Summer Is Here (No Really)

Well that's it. Summer has officially arrived. I managed to get out onto the hallowed turf of the Royal Ascot practice ground (or Bedborough Field as it's now known) for an hour last night. The first post-work practice session on grass for 2012. Happy days. In truth and had I been inclined, it was light enough for nine holes with ease but I wanted to get back to swinging the club properly. It wasn't good at Woburn and I hadn't been happy with the way I'd been swinging for a couple of weeks. It isn't too far off but too much hip slide and I'd lost that feeling of the club travelling left, a fundamental of the one plane swing, and of turning on top of the ball and compressing down. Whilst there is a place for the driving range and it has been a fundamental of my winter practice, since switching teachers before Christmas and embarking on this new, and so far, much improved swing, there is nothing that replaces the feeling of hitting off the turf and getting that instant feedback when you find the sweet spot or if your swing is out.

I have to say last night was time well spent and in the main I was very happy with the way I hit it. The swing whilst not ideal and still too shallow was more controlled. I was able to turn onto the ball better and hold the finish position. This is always a good barometer of how I'm hitting it and usually when the tempo is too fast and there are too many moving parts it is impossible to hit the thing and then retain the follow through. As a result the ball striking was encouraging and the majority were nice and straight, flying on a lovely arc and the dispersion was well within acceptable parameters for my handicap and expectations.

I'm reticent to get overly excited as I've been bitten too often and swung it like a capable golfer in practice only to set foot on the course and chop it round like a rank beginner. However as a first session off turf it was a good base to build upon. I'm not going to get caught in the old trap of spending every evening bashing balls in the pursuit of some textbook swing or looking for that extra few yards. Been there, done that and it isn't the way to go. Golf is about playing and I want to get out and play as many holes as I can this year. I'm particularly keen to look at some of my nemesis holes (6, 7, 8, 12, 16 and 18) and see if there is a better way of approaching these but above all I just want to go out and enjoy it.

The good news keeps on coming. Following on from my bunker lesson last week I also managed to get into the Royal Ascot practise trap and work on the changes to set up and my approach to bunker shots. It wasn't easy as parts of the bunker have only a few grains covering the base, lulling you into a false sense of security. I tried to play several shots as I'd been shown only to hit the base of the bunker and the bounce of the club skidded into the ball. Definitely not user error and the execution was right. Where there was sufficient sand to play a proper explosion shot out, the results were pretty good. I still need to work on distance control, mainly through swing length and tempo rather than worrying about opening the face of the club up. I'd rather have one stock shot at this time I can rely on rather than over-complicating the issue. At least I have the tools and the confidence to approach these shots in a positive frame out on the course now and they shouldn't hold any fears anymore.

With the ongoing work I'm putting in on the short game as well, it is all shaping up rather nicely. I'm not what you'd call bubbling with confidence about the Haig Cup this Easter Weekend (bogey competition where you can choose which two days over the four day holiday period to play) but I do feel there is a real low round struggling to get out. I've always been a bit of a streaky player and so get me on a roll and I can string a number of good rounds together. I just need that catalyst.

When all is said and done though it was just great to be able to get out after work and it really does feel like the season is upon us even if the weather, with snow forecast, doesn't seem to have caught up. The clubs will live back in the locker and I can be up and out by 6.00pm each night. No excuses now for not getting going on Homers Odyssey to get back down towards a much lower handicap and pick up a few wins along the way. The next step starts now.