Sunny Periods, Clouding Over Later

As much as the title suggests the local golfing weather, it is a more accurate description of my game on Saturday. It was a roll up with many of the usual suspects in attendance and a reasonable sized field. I have to say I wasn't fully committed as I had/have a lot going on away from golf, and Friday won't go down as a fantastic day and I was dealing with residual fog from events unfolding.

That aside I started off reasonably well for once even if the ball striking wasn't as crisp as I'd like. I hit a lovely 7 iron into the third to set up a par and when I parred the next I was actually a shot under my handicap and continued to be so until the 6th tee. Now I don't know why certain holes behave in the way they do but this one in particular goes through definite peaks and troughs. I can have weeks on end where I'll hook it out of bounds left, carve it right, either out of bounds on that side or best case scenario into the juicy rough beyond the trees lining the hole. Other times I can stand there and for a few weeks I'll hit the green with consummate ease. At the moment we're in a trough and my 4 iron was awful. High wide and not very handsome and never to be seen again. Nul points for that hole for me please.

Another shot went at the short 8th and there was a tad of frustration and anger in the drive at the 9th. It flew off the clubface high, straight and with the venom of all my frustrations (on and off the course) bundled into one fearsome swipe. It only left a 5 iron into the green into the face of a stiffish breeze. Naturally being me I couldn't find the target and had to make do with a bogey (nett par) and 16 points for the front nine. It was good enough to be leading my fourball though.

Sadly the back nine disintegrated into its usual sublime mix of mediocrity, bewildering incompetence and the occasional flash of golfing genius. On the 12th I pulled my drive left into the ditch that runs to the left of the hole on the corner of the fairway. A penalty drop was followed by an over exuberant recovery which found the bunker some thirty yards short of the green. Bugger! However I then produced a majestic recovery from the beach to six feet and holed the putt for a fighting six.

After that brief highlight the rest of the round was a bit of a scramble with poor drives or indifferent approaches always putting the game under a pressure I couldn't match. My misery was complete when I managed to dunk my ball into a watery grave at the 18th to finish without troubling the scorer down the last. 27 points in total had promised much at one point and delivered little. To be honest I wasn't really concentrating too well and the mind was miles from the course. I managed at times to slow the swing down to a blur and never really got it travelling online. All in all a bit of a nothing game but brilliant company and the opportunity to clear the head a little.

However my days golfing wasn't over. I still had my long overdue chipping lesson to look forward too at Maidenhead Golf Centre. I was as excited as Wayne Rooney getting a hat-trick but without needing to fill the clubhouse with expletives. I was a man on a mission!

Sunday. The day of rest.  Not in my world. Armed with a super duper new chipping technique, chipping for dummies, I was up the practice ground by mid-morning to start the long road to short game salvation. It is still early stages and so we're not getting overly excited but the prognosis is good. I took it onto the course. Well to be honest it was just me and the course. Not a sole to be seen and so I had the run of the place.

I hit some good shots on the front nine, the majority being my driver which was an unexpected bonus as it is usually a cantankerous beastie. The scoring wasn't great. I managed to go left at the 6th as opposed to right on Saturday but the same result, out of bounds. 16 points for the first nine holes but to be honest I wasn't really keeping to much of an eye. I was happy working on my game as I went, sometimes putting two balls down in different lies and giving the new chipping technique a gentle run in on the course as opposed to the sanctuary of the putting green.

The back nine perked briefly with a good drive at 12 leading to a chip and putt par having gone over the green with the approach. Chalk one to the chip-meister. I followed with a fine five wood into a stiff breeze that landed and stopped in the heart of the 186 yard par 3 for back to back pars. I creamed a drive on the 14th too and to be fair got excited. I thought I could get home from 157 yards (it was downswing OK) and it finished about 10 yards off the green. The chip wasn't so hot here (1-1) and so I dropped a shot. Safe par at the 15th too and then the run ended. I limped home with my tail somewhat between my legs as the fine form disappeared on the Spring zephyr wind.

The swing was good in patches but everything was hit with a big right to left arc. I'm sure I've gotten too flat again. Still I've a flexi afternoon tomorrow (Tuesday) and so time to hit some balls and sneak out for a few holes. I'll work on the chipping for a couple of nights too and get the new technique ingrained.

All in all I think those clouds are clearing and the sun is coming back out.