I had already warned Mike online on Friday evening that I hadn't hit it well at the range that night and that the outcome on Saturday may not be pretty. However on the practice ground we were both surprised, nay scared at just how well I was hitting it. Of course we should have known.......
Mike started magnificently with a glorious drive into the heart of the first whilst my effort went left. He made par and I managed a single point. He couldn't say he hadn't be warned. However I redeemed myself at the next with a par but then undid the good work with a hooked tee shot into the environmental area and another dropped shot. He compensated with another par. This was the flavour of the day. I'd have a bad hole, make an unexpected par at the next (as I did at the 4th) and then have another bad hole.
Mike did have his own aberrations. Standing in the middle of the 7th fairway he managed to hit a pull straight left into the hazard and ended up making six. I on the other hand had pulled my drive and was contemplating fading it over the environmental area and back to the green. Had it been the Saturday roll up I'd have gone for it. However I took a pragmatic approach, and played safe assuming my partner would find the green or its proximity from the short stuff. Wrong. In the end we were out in 29 points. Not horrendous but not a winning score.
The back nine started in a similar vein. I parred the 10th hitting a long drive (for me) and an easy 9 iron into the centre of the green. Mike however trumped that with a second shot that was stone dead for an easy birdie. I was unlucky at the 11th. My ball went left into the bunker but was wedged right under the face by some idiot leaving the rake lying there. With no chance of getting it out playing towards the green and only being able to get one foot inside the trap, I eventually did quite well to come out to the side and just off the green. A poor chip meant a five for a single point which was a bit harsh as the tee shot hadn't been that bad.
I have to confess that by this stage it was clear that despite Mike's heroics we weren't at the races in terms of winning and my concentration levels started to wander. There wasn't anything on the best individual score and it wasn't a qualifier for handicapping purposes. I hit some good shots in the remaining holes but there was some rubbish in there too, especially the chipping.
In the end we amassed 58 points for 19th place (out of 37 team) and mid-table respectability. However when you consider Mike had 34 of those on his own off three quarter handicap and you get a measure of how steady he was all the way round. I do feel bad that my own inability to string two good holes together held him back and you have to feel sorry for him having such a millstone to contend with. However I do think there is the making of a very good matchplay team (just as well as we're representing Golf Monthly in the Volvo Matchplay tournament) as he is usually steady and I can come in every now and then.
Regular readers will be aware of Butch Cassidy and his partner Sundance from our Saturday roll up (Martin Davis and his nephew Matt). Well, they donned their masks again, rode into town and stole the trophy with an impressive 75 point total. Actually our roll up is a tough school as second place went to two more regulars, Colin Osborn and Anthony Ayres (aka Kerching as he scoops the pot on a regular basis off his dodgy 26 handicap) who fired a very commendable 71 points.
From my own point of view, despite the inconsistent nature of the scoring, the ball striking for the most part was actually very solid and it is only the old chestnut of the crap short game that held me back. Fear not my avid blog readers. I've bitten the bullet and got a chipping lesson sorted for Saturday afternoon with my normal teacher Paul Harrison from N1Golf at Maidenhead Golf Centre.
I don't think it's going to take him long to get me back to basics and using the right method but I think the battle is going to be erasing the mental scars this chipping fiasco has left. I'm so confused about technique, ball position, wrist hinge, weight and posture it's a minor miracle the club is going back and coming down and making any sort of contact at all. I need him to treat me like a beginner. One simple to use method and no swing thoughts.
Congratulations to Butch and Sundance, and well done to my partner who at least managed to generate an honourable team total almost single handedly at times. I can't promise I'll be any better next time out partner, but I promise that I'll give it my best shot. It's probably a good job the transfer window is shut!
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