A Pleasant Change

With the world famous Royal Ascot race meeting entering its final day, I took advantage of an offer to play Downshire Golf Course near Wokingham. It was a four ball comprising of Colin Osborn, Matt Davis and Mike Stannard from the regular Saturday morning swindle at Royal Ascot. They are all good lads and even if I played badly there was bound to be some good banter to soften the pain.

The Downshire is where I've been having lessons but I haven't actually played the course itself for a good few years. I have to be honest, I turned up with a pre-conceived idea of it being swamped with golfers ready to tee off on a Saturday morning. I guess it's the generic concept of a municipal pay and play.

The weather was dry but breezy but lo, when we got to the 7.32am tee time the group in front of us were already meandering down the first and there wasn't a sign of the group due to follow us. In fact, you could argue that with the usual greedies at Royal Ascot there are more players hanging around to get off there on a Saturday.

As regular readers will know, my game has taken a bit of a dip lately. It was erratic at Tylney Park last weekend and fell apart completely on Monday at Camberley Heath. I've been to the range a couple of times during the week but to be honest found nothing to set the pulse racing or raise the confidence levels.

My opening drive was acceptable if a bit of a push, come fade but I hit a solid second onto the fringe and made a par four to open. The good news didn't last long and I squirted my tee shot low and right on the second. I moved it a hundred yards or so with the next and was playing the par five in instalments. In the end I managed an ugly double bogey seven thanks to the inevitable three putt.
I wasn't putting a good swing on any shot and stood over the ball not convinced where it was going.

Playing off the yellows, it is a relative short course, just shy of 6000 yards and so I was able to get it round. By the time we came to the feature hole, the par three seventh, it was a case of do or die to clear the pond in front of the green. I actually found the green and made a solid par. This was followed by a par at the eighth and the par five ninth and somehow I'd gone out in seventeen points, almost playing to handicap.

The signature hole at the Downshire from above -- a tricky par 3 over water

The tenth hole is another par five. Finally I nailed a drive off the tee. Pure of strike and nice and high. Ironically perhaps it pitched into the fairway bunker and stayed there. I laid up although a long way back but my hybrid from 191 yards somehow found the dance floor and I converted for par. Similarly at the next I went right off the tee but my hybrid again squirted out low and ran and ran into the heart of the green to set up another par.

I did hit it better on the back nine, but there was still no belief in what I'm doing. I managed to make a closing birdie on the very short par five closing hole and in the end I'd cobbled twenty one points for the back nine. It certainly didn't feel like a thirty eight point round and without doubt there would have been no way I'd have got away with some of the shots I hit back at Royal Ascot.

In the end though you can only play the course as it presents itself and I guess perhaps there were a few good signs but to be honest I left feeling a little empty. Don't get me wrong, the Downshire is a great course and given the amount of traffic it copes with and the torrential rain we've had it was in fantastic condition. I was so, so wrong with my concept of a pay and play at the weekend and the ill dressed, inexperienced hoards simply weren't there. Maybe the early tee time helped but either way, if you are looking for a good course to play for a change at a good price of £28.50 then Downshire should be high on your list of options.

Where does that leave me. Well I'm convinced I'm not getting the club into the right position on the back swing, certainly not as far behind me as Rhys ap Iolo would like. I think the plane has gotten too high and all in all it isn't right. There are too many moving parts and compensations. It doesn't feel as smooth as it has done since the switch to the one plane system. The club isn't exiting properly low and left and I think I've just got too much going on in my head and I'm over the ball with too much chatter going internally.

I'll be back to Royal Ascot this week now the circus has left town. I'll hit some balls and prepare for the first round of the Volvo Matchplay pairs event with. We've a home tie in round one against a pair from Calcot Golf Club in Reading. I'm not on fire but hopefully Mike can be his usual steady self and I can lurk with intent and come in here and there for a vital half or even the odd win. We'll see. At least I've got a lesson booked for next Friday with Rhys and so he can cast his eye over my swing and we can get my game on the road to recovery.

It was a pleasant way to spend a morning and perhaps the change of scenery helped. Well maybe not. It didn't at Tylney or Caversham. The glass half full Homer still lurks within and I'm convinced once Rhys weaves his magic at the end of the week I can get the game on track and kick on harder and faster towards my goal of getting back to a 10 handicap and maybe pick up a win or two along the way. It's frustrating to have played so well in 2012 and to have suddenly hit the wall. I guess it happens to everyone sooner or later but it's how you deal with the bad rounds that make the good ones more enjoyable. I'll be back on track soon. I have the skill and more importantly I have the belief.