A Surprise - And Then The Frustration Sets In

Having had a constructive lesson with Rhys ap Iolo at the Downshire Golf Centre on Thursday night and a productive practise session on Friday evening I was moderately optimistic about the Saturday morning roll up. In truth I struck the ball reasonably well given the scope of the swing changes we made and the lack of time to bed these in but I just couldn't find a way to score. In the end the 25 point total was more a story of an ice cold putter and a lack of trust in the swing. There were some decent enough shots in terms of ball striking but it was a tale of missed greens and out of sorts short game. Which ever way you cut it though it didn't bode well for the stiff challenge a monthly medal presents.

Sunday morning dawned in glorious warm sunshine although there was a frisky breeze blowing that would make life interesting out on the course. I wasn't up for the challenge given the problems of Saturday and the fact I was having trouble transferring what I had worked on into a swing I believed in on the course. Mentally I was prepared to accept a 0.1 handicap rise in return for another round in the memory bank and a chance to put the changes into action on the course. Arguably not the best way to prepare or the right frame of mind to have on the first tee but there you go. I was drawn with a Royal Ascot "veteran" Tommy Goode, long standing member and familiar face around the place and Mike Goodwin, a blunt, straight talker and a very solid golfer. I always enjoy their company and so I was looking forward to the round even if the golf didn't promise much.
As it turned out it started well enough. Granted the opening tee shot was a top and I was left with 110 yards to go on a 229 yard par 3 but the nine iron recovery nearly set up an unlikely par but a four (nett par) was good enough. I secured a par five at the second courtesy of a great 4 iron from 173 yards. It isn't often I catch the long irons absolutely pure and I really enjoyed the feeling. After a nett par at the third I was one under my handicap and going along nicely. Of course in Homer's world that was never going to last and so an ugly three putt at the 4th soon put that right.

The putter had been cold on Saturday and for the medal it was positively glacial. I hit what I thought was a good approach to the 5th hole, the par 5, but the wind caught it and it stalled and landed on the front of the green. Shame the flag was up two tiers and at the back. The first putt was actually quite good, finishing some three feet away but the par putt never scared the hole. Another three putt.

As you should be aware, disaster is usually only a swing of the club away and this time it came at the 7th. I pulled the tee shot left but found a perfect lie in the semi-rough. I had a shot straight over the environmental area (out of bounds) which was well within my compass or the option of a safe shot back into play some hundred yards or so short of the green but with a straightforward pitch. No prizes for guessing which option I took. In my defence I hit it perfectly. On the downside I hit it straight into the large oak right of my target line. Where it flew from there is anyones guess. I hit a provisional but the five minute search was fruitless. In the end the single putt for a double bogey salvaged an air of respectability from a very poor shot selection. What have I said before about course management?

We found a few on the 7th - but mine had gone to ground and decided to stay there

Rattled I missed the green at next, the short par 3 and put it in a greenside bunker. The recovery had no sand under it and cleared the green. I completely thinned the chip and was mighty fortunate to hit the flag and stop stone dead for a tap in bogey putt when a double or worse was on the cards. I managed a par at the 9th and out in 42 (+7) which was perhaps better than it could have been.

Having split the fairway at the 10th I missed the green left with an 8 iron. Unforgivable and no excuses. The bunker shot was adequate but not good (mental note to self, get out and work on the sand shots) and so I made a nett par when a gross one should have been converted. Still, I hit the par 3 next and made par and made a good nett par at the 12th (stroke index 1) when the drive had put me in trouble. When I hit the green and made par at the 13th I was one under the handicap for the back nine and in with a chance of a handicap cut. Like the front nine, there was to be the inevitable sting in the tail. I hooked the tee shot on the 14th left. I found it but it was in an unappetising position in deep rough. It really was lost world territory. Deep. Very deep. The options to take a penalty drop either within two club lengths or in line with the flag didn't give any real advantage and so it was really a case of hit and hope and try to move it back into play. The first attempt moved it about a yard and the third shot only just saw it back onto the cut grass. By the time I putted out for a triple bogey seven I'd used my handicap allowance and was now battling to remain in the buffer zone.

The rough on the left of the 14th is not the place to go

The driver behaved itself at the short par five 15th. A good job too as the hole was playing into what had now turned into a stiffish breeze. I managed to make par although not with an air of any authority. The drive at the 16th was blocked right and the lie dictated there would be no heroics. A punched 5 iron back into play and a third onto the green. Two putts later and I'd made a nett par. No damage done. The 17th is a long 218 yard par 3 and was playing back into a cross wind from right to left. I hit a full blooded three wood and caught it well enough to send the ball onto the green. Another safe two putts and another par secured. A good finish at the last would see me hit the buffer zone.

I saved the best for last and hit my best drive of the day. It was into the wind and despite nailing my five wood second shot I was still 129 yards away. This would usually be a safe 8 iron but into the breeze I opted to club up and hit a 7 instead. I put a great swing on it and it looked great in the air and landed on line with the flag although I couldn't see how adjacent it was. I was might disappointed to see that the wind had held it up and it had only made the front of the green and was twenty five feet away. The putter finally kicked into life and I rolled it stone dead for a safe par. Back in 41 (+6) for a total score of 83 nett 71 (+1).

As far as I was concerned that was going to be at least a couple of shots shy. Imagine my surprise to receive an e-mail later in the day to say I had finished second in my division and had lost out on countback. We can all look back and say "if only" but the harsh truth is had I taken the pragmatic approach at the 7th and even turned the triple bogey into a double then I'd have won. On the plus side, the competition scratch score (CSS) went out to 72 and so my score was actually good enough for a modest 0.2 handicap cut. I seem to be making a habit of getting pipped at the post, either on countback or by someone else producing a stunning round to eclipse my efforts. The result was a shock. I had gone out with little expectation and was just trying to put the new swing into practise in a competitive environment. The result then leaves a feeling of frustration. Had I been more focused, had I played some holes differently how easily I could have won.
If I am being brutally honest, it wasn't until the realisation that I'd used my handicap allowance that I really began to focus. Before that I was happy to swing the club and take the consequence and just focus on ensuring it encompassed the changes I'd been working on. In the end, I played the last four holes in one over par and really the drive at the 16th was the reason for the dropped shot. It goes to prove though that I can do it and that perhaps the failure of the round on Saturday was just a bump in the road and not a big problem. The swing still isn't quite right with the wrist cock honed over the last thirty years still taking the club frustratingly across the line. I need to be able to turn on a flatter plane and keep the wrists passive but the work I'm doing is about correcting the impact position and ball flight. It doesn't have to look great as long as it works. There is still some way to go and a whole heap of work to do on the short game and putting as well. However, the scores are coming and the handicap is dropping and so there is a lot to be happy about. I'll keep working and knocking on the door and sooner or later it is going to open. There is a really low score in there that will come out soon.

In the end you have to be happy whenever you get a cut and whilst it would have been nice to have won, it isn't the end of the world and there will be other opportunities. I'll take this as a huge positive and an endorsement that the work Rhys and I are doing is working well and that there is still a lot to come and that can only bode well. Definitely a glass half full feeling.