Sunshine After Rain

I played in one of our main honours board events this weekend, the Longhurst Cup. It use to be a stableford event, at least it was in 2000 when yours truly had a blistering two rounds to scoop the cup and the kudos. It's now a medal and you can play two rounds on any of the three days of the long weekend.

Let me summarise my performance on Saturday by saying my involvement in the 2010 event lasted until the 13th hole where I lost a ball and frustration and disappointment crashed over me in a wave of sufferance. Enough was enough and I was already playing terribly and struggling and put my first no return in for a very long time. I hate doing that and prefer to struggle to the bitter end but my game was so bad and more than any golfer should take. If it had been a boxing match the ref would have stepped in to save me from further punishment.

It had started badly. A good opening drive and chip onto the first was marred by three putts and that really set the tone. Good play ruined by too many mistakes. I lost a ball at the 2nd with one of the poorest swings I'd made all season. Another double to match the opening one. I tried, as I'd promised at the start of this odyssey, to grind a score and was only three over my handicap at the turn. However a rubbish drive card into thick jungle resulted in a lost ball and a treble bogey and to be honest my head was away in the clouds and I lost interest. The lost ball at 13 was the icing in the cake and I no returned and ruled out any chance of winning. The remaining holes, free from the shackles of a medal round were no better and another wayward drive out of bounds at the last set the seal on a miserable day.

I'd played with two great guys, Colin and "Bash" and both did really well to keep their cards ticking over and finished with nett 71's (+1). You can't win these events after one round but like me you can throw them away. Colin in particular was going great guns and was out in 39. He had one bad hole at 16 after we had to wait for a fourball who looked like they were there for the duration. He got frustrated and carved one away right.

We reconvened yesterday morning. The weather was much harder with a strong gusty breeze blowing making scoring much harder. I had gotten there early and hit the practice ground and had at least discovered a little bit of timing and so opted to put a card in, in the vain hope of a handicap cut.

I played much better and the ball striking was so much crisper. I did chuck an early double bogey into proceedings at the 3rd but I'm blaming the bunker. I did everything you are suppose to do to hit a hit bunker shot except there was no sand under the ball. The club skidded and the ball limped out and short of the green. I rectified matters with a great up and down at the fifth from a bunker having short sided myself and chipped and putted to save par at the next two holes as well.

Some of you will recall I hate par 3's and said as much recently. Another double at the poxy short 8th didn't help but I was out bang on my handicap. When I made par at the 10th with another chip and putt I sensed for a fleeting moment that I could shoot low in trying conditions. That idea lasted until I thinned a chip through the green at the par 3 13th (nothing like a consistent short game) for another double. I dropped another at the 15th but made a superb par at the 16th with a laser like hybrid to the heart of the green. However yet another double on a par 3 killed me at the 17th. I really hate par 3's now.

I finished with a 73 (+3) and so can't be too unhappy. Too many poor shots and bad decisions on which club to take were to blame. Sadly neither Colin or Bash could match their first round efforts. Colin was hamstrung by the 4th where he played the wrong ball in error and ended up with a triple bogey after two penalty shots. To be fair he never got going. Bash was his normal up and down self but was stringing some good scores in patches but would then throw in a bad hole to knock himself back. I think he must have been learning at the feet of Homer.

I think we'll put Saturday down to a bad day, lack of warm up and one of those things. Yesterday showed what a difference a day can make and how frustrating this game and the pursuit of a good score can be. There will always be sunshine after the rain.

I'm not sure what to do today. I don't fancy a round as it's still very windy. I can't see much value in hitting balls at the range for the same reason and haven't got the inclination to work on the short game. However the wife is making noises about going to the shops and garden centres and so I can feel some form of golfing therapy coming on.

Total number of lost balls in 2010 = 59