May's Report

As some of you may be aware, I keep a track of my performances on a rather nifty piece of software called Scoresaver 2. www.scoresaver.co.uk which helps me keep tabs on what parts of my game are going well and which are a damp squib and causing me to lose shots. Yes I was a train spotter in a former life. There is a serious side to it and I give my teaching professional Paul Harrison a breakdown so we can see where it's all going a bit "Pete Tong" and structure our lessons accordingly. On course it takes no more than ten seconds to record the information and a couple of minutes to download it into the system.

Enough of the spiel, what did May bring?

Key stats for Martin Bedborough (Hcap: 13)

Fairways Hit: 42% (Hcap Std: 15)
Greens In Reg: 26% (Hcap Std: 12)
Putts Per Round: 32.14 (Hcap Std: 12)
Sand Saves: 9% (Hcap Std: 20)
Birdie Conversion: 15% (Hcap Std: 12)
Par Scrambles: 17% (Hcap Std: 18)

The numbers in brackets are a guideline contained within the system to give you a ball park figure on how your numbers match up compared to your handicap. On first sight, some of these figures would appear shocking especially the sand saves and par scrambles. On the one hand I'll be the first to hold my hand up and say I don't spend enough time in the sand to make significant progress and that I lack a consistent and reliable swing in bunkers. On the other hand my defence is that I'm going through a learning curve with the Linear Method of chipping which includes bunker play and so it is an ongoing work in progress. Also, I have to say the standard of the bunkers, particularly at Royal Ascot lately has left a little to be desired. There is a definite lack of uniformity with some having plenty of sand in to play an explosion shot and others seemingly so, only to find the club hitting the integral base of the bunker itself and skidding with inevitable consequences.

The par scrambles too don't tell the whole story and again is down in the main to adopting the Linear Method. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, here's a very good link that shows you the basics (this is the pitch shot but the chipping is just a scaled down version) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzLzmRPmxJU

It's championed by Gary Smith, a Golf Monthly Top 25 coach, advanced fellow of the PGA, England coach and coach to various county sides.

I've not managed to conquer it fully yet especially in competitions and so my short game remains as fragile as England's back four against Switzerland last week. Still if good old GMac can go into meltdown at Celtic Manor there is hope for us all.

Out of the rest of the numbers, only the driving is below my standard and has always been an issue for me. Ironically it is one area that has been on the up lately. Royal Ascot is very much a course that requires you to keep it in play to be able to make a score and it is definitely something that has moved on. which of course leads to greens in regulation (GIR) being easier to find.

So what does it all add up to? Well for the most part it shows that my game is gradually coming back. The ball striking has been good for a while and finally I'm beginning to take advantage. Of course the biggest area of disappointment is the short game. I recognise that a good, nay, a mediocre, short game will always save me a number of shots. Given the depths of despair I was in with my chipping, I'm already way ahead of where I was but it is a long road ahead. Of course by now you'll know I have a penchant for practice and so I'm sure with some hard work (and some faith in my ability) this area will improve. I'm due a lesson next week anyway and so I really want to work on the short game some more. On a side issue, if you do take the trouble to watch the video link, I'd be interested to hear your views. Is there mileage in this different, yet simple approach or is it just a bonkers idea for those that have lost the plot.

And there you have it. May is done and dusted and we're getting better even if the numbers don't necessarily add up. I'll be reporting back for June and lets see if we can continue the forward momentum. Onwards and upwards.