First In A While

Haven't updated this since last summer! Blimey!

So, the last post I made saw me say that I'd love to get under 25 by the end of the summer last year. Well, I did. Since my last post (which had saw me get my first cut, down to 26.3) I was cut a further two times, down to 25.2 and then down to 24.8. I was really, really happy with that. I'm currently off 25.3.

I didn't play much during the summer and had virtually no golf at all over the winter. But had our first medal of the year yesterday, and I played... appallingly.

I shot 124, net 99. Utterly, utterly atrocious. The wind was unbelievable - 30mph plus at some stages. Four times I lost my balance completely with the wind at the tee, and I took 5 shots to get out of a bunker at one stage. Gutted! So I'll go up to 25.4. Still, it can't get worse for the year, can it?

The First Cut Is The Deepest

I haven't updated for a wee while, but things are going well. Since the start of the summer holidays I've been golfing most mornings. Had a good few rounds under 100, including a new personal best, 91.

Breakthrough finally came last week. I'd been hooking the ball a lot and a couple of the guys I play with identified my right hand as being turned over too much. Tried a few rounds with a new grip and shot the 91, then played in a medal last Wednesday, shooting 95, net 67. I'd hit buffer zone in my previous three medals, so was good to get the breakthrough.

Finished 3rd overall (one stroke behind first) and got a 2 at the 16th, so won just under £26. Was cut 1.2 strokes so now I'm down to 26.3.

A few more medals before the end of the summer holidays, I'd love to get down to under 25 before then, so fingers crossed...

Finally Broke 100!

I played yesterday morning with a friend of mine. It was the first time I'd broken 100 on a 'full round' at Falkirk - the only times I've previously broken 100 were at Tulliallan, and once around Falkirk with a few winter tees / greens (so I don't really count it).

I've come close a few times. Last weekend I shot 101 and that was with a ridiculous 11 and 8 on the card (on the fourteenth, I put three balls into the water). So I sensed I was getting close and it's finally paid off.

I bought a set of new irons a couple of weeks ago (more on these to come in a subsequent update) and have been working on my game strategy. Now I very rarely tee off with my driver - I can hit my new five-iron 180-200 yards, depending on ground conditions and carry, so I'd rather do that and keep the ball in play. It's been working out pretty well.

So, yesterday. I went round in 94. 94! A few weeks ago I honestly thought I'd never be able to shoot as low. The annoying thing is that I was on course for breaking 90, but poorly played the 15th and 17th (a 7 and a 9 respectively). Two fives on those holes (which I've managed before) would have brought me in at 88. My adjusted score would have been 90 bang on, so if I was to replicate this in a medal, I'd be looking at a reduction of 3.2, taking my handicap down to 24.1.

I've decided to play in our Wednesday medal this week. Hopefully I can reproduce some of the form in order to get my handicap cut from 27. Our CSS is usually 71, so I need an adjusted score of 95 or less to get cut. Fingers crossed!

New Irons / Hybrids!

I took a trip through to American Golf this morning. I had been toying for a while with the idea of buying a new set of irons and hybrids, and with various combo sets around I wanted to have a peek. In my mind I wanted to get the new Benross Max range.

Had a chat with the manager at the store. Now, I hate salespeople. But this guy was different - recommended me a few different sets of clubs, took me out to one of the practice bays, and got me swinging a few clubs with the launch monitor. I tried the Benross Max, the Adams Idea V3, and the Benross Quad (last year's Benross model). I was getting a far more consistent flight on the Benross Quads so I decided to go for them. Ended up saving £40 as they came in at £229 for the set - 5H - 6H, 7I - SW. Delighted, and looking forward to getting out for a round tomorrow to try them out.

First Medal Of The Season

So, yesterday I played in my first medal of the season. I haven't played in many medals before, to be honest, as I've always been a bit self-conscious of playing with guys who would be a lot better than me. But I went down on the off-chance and got matched up with a couple of guys, one of whom played off 12, and the other off 20.

I started off quite well with a credible six on the first hole - which is converted into a par 5 for medals, due to the tee being a lot further back - but completely bombed at the second hole. A poor drive, followed by a poor iron shot, left me playing my fourth shot looking to land on the green. Unfortunately the wind caught it and it landed square under a bush. I ended up taking an air shot in the procedure of getting it out. In hindsight, it would have been better to declare it unplayable rather than attempt to batter it out. I ended up with a 9 at the second.

And on the fourth hole I carded an 11 - two lost balls from the tee, a (well-struck, if I may say) hybrid into a bunker... whatever could have went wrong, did go wrong. I didn't play the rest of the front nine too badly, but these two holes meant that I went out in 64.

For the back nine, I played a lot better. I only made two or three really bad shots, and a highlight was a 4 at the 13th - a par 3, but the most difficult hole on the course (so I'm expected to take a 5). I'm always delighted to walk off that hole with a 5, so to get a 4 was great.

I ended up finishing the back 9 in 48, which was one shot better than the guy I was playing with who's off 20. And I genuinely feel that I could have taken a couple of strokes off that. Finished the medal on 112, so didn't make the buffer zone, meaning my handicap's gone up to 27.3.

Unfortunately, it's finding the consistency that's my downfall...

Progress...?

So, I've now had two lessons from my course's pro. I was working on my grip and swing in my first lesson. For my second lesson we continued work on my swing, and started to introduce posture. We had a look at my swing again because since my first lesson, although I've been striking the ball better, I've introduced a horrible slice into my game.

So now I have what I think is a good setup routine, designed to put me in the right frame of mind mentally for each shot.

How is this benefiting me? Well, I've played two full rounds where I've kept score since my lessons began. The first was on the 5th April and I shot 109. The second was this morning and I shot... 109.

Still, I think I'm making progress. I'm striking my irons better and feeling a bit more confident when it comes to hitting my hybrids. However I'm losing an atrocious amount of shots to wayward tee shots. I need to get better at using my driver, but I just cannot eradicate this slice at the moment. I think I'm playing Linlithgow on Friday so tomorrow I'll head to the driving range and see what progress I can make.

I've also been reading a book by a chap called Bob Rotella, called "Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect". This book is all about achieving the correct mental state of mind to play a round effectively.

I'm in no illusions about being able to score in the low 80s, but I genuinely believe that with a more effective tee shot and cutting out the odd stupid shot I should be in a position to break 100 regularly.

First Lesson Complete

So, here's an update. I had my first lesson tonight. Yesterday evening I played only my second full 18 holes of the year. I shot 103. I was on course to shooting 99 but finishing with two 8s put an end to that - a horrible tee shot at both the 17th and 18th meant I finished poorly.

I played some good holes - started off with two 5s, which is pretty good (for me, anyway) but played the 11th badly (a 6, and usually I'm disappointed if I get a 4 there). Anyway, I'm sure things will improve.

So, on to my lesson. Our professional at Falkirk is Stewart Craig, who's pretty highly-regarded as a golf coach. I've bought five lessons from him for the price of 4, which is pretty good. Today's lesson focused on my grip and swing. I have a very poor golf grip with my right hand turned far too much to the right. I'm over-compensating at address which is leading to some erratic shots.

Stewart made a couple of changes to my grip and swing, bringing my right hand more to the left (and I'm now using the interlocking grip) and changing the way my body rotates, so that my club is naturally swinging from open to square to close. I was hitting some pretty decent shots by the end of the lesson, including from the tee with the driver, which is my biggest flaw.

Looking forward to getting out on the course. Might sneak out for 9 holes tomorrow.