Beaten But Not Blown Away

Unable to fulfil my monthly stableford commitment yesterday, I ventured to the club in the afternoon looking to hit a few balls and maybe play a solo practise round to shake off the rust that's attached itself to my game recently. I was fortunate enough to bump into Martin "Bash" Davis and we decided to have a friendly little match.

The wind over the last forty eight hours has been gale force at times and had only died to a strong and gusty breeze. It was so strong that I took a five wood to the opener, playing downwind and found the green with ease. Bash matched my by hitting the green and after three putting, I was one down. One became two when Bash birded the second to beat my par. Apart from the putting lapse the ball striking on the openers was very encouraging. I got a half at the third and fourth and should have pulled one back at the fifth but my approach found sand to let my opponent off the hook.

I pulled my tee shot at the sixth but expected to find it pin high in the rough but despite an extensive search it never turned up. Bash made par anyway and so three down after six and suddenly I was looking at a big defeat. I pulled one back at the seventh and had to work hard down both eight and nine to make sure I halved these. Two down at the turn. I was happy with the overall state of my game, bar the lost ball but the driver was not quite firing and I seemed to be missing fairways by just a few yards. With the semi rough becoming thick and penal it was hard to move the ball far when you found it.

The back nine started with a half at ten and I splashed out of the green side bunker at the eleventh. Bash had been in trouble off the tee and his second was in sand and he had gone off the edge of the green with his recovery. He hit a great chip to a foot and made a double bogey five. I just needed to roll the putt down to the hole but clumsily rushed it two feet past and failed to make the return. A terrible half and still two down.

We shared the twelfth in another double bogey and suddenly my game had become scrappy. I missed the green at the next too but so did Bash. By the time we shared the fourteenth as well the match was entering a thrilling climax but I was glad I hadn't entered the stableford after all. The ball striking was still solid but I wasn't putting it into the right places and couldn't make a score.

Suddenly I was thrown a lifeline at the fifteenth when Bash put his second shot into the thick clag and lost his ball. Back to just one down. I hit a great drive down the sixteenth and fired my second just short. Bash found the green with his third and if I could wedge it close and put him under pressure maybe I could force a mistake. I couldn't and one down and two to play.

I hit my five wood at the penultimate hole and found the right hand bunker. Bash hit a pearler and found the back of the green. I could only make a bogey but Bash was able to nudge it close enough for a par and to close the game out 2&1. In the end I couldn't live with his blistering start and did well to hold onto his coat tails for most of the round. I finished with a nice par at the last hitting a good drive, solid three wood and an average pitch. Playing into the stiff wind they were three good strikes.

All in all, there is sign of things working. The swing still needs some work, although the driving was getting better. I was missing fairways which was frustrating. The iron play was solid but coming out of the semi it meant I couldn't always play with control or even fire for the greens. The putter wasn't firing and I couldn't make a putt but managed to hole well from 2-3 feet especially when it was needed for a half.

I've a lot of big games coming up, starting with a club match at Tylney Park next Saturday (my birthday!) and then at Camberley Heath on Monday at a Golf Monthly Forum day. I need to be at the top of my game to play well in these and so it'll be another week of consolidation and practise and working on the short game in particular. I'm happy with my general game but it needs tightening up. Bash played well and conditions with the strength of the wind and the tough course set up made it hard to score well. I may have come second but I got everything I needed from the round and so we move on towards the business part of the season in positive mood and with confidence high.