What A Daft Game

I decided to wander out onto the course on Monday night for a few holes. I had no time to warm up, no pre-conceptions and nothing really going on in the golfing brain at all. I opted to play the back nine, arguably the harder of the two.

A couple of swishes with the driver and I teed it up. I fired a booming drive and left nothing more than a 52 degree wedge into the green. It should have been a simple shot but I pulled it left into the bunker and found a messy downhill lie. I got it out and two putted for an ugly bogey. Was this going to be a mistake and a long evening stroll in the sun?

After that it was something new. I played perfect golf. I hit every green in regulation from the eleventh around to the seventeenth and never missed a fairway for the remainder of the round. The absurd thing was I didn't really feel like I made decent contact with many shots. The driver in particular seemed to propel the ball further than normal. I hadn't changed my ball and there wasn't any form of wind to speak of. Perhaps I'm getting into a better impact position or maybe it was just one of those rare days when it clicks. The only moment of drama came at the seventeenth. I hit a good five wood but it ran through the green and nestled in the fringe. No panic as I chipped to three feet and converted the par putt. When the par putt on the last dropped I'd played those nine holes in +1 gross. A personal best. I've no idea what I did that worked but I just hit it and walked up and hit it again. It was that simple.

Of course there had to be a flip side. I went to the club last night to be diligent and work on my short game. It is a facet that is getting better but needs constant attention. In recent weeks, I've begun to chip better and with confidence and so I was expecting it to be a productive session. How wrong I was. I had no touch and seemed wrapped up in technique and swing thoughts. Nothing flowed and I've suffered a severe dent to confidence. I hope it was ball position creeping forward but the tempo seemed too slow and deliberate. Not ideal preparation for the club championships this weekend. The greens are drying up in the blistering sun and running quicker and a pristine short game will be a must to make a good score.

How can I be so sublime one day and then practise so poorly the next. It isn't a case of over egging the pudding and practising too much so I've no option but to put it down to "one of those days". The cunning plan is to get a practise round in on Thursday with my regular partner Mike Stannard and get a feel for the greens before the club championship first round. Perhaps I can squeeze a few holes in on Friday as well.

It really is a daft game. I'll go out with no expectations on Thursday and hoping I can just swing freely with no thoughts. The technique is still a work in progress and not quite the finished article but if I can drive like Monday then it'll be a superb foundation to mount my championship bid. If I can make the second round on Sunday for the first time (I've a shocking history in club championships wherever I've played) then that will be one goal achieved and hopefully I can then be competitive.

How high I flew and how low I dropped. All in twenty four hours. I just need to find a nice comfortable middle ground and stop the peaks and troughs. Golf is all about keeping it in play and maximising the opportunities and minimising the damage when you hit an inevitable bad one. I can do it. I just need to