A Makeover And A Look Ahead

As the more astute will notice my blog has been freshened up for the new year. Hopefully it'll be easier to read and is more pleasing on the eye. As well as continuing to chart Homer's odyssey back towards single figures, I'll also be looking at some of the new gear on offer as and when I get to try it, reviewing a number of courses as I play them and offering a periodical look at those that have had an influence on my game over the years.

I'm glad many of you are visiting regularly and for the most part have been positive in your feedback. If you'd like to say anything, good or bad, about my adventures or would like to see something else included or covered please feel free to get in touch. You can either leave a comment at the bottom of any post or drop me a line via my twitter account for those of you technically enabled at @mbedboro

So where is 2012 going to take me? Initially I plan to build on the progress I've made with Rhys ap Iolo at Downshire Golf Complex and the transition from a mish-mash of swing styles into a solid one plane motion. There is already a lesson in the diary for late February to tackle the thorny issue of my short game and if we can get a swing that repeats, minimising the moving parts, and re-discover the ability to get up and down more often, then the scores will start to drop and we should see some handicap progress. We are dangerously close to hitting the 14 mark again whilst I am never afraid of taking a step back to then take several forward I have always felt that 14 represents a bit of a mental admission of failure. Still it'll be what it'll be. The last time I touched 14 I duly went out the next week and won a club monthly stableford so perhaps it isn't all bad.

I've a few games planned including a couple of Golf Monthly Forum meetings at Woburn 36 holes on the Dukes and Marquess courses http://www.woburn.co.uk/golf/ and a day at Crowborough Beacon near Eastbourne http://www.cbgc.co.uk/ which looks a fantastic course. There is also a Help for Heroes Charity day in October at Blackmoor Golf Club http://www.blackmoorgolf.co.uk/ near Bordon in Hampshire which will be a fantastic day in aid of a superb cause. I'm hoping to interest my club in holding a Powerplay Golf event http://www.powerplay-golf.com/ as it would make a superb social event and would be ready made for a fund raiser for this years captain charity which coincidentally is also Help for Heroes. Other than that I hope to get a few games at courses Royal Ascot has reciprocal agreements with, hope to be picked for a few club matches, and will entering the Volvo knockout with my regular partner Mike Stannard. I'm also on the reserve list for the Trilby Tour http://www.williamhunttrilbytour.com/ and so will hopefully get a spot somewhere in the South Eastern qualifiers. If my "Hackers Guide to Royal Ascot" has whetted your appetite to come along and test your game then let me know. I'm happy to play with anyone and always up for a game.

Above all the aim is to have fun and enjoy my golf. I love the practice and have never been afraid to invest time and energy into working on my game and hopefully now I've got a great teacher working with me I can convert what we do on the range into good scores when it counts on the course. However the over-riding aim is to get out and play, play, play. If it goes poorly then as long as I can say I hit a few good shots and the company was good is there anything to really worry about?

I'm hoping you'll help make this blog a two way street and really get involved in 2012. I plan to offer a dozen golf balls (Pro V, Srixon Z Stars, or Bridgestone 330 RXS) as a prize in a spot competition soon so keep logging on for more details. In the meantime please feel free to get in touch either on here by leaving a comment or via my twitter account and I hope you all enjoy a great 2012 golfing year.