Tough At Tylney

It was all a bit Fellini in the build up to the club match away at Tylney Park yesterday. Not only was it my birthday, but I wandered up to Royal Ascot to hit a few balls and generally warm up before heading down the motorway for the match. There were a few stragglers warming up for the monthly medal but in the corner of the practise field was a guy with a big Titleist tour bag absolutely nailing shot after shot. It turns out it was European Tour pro, Brett Rumford. I've no idea why the Australian was using our facilities but he was good enough to stop and give me a few pointers

Brett Rumford and me on the hallowed Royal Ascot practise ground

From this chance encounter it was off to Tylney Park, Rotherwick, near Hook in Hampshire. I'd never been there before but was looking forward to it. I was partnered with Derek Robinson and steady 17 handicapper and we faced two Tylney members off 22 and 23 handicaps.

It's a parkland course measuring 6,608 yards off the white tees. The course is set in 200 acres of Hampshire parkland which is registered by English Heritage as a protected park and garden. The mature trees and large undulating greens are the main features of the course. Just being on the putting surface is not sufficient to ensure a good score. In fact, the rough was penal. Not only was it deep, arguably too deep, but every hole was tightly protected. You only had to miss a fairway or green by ten yards at most and it was in the deep stuff.

A nice layout but tight with thick rough all around

I have to say that even without twenty mile per hour winds and squally showers, the course for the average golfer was really hard. In fact I have to be brutally honest and say I found it one of the hardest courses I've played and that includes some championship and links courses. I've no issue with being penalised for a wayward drive, but losing balls when you miss the fairway by five yards isn't fun. Similarly when you are going into greens with fairway woods and hybrids and are missing these by ten yards and losing another ball there really seems no let up.

The match itself started well from our point of view. I started slowly but Derek was steady although the opposition aided our cause losing a number of balls and we were three up after four.  I eventually came to the party at the 217 yard par three. I found the green with a five wood and made a par to take us four up.

The Tylney pair steadied their own ship and with shots managed to peg the deficit back to two at the turn. However Derek was able to keep us ticking along and we managed to extend the lead to be dormie four up standing on the 371 yard par four 15th. I'd hit a good drive and my seven iron found the green. I two putted for a solid par to close the game out.

To be honest I didn't play well. I drove the ball well enough for the first dozen holes but it was the second shots that put me in trouble and I came away the owner of considerably fewer golf balls than I had upon arrival. My iron play and ball striking had been good lately including a practise session midweek. Yesterday though it just didn't fire.

Without labouring a point, I think the tightness made a lot of players scared of failure and committing to the shot. Derek didn't find it as hard as I had but even he lost a few nuggets too. I wouldn't want to play there with a medal card in my hand.  In the end, our win extended my unbeaten run this season but it wasn't enough to prevent Royal Ascot being narrowly edged out 3-2.

So what can I take from my day. Well my swing didn't fire yesterday and I need to find a fix before the Golf Monthly Forum day at Camberley Heath on Monday. I need to learn more about course management. In hindsight, rather than blindly going for all the long holes and paying the price in high scores and lost balls, I should have employed the tactics I'd used to good effect at the Forest of Arden last year. I refused to take on any par 4 over 400 yards and laid up to wedge distance hoping to get close enough for a single putt but prepared to take a bogey (net par) and move on. In truth I'd tried that on the par five opening hole yesterday. I'd hit a great drive and took a six iron for position. Having hooked it and lost a ball as a result, the brain shelved the plan straight away
To be honest I wasn't at it mentally. Perhaps it was as a result of not knowing the course and where I could and couldn't miss. Whatever the reason I wasn't standing over shots with any clear thoughts in my head and meandered from shot to shot and hole to hole. Not what I usually do and the golf suffered as a result.

If this all sounds gloomy, let me set the record straight. The matches against Tylney are always good fun to play in and are competitive but in a pleasant spirit. The welcome is warm and the full English breakfast we had before we went out was great. Afterwards, they were the perfect hosts and the drinks and laughs flowed. The course was in exceptional condition and the greens in particular were smooth, true but very tricky. So all in all I enjoyed it even if the golf hadn't been as golf as I'd hoped. At least I've got the tips my new best mate Brett gave me to work on and the chance to balance the ledger with a better showing at Camberley on Monday.