Something Fixed But Still No End Product

I had a day off work today and had planned to dedicate myself and really work on my chipping and putting and maybe play a few holes before hitting the practice ground to work on shots from 100 yards and in. However being a lazy so and so, the lure of a Monday morning lie in without the stress of getting ready for the daily commute was too much and I didn't awake much before mid-morning.

In the end I got to the club about 11.30am and hit the putting green. I have to say the malaise that is my chipping shows no signs of improving. I have to be honest and say I'm getting myself tied in knots now and it is a real mental blockade. I know the theory perfectly but the problem has gone on so long and I've tried so many ways of fixing it that I can barely take the club back and through. My head is full of chocolate frogs and I'm sure the chipping yips are imminent. Suffice to say I wasn't out there very long and it wasn't pretty.

The call of the bar and lunch seemed too good an opportunity to miss. I hadn't played yesterday as I'd woken with a sore back and it still wasn't feeling great but decided as the course was pretty quiet that I'd go and play nine holes and see what was what, and maybe hit a couple of balls from around the greens. I made a four at the first so no damage done and made a good par at the next hitting a great 8 iron from 127 yards to within eight feet but just missing the birdie. A solid five at the 3rd courtesy of a decent pitch from right of the green was followed but a regulation par at the fourth hitting both fairway and green.

The swing felt a million times better than on Saturday and I seemed to have so much more time to swing back and through and give myself plenty of room to make a good pass at the ball. A decent drive at the 5th was followed by a mistake. I hooked my second into the left hand bunker about 100 yards short on this par 5. It was on a downhill lie and I had one leg in the bunker and my right one was outside on the downslope. I manged to make a good connection and it found the green and I made a solid two putt par. I missed the green right at the 6th into the bunker right and hit a good recovery to about twelve feet but couldn't save par.

I hit a mare of a tee shot way right on the 7th. My recovery was good and my third found the left side of the green. Two putts for a well rescued nett par. I should have parred the shortest hole on the course (139 yards but playing only 124 today) but pulled the tee shot. The chip was heavy and I missed the 6 foot return. I dropped another shot at the 9th. Having found the greenside bunker left in two, and splashing out to fifteen feet I then three putted like a real lemon. All in all the 17 point total was pretty good, especially compared to recent weeks. There were some good shots, some return of a decent tempo and much to enjoy. As the back wasn't too sore I decided to push on and play the back nine.

I hit a pulled drive at the 10th and was along way back and needed a 5 iron to get home. It never threatened the green and was short and right. A perfect time for the fragile chipping persona I have to melt. I hit it fat and jabbed the next on close enough to hole a squeaky putt. Luck ran out at the 11th though. I hit a rubbish 4 iron way right, even missing the large bunker right of the green. The ball was on a bare muddy lie and my pitch lacked any authority and just held up in the long grass on the front edge of the bunker. I got it on the green and happily took my two putts to get out with a horrible double bogey. The twelfth was a case of nearly shots. My tee shot clipped the large oak about 100 yards off the tee (slightly right) which took some impetus off a well struck shot and it just made the rough as it dog legs back right. The hybrid just clipped a few of the branches from the trees that line the right edge of the hole and it dropped into the bunker about twenty yards short . The bunker shot came out well about fifteen feet short and the putt just lipped the edge of the hole. Still a five is always welcome there.

I managed to find the green at the 13th with a much better struck 4 iron than the last one on the 11th. I made par. On the 14th I decided to move the ball position a fraction further forward to try and generate some more height as everything was low and running. Functional but not pretty. Ding Dong. I piled one away and was left with only 177 yards (par 4 430 yard hole). Sadly I hit a huge hook with the four iron but recovered with a high softly landing pitch from a good lie in the rough in front of the 15th tee and made a five (nett par).

I kept the ball position slightly forward for the shot on the par 5 15th and hit another great one. I decided to hit a 6 iron for position and only had 118 yards to a back flag position. I hit it heavy and landed on the front fringe. My first putt was good but left leaving a 6 footer which I missed with extraordinary ease. Another well struck tee shot at the next was followed by a duffed hybrid and another 9 iron than missed the green this time to the right. I hit a good chip (well for me at least) and had a shot at a five (nett par) but again didn't really scare the hole. I hit a wide on the 17th, short and well right. I managed to hit a gorgeous recovery to eight feet getting the ball to fly high and land softly but couldn't make the putt again. Another dropped shot. I can't wait until I get another shot back on my handicap (pretty imminent on current form) as I'll get a shot on the dreaded 17th again. Making par everytime on a 218 yard par 3 is a big ask and frankly I'm not up to the job. I'll be quite happy when I can make four (nett three) and walk away.

Another good drive on the last seemed to confirm the change in ball position was a sound move and the 5 wood follow up shot left me ideally placed 98 yards short of the green in the middle of the fairway. It should have been a smooth wedge but I caught it thin and it found the back bunker. I hit a good recovery but with the green sloping back to front, forward spin and gravity took it some ten feet by and I had to make do with a closing 6. I had limped back in fourteen points for a 31 point total. Not a disaster but not really what some of the ball striking suggested either.

I guess one has to take the positives out of any round, especially one enjoyed in shirt sleeves and sun and on a work day too. The driving seemed much better once the ball position was adjusted and early on the irons were very sweetly struck. I found a fair bit of sand but got out well including a tricky lie on the 5th. The putting was poor although in my defence I had put my old Odyssey White Ice #9 in for a bit of trial. Suffice to say Trigger's old broom, a.k.a my Ping Anser 2 (same head but shortened shaft and new grip) will be back in the bag for the reschedule Jack Jarrett on Saturday. However the pragmatist realises that there are still too many unforced errors and that a lack of credible short game is hurting my score. If I miss a green through poor execution (or misplaced drive initially) then I rarely get up and down.

This is where the mid-handicappers at the club who win regularly or at least always score reasonably, let alone the single figure guys, excel. It's time to bite the bullet and get a lesson sorted. If I can clear the fog that engulfs my brain everytime I'm faced with a short chip (fifteen yards or less) then maybe, just maybe I can scramble better. If I'm faced with a longer shot where I have the chance to make a longer swing there is more chance, although no guarantee, that I'll commit more and make a passable effort. It gets boring to type and must be getting tiresome to read, but short game blues are still holding me back. I've decided Sunday 6th April is D-Day and I'll book a lesson somewhere. Then with the right technique, renewed confidence and more time in the evenings with the clock changing I'll be back bigger, meaner and more capable of saving par. Homer is on a mission.