Oh, that was simply unpleasant.
After beginning without any warm up, and extricating myself from getting too caught up in my partner’s game, my game started to click… until my gopher stopped on the 11th. After transferring to a push cart from the pro shop, my game disintegrated at the same rate as my legs did… though I did par the hole on which my legs went from under me (17).
Trying to push a cart through thick Kikuyu kills legs… add to that, the sun, that already had teeth, grew fangs later in the round… It was not pleasant.

Front nine 38 off stick (21 pts)
1 Birdie (8)
6 Pars (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9)
1 Bogeys (5)
1 Double Bogey (4)
5/6 FIR
3 GIR (2, 3, 8)
8 GIHR (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9)
1 Three putt (4)
4 One putt (1, 6, 7, 9)
Missed GIR: 6
1st, short, Hit approach a bit fat (1-putt Par)
4th, short, under-clubbed approach (3-putt Double Bogey)
5th, inches long, ran with breeze (2-putt Bogey)
6th, inches short, it is always the 6th (1-putt Par).
7th, short, approach recovered from rough (1-putt Par)
9th well right, misdirected drive (1-putt Par)

Apart from slip-ups on four and five, this was a good nine, in spite of no warm up… the sun was making me warm enough thank you…

A regulation par on ten, then the ‘fun’ began, when my gopher stopped working half way down the 11th. I had just chunked my 2nd shot short of the green, and was sitting on my gopher (in the light rough) waiting for my partners to hit their third shots. after their shots I wanted to move off to my ball, but the machine wouldn’t budge… the electrics were gone… I pushed the gopher to a track between the 11th and 12th, rang the pro shop… proceeded to bogey the hole, then got a push cart… I was soon to get a real idea how thick the grass was… my ankles were ready to give up by the 14th, and the kegs gave way with my second shot on 17… finished with a pick up… but finish I did..

Highlight of the back nine – six consecutive GIR (12 – 17)
Lowlight of the back nine – three putting 13, 15, 16.
putting is difficult when you are struggling to stand up.

Back nine – 43 off stick (14 pts)
4 Pars (10, 12, 14, 17)
4 Bogeys (11, 13, 15, 16)
1 Double Bogey (18)
6/7 FIR
7 GIR (10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
7 GIHR (10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
3 Three putt (13, 15, 16)
0 One putt ()
Missed greens: 2
11th, short, duffed 2nd shot (2-putt Bogey)
18th, well short, 2nd shot hit branch (2-putt Double Bogey) pick up

Friday, Stableford, Short (altered) course.
result: 81 off stick (35 pts), Differential 11
1 Birdie
10 Pars
5 Bogeys
2 Double Bogeys
FIR – 79%
GIR – 56%
GIHR – 83%
4 Three putts
4 One putts
Putts – 36 – 15 & 21

Handicap remains on 6.6

It may have been the 39c+ temperatures over the last two or three days, but the fairways could have used a bit of a trim… the light rough could have used any cut – the rough was treacherous and deep…. and the greens had been top-dressed… with varying depths of sand, making some greens virtually unplayable – at least impossible to judge. You had to really give the ball whack… and if you did not hit a deep sand-bar, you just might get close to the hole… might!! some of those drifts of sand may have stopped a tank…. And you could not really prepare for it – the practice green was top-dressed this morning, making practice impossible.

Having said that, my ball striking was a little off this morning, but that saw me in the rough a few times off the tee, and then the thick sticky stuff took its toll.

Sunny but windy day.

Front nine 47 off stick (12 pts)
1 Par (8)
6 Bogeys (1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9)
1 Double Bogey (3)
1 Triple Bogey (4)
3/6 FIR
3 GIR (5, 6, 8)
6 GIHR (1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
2 Three putt (5, 6)
0 One putt ()
Missed GIR: 6
1st, short, after short drive (2-putt Bogey)
2nd, left, drive drew to pin high (2-putt Bogey)
3rd, well short left, drive and 2nd shot in rough (2-putt Double Bogey)
4th, well short, Drive into water hazard (2-putt Triple Bogey).
7th, well short, 2nd shot too short from rough (2-putt Bogey)
9th short left, misdirected drive (2-putt Bogey)

Twelve points at the turn, and hopes for a good score – gone. The back nine had to be seen as a separate game in itself, with technique and process stability as a major goal, within the difficult conditions.

Missed fairways in the back nine (10, 13, 17, 18) were into places where the ball was more accessible that was the case in the thick first cut of rough in the front nine, therefore recovery was more possible, 10 and 17 being illustrative.

Back nine – 39 off stick (18 pts)
7 Pars (10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17)
2 Bogeys (13, 18)
3/7 FIR
5 GIR (10, 11, 14, 15, 16)
7 GIHR (10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
0 Three putt ()
2 One putt (12, 17)
Missed greens: 4
12th, left, pulled drive (1-putt Par)
13th, well short, hit 2nd shot fat (2-putt Bogey)
17th, a metre long, over-hit approach (1-putt Par)
18th, right, approach out of trouble (2-putt Bogey)

Tuesday, Stableford, Short (altered) course.
result: 86 off stick (30 pts), Differential 16
8 Pars
8 Bogeys
1 Double Bogey
1 Triple Bogey
FIR – 43%
GIR – 44%
GIHR – 72%
2 Three putts
2 One putts
Putts – 36 – 20 & 16

Handicap remains on 6.6

This was the fifth straight round off the short tees. This cannot be good for handicaps, especially for high handicappers when we start playing off the long marks…
Six weeks til Club Championships.

Golf is a witch, whose spell transforms some people (who otherwise are quite easy to be with) into the most annoying insects imaginable.

I am not for a moment suggesting that playing golf changes some humans into six-legged antennae’d creatures with compound eyes, but someone who asks you to span your marker on a rough temporary green, then smacks her ball off the green nowhere near the marker. That was just a single illustration… this lady (once a top club player, now off 24) was assisting a new player getting her initial cards in. The other lady in our group of four (off 26) thought the other lady was trying to play mind-games against me… I simply didn’t care about the whole thing from early on in the round. I would understand such things in a match-play scenario, not in a stableford round, on the short course, in a group with no rhythm or flow.

Warm and sunny day.

Front nine 43 off stick (16 pts)
1 Birdie (8)
2 Pars (4, 5)
4 Bogeys (1, 2, 6, 7)
2 Double Bogeys (3, 9)
3/6 FIR
3 GIR (4, 5, 8)
5 GIHR (1, 4, 5, 7, 8)
0 Three putt ()
2 One putt (6, 8)
Missed GIR: 6
1st, short, after escaping fairway bunker (2-putt Bogey)
2nd, inches short, under-clubbed drive (2-putt Bogey)
3rd, short, hit 2nd shot fat from rough (2-putt Double Bogey)
6th, well short, sprayed 2nd shot (1-putt Bogey).
7th, Pin high left, approach drew too much (2-putt Bogey)
9th long, over-clubbed drive (2-putt double Bogey)

I was not hitting fairways or greens, I did not care. I was trying to push-start my focus from a valley where all the roads are up-hill… It wasn’t going to happen, I knew… and I was just over it.

Back nine – 43 off stick (14 pts)
4 Pars (10, 12, 14, 16)
4 Bogeys (13, 15, 17, 18)
1 Double Bogey (11)
4/7 FIR
2 GIR (14, 16)
4 GIHR (13, 14, 16, 17)
0 Three putt ()
2 One putt (10, 12)
Missed greens: 7
10th, inches short, approach stopped by fringe (1-putt Par)
11th, well short, in deep trouble (2-putt Double Bogey)
12th, under a metre pin-high left, drive missed green (1-putt Par)
13th, short, in green-side bunker (2-putt Bogey)
15th, short, out of fairway bunker (2-putt Bogey)
17th, short, in green-side bunker (2-putt Bogey)
18th, just short, approach stopped by fringe (2-putt Bogey)

Friday, Stableford, Short (altered) course.
result: 86 off stick (30 pts), Differential 16
1 Birdie
6 Pars
8 Bogeys
3 Double Bogeys
FIR – 51%
GIR – 28%
GIHR – 50%
0 Three putts
4 One putts
Putts – 32 – 16 & 16

Handicap blows out .3 to 6.9

It must be nice regularly playing people whose handicaps are within a dozen of so of your own…

It must be nice regularly playing people whose handicaps are within a dozen of so of your own…

I think you need to take a chance and try another club to help you get over this. The extra money may be worth it.

I have recently paid my subs for another year, but my staying at the club is a year to year proposition. I do not see myself still at this club for very much longer… 2013-14 may well be my last year at the Pat…. but than again, it might not be… It is primarily a financial question… While I may be able to afford annual subs (5 day rights), could I (on top of that) afford the costs of more petrol to drive to the course, or the housing of my gopher at the new course (if possible)?

My gopher broke down on Thursday night (repaired yesterday mid-day… 1 hour labour – $82), then last night at the servo, just after filling up – my car wouldn’t start… called the RAA – Alternator… and my mechanic is not open til Monday… Oh, and car registration is due on Thursday…... and then can I play on Tuesday?

Sometimes it just turns out that way…

It never rains, but it pours, hey Mekat? Hope you are back on track soon.

Mekat when I come to Melbourne next would you take me for a round at your club.

Mekat’s in South Australia, I think.

You are right Deege, I am in Adelaide

What’s cookin?
Adelaide

It was a warm one today, and a welcome cloud-cover gave us some relief for the last half dozen holes.

Consistent ball-striking, but a few lapses in focus (especially on some greens) took the gloss off a decent round. Fairways were lush, light rough was thick and treacherous.

Today was the first round for the Winter season, and results were back in grades (A, B, and C), A grade at my club is still out to 23.

Front nine 39 off stick (20 pts)
6 Pars (2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9)
3 Bogeys (1, 5, 6)
4/6 FIR
4 GIR (1, 2, 8, 9)
7 GIHR (1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9)
1 Three putt (1)
3 One putt (3, 4, 7)
Missed GIR: 5
3rd, short, after recovering from rough (1-putt Par)
4th, left, in green-side bunker (1-putt Par)
5th, short, hit drive fat (2-putt Bogey).
6th, short right, fountain ball off tee (2-putt Bogey)
7th long, ran through green (1-putt Par)

Had the expected top temperature been one degree more, today would have been a nine hole comp.

Twenty points at the turn, and it could have been better, with a couple of putts of less than a metre lipping out on the first and eighth. I would repeat those actions on the 14th and 17th, but not quite the score, in a good back nine.

Back nine – 38 off stick (19 pts)
8 Pars (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18)
1 Bogey (17)
5/7 FIR
4 GIR (14, 15, 16, 17)
5 GIHR (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
1 Three putt (17)
5 One putt (10, 11, 12, 13)
Missed greens: 5
10th, short, under-clubbed approach (1-putt Par)
11th, inches short, (1-putt Par)
12th, just long, drive missed green (1-putt Par)
13th, inches short, after recovering from ‘light’ rough (1-putt Par)
18th, just right, approach swallowed by ‘light’ rough (1-putt Par)

I have to tell you about the 18th.
Drive to middle fairway to about 110m out, 8 iron fades to right, clears bunker, but ends up sitting down in thick ‘light’ rough just off to the right of the green (5 o’clock to green). At this time a groundsman is mowing around the bunker.. and then begins to trim the rough… I walk up to him and say in fun with a touch of sarcasm “and NOW you come?”... so I address my ball with lob wedge… down onto the back of the ball, it pops up, lands on the green running toward the pin… and stops on the edge… just half a roll more!!!

Friday, Stableford, Short (altered) course.
result: 77 off stick (39 pts), Differential 7 – winning A grade.
14 Pars
4 Bogeys
FIR – 71%
GIR – 44%
GIHR – 72%
2 Three putts
8 One putts
Putts – 30 – 16 & 14

Handicap drops .3 back to 6.6

Nice!

Gopher and car all fixed.

No mention of distracting playing companions, is that because you played well?

Have you found a correlation between your attitude to distraction and playing companions? might be a chicken and egg scenario?

Gopher and car fixed… I just can’t afford anything else happening…

Two of the others in today’s group were reasonable strikers of the ball… not the most consistent mind you… but it was not a situation of waiting for three players to hit 2 or three to my one shot, and they were not chatty, they were focussed on what they were trying to do – and I like and appreciate that… in fact one of the group (a relatively new golfer, but rapidly improving B grader) was the winner of the day with 41 points.

I think it is a combination of things that lead me to my frustration with some high handicap players… and I think one of them (apart from the mood I may be in) is that if I have time to get frustrated – through many in the group being poor ball-strikers – I will get frustrated.

If I am in a group where the other three are poor strikers, who may have a decent connection one out of every four, or five swings – that gives rise to frustration… it gives me lots of time between shots to get frustrated – and that is my challenge to overcome.

Today, the group in front were slow, and for us, sometimes the putting was to die from… but it was hot, and we all had to get through it.

After being taken by family and friends on a holiday to Kangaroo Island, and over-doing it on the last day (Wednesday) by climbing a steep hill, I fronted up yesterday morning to play a stableford round. I still had with very sore legs, and was struggling to walk. Even though I was on my gopher, it was a struggle. ball striking was not good, probably because I had nothing in the legs to support me… add to that the play was slow – I bailed after nine holes… truth is, I should not even have tried to play…

For the record, I scored 10 points.

Friday, Stableford, Short (altered) course.
result: Incomplete round, Gross 93 Differential 20

Handicap remains 6.6

Ouch, that is not good. Hope the rehabilitated gopher and the rest means that you can get back in the swing of things soon.

Legs are feeling a lot better today, and should be fine for Tuesday morning… more importantly, they will be right to get ready for the club championships starting on Tuesday fortnight…

When one is prepared for a slow round, then one can accept slow play from the group in front of them. When playing at the back of the field, one also has to accept the likelihood of playing with very high handicappers (38, 39, 42).. But with just two weeks til the club championship, one might expect the course to start playing at the championship length…. no… So I was not in the best of moods when starting… nor when my first drive found sand… recovered for par… and the second shot on the fourth, which sprayed right, hitting a groundsman’s shed, ricocheting back onto the fairway… and I again recovered for par… the rest was just a focus on technique, and a battle to stay motivated.

Sunny but windy day

Front nine 41 off stick (18 pts)
5 Pars (1, 3, 4, 7, 8)
3 Bogeys (2, 5, 6)
1 Double Bogey (9)
4/6 FIR
3 GIR (2, 7, 8)
6 GIHR (1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8)
1 Three putt (2)
4 One putt (1, 3, 4, 5)
Missed GIR: 6
1st, short, after recovering from fairway bunker (1-putt Par)
3rd, long, ran hard through green (1-putt Par)
4th, short, 2nd shot sprayed yet found fairway (1-putt Par)
5th, right, drive faded into green side bunker (2-putt Bogey).
6th, well short left, trouble with side hill lie in rough (2-putt Bogey)
9th long, ran through green (2-putt Double Bogey)

I try not to pay too much attention to the rating when I think of my stats. What is important is the par of the course. I am often reminded that we play against the course, and as par does not alter between the short and long settings of the course, I look at my score in relation to par, even when playing the short course.

Back nine – 39 off stick (18 pts)
1 Birdie (16)
5 Pars (10, 11, 12, 14, 18)
3 Bogeys (13, 15, 17)
5/7 FIR
4 GIR (10, 12, 14, 16)
6 GIHR (10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17)
0 Three putt ()
4 One putt (11, 15, 16, 18)
Missed greens: 5
11th, pin-high left, careless alignment (1-putt Par)
13th, pin-high left, approach ran across green (2-putt Bogey)
15th, long, fairway bunker to rear green side bunker (1-putt Bogey)
17th, a metre or two short, duffed approach pitch (2-putt Bogey)
18th, left, approach ran across green (1-putt Par)

Tuesday, Stableford, Short (altered) course.
result: 80 off stick (36 pts), Differential 10.
1 Birdie
10 Pars
6 Bogeys
FIR – 69%
GIR – 39%
GIHR – 66%
1 Three putts
8 One putts
Putts – 29 – 15 & 14

Handicap blows out .1 to 6.7
If today had been on the long course, and I had the same score – I would be a 6 marker tonight… the slightly ironic thing being, that the game I had to pull out of (over my sore legs) last Friday… was off the long markers…

Ended up playing at the Mt Barker open day to day. Cold, intermittent misty showers. Shotgun start, started on 12th…. and it took just under 5 hours.

I really need to discipline myself to have any kind of preparation for games. food for the round, even a rudimentary warm-up, even a mental preparation – a bit of putting practice… but today? nothing – and the result was obvious – a good drive would be replied by a shot by Ravi SHANKER, pulled like a dentist, sliced like a cake, bladed like a knife, and putting like lawnmower.

I should have stayed at home.

Friday, Stableford, Mt Barker course.
result: 88 off stick (26 pts), Differential 15.
7 Pars
6 Bogeys
5 Double Bogeys
FIR – 86%
GIR – 41%
GIHR – 55%
2 Three putts
0 One putts
Putts – 38 – 19 & 19

Handicap remains 6.7

Joined up with the Sunday group for a special game – and decided that while I am at it, i will play in the pro-shop comp, as this will be my last Sunday game til about next summer.

SLOW round (as expected), started overcast and windy, turning to sunny and still a bit windy.

Wayward second shots were the order of the front nine. perhaps partly wind affected, waiting affected, and a bit of lack or mental focus.

Pulling the 2nd shot on 1, and tangling with a tree, lead to the first of three double bogeys on the front nine. Three putting on the fifth gave the 2nd, and being distracted by young guys in a cart from an adjacent fairway lead to the third… after that my game seemed to come together.

Front nine 42 off stick (17 pts)
1 Birdie (3)
4 Pars (2, 4, 8, 9)
1 Bogey (4)
3 Double Bogeys (1, 5, 7)
4/6 FIR
3 GIR (2, 6, 8)
5 GIHR (2, 4, 6, 8, 9)
1 Three putt (5)
3 One putt or less (1, 3, 9) – chip in on 3
Missed GIR: 6
1st, right, pulled approach under tree (1-putt Double Bogey)
3rd, just short, miss-hit approach after distraction (chip in Par)
4th, a foot short, slightly miss-hit approach (2-putt Bogey)
5th, long left, underestimated wind (3-putt Double Bogey).
7th, short, miss-hit approach after distraction (2-putt Double Bogey)
9th, just short, what can I say, Kikuyu fairway (1-putt Par)

17 points after three Double Bogeys – unacceptable performance for an acceptable result…

Back nine – 38 off stick (19 pts)
8 Pars (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18)
1 Bogey (15)
4/7 FIR
7 GIR (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18)
7 GIHR (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18)
0 Three putt ()
2 One putt (15, 16)
Missed greens: 2
15th, short, hit approach fat (1-putt Bogey)
16th, pin-high right, accounted for breeze which wasn’t there (1-putt Par)

Sunday, Stableford, Short (altered) course.
result: 80 off stick (36 pts), Differential 10 – replacing a 10
1 Birdie
12 Pars
2 Bogeys
3 Double Bogeys
FIR – 61%
GIR – 55%
GIHR – 66%
1 Three putts
5 One putts or less
Putts – 31 – 15 & 16

Handicap remains 6.7
Again If today had been on the long course, and I had the same score (or if those Doubles had been single bogeys) – I would be a 6 marker tonight…

Also, reflecting on how often we have been playing of the front markers in summer. Five of my last 20 rounds have been off the long marks at home – of my top eight, two are off the long marks – scores ranked 1 and 5 (differentials 4 and 7).
My official handicap is 6.7, but if all the top eight scores had been off the long rating, my handicap would be 4.6… just an observation…

Good round Mekat.

Thanks Weeti

Again If today had been on the long course, and I had the same score (or if those Doubles had been single bogeys) – I would be a 6 marker tonight…

Also, reflecting on how often we have been playing of the front markers in summer. Five of my last 20 rounds have been off the long marks at home – of my top eight, two are off the long marks – scores ranked 1 and 5 (differentials 4 and 7).
My official handicap is 6.7, but if all the top eight scores had been off the long rating, my handicap would be 4.6… just an observation…

Interesting, Mekat. One of the things that I find interesting with this reflection is that on an admittedly small sample, the proportion of your flag rounds played off the long marks is consistent with the proportion of rounds overall played off the long marks. So on the basis of this small sample at least it hasn’t followed that the long marks make you play necessarily better.

I was not suggesting that playing off the long marks makes me play better, I was opining that we should be playing off the long marks more often… especially as the club championships are so close – Tomorrow week to be precise.

I have not played a complete round off the long markers since February 2.

Tomorrow is supposed to be Monthly Medal day and seeing that the expected top temperature in Adelaide tomorrow is 36, the hot weather policy will come into play, and the comp will be 9 holes. Also Friday is Good Friday and therefore there will be no comp. So the first qualifying round of the Club Championships next Tuesday, April 2, it will have been. TWO MONTHS since I played a full round off the championship length… and (to my knowledge) there has been only one round that anyone at the club has played off the long marks since early Feb…

A bit of perspective… Last year I played 77 comp rounds on my home course, 45 were off the short marks, and 32 off the long.

In my records, I see the period from October 1 to March 31 as the Summer season, and April 1 to September 30 as the Winter season… so in a calendar year, the Summer season is divided into two parts – Jan 1 – Mar 31, and Oct 1 – Dec 31.
For 2012, in the Winter season, I played 28 rounds at home. 18 were long, and 10 were short. I played 49 rounds in the Summer season, 14 of which were long, and 35 were short. 24 of the 35 were played between Jan 1 and Mar 31 – a time I have dubbed C grade season. During C grade season, there were just 5 long rounds. Between Oct1 and Dec 31, there was an equal spread of long and short rounds – 11 each, so I have dubbed this time B grade season… That of course leaves Winter as A grade season.

Tomorrow is the last round of C grade season for 2013. It will also be my 20th handicapped round for 2013, discounting the away round, six of the remaining 19 (assuming tomorrow is off the long marks)... not an atypical C grade season…

Last round of C grade season, saw forecast of 36 degrees turn a Monthly medal day into a 9 hole stableford round, with the (nominally) graded fields as would have been had the stroke round been played. I call the grading nominal as I (the lowest handicap in the club) played with a 19, a 22, and a 23 capper (the highest in A grade).
The 23 capper is the most dithery, frustrating, and unnerving player in the club, and she very quickly got into my head… I became frustrated and very angry… and so went the game…

Front nine 43 off stick (16 pts)
4 Pars (2, 3, 4, 8, 9)
3 Bogeys (1, 4, 6)
2 Double Bogeys (5, 7)
2/6 FIR
3 GIR (2, 3, 8)
6 GIHR (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9)
1 Three putt (5) pick up
1 One putt (9)
Missed GIR: 6
1st, short, after recovering from rough (2-putt Bogey)
4th, just short, underplayed into wind (2-putt Bogey)
5th, right, drive faded into green side bunker (pick-up Double Bogey)
6th, left, half decent recovery out of rough (2-putt Bogey).
7th, right, approach faded into green side bunker (2-putt Double Bogey)
9th right, misaligned drive (1-putt Par)

Tuesday, Stableford, Long (altered) course. 9 holes extrapolated.
result: 84 gross (32 pts), Differential 11.

Handicap remains 6.7

The draw for the first round of the Club Championships was done before today’s round…

The 23 ‘capper finished with 10 points, dropping back into B grade in time for the club championship… I came off the course looking forward to seeing the draw for the first round of the CCs, and my jaw dropped, and I just said no, no, NO… While I and the second lowest handicap player are in the first group… so too is the (now) 24 capper (B grade)... and they will not change it.

Well that sucks for you Mekat. Hopefully you can figure out something to focus on to try and stop that getting into your head for the first round of the CC.