Nothing Special

After the surprise of a good performance in the medal, this weekend was all about social golf. No pressure, no stress (apart from the savage humour) and a chance to play relaxed golf. In truth I didn't strike the ball well but the driving and putting were both pretty ordinary especially yesterday when I struggled all day long. The driver behaved better today but the putter was still ice cold and the Odyssey White Ice #9 is sitting next to me as I type this almost begging me to give it another chance

I felt I hit it better today and there were birdies to savour at the 320 yard par 4 fourth hole which was nice and another on the long 430 yard par 4 fourteenth courtesy of the only putt I made all weekend of note from the back of the green. This twenty foot downhiller looked in all the way and was set up with a great four iron from the right hand semi-rough which had to be kept low to avoid the two large oaks on the right of the fairway. I even managed a rare par four on the 425 yard sixteenth but then took the gloss off the round with a bad bunker shot at the seventeenth and hitting the worse drive of the day off the last tee which went straight right and out of bounds.

The swing isn't as fluid as I'd like it and I think there are some fundamental alignment issues creeping in. This week is the build up to the club championship next weekend. It's held over two days. Everyone plays on Saturday and there is a cut at the end of play with the top 30 or so coming back on Sunday to battle for the scratch and nett prizes. I've got no chance in the scratch but would love to get to play on Sunday and to be in a position to challenge. I've got a very poor record in club championships wherever I've played and so whilst I'm going in positively, the burden of history does weigh heavy. Rashly I've said if I ever win the nett prize I'd dive into the pond by the 18th green. However watching poor old Thomas Levet do that after winning the other week and injuring himself and missing the Open as a result maybe not. Given the amount of wildlife on the pond too it may not be too healthy to jump in anyway. Let's win it first and we can sort the celebration out after.

The company this weekend in both my groupings was great. The course is looking pretty good although some of the greens aren't as good as they should be at this time of year and the pace of them is pretty slow. However, I know the club are working hard to rectify the issues they have and so you have to give them time to make the changes, although it would be nice if the members were kept up to date with progress on a regular basis.

The plan this week, work and family issues permitting, is to work on the swing on the practice ground (Bedborough Field) and see if it is the alignment causing the problems and then address the putting woes. I'll play a few holes later in the week and maybe work on the short game a bit before launching my bid for championship glory at 9.44am on Saturday