Up Against It

I played the clubs New Year competition yesterday. The format was teams of four, stableford, with the best three scores per hole to count. There was the option to pick your own team but I was too late in entering to do that so was in a randomly drawn ensemble. I was with two delightful lady members, Pat Wallis and Linda Campling, playing off 18 and 33 respectively but the downside was that the other gent down to make up the fourth was a no show. That meant we had no safety net and every score would count. Given the way I had played on Friday things didn't look good.

Almost inevitably I had a mare down the first two holes. On the second in particular I managed to make an 8 from the middle of the fairway and with only 133 yards left for my third. A big hoink left was followed by a duffed chip into a bunker, a thinned shot over the green, a chip on and two putts.

I manage to regain some composure until a hooked tee shot out of bounds at the 6th for another zero in the points scored column. I'd manage to score a point per hole to that stage and kept the run going at the 7th thanks to a howler of a second from the middle of the fairway. It is straight in at number one in the worse shots of 2011 countdown. However I did manage to resemble a decent golfer by making great chip and putts for pars at the last two holes of a sorry front nine and a woeful 12 points.

My two partners hadn't fared much better and I'm guessing I'd dragged them down to my level. However we were having enormous fun and so the bad shots never seemed to matter. We'd realised from the outset that we were never going to win and so just took it as an enjoyable social round.

The back nine started with a couple of two point (net par) holes. However I managed to get myself in what can only be described as "tree trouble" off the tee at the 12th and eventually holed a tricky three footer for a single point. The 13th is a devilish par 3 and belies it's stroke index of 17 (supposedly the second easiest hole on the course). At 186 yards and with a big dip in front of the green to swallow up anything mishit or short it requires an accurate tee shot. I hit a blinder, slightly right but moving nicely right to left in the air. I was a yard or two from finding the green but hit the very top of the rise on the dip and the ball died where it was. I hit a good chip to about six feet but missed the putt. Actually it was a pretty poor apology of an effort if the truth is told.

I came up short at the next but made a nett par and then managed to par not only the par 5 15th but the long 425 yard par 4 16th. This is another hole I historically struggle with primarily because there is out of bounds all the way along the length of the drive and only about ten yards left of the teeing ground. As my stock bad shot is a hook from right to left you can see the problem. Anything sliced or pushed right is blocked out by two big oak trees and played from lush rough. I usually aim on the left hand oak and hope for a straight one or with a bit of draw which amazingly is exactly what I hit, right on cue. It left 216 yards to the middle of the green. As the saying goes "he who dares Rodney" and with nothing to lose in terms of a winning score I launched my 5 wood. Man, ball and club met in perfect harmony and the ball sailed high and straight(ish) and finished pin high on the left hand side of the green. Two putts from 25 feet and a rare par.

I hit a great 5 wood off the tee at the 17th and again it drew in the air. I thought it had made the right hand bunker but when I got there it was a few yards short. Having duffed a few pitches earlier in the round, confidence wasn't coursing threw my veins but I hit a decent enough shot to around 8 feet. Having not made any putts of note I had given up hope and so sent it forth in hope rather than belief but it made the drop for another par. Of course no round of mine would be complete without a bad finish. I hit a short tee shot and a rubbish second to leave myself in thick rough about 200 yards away with a shot over water. Being pragmatic I came out to 93 yards (I was trying to leave 100 really) but only had a simple approach. Simple unless you hook it way left into a bunker.

The 18th green is right outside the clubhouse windows. As we were the last group out, there was a large and eager audience watching from the warmth of the 19th. I hit a beautiful bunker shot to about 5 feet and was looking forward to a small coup de grace but forgot to make the putt.

In the end we weren't last. I rallied sufficiently on the back nine to finish with an individual score of 28 and a good score of 16 for the harder back nine holes. The two ladies were a joy to play with from start to finish and there were some good shots played by all of us.

I wanted to play today but with a heavy overnight frost, the greens were back on temporaries and I didn't fancy it. I went to the range instead and like everything I seem to do golf wise it was a mixed bag. I worked hard on my posture and weight distribution and when it was right I delivered the club to the ball in a really strong impact position. When I got it wrong it felt like I wasn't transferring the weight back through and everything was hung on the back foot resulting in a weak slice. On the plus side the driver and 3 wood flew like a dream.

Back to work for the first time since Christmas Eve tomorrow so back to limited practicing in the dark in the evenings. There is the first stableford of 2011 to look forward to next Sunday and a social roll up on Saturday. With some positives to build on lets hope 2011 will be a stellar year.