Captain's Day (Available for Hire)

Played in the morning section of Captain's Day yesterday. It was a shotgun start at 8.00am and I was lucky enough to be starting at the third which isn't the hardest hole out there and in reasonable proximity to the clubhouse. I was partnered with a guy called Len Griffith-Swain who I'd never met (or seen at the club) before and Steve Downey with whom I'd played a medal not so long ago. Standing around waiting for the signal to start, Len told me he had only played about a dozen times so far in 2010. It certainly didn't show as he proceeded to effortlessly spank his first drive down towards the 100 yard marker.

It continued in a similar vein throughout. Both Len and Steve were playing some good golf and racking up pars (net birdies) with ease. I meanwhile was having my usual mixture of good ball striking and huge mistakes. I was in the greenside bunker for three at the par 5 fifth and walked off with a seven having thinned the sand shot into thick rough some twenty yards over the green, pitched back into sand and making a single putt to salvage a point. It wasn't a lone example!

The highlight of the day for me came at the 9th where I managed to find a good drive and my hybrid approach found the left edge of the green. Sadly the flag was situated directly across the green. I had a big left to right breaker and in all honesty was trying to lag it close but it rolled in for a much needed birdie. It was the same old story of just about getting back on track and then throwing in a bad hole to put me out of kilter.

In the end I signed for 34 points which was never going to threaten either the morning starters or those playing in the afternoon. It was eventually good for 31st spot. However for a man that hadn't played much by his own admission, Len had a blinder and scored 41 points (including a blow-out on the 18th). He was leading when I left and it turned out he won it overall and claimed the Henry Cotton Cup (named after the famous golfer who has connections with the club). Steve too had a great morning and carded 39 points and finished 3rd. This isn't the first time this has happened and it seems that a number of players are doing well whenever I am marking their card. I'm not sure if it's my friendly persona, my yo-yo performances making them try harder or fate but I'm thinking about charging for my card marking services.

I went to Sand Martins this morning and ended up hitting the ball pretty well and much better off the tee. I hesitate to say I've found something that works or clicked but I was driving it pretty well and my irons were much crisper. I spent an hour on the short game too and that is also showing some promising signs. With the club championship coming up this weekend I'm going to get out and play as much as I can and not worry too much about technique. Even if I hack it I'll know what my poor shot is and can devise a strategy to get it round somehow. There is a halfway cut after the 1st round on Saturday and to be honest the aim this year is to actually get to peg it up on Sunday.

I did receive some disappointing news that my mate Hywel may well be moving back to the Leatherhead area and so won't be playing at Ascot anymore. I'm not sure what that means in terms of a partner for the Winter and beyond as most members seem to have regular partners. Perhaps once I let everyone know that playing with me is good for a top three finish I'll be inundated with offers.

We'll see.....

Total number of lost balls in 2010 = 54