Still Moving Forward - But What A Waste

What a weekend. Golf, golf and more golf at the Heath of Dreams, Royal Ascot Golf Club. Two competitions, the monthly stableford and the Jubilee Cup, a better ball pairs event. Sandwiched between those was the annual "International" competition, wonderfully organised by two club members, Peter and Charlotte Munk followed by an exquisite BBQ cooked by the club caterers.

We were blessed with great weather for the stableford. It was my first game of golf after my trip to The Grove and the "New Golf Thinking" workshop and a chance to put into action some of the salient points from the day, in particular getting into Mental Position A. (http://threeoffthetee.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-secret-is-out.html). I had an early opportunity to test my new mental resilience as the opening tee shot was way right and short of the trees that run across the hole some fifty yards short of the green. I was fortunate enough to have a shot through and under the branches to the back of the green and I managed to scramble two points to open my account.

I hit the second green in regulation but managed to three putt from thirty five feet. Annoying but not a problem as my putting is usually a strong point and everyone has a three putt now and then. By the time I rolled a twenty foot putt in for birdie on the fourth and I was ahead of the card and going well despite not exactly having the ball under full control. Finding the fairway and the green on the par five fifth I was looking good but managed to three putt again, the penalty for not getting onto the correct level of the three tiered green.

My advantage was eroded at the tricky seventh hole. Having found the fairway I made a total mess of the hole to end with a sloppy double bogey and once I hit the shortest hole on the course in regulation before three putting for a third time in the first eight holes I was a shot behind my handicap. It was a deficit I couldn't make up on the ninth despite finding yet another fairway. Out in seventeen points.

I managed to make a solid par at 371 yard tenth and so was back on handicap and starting to play better. Despite the frustrations with the putter I was trying to focus on the positives. New Golf Thinking in action and working well. Not a natural process and it felt a little forced in places but the results were evident in the way I was making the best of a not so great ball striking round. I strongly suggest you download the ebook and see how it can help your own game.

New Golf Thinking - an ebook that will change the way you think on the golf course

I even found the green at the 178 yard par three eleventh. This is always a hard target to find as the green is angled towards the player and so presents a narrow landing error with two bunkers left and a large one front right to catch the wayward strike. Admittedly I hadn't hit the tee shot well and it was a low slinging hook but I was on the putting surface and only twenty five feet to go. I walked off with another bogey thanks for yet another three putt. I was having one of those days with the putter and every green seemed to leave me with a tricky two footer either short or past the hole. I couldn't find the pace at all.

I was back behind the card again after a four at the thirteenth. Never an easy hole it measures 186 yards and is a hard target to find. There is a dip short that not only makes the hole seem shorter than it is but kills anything short. A large tree protects the left edge and there is a grassy run off area to the right. If they were being honest, most would take a four here. It definitely plays harder than stroke index 17. A superb up and down from the left of the fourteenth got me back on an even kilter. Having hit the fifteenth in regulation I was set for another par. Wrong. My fifth, yes fifth three putt of the day saw to that and yet again I was left chasing a score. My race was run with a double bogey on sixteen and a four on the par three seventeenth. In my defence the last par three on the course does measure 218 yards and has out of bounds tight left and a deep bunker to the right. It's actually another hole where four isn't a bad score.

The final hole plays uphill and measures 531 yards but another fairway and green in regulation should have seen me sign off with a par. What other way was there to finish but yet another three putt. Six in one round. A pitiful effort. If I'd converted these there was a victory to be had. In the end I had to be content with fifth place in the division. It was won with 37 points although winner Chris Beckett did deserve his victory having finished eagle, par, par, eagle. Great effort but I can't help feeling this was one that got away although I managed to hit the handicap buffer zone. On a positive note, my thinking was much clearer and when I made bad swings or mistakes I didn't dwell.

Sunday was arguably the best day of the weekend. Bright and sunny and by the time the shotgun start arrived at 2.00pm it was wonderfully hot too. I was in the England "Further South" side partnering Mike Goodwin. We were up against a junior team, Scots, Welsh, Internationals and sides from those independent states "The Geordies" and "The Northerners".

Golfers from many countries enjoyed a great day at the Royal Ascot International Competition

I think the less said about my performance the better. Putting was much better but the ball striking was very in and out. Fortunately my playing partner was a steadying influence and often on hand to mop up my mistakes. I did manage to come in from time to time but our score did nothing to help our side into the top three. To be honest, this event is more about the social side of things, well in my mind at least, and it was fantastic to see the clubhouse full of noise as everyone congregated with a tale to tell. The BBQ put on was first class and many thanks to everyone behind the bar for their patience and diligence, to the serving staff for their sterling efforts getting everyone fed so quickly and to the chef for preparing some excellent fare.

Monday dawned and it was time for the Jubilee Cup. This is a better ball pairs stableford event played off three quarter handicaps. I am a former winner of this, back in 2010. I've now got a new partner, Mike Stannard off an admirable 8 handicap. We've been together as a pair for several years now and although we've chalked up the odd matchplay win we've often flattered to deceive and never seemed to gel as a team in this type of event. Today was going to be better. My New Golf Thinking was going to see me stronger and more resolute.

We started off in normal fashion and only scored a single point on the first. Mike made a par at the second and so we were off and running and when I chipped and putted for a par at the third we were ahead of the game. Easy come, easy go and we both made a mess of the short 320 yard par four. A nothing hole really but it seems to catch so many people out on a regular basis, due in the main to its severely contoured green. It was this green that did for us as we both three putted. I made a par (net birdie) to get us back ahead of the scorecard and Mike made a great chip and putt at the sixth. I'd found the green on this par three but yet again over this weekend I three putted. When Mike made a great birdie at the eighth we were on a roll. We lost a point at the ninth but were still out in a healthy nineteen points.

We gave a point back on the eleventh and I made a good net par at the twelfth to keep us on an even keel. Mike hit a great shot at the thirteenth to secure a par but he found big trouble at the fourteenth. Time for me to step up. I missed the fairway on the 430 yard par four. I was faced with a shot between two trees, having to keep it under the branches from a fluffy lie. I pulled off what would be described as "career shot" in New Golf Thinking and hit it to perfection and landed it on the green. No prizes for guessing what followed. How often would I wreck my hard work with incompetence on the greens. I made a net par but at this stage it wasn't enough.

We needed to attack now to post as competitive a score as we could. I made a par at the fifteenth and we had to go for broke. That lasted as far as our tee shots on the sixteenth. Mike went out of bounds left and I carved my tee shot so far wide it crossed the fifteenth hole running the other way and into a hazard. In the end I was pleased to make a point with a six (net bogey) but our race was run in terms of winning. We only got a solitary point at the seventeenth and although I made a net par at the last, thirty four points was only good enough for eleventh place in a field of twenty four. It was a better performance for us as a pair but we left a lot of shots out there.

In the end, there was some good stuff to enjoy. I hit the ball reasonably well in places and had I been able to putt like a half decent player I could have notched a win, or come close. I might even have helped Mike and I to a higher finish. The most positive note was how I thought. I was always in a strong place all the way round in the stableford and Jubilee Cup. I can't say New Golf Thinking is the be all and end all but it has definitely given me some tools to cope better on the course. I actually hit 75 % of fairways in regulation and 50% of greens in regulation in the stableford but 39 putts was a season low. At least I hit the buffer zone. No need to guess what I'll be working on this week!

Despite all of my putting woes, the greens at Royal Ascot weren't to blame. We came close to losing them a few years back with moss infestation and a green keeper that seemed unable to rectify the problem. However, since our new green keeper arrived a couple of years ago they have returned and are almost as good as when the course opened in 2006. They are almost totally free of moss now, look superb and are putting true. For most, that is all we ask. Pick a line and trust it to run true. They are getting quicker too and will be a challenge in a few weeks when the Summer sun gets on them. Of course he isn't a one man band and the rest of is team deserve praise too. It isn't just the greens though and all the course is starting to look a picture. Well done to one and all.

It could have been better but then again we can always say that. I am pleased with my early season progress having already notched up a win in the Golf Monthly Forum King of Kings South Eastern qualifier at Camberley Heath, a few quid in the Saturday roll up and posted the best score of the day at The Grove New Golf Thinking day. There is still a long way to go and that handicap is still creeping surreptitiously. My golf in general is more consistent and the work I did with Rhys ap Iolo at the Downshire Golf Centre over the Winter is paying off. I am very happy with where I am and continue to plough a lone furrow towards single figures. Next week is the monthly medal and we'll see where that takes me. For the moment though I feel I'm moving forward but wasted a great opportunity. Onwards and in terms of my handicap downwards.