Not Even Ticking Over Really

It's been a frustrating old time. I couldn't play in the Stone Cup over the bank holiday weekend although managed to get out for a round late on Sunday and again on Monday. I have to say I wish I hadn't bothered with the Sunday round. The wind was really strong and it made playing well and scoring a tough ask and suffice to say it was too stiff an examination for me. With the rough suddenly thickening up at an alarming rate I seemed to spend most of my time looking for my ball. Not a fun experience and to be honest I'd lost the plot by about 14.

I managed to play a lot better on the Monday and was striking the ball well but struggling to make any putts despite changing to my original Ping Anser 2 putter for a bit of an experiment. It was one of those rounds where there weren't many bad shots in terms of slices, fats etc but I just couldn't make a score.

It's been pretty manic in work too which means I have only managed to hit some balls yesterday. That however was a much more enjoyable experience as I implemented a slight swing change given to me by a very talented golfer on the Golf Monthly forum which incorporates some of the basics of the stack and tilt method of swinging the club. Whilst I'm not going completely over to that dark side the turn of the left shoulder down towards the ball means I'm actually getting into a much better position and if last night was anything to go by the striking was a lot more consistent.

I'm playing with my pal Hywel on Saturday. It could be interesting and I apologise in advance if you're behind us as it seems he's taken on board some of these thoughts too and has been busy practicing. I'm in the Centenary Medal on Sunday which I'm looking forward to and then I'm entertaining three guys off the GM Forum on Tuesday in preparation for the return of the said forum on Wednesday for the 2nd GM Golf day. It looks like we've 24 playing which is a nice number and I hope the weather stays warm and dry.

Hywel and I have also entered the Volvo Matchplay Championship and have got a home tie against two guys from Maidenhead off 14 and 16 which I'm looking forward to. If we play as we normally do in matchplay we could have a good run at this, certainly in our section of the draw. Hywel is also looking to enter us in a four ball better ball event at Tyrells Wood. I think he's flushed with success following our Jubilee Cup win and I haven't the heart to tell him I've probably peaked for the next two years!.

Plenty of golf to enjoy then and the good thing is none of the immediate events (medal apart) is too serious so I can have some fun trying the new swing out without and pressure. I'm not sure what to do during Ascot week but I don't think I'll battle the crowds to try and play on the reduced layout. It might be a good time for a swing MOT and some practice and hopefully the second half of the season will show a marked improvement.

Total number of lost balls in 2010 = 32