Finally, Finally, Finally (But Still Not Quite)

Regular readers may care to sit down now. I finally managed to put a competitive round together although it wouldn't be Homer's odyssey without finding a way to make sure I didn't win. It was the Centenary medal today and I finished with a net 72 (+2). Not bad you might think and to a degree you'd be right. But sadly if the putter had not decided to have a lie in and I'd not decided to throw in four (yes four) double bogeys I'd have been home and hosed. I was paired with a good friend Alan Cutler who is a mean 15 and a guy I hadn't played with before called Gary Lewington.

It seemed too good to be true the minute I sent a majestic five wood soaring high and straight onto the first green. My confidence lasted until the moment I hit the first putt and barely got it halfway to the hole. My second missed left and I'd turned a safe par into a bogey. I hit a great drive down the second and although my five wood second went a little right it was actually a good break. The second fairway is particularly dry with a lot of bare lies and it can make hitting a wedge shot very tricky. With plenty of grass in the light rough I had a good lie and found the green in regulation. However, after hitting a good putt from 25 feet away I left myself "one of those" downhill and about four feet. No prizes for guessing the outcome. Another dropped shot. Another decent drive at the third (ok a little left but playable) left a six iron. I hit it great and it found the green about fifteen feet away. The approach putt wasn't a disaster but left another testing three footer and the truth is I didn't give it a chance. I didn't think I could make it and I put a terrible stroke on it and I'd three putted the first three holes having not hit a bad shot tee to green.

I had taken my three wood out of the bag to swap to a 52, 56 and 60 degree wedge combo to tackle the thickening rough. It is usually my go to club for the fourth so I was forced to hit driver which was pretty good. I left myself 72 yards and was between clubs. I decided to choke down on the 52 degree wedge and stuck it to about ten feet and left an uphill straight putt. Finally the putter stuttered into life and I made a birdie. No sooner had I got the wagon back on the road then I stumbled down the fifth hitting a poor drive into the rough and an over ambitious second. A bogey was inevitable. I hit a good four iron down the sixth which finished pin high just off the green and despite a good lie I failed to get up and down.

I've been playing the seventh quite well recently (that's the kiss of death) but hit a horrible hook off the tee. I was lucky enough to find a decent lie and could take the risky shot on over the environmental area (OB hazard). I hit it well but pulled it left of the green and faced a delicate chip over a bunker downhill to the flag. I took the 60 degree and hit a great recovery which finished a foot away for a simple tap in par.

And then the double bogey monster rolled into town. A terrible (and I mean terrible) sliced approach into some juicy rough at the par 3 eighth meant I had to really hack at it to move it. All I could do was stick it in the greenside bunker. I got it out but it was a long way from the hole and two putted. I was seething standing on the ninth and smashed my driver away. I hit it well but tugged it into the light rough. I had 167 to the front but had to move it right to left to avoid the large tree in my path. I took a four iron which in hindsight was too much but hit it well onto the back edge of the green. A pity the flag was some thirty feet (downhill) at the front. My putter decided redemption was required (or facing a spell in the naughty cupboard) and I lagged it stone dead. Out in 41 which was bang on my handicap. It could have been so much better and it wouldn't have been stretching a point to say +3 or 4 gross would have been a fair return.

We've all read the magazine articles and heard it on the TV but having worked out the halftime scores, I started thinking about what could have been and what I needed to do. What is they say about staying in the moment? Cue a poor tee shot into thick rough and a hack out. I only had 138 to the front and so was thinking about a seven iron onto the dancefloor and escaping with a bogey. A wicked bounce left into a bunker put paid to that and I'd racked up another double.

However, chalk one up in the boucebackability column. I missed the green left at the short par 3 eleventh but hit another exquisite chip and holed the putt for par. However no sooner had I got myself back into contention when another double at the twelfth came and bit me on the arse. I hadn't hit a great drive and was in the right hand rough under a tree. I took several practice swings and the branch behind me didn't interfere at all so I decide to go for the green. However as I swung, the wind blew and I caught the branch with my swing and managed to scuttle the ball about fifty yards into some very, very thick rough.. I hacked it out short and then chipped on and two putted. Bugger.

Another dropped shot followed and standing on the fourteenth I knew I needed to make some pars and quickly. I hit a great drive and a solid five iron and two putts later had secured a much needed par. I managed to make one at the next but not without making life tricky. I missed the fairway left and topped my hybrid. I hit a five wood short and left and was 77 yards away. It would normally be a 56 degree wedge but into a breeze and from rough I clubbed up and hit a stunning wedge to six feet and rolled the par saving putt in with aplomb. I was feeling confident and stood over my second at sixteen thinking that I'd take no more than five and that if I hit the five wood in my hand well might even snaffle another par and be right in the thick of it at the sharp end of the round. I'm not sure what happened. My GPS device said I had 169 to carry the bunker which should have been a doddle with a five wood and I made a great connection. It came out a little low from the light rough and for a second I thought it was going to either land short and hop the bunker or make it on the fly. In the end it landed short, hit the bank rolled all the way along the top and back in. My recovery came up short and a poor chip left way too much to do and I'd racked up another double bogey from nowhere.

I did chalk up another credit in the fighting spirit ledger when I hit the green at the seventeenth for par. I thought that a par down the last might have put me in with a shout of a top five finish but once I'd hooked my tee shot I was fighting to avoid yet another double. I hit my second sown the right into the light rough and there was no way I was taking the shot to the green on from nearly 180 yards over water. I laid up to the 120 yard mark and then proceeded to pull my nine iron approach. Double still looked favourite but a good chip under pressure and a five foot putt salvaged a six.

It was a really enjoyable round. Alan played well in patches after a disastrous opening hole and Gary was a joy to play with and was going great guns until his wheels came off on the sixteenth. As for me, I was pleased to have struck the ball so well. One of my aims when I started this blog was to be more determined during competitive rounds when things started to misfire. It's been a long and rocky road but I think today showed that even with three dropped shots courtesy of the putter and four double bogeys I can still shoot a good score. It'll be interesting to see where  finish once the afternoon players come in but I think I should be in the top ten of my division.

It's the Golf Monthly Forum day at Ascot on Wednesday and I'm entertaining a few guys from there on Tuesday so I'm pleased I've run into a resemblance of good form. I hope I can keep it going particularly for Wednesday so I can show some of the guys from the forum that I can actually play the game. As for my putter, it's still in the bag. FOR NOW!