A Tough Day At The Office

It was the monthly stableford yesterday. I was paired with two very good golfers Dave Wood (10 handicap) and Andy Wells (12). I think from memory it was the first time I'd played with Dave but had enjoyed Andy's company on several occasions. The weather forecast all week had been bleak with winds touching gale force and heavy and persistent drizzle on the cards. In the end we only got the winds but they were hard work and made life very, very difficult.

I actually made a solid(ish) start for once and got a four at the first (nett par) and a six (also a nett par) and by the time I made a par at the 5th I only one shot over my handicap. The wind was making club selection very difficult. It was directly into your face at the 3rd and although Dave and I hit ropey drives, Andy hit a decent ball and it actually did very well to clear the environmental area (hazard). The 6th was another struggle. It only measures 178 yards and I hit a decent hybrid, Dave hit his gentlemans persuader (7 wood) and we struggled to get up to the flag. Andy had hit driver but managed to stick it some 10 feet away so clearly some method to his madness.

I made a hash of the 7th after finding the fairway. The wind was across from right to left and I tried to be clever and aimed out to the right of the green expecting the wind to move the ball. I was so focused on the wind I forgot to make decent contact and left it wide and short. Even after chipping on I managed to three putt to drop a point. Conditions were hard enough without making unforced errors. Sadly these silly mistakes are a staple part of my golfing life at the moment and the 8th was a classic case in point. Short and left after the wind had gobbled my ball in flight and moved it some ten yards to the left of where I was aiming, I had a chip over a bunker to a flag no more than four yards onto the green.

Regular readers will know the state of my chipping and short game overall and so you don't need to be a genius to guess where I was playing the next shot from. That's right, the bunker. What a plonker. I got it out quite well actually but missed the putt and a so hole with no points scored. The 9th was really into the headwind. It's 400 yards long. Dave hits a good ball and I hit a decent drive too and we were side by side. We both hit solid seconds but from around 200 yards it was impossible for either of us to get anywhere near the putting surface. I was happy to get there for three, and for once made a putt for an unlikely par. I had 14 points in total for the front nine and given the debacle at the 8th thought that represented a decent return in the conditions.

The wind wasn't going to let up and personally I always find the back nine at Royal Ascot a much tougher proposition. A duffed drive at the 10th was never going to set me up to start with a flourish and in the end I did well to scramble a point. We all know I have a penchant for making high scores from perfect positions but I surpassed myself at the 11th. Playing into a right to left crosswind, slightly into your face, I hit a pearl of a hybrid starting it over the bunker to the right, landing it short and letting it run onto the green. In the conditions it was a very good shot and should have set up a solid par. Of course not. The putter went on holiday and  I had a smelly two footer to avoid four putting. Fortunately it dropped.

Unforced errors (again) cost me shots at 13 and 14 but I did make a good par 5 at the 15th which was another playing its full 478 yards. The 16th is a long par 4 (425yards) but as it was directly downwind I took my 3 wood, partly for position and partly to get it airborne and let the wind take it. I hit the shot of the day and I only had 163 yards left. I took a 6 iron and found the green. Naturally I three putted to ruin all the hard work.

In the end I limped home with 13 points for the a grand total of 27 points and 17th place in Division 1 and another 0.1 back on the handicap. To be honest I wasn't too disappointed. Conditions were as tough as I've played in a very long time and coupled with the poor swing I've got at the moment and a short game that is killing me both mentally and on the scorecard it could have been a lot worse. Surprisingly I was the highest scorer in the group although to be fair to Dave I think he had lost a little interest on the back nine and Andy a couple of bad holes and missed a few putts.

There is still too much going on in the swing and lots to iron out but I don't want to be over analytical or self critical. It is still a work in progress and once I work out how to chip there will be some room to work when I miss a green. I enjoyed the challenge the wind posed and didn't disgrace myself. I'd say that was a fair return.