I'm Available For Hire

Sometimes when you see the draw sheet for the monthly medal or stableford at Royal Ascot you know before you've even hit a ball that you are going to have a good time irrespective of how well or badly you play. The monthly stableford last Saturday (June 25th) was one of those days. I was paired with John Munday (a decent 7 handicapper) and Tommy Goode (a strong 11 handicapper). John and Tommy are real stalwarts of the club and usually in the middle of all the banter in the 19th and both possess a quick mind and quick wit. There is never a dull moment with these two on and off the course and neither are short of a word or quip. Happy days.

My golf didn't start off too badly. Suitably relaxed I started off with a nett par and then a gross par down the 2nd for three points. However my game is blighted with unforced errors at present which seek to disable my scores as efficiently as any known computer virus. Forced to lay up at the 3rd following a pushed drive I have 84 yards left. I hit it perfectly but a fraction long and it rolls off the back of the green. Poor execution or poor distance control? Either way it left a tricky chip and I couldn't get it close enough. A point dropped.

So the scene was set. On the par five 5th I've only got 118 yards for my approach in and push a nine iron into the bunker and then fail to take any sand with the recovery and send the ball sailing over the green. Another point goes west. Seeking a fast recovery I hit a great shot into the heart of the 6th only to three putt. In the end it contributed to a lowly fifteen points going out. However both John and Tommy had experienced similar ying/yang starts and so I wasn't so poorly placed. Certainly not disgraced and actually striking it very well in general terms less four poor shots that cost the lost points

The back nine in truth was a similar tale. Par at the 10th was followed by a horror down the 178 yard 11th. I topped my tee shot (I can't remember the last time I did that) and then missed the green from a filthy lie. A duffed chip into a bunker and the writing was on the wall points wise for the hole. I couldn't convert anything and mistake followed mistake and I went on a run of single point scores from the 12th to the 15th which was only halted with a great drive at the 16th and a crisp 5 iron pin high. A good chip and a putt that stayed just short was enough for a nett par and two welcome points. It didn't last and I was back frittering shots at the 17th. I hit a great closing drive down the last but as if to sum the day up pulled my second shot which just ran into the thickest of thick rough and required a chop out. I salvaged a six for two points but it should have been better.

In the end my 27 points was a fair return. Tommy matched it but John played some blistering golf on the back nine to finish on 38 points which was enough to secure Division 1. We had a real good time together, got round comfortably inside four hours and dodged the odd stray shower. There is a real theme building up here. Over the period of the last year or so, it seems that one of the group I'm paired with in most medals or stableford will have a good round and invariably challenge for a top three spot in their handicap division. It has even filtered through to honours board events too. Sadly it hasn't rubbed off on my own game but I'm seriously thinking about hiring my card marking skills out to anyone looking for a handicap cut or some prize fund. I'm open to offers

The ball striking was pleasing although I didn't make any putts. My chipping is still a weakness and in and out but it is the ability to snatch bogey and double bogey from the grip of par or better that is an issue. Is it all in the execution? I'm not standing there thinking about technique so maybe it is. Maybe I'm just careless when I get within 150 yards and assume it is an easy shot and so don't focus as hard as I might on a tight drive or tricky recovery. Either way it is a blight on my game that needs eradicating and fast. The handicap continues to soar perilously close to 14 but in general terms the golf isn't indicative of that sort of mark. Work to be done me thinks.