Consistancy - Surely Not

Played with my mate Paul Sweetman (Budely) yesterday. He sadly lost his job earlier in the year and so is on a restricted membership which lets him play so many times per year for a reduced fee so he can keep the membership going. Quite a decent scheme on behalf of the club in these difficult times.

He hadn't played for a few weeks and so he didn't have the best of days although his back nine was much better than the front. I actually played pretty well and managed 32 points (not earth shattering) and was 16 points both sides. I hit the ball pretty well for me except for a poor drive and a lost ball at the 3rd and a hooked drive AGAIN at the 16th. The 16th hole was pretty frustrating as I even took the 3 wood out as I should have done in the last medal. Maybe I need to have another think about my strategy. My bad shot is normally right to left towards the out of bounds and I can't move the ball (fade or slice) the other way. Problems, problems. Bunkers were a menace again with a duffed escape costing a shot at the 9th. However the driver behaved and I didn't three putt.

I've been selected for the club match on Sunday against Maidenhead. These are friendly affairs although the matches themselves tend to be quite competitive and to be honest we are usually looking for numbers so it's unlikely I've been selected on recent form and more the fact that I put my name down. Still a match is a match and the weather looks better tomorrow. I went to the range this morning but didn't hit it great. I couldn't get into it with the rain coming into the bay making it uncomfortable.

As we're coming towards the end of the summer golf and the nights are beginning to draw in again I thought I'd share my statistics since June. As followers will know, its been a couple of months mixed with some good ball striking, some terrible golf, missed opportunities and close shaves.

Key stats for Martin Bedborough (Hcap: 12)

Fairways Hit: 39% (Hcap Std: 17)
Greens In Reg: 27% (Hcap Std: 11)
Putts Per Round: 33.11 (Hcap Std: 15)
Sand Saves: 13% (Hcap Std: 13)
Birdie Conversion: 13% (Hcap Std: 16)
Par Scrambles: 17% (Hcap Std: 18)
Penalties Per Round: 0.84 (Hcap Std: 9)

Rounds Recorded: 19
Date Range: 01/06/2010 to 14/08/2010
Produced by Scoresaver 2. www.scoresaver.co.uk

All in all I am not quite performing to my handicap standard in any department and I'm frustrated with the lack of success around the greens from bunkers and scrambling given the amount of work I've invested into practicing these areas. However the overall picture is pretty consistent and I feel the driving in particular has turned a corner so if I start hitting more fairways, then greens in regulation, birdie conversion and putts should all improve.

Lets hope it can start tomorrow and I can play well in my match. If not I hope I get a strong partner who'll be able to carry me for 18 holes. We'll see.