Glass Half Full - Well Sort Of

Lets start with the facts. It was Christmas stableford time today and I managed a meagre 29 points and finished 35th overall. Not my finest hour. However in my defence the -5 overnight temperature and frost meant we were on temporary greens and my heart is never in it when that happens.

I've been working hard on getting the club more in front of me and to be honest I used the round as nothing more than a glorified practise session. There some very good tee shots, particularly the 5th, 10th and 15th but the irons weren't as good as I'd have liked. On the positive side of things my short game, so often not so much the weakest link as the missing one, was much better today It was just as well as temporary greens usually means a lot of fiddly chipping as the targets are so small and hard to get close to.

Despite all this, the initial signs are good. I need to get some serious range time in and make the move feel more natural. At the moment I feel as though I am coming over the top (and sometimes do) but when it is good it is very, very good.

I was partnered today with my four ball partner Mike Stannard and Tommy Goode who remains a feisty competitor even at his advanced years (well 70 is getting on a bit!). The good news for me is that Mike is in imperious form, well apart from one shank and even then he recovered brilliantly. His good shooting was good for 41 points and 2nd place. Tommy was his usual mixture of very good with the odd faux pas thrown into the mix to keep things interesting and he managed a respectable 37 points.

So where does that leave me? Well if I'm honest I'm trying to be upbeat and take the plus points from the round. I've plenty of time to get things moving in the right direction this week ready for our Winter Knockout match next Saturday. The draw hasn't been kind and we've got ex captain Geoff Escourt and his right hand man John Munday both of whom own "unique" swings but on their day are capable of getting it round well. I've got my own "unique" swing and can be dangerous too especially with Mike as my "Steady Eddie." It promises to be an epic and if I can follow the advice from Rhys and really get the club in a good position then I'll be a real foil for my partner.

I've a date with the range tomorrow morning especially as the forecast for later in the days isn't so good. I need a clear head, positive thoughts and good tempo. If they fall into line and I hit it as I did when I went to the range on Friday then we are going to be in a strong position going into 2012. If not, well I can always revert to a glass half empty type of guy, book some lessons and get some help. Hopefully Mr Half Full will win the day.