Where did the time go?

Apologies for the dearth of updates but it's been a funny old time. Someone has swapped my beloved Fulham for a team of footballers. Never in all my years supporting and watching them, especially when they were about to go out of the Football League did I ever think they'd get to a European Final. I certainly don't think it'll happen again in my lifetime and for my money Roy Hodgson should be Manager of the Year, judge on Britain's got Talent and Prime Minister. He's got the midas touch.

Elsewhere I can't believe the first quarter of the year has gone already. With regards Homer's odyssey and the goals I set in my very first post (what do you mean you can't remember?) then as many of my old teachers and ex-bosses throughout the years have said "must try harder". My handicap has gone the wrong way. DOH! My game is nowhere near where I envisaged it would be by the start of the busiest part of the season and I haven't threatened the winners circle since my 2nd place in January.

I had a lesson booked for last Sunday which got cancelled thanks to the inevitable Bank Holiday weekend downpour which I was hoping was going to be the missing piece of the jigsaw. On the plus side, the short game is starting to come together although bunkers suddenly seem mysterious places to me at the moment and getting a ball out of them a lost art. My putting is pretty good at the moment and the golfing mojo is rising slowly like the temperature.

The blog is getting some good comments which is nice. In particular Mick Mills at the club has been very kind and is trying to pass the word around. Please make a note of the website http://threeoffthetee.blogspot.com/and pass it on. It would be great to see as many Ascot members as possible following me. Now the season has really started I want to involve as many of them in my journey as I can.

I've finished my self imposed sabbatical. I never knew a week was so long but I managed it and didn't touch a club once in that time. Not even a sneaky putt on the carpet at home. I've been back down the range since my lesson at Sand Martins and had good and bad sessions. The good were very good and I thought I'd finally turned a corner only to find a dirty great big brick wall the following night when I couldn't repeat the swing or replicate any of the feelings. Got is a stupid game and I'm an idiot.

So what does the second part of the year hold. A drier course will help a powderpuff hitter like me (good times and historically I usually get most of my good finishes between May and August (also good times). However my swing hasn't been this erratic (bad times) for three or four years now. A look at my stats for the first quarter I think tell their own sad story.

Fairways Hit: 38%

Greens In Reg: 19%

Putts Per Round: 33.50

Sand Saves: 14%

Birdie Conversion: 9%

Par Scrambles: 15%

Produced by Scoresaver 2. www.scoresaver.co.uk

I'll keep battling on. I can feel it getting there and it's like there is just one piece of the puzzle missing. And on that positive note I'm off to boldly go where Homer has never been before!