side bunker (2-putt Double Bogey)
3rd, well short, miss-hit 2nd shot (2-putt Bogey)
6th, pin high left, 2nd shot drew and just missed green (1-putt Par)
9th, way left, pulled drive (1-putt Par).

Golf, but par especially, is a game of error minimisation the less errors you make, the better. Stroke and stabeleford have avenues of recovery, but Par does not allow you any luxury.

On the first, it was going too long out of the bunker that was the fatal error. on the green for four, left just one putt to save the hole… no.

The third it was a badly executed and sprayed 2nd shot, that finished short and right… on for three, within gettable distance… but that poor 2nd shot had left me just that one shot in the chamber…. no…

On the eleventh, it was the second shot, it did not hold the green, finishing in the light rough left of the green. Under did the chip on… and the one putt just missed – no second chances?... no.

On the twelfth, it was the drive that just missed the green – pin high, putted on close, and the saving putt lipped out… no.

On the sixteenth it was again the drive, that hit the right-hand side of the green, nearly pin high. First putt under-read the slope, second putt stops just short of the hole… anything left?... no.

Back nine – 40 off stick (-1)
6 Pars (10, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18)
3 Bogeys (11, 12, 16)
5/7 FIR
5 GIR (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
5 GIHR (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
1 Three putt (16)
2 One putt (10, 18)
Missed greens: 4
10th, just short, approach from rough (1-putt Par)
11th, left, 2nd shot could not hold green (2-putt Bogey)
12th inches left, drive slightly off line (2-putt bogey)
18th, inches long, over-clubbed approach (1-putt Par)

Tuesday, Par, Short (altered) course.
result: 78 off stick (+2), Differential 8
1 Birdie
12 Pars
4 Bogeys
1 Double Bogey
FIR – 79%
GIR – 56%
GIHR – 67%
1 Three putts
5 One putts
Putts – 32 – 15 & 17

A refreshingly well paced round… no long waits..

Often a round of golf is time-fat, and needs a wait-loss program… or needs to lose wait… but not today.

Handicap drops .3 back to 6.9

Sometime you play a round when you shouldn’t have, and sometimes you play a poor practice round, and it is a technique wake-up call in time for a comp round. Last night I played nine holes at The Vines, and my ball striking was shocking because my sequencing was badly out… and that is what I focussed on today.

Unfortunate drives on 1, 4, 6, 15, 17, and 18 were the worst aspects of the round. Birdie putts on 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16 were very close to dropping. Discounting the putts on 7 and 13, there others were close very gettable putts – 10 stopped just short, 11 just beside, 12 lipped out, and 16 burned the edge… 4 woudda couldda birdies… no point regretting…

Front nine 39 off stick (+2)
3 Birdies (3, 5, 8)
1 Par (7)
4 Bogeys (1, 2, 6, 9)
1 Double Bogey (4)
3/6 FIR
5 GIR (2, 3, 5, 7, 8)
8 GIHR (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
1 Three putt (2)
2 One putt (3, 5)
Missed GIR: 4
1st, short, after playing from rough near bunker (2-putt Bogey)
4rd, well short, drive went under a bush (2-putt Double Bogey)
6th, short, 2nd shot into green-side bunker (2-putt Bogey)
9th, just short, drive didn’t quite make green (2-putt Bogey).

The disappointment of missing a short putt on the temporary green on nine, lead to five successive GIR, but more missed close putts – all birdie putts. Wayward drives later in the round were an annoyance, but not terminal.

Back nine – 38 off stick (+1)
1 Birdie (14)
6 Pars (10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 18)
2 Bogeys (15, 17)
3/7 FIR
6 GIR (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16)
7 GIHR (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17)
0 Three putt ()
3 One putt (14, 15 (assumed), 18)
Missed greens: 3
15th, well left, difficult shot in green-side bunker (1-putt Bogey (assumed))
17th, short, 2nd shot recovered from wide drive (2-putt Bogey)
18th right, 2nde shot finished in grass bunker (1-putt Par)

Friday, Par, Short (altered) course.
result: 77 off stick (+3), Differential 7
4 Birdies
7 Pars
6 Bogeys
1 Double Bogey
FIR – 43%
GIR – 61%
GIHR – 83%
1 Three putts
5 One putts
Putts – 32 – 17 & 15

Having said that I had learned a lesson about playing on Saturdays, I am not comfortable with leaving Saturday play on the back on such a poor round as last week was. Also, recognising that last week was a stroke, therefore extremely slow round, I am willing to give it one more chance. Tomorrow is another par round.. and I am in good form in par rounds (Tuesday +2, today +3) see if I can keep my process and technique together for another good round tomorrow…. if it is again tectonically slow, that will be IT.

Handicap drops .3 to a new low of 6.6

Well done on the new low handicap Mekat, not so long ago at the end of winter you were in despair with the state of your game.

Confidence is a great thing!

I wonder whether playing 2 rounds in 2 days has an effect also?

Fatigue etc

I think it is more getting to trust your processes and technique, especially when things are not working as you expect it to…. Winter is, and will be, a test to that trust.

I think I have said something like this before. If you play for the wrong reasons, you are likely to get the wrong scores… as five down after six will attest… But having said that, how can playing par be just as ‘king slow as a stroke round?

For fork’s sake guys, putting out in a par round??

I knew the moment I decided to play today that it was a mistake… no more Saturdays… and to show I am serious, I will, on Tuesday, reduce my playing rights from seven to five days – meaning that I not only will not play, with only a five day playing right, I can not play on Saturdays.

Front nine 44 off stick (-3)
1 Birdie (8)
1 Par (9)
5 Bogeys (1, 2, 3, 5, 7)
2 Double Bogey (4, 6)
4/6 FIR
3 GIR (2, 3, 8)
5 GIHR (1, 2, 3, 6, 9)
3 Three putt (2, 3, 6)
2 One putt (7, 9)
Missed GIR: 6
1st, short, in green-side bunker (2-putt Bogey)
4th, well short, recovery from under a bush (2-putt Double Bogey)
5th, inches long, a club too high (2-putt Bogey)
6th, short, under-clubbed from rough (3-putt Double Bogey).
7th, well short, penalty drop from trouble (1-putt Bogey)
9th well right, misdirected drive (1-putt Par)

A birdie on the eighth helped to reduce the damage earlier in the round, but the damage was done, and damage was too much to recover from… even with a second birdie on 13…. if it is worth much, I did play the last 12 to square.

Back nine – 40 off stick (-2)
1 Birdie (13)
4 Pars (12, 14, 16, 18)
4 Bogeys (10, 11, 15, 17)
5/7 FIR
4 GIR (13, 14, 16, 17)
4 GIHR (13, 14, 16, 17)
1 Three putt (17)
3 One putt (12, 13, 18)
Missed greens: 5
10th, short, duffed 2nd shot (2-putt Bogey)
11th, just short, under-clubbed approach (2-putt Bogey)
12th, inches left, drive ran off green (1-putt Par)
15th, short, duffed 2nd shot (2-putt Bogey)
18th inches short, 2nde shot finished on fringe (1-putt Par)

Saturday, Par, Short (altered) course.
result: 84 off stick (official gross 85) (-5), Differential 15
2 Birdies
5 Pars
9 Bogeys
2 Double Bogeys
FIR – 64%
GIR – 39%
GIHR – 50%
4 Three putts
5 One putts
Putts – 35 – 19 & 16

Handicap remains on 6.6

We had a handicap match-play game today. Ostensibly to introduce match-play to new (or inexperienced) players. Experienced match-players were coupled with newer golfers to help them with match-play basics.

I was coupled with a 40 ‘capper, so I had to give her 33 shots.

There was nothing riding on this game, and some of my focus was on my partner, so I was able to relax (even though the pace of play at the back of the field was, at best, glacial), but I still wanted to play reasonably well, especially in the later holes… Having said that, I did not hit one green on a par three (and I had to give two shots on them), but won on the 14th with an eagle.

I found it interesting how relaxed I was in the incredibly slow play, when the game was not being handicapped… apart from inattention on the par threes, my ball-striking was good, and putting not bad either…. something to think about.

Nice one mekat. I think that handicap matchplay is really hard when giving away a lot of shots, so well done.

Thanks Deege,
I just find it interesting that I could find a well of patience with slow play when there is nothing on the line in the round (e.g. handicap), and mentally lose it when there is… Perhaps a kind of white ball fever…?

Very interesting Mekat. Somehow when there is something on the line you have to find a way to put yourself in a place where you forget about it. Could it be relevant that your focus (because of the set up) was more about introducing your fellow player to matchplay, so you had another focus rather than just the outcome? If so, I wonder if you could engineer that sort of focus on something else during your normal matches.