We've Created A Monster

Cast your mind back to when you first took up golf. For many, including myself, this was a long time ago. For me, the passage was a simple transition from the local pitch and putt to a week of lessons as a ten year old kid during the school holidays in the summer of 76. There was a dustbin full of balls and the pro took the group of kids through the basics of the golf swing bit by bit over the course of the week. We stayed there each day until the dustbin was empty.

For others, the path is via the driving range, maybe with a couple of lessons and then onto a local pay and play. For my good friend Rob Dickman this is what has happened. I'm not sure where the sudden interest in golf has come from other than the juices being whetted by a fantastic blog called threeoffthetee, and the onset of middle age. He's been to the World of Golf driving range on the A3 near his home in Surrey, had a couple of rounds at the local pay and play at Horton Park in Epsom and recently joined Epsom Golf Club as an academy member. He had his first round there on Friday and a lesson from the club pro Stuart Walker.

Epsom club pro Stuart Walker who has taken on the task of teaching my mate Rob Dickman to play - Brave Man!

Rob had invited me down yesterday to take him round and hopefully impart a little of the knowledge I'd gleaned along my own golfing path. The weather forecast was bleak with sunny periods and heavy showers, possibly thundery. Not ideal but in for a penny and all that.

I arrived in lovely sunshine but as we loitered on the first tee, a shower arrived. I'd just got the waterproofs on when it stopped as quickly as it started. I hate playing in the waterproofs and so whipped the jacket off before teeing off. Rob wanted to see how it's done (or not on current form). It plays just over 320 yards and the tee shot goes across a small valley and uphill to a green that looks like the proverbial elephant's graveyard. I got my three wood away. Rob made contact with his effort and it went forward and we were off. Nerves clearly played a part on the first hole for him but he managed to get to the green in a respectable four shots. I hit the green in regulation and then the fun started. My first putt was from around twenty five feet away, right to left and uphill. I hit it on the line I wanted. It got halfway there, veered to the right and meandered down a slope and almost back to where I was standing. I was left standing in astonishment. The green keeper clearly had a sense of humour and a four putt green put me in a troubled mood.

Rob Dickman (right) and I ready to start our round. If only we knew.....

We managed to negotiate the first three holes in the dry but as we got to the fourth, a short 258 yard par four the heavens opened. It was straight on with the waterproofs as it was torrential. Despite this I got a good drive away and found the green and secured a solid par. Rob had gone around in 124 shots on Friday. Pretty respectable for the first time on a tricky course. His goal was to just beat that. I was confident at the outset that we could go much lower but now the rain had come in I wasn't so sure.

We both struggled on the long par four holes running to the top of Epsom Downs and the iconic grandstand on the world famous race course. By the time we got to 331 yard seventh, it was as heavy as anything I'd experienced in thirty years of golfing. I hit a good three wood and a wedge to ten feet and rolled in the birdie. We decided to wait for the rain to pass. Having stored the clubs under a tree to give them some degree of protection, a sudden flash of lightening and a clap of thunder meant we concluded progress could wait. Some fifteen minutes later, it abated and we could continue.

Rob was making good progress. I was suitably impressed with the swing he has and clearly he's taken on board the information he's been shown in his lessons. If only I could wipe the slate clean and start again but with so many ingrained faults and nuances that's a pipe dream and for me it's about making the best of what I have. I was on a roll and followed the birdie on the seventh with a par at the eighth and ninth. My drive on the tenth went miles right although in me defence the sodden grip meant it slipped as I swung. I still managed to rescue a bogey so no damage done.

I was impressed with the way Rob managed to get the ball away off the tee. This was especially the case at the par five fifteenth. He smacked it straight down the middle and although the second was a little left he had a good chance to make the green in regulation. In the end he had to make do with a bogey six but there was no disgrace in that as the hole is stroke index 2.

The sixteenth is arguably the feature hole at Epsom Golf Club. It's a 288 yard hole (off the yellow tees) down a valley. For many it is a driveable hole. I cracked a splendid effort away and came up some forty yards short. In truth my chip was poor but the undulations on the green threw the ball all the way to the back. Facing a tricky forty foot putt uphill and right to left I came up some ten feet short and three putted for an ugly bogey. Rob had smacked another good tee shot away and although he had then topped his next off a side hill lie, his third finished just short of the putting surface. From some fifteen feet he nonchalantly rolled in the putt for a par. His elation was a joy to see. He was made up and to be honest his play had deserved a reward.

The 16th at Epsom - the weather wasn't as good as this. Not sure Rob really cared after making par

The next is a pretty little par three across a valley. Despite being a real short hole it is a small target to hit but with the honour, Rob stuck an iron to ten feet. He was playing like a golfer with far more golfing miles under his belt. I needed something special to put the pup in his play and put a nine iron to six feet. I think Rob got over excited sensing his first ever birdie and raced a down hill putt miles past and three putted. I hit a dream of a putt and watched aghast as it did a lap of honour and defied the laws of gravity and remained above ground.

Rob had a few issues off the tee at the last but once he got a ball in play he finished the hole in style, with a nice little pitch onto the green and two putts. I had a bit of a mare having got my drive away down the right. I carved my approach from two hundred yards miles right and I was fortunate that the hedgerow some thirty yards short stopped the progress of the ball as it was heading towards pane glass on the patio. Out of bounds I was forced to reload. My next was right but I played a nifty chip to six feet but missed the putt for a miserable triple bogey, my worse score of the day.

We adjourned to a local hostelry to meet up with my wife. Rob met up with an Epsom member and made up to find out he'd destroyed his previous best. My wife likened him to Tigger, the bouncy character from Winnie the Pooh cartoons. He was desperate to go out and play some more and I think had we offered to hit the driving range he'd have been there like a shot.

Rob has the golfing bug badly. Like Tigger he can't get enough and would happily have played on if he could

Rob has never struck me as a golfer but many come to this great game later in life. He has clearly had a good education as his basics were really solid. If I was being a little picky, his swing lacks impetus and is a tad too deliberate. This means that despite making good contact on a regular basis the shot lacks power. Straight but short. To be honest that isn't a bad combination to have.

He has the bug. We've created a monster and he is already looking for his next golfing fix. As the voice of reason, I've tried to explain that not every round will go according to plan. There will be days when he'll never want to see another golf club. Despite this though there will be that one shot in every round that will bring him back for more. My advice to him is to try and get some lessons over the winter, work on the drills, especially those on the tempo and speed of the swing, and be ready to hit the course next season. From there he can get his first handicap and he'll really be a golfer then.

I haven't played Epsom for many years and I'd forgotten what an interesting place to play it is. It is very short but protected by tight tee shots and greens which are still very quick. They drained impressively after the deluge yesterday and were slick. I dread to think how fast they'll be in the summer. They are small targets to hit and their undulations are the biggest defence. I think it will a great place for this new golfer to gain his spurs and I look forward to a return trip without the biblical rain.

As for my game it was a combination of poor driving in places with some decent stuff in between. Being short, I was able to get the ball round and apart from the last there wasn't too many disasters. I was able to course manage and plot a course and my short irons were pleasing and did give myself a few good birdie chances. My swing at the range has been one in progress but feels like it is going forward. I've not played too much recently and so converting this onto the course as the rounds at West Hill and Epsom showed isn't easy. I'm going to follow the advice I gave Rob and work at my game over the winter with my teaching professional Rhys ap Iolo. Unlike last winter I don't feel there is too much to change. It needs tightening and a few things need tweaking but the core swing is just about there now. The path is far better and I know Rhys has been pleased with progress. I need to work on the short game and this will be my main focus of attention.

I can't wait to see how Rob progresses. He has it and has it bad and having know him all my life I know he's one of those that likes to do things well and so will work hard at his game but he's also someone for whom it will never be the be all and end all. Might be a salutary lesson in there somewhere!

Seasons End

The Help For Heroes Day at West Hill last week was the last big even of my season. It wasn't suppose to be and I was due to play a club match at home against Tylney Park on Saturday. Sadly illness put paid to that.

So what did the season give me? On paper it has been a poor season. I started with the handicap at 10.1 and poised for an assault towards single figures following a productive winter programme with my teaching professional Rhys ap Iolo. We had even started work on resurrecting a dormant short game and there was a whiff of optimism in the air. As I sit typing this the handicap is tottering at 11.3 and dangerously close to going back to 12.

The cynical amongst you will say it was a terrible season and that anything else is window dressing. On one level I would agree and I never really attacked single figures and lurched out of the blocks at the start of the season like an asthmatic tortoise. Early on, the frustration levels were at critical as I struggled to recreate the work I'd done on the range over the winter into meaningful scores.

The ball striking was like night and day compared to last year and a testament to the work Rhys had done and the hours I'd invested improving my club head path and getting more with less moving parts. Perhaps the lack of a short game and a putter that had yet to warm up didn't help. On the plus side I had lost the big misses both sides of the course and knew my shop shape and where my bad misses were going. I just kept chucking silly holes into each round undoing all the hard work.

A classic example of this recurring theme came in the Stone Cup in May. An honours board event over the bank holiday, competitors play two rounds over any three days of the long weekend. I started my first round with a steady outward nine of seventeen points. The back nine was a cacophony of double bogey golf and too many one point holes for a measly haul of twenty nine points. My second round was an improved picture with eighteen points out but again I faded to have fourteen back and thirty two overall. This two round haul was mid-table anonymity and 0.2 back on the handicap.

The pattern was set and this would be a theme. I could string together a steady string of pars and then chuck a cricket score from nowhere. I was trying to course manage my way round and when we got the warm weather (remember that?) I was hitting three or five wood off the tee to keep the ball in play and still be in a position to hit the greens in regulation. It wasn't a case of firing blindly with a driver or not having a game plan for each hole and a plan B if the tee shot misbehaved.

As my year meandered on and club matches started up, I was finding the freedom of a partner a released and I was playing some better golf, especially away from home. I lost a match at Caversham Heath on the last, having been four up after ten holes. We were blown away in a barrage of net birdies and perhaps my partner and I wilted in the blistering heat but the quality of my play over the round eased the pain of defeat. A fine win at Tylney Park was reward for an excellent driving performance on a long course. At home I had a fantastic run and was unbeaten at Royal Ascot.

So where did the fault lie. Unquestionably the short game let me down. This has started to come back in the last few weeks and it is something that Rhys and I have top of the agenda for our winter work. When it was good I scored. I found my putting boots mid-season too. The first round of the club championship was a case in point. A net 72 (+2) included three birdies but it was a round ultimately undone by a triple and quadruple bogey on the 13th and 14th holes. Aside from that and I was right in touch with the first round pace setters. These were caused by errant tee shots and in one of my lessons Rhys explained that I seemed to rush my shots, especially under pressure.

We started working on pre-shot routines and it is an area I'm taking further and I've started doing some work with Pre-Shot Golf http://www.pre-shot.co.uk/ to take control of the monkey brain that seems to get in the way of me playing with freedom. It has helped resurrect the short game too, along with an improved and simplified technique.

So despite no short game, a handicap that has almost gone up two shots, an ability to self destruct and a lack of focus over the shot how can I possibly say the season has been good. Well the highlight has been the quality of my ball striking. It was a long and frustrating winter trying to bed in the changes but so worthwhile. When I was playing well, and there were many good holes this year, I felt I had the ball on a piece of string at times. What I lacked at times was self belief. I let the bad holes affect me and I stewed on my errors.

I had a nine hole playing lesson with Rhys ap Iolo at the Downshire Golf Course. That was a chance for me to showcase how far I'd come and the state of my game. Naturally I started with an ugly double bogey but I think he saw enough to be happy that the goal of single figures was more than a pipe dream. We have been in constant touch throughout the season and a big thumbs up to him for being available on Twitter and Facebook and for looking at the swing via You Tube when things have gone astray.

The season has drifted along to a conclusion and although we still play competitions throughout the Winter at Royal Ascot Golf Club, weather permitting, the big events are done and dusted. In the end most of my performances have been firmly in mid table . Despite this I am happier with the state of my game in 2013 than at the same time in 2012. My bunker play is far improved and I am putting much better. My technique is sound and coped with the lightning paced greens at Caversham Heath and Woburn. I did change to a heavier Odyssey Tank #1 I'd trialled at a demo day in the Autumn which I feel will manifest into a trusty weapon on the slower winter greens. I am chipping and putting now and making several up and downs per round. Add in the odd sand save and what a difference it makes to the score and the golfing psyche during a round.

I am now driving the ball better and it is a simple golfing fact that if you get it in play more often you will score. Rhys has changed my set up at address and although it is a work in progress it is moving in the right direction and I am longer and straighter.

If I was to sum up the season, it would be a B-. Too high I hear you scream but I am taking into account the difference in the way I hit it. I need to eradicate the blow up hole and the work Rhys and I plan to do on the mental side of the game this winter will help. A stronger golfing brain akin to a short game and better club path and I still firmly feel this golfer has is destined for single figures.

I'm not at all melancholy. The golfing glass has been positively half full all year. It has been trying at times to keep it that way and maybe I do need to just hit it, find it and hit it again. It is hard. I'm not wired that way. I've never been naturally blessed with sporting aptitude and any fleeting success has always been achieved from hard work, good coaching and sheer bloody mindedness. I'm not going to change now so I'll carry on ploughing my own furrow. I have a clear goal and can see the path I want to take.

As the season draws to a close there is still much to look forward too. More social games peppered with a monthly competition should keep the golfing juices flowing. I'm off to Epsom next weekend to join an old friend taking his first steps into this wonderful but frustrating game. That should be fun. I've got the winter programme with Rhys to look forward to. I enjoy the hard work that goes into trying improve and yes I do get frustrated when I don't feel I'm getting the results I think I deserve but I am determined Homer's Odyssey will continue apace and the ultimate destination of single figures remains a realistic objective.

Help For Heroes Charity Day - West Hill Golf Club

Yesterday saw the Golf Monthly Forum (http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/) annual charity day in aid of Help for Heroes. This has been a regular date in the diary since 40 forum members went to the inaugural day at Luton Hoo and raised over £2,200. That was three years ago. It returned the following year to Luton Hoo and 55 golfers raised £6,500. Last year 80 players played at Blackmoor Golf Club and raised a superb £11,500. This year it was even bigger and for the first time West Hill Golf Club was playing host to 103 golfers.

West Hill is one of the triumvirate of courses in the area, along with Woking and Worplesdon, that regularly feature in the top 100 courses in the UK (this year West Hill was 88th in the Golf Monthly top 100). West Hill is truly one of Surrey's oldest gems, a heathland course, designed in 1907. It's protected by brook, trees, heather and gorse and the changes in elevation provides an enjoyable test of golf. From the moment you enter through the imposing wrought iron gates it really is golf from a bygone era.

The Help for Heroes charity for founded by Bryn and Emma Parry after a visit to the Selly Oak hospital. It is a charity which provides direct, practical support, primarily to those wounded in recent and current conflicts. It launched on 1st October 2007. Help for Heroes don't care about the rights and wrongs of war, but believe that if young men and women are prepared to volunteer to serve their country on our behalf and are hurt whilst doing so, they deserve our support. They want the support to be the best and the be there for life

In order to get into the spirit of the day and pay my own humble nod of gratitude to our troops, I dressed in patriotic red white and blue. I was paired in the esteemed company of the Golf Monthly Editor, Mike Harris and a couple of fellow forum members, Preet and Stuart or LIG and El Bandito as they are known on the forum.

The masses are gathering as I get the pace of the putting green

I've known Mike for a number of years and was privileged enough in April 2009 to be offered the chance to edit the forum pages that still appear every month in Golf Monthly's magazine. I've played a few times with the great man but not for several years. It was a shotgun start and we were lucky enough to be off the first, a tricky 393 hole, going down hill before a second shot to a raised green.

The view from the 18th. The 1st green nestles to the left between the trees

Mike and I took on LIG and El Bandito in a little match alongside the stableford competition with the losers putting £5 per man into the charity bucket. Mike took the opening drive under the gaze of a small crowd of competitors, club pro and the photographer there to record the days events. He cracked one away and then it was my turn. I got it away perfectly and it sailed into the blue sky and wandered down the dew covered fairway. I was left with a seven iron to the elevated green and hit the front edge. Two good putts and I was away with an opening par

In patriotic colours for the H4H day I crack an opening drive straight down the middle

My driving was very solid over the opening few holes but I was having issues with my iron play, similar to the first round I'd played at the recent day out at Woburn Golf Club. It was frustrating. I went right at the second, although it was off a hanging lie but recovered to make a net par. However luck ran out on the pretty 465 yard par four that runs along the main line railway into London. I'd cracked a good drive away and was left with 225 yards. I decided to go for it but carved it way right. Despite the ground being open amongst the imposing pine trees I couldn't find it.

I recovered at the next, a long 193 yard par three. I was the only one who managed to find the putting surface. Both LIG and El Bandito chipped onto the putting surface. Mike was next to go from the left of the green and duly holed out for a birdie two and a win in our match. I left my first putt five feet short coming up a steep slope and missed the next. Still, it was a net par and I was going along reasonably well.

As the round progressed, the inability to capitalise on good drives, along with the odd errant tee shot heavily punished by the vast swathes of heather meant the score card was taken a hit. I was finding it hard to make a good swing with my irons and it was beginning to play on my mind. In the end the outward score of 14 points was about right but had I managed to hit a few greens with approaches it could have been a bit better. Mike had been the study of steady play and in the match we were one up at the turn.

My swing deserted me around this point and by the time I made an up and down from sand at the twelfth I had only added two measly points to the half time total. Fortunately, there is a superb halfway hut at the back of the green and we adjourned for a welcomed sausage bap and a drink.

Refreshed, we continued to the pretty 13th, a short par three measuring just 149 yards. This hole was designated as a charity hole and anyone missing the green had to pay a £1 fine into the bucket alongside the tee box. I took a six iron as the wind was into my face and took a swing. I made a good contact and the ball found the target. A good par got the scorecard ticking along again

The 13th which carried a fine for the H4H charity for anyone missing the green

The back nine seemed to fly past and we were soon on the 16th. From the tee this visually looked one of the best holes on the course. It plays through an avenue of trees with a ditch and brook awaits anyone going too far. From there it plays slightly uphill to a green that tilts from front to back. We all hit great tee shots and I found a swing with an iron to deposit a seven iron safely on the green. I hit a good first putt but the contour of the putting surface caught me out and it curled away from the hole and left a five foot putt I couldn't hole. It also allowed LIG to tie the match up with two holes to play

Another beautiful hole. I found the green in regulation but couldn't find a par

The eighteenth was also a charity hole. Playing off the white tees it measures a massive 440 yards and there was a £1 fine for anyone not making par. That's harsh! The club website describes the hole perfectly

"A fitting finishing hole that requires two good shots to make the three level green. From the tee the middle or just left of the centre is the line, followed by an approach which must avoid the deep bunker guarding the front right of the green and the rhododendron bushes on the left. The green itself presents a further challenge to overcome as it has three tiers and being too bold will leave a very difficult two putts and a flirtation with the OOB which is not too far over the back. Finish with a par and you can reward yourself with that well earned drink in the bar!"

I didn't hit a great drive, leaking it right into a heathery lie and had resigned myself to opening the wallet at the green. I chipped out and left an eight iron in. As if to put a line under my woeful iron play I hit a poor shot, thin and slicing right of the green. Not wanting to finish with an ugly double bogey I was pleased that my chip and run with a seven iron ran out perfectly to leave a tap in from less than a foot.

A long par four closing hole and a fine for the charity for anyone not making par

Our charity match was all square. Mike Harris had missed the green left with his approach was fortunate not to nestle under the rhododendron bush. LIG had smacked a drive away and was unlucky to see it roll a foot off the fairway as the 18th was also the designated long drive hole and his effort would have moved the marker on and won him the prize. His second found the front portion of the green and he and El Bandito were in prime position. Not for the first time, Mike played an exquisite chip and left it four feet away. LIG could only manage to three putt and so it came down to this putt. Mike made it for a win on the last green. In truth, my contribution had been negligible throughout. An odd half here and there and winning one hole.

After the golf there was a two course dinner followed by a charity auction. There were some terrific lots up for grabs including a great one from Golf Monthly offering one person a chance to be Editor of the magazine for the day, including lunch and drinks after work. I thought for one moment my bid on the night was enough but sadly a higher bid had been lodged by someone who couldn't stay. Curses. I had some cunning plans!. I did manage to acquire a four ball voucher for a game at Bramley Golf Course near Guildford and another for the Army Golf Club. I'm hoping to use these next summer during Royal Ascot race week when my golf club is reduced to twelve holes and the racing traffic makes access incredibly hard. A good way to still get my golfing fix.

It was a fabulous day, marked by perfect weather at a great venue. The organisers presented Help for Heroes for a cheque for £15,500 last night but with the money for auction lots still to come in, side bets still to be honoured and other monies due, that is set to raise higher. I can't wait for next years event. Hopefully it will be at the same place but wherever it is played it is set to be even bigger and even better.

From a personal perspective I am a little down. My game isn't firing. I played in the usual Saturday roll up and couldn't string any consistent holes together. There were some good holes and several bad ones. I played nine holes on Sunday afternoon and spent a couple of hours on the practice ground but can't find that missing link. I feel that I am constantly fighting the swing and despite trying to work hard on the changes from my last lesson it is proving hard to bed in. On the plus side, the changes I made to my address position for the tee shots is paying dividends and I am much happier with the way I am getting it off the tee.

I'm off to the range tomorrow to try again. I know what I am working on and when I get the club in the right place it is falling into place and I can turn onto the ball, compressing it perfectly and getting it away straight and true. Yesterday it felt the club was too shallow. As it was a charity day and my handicap wasn't on the line and it wasn't all about the golf. With a club match and the monthly stableford at the weekend I need to find something that can get the ball around.

That however is a quandary for another day. Yesterday was all about helping a worthy charity raise as much money as possible. There are plenty of days out organised by the Golf Monthly Forum members. There are also some wonderful prizes and opportunities put up by the magazine exclusive to forum members and so if you aren't already a member, what are you waiting for? Get involved and hopefully we can be pegging up together at the next Help For Heroes day next year.

Woburn - What A Pleasure

What do you call a collection of strangers who drive many miles to meet in the middle of the country to indulge in a similar passion? For those that have kept their thoughts out of the gutter, the correct answer is Golf Monthly Forum Members (http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/) and although there is probably a better collective noun out there, we all descended on Woburn Golf Club on Friday to play the Duchess and Dukes courses.

The last time I played in this event several years ago, I was struggling with flu. Proper flu and not just the man flu variety and didn't really enjoy it so with the weather set fair I was determined to have more fun this time and to be honest with my swing in a state of flux at the moment I wasn't overly worried about how I played as long as I enjoyed the day.

The Duchess' Course is sometimes considered to be the least challenging of the three Woburn courses, the junior sibling lying in the shadow of well respected and much heralded family members. However, like many younger siblings, it's not a charge the Duchess' takes lying down. Anyone who has played the course knows this is a layout that demands as much respect as the adjacent Duke's and Marquess' courses.

Woburn is renowned for holes that play through avenues of pines. Nowhere is this truer than on the

Duchess'. This layout may only play to 6,651 yards in length, 322 and 562-yards shorter respectively

than the Duke's and Marquess', but Charles Lawrie created a course that calls for a different sort of

challenge to the one he presented when he laid out the Duke's. One of the reasons the members play this course so often on their own is that they know anyone who can play this layout well has a good chance of handling the other two. Of the three Woburn courses, the Duchess' is the one that puts a premium on that most elusive of golf talents: the ability to hit the ball consistently straight.

I was in the first group out and with everyone else watching on, I threaded a driver magnificently down the right side of the fairway. I made a hash of the rest of the hole. My five iron approach looked great in the air but just failed to carry the cavernous bunker at the front of the green. I got it out but left the first putt woefully short to end up with an annoying double bogey.

 

I had gone with a game plan to use my three wood off a lot of tees to play for position. Sadly no-one told the three wood and it mis-behaved throughout the opening nine and I spent more time in the trees than I wanted. It is an unforgiving course if you are errant off the tee and has a huge impact on the scorecard.

 

The Duchess Course at Woburn - no for those that spray it off the tee

I went out in a measly eleven points. I wasn't last in my group and to be honest, having ditched the three wood in favour of the driver which was behaving impeccably, it could have been better. However my iron play was very shoddy and when I got into prime position I managed to miss the target.

 

The back nine is an extension of the front nine and each hole is a secluded nirvana of golfing paradise and it is rare to be able to even see another hole from the one you are on. I have to say that despite the time of year and early morning dew, the greens were magnificent and were a testing speed. I rallied on the back nine and made a better fist of things for a more respectable 14 points coming home. My irons were still letting me down and the quality of strike and direction were way off compared to my normal standard of play. At least my putter was keeping me in it. I had reverted to my Odyssey ProType Tour #9 fearing my recently acquired Odyssey Tank #1 might be a fraction heavy for the quick greens. I was making a lot of good putts that burned the edges but couldn't get any to drop. My pace judgement from length was great but it was those 10-15 footers I couldn't make.

 

In the end my 25 points was enough for mid-table anonymity. We adjourned to a two course carvery lunch which was exquisite and made it very difficult to leave and head out to the Dukes course for the second round.

 

Stand on the first tee of the Duke's Course at Woburn and it's hard to believe this magnificent layout has only been in existence since 1976. It has an old world feel of maturity and tradition, as if it has been around since the early 1900s. Mature pine trees, silver birch, chestnut and magnificent banks of rhododendron bushes provide a splendid backdrop to a course that is among the best inland tracks in the UK.

 

Few courses have been as right for golf as the Duke's. It is one of the most aesthetically pleasing on the eye in all of the British Isles. There is no prettier place than the Duke's in spring when the rhododendrons are in full bloom and nowhere is this more evident than on the par three 3rd hole. Played from a high tee to green just 134 yards away, golfers can be forgiven for casting golf from their minds to take in the view. All around are huge kaleidoscopes of purple rhododendron bushes, a nature lover's paradise. If any hole on the Duke's calls for you to remember Walter Hagen's plea for golfers “to stop off and smell the flowers as they go through life,” then it is this hole.

 

The iconic 3rd on the Dukes - shame the blooms weren't out on Friday

Play the course early in the afternoon when the setting sun illuminates the majestic pine trees and you'll feel inspired. That the course is in existence is down to the tremendous foresight of the late 14th Duke of Bedford. He had the vision to realise that the combination of woodland and sandy soil which comprises this part of the Woburn estate was perfect for the game of golf. He commissioned Charles Lawrie to design not one, but two courses. Thus the Duke's and nearby Duchess' courses were created within two years of each other.

 

Greens are set in natural amphitheatres. The natural ravines and gullies that run through the course have been incorporated into the design as if they had been part of Lawrie's original intention. Thus the huge swale to the left of the par-5, 5th hole becomes an obstacle that has to be carried if par or better is to be achieved. Similarly, the drop off to the right of the 13th green naturally forces the player to aim left, bringing the left-hand bunker into play.

 

To be honest I enjoyed the Dukes more. It is more forgiving off the tee and with my driver still working well in the afternoon I was able to string a good score together going out helped by a birdie four at the fifth following three opening pars. Sadly, I started to make a few errors on the back nine, partly through fatigue and partly through poor shot making and my iron play still wasn't great. Indeed I saved the best for last on the short 322 yard par four. I hit a good five wood off the tee leaving a nine iron in. I finally hit one well and stuck it to four feet. Although I didn't make the birdie a closing par left me with fond memories of the Dukes and the day and my 33 point total was good enough for third place overall in the afternoon results.

 

If anything, the greens on the Dukes were even quicker than those on the Duchess which seemed to always be in shadow and so the dew was slow to clear. With the sun able to dry the Dukes greens they were a yard quicker and so true. My putting was still very solid but like the morning round, the ball was scared of the dark and refused to drop.

 

One quirk on the Dukes course is the tame fox that appeared from nowhere on the 14th hole. It had no fear of the golfers and edged closer and closer in the hope of a few titbits and seemed to give a derisory scowl if no-one offered any treats. It seemed in good health too.

 

This chap had no fear of humans. I didn't risk getting it to eat out of my hand but it took a piece of fruit bar from right by my feet

The day was a fantastic success and the thirty or so members of the Golf Monthly Forum enjoyed a couple of post round drinks as the presentations took place before heading off to all points of the compass. If the day is repeated next year I will definitely be putting my name down and for £135 to play these fantastic layouts, with bacon bap and coffee before we started, the delicious two course lunch and complimentary stroke savers for both courses, it was exceptional value for money.

 

I've no idea where my iron play went. I am usually very comfortable with this facet and it is getting out of position off the tee that is my down fall. I drove very well and had I been able to find more greens with mid irons in my hand and hit any of the par threes on either course I could have done much better and indeed may have contended for top spot in the PM round.

 

I was due to play the monthly stableford yesterday but with my mother in law in Harefield Hospital about to undergo a triple bypass and also feeling absolutely shattered having walked 36 holes I pulled out. I worked on the short game and my putting today and will hit the range this week to try and find an answer to the issues with my iron play.

 

I've got a week to get the game in gear before a big event next Monday. The Golf Monthly Forum in conjunction with Golf Monthly magazine's support are holding a golf day in aid of Help for Heroes at West Hill in Surrey. Another majestic course and similar to the Duchess in many ways I hope I can plot a smoother passage especially as I'm in the auspicious company of the Golf Monthly Editor, Mike Harris. It isn't too late if you are interested in making a donation http://www.bmycharity.com/GolfMonthlyForumHFH2013 or if you wish to give a prize for the charity auction afterwards, please contact Rick Garg (RickG) on the Golf Monthly Forum.

The Battle Of The Sexes

Having had a lesson with my teaching pro, Rhys ap Iolo a week ago, and struggled to bed the changes in, I was nervous about playing in the inaugural match between the men and ladies sections of Royal Ascot Golf Club. The fixture was to celebrate the opening of a newly mapped course for the ladies off the yellow tee boxes rather than their normal red positions. It has given them a far more challenging option and a SSS of 73 is testament to the difference the yellow tee positions make.

The rationale behind this is to give the ladies section a harder course to play for prestigious competitions and some club matches but to also attract better players to the club to bolster what is already a thriving and important part of the golf club. It is another sign that the club is really trying to move forward and be a welcoming place to play offering a good test of golf.

My lesson was to work on a stronger set up position to make a better turn and get the hips and shoulders on a better and parallel position. The feeling is to get the left shoulder higher and making a shoulder controlled turn. The strike and path when it works is much stronger but it is proving a little tricky to bed in properly. I'm hitting some ugly cut and slice shots and feel I'm coming over the top or getting into impact with a closed face and seeing it go way left. The good ones are on a more powerful trajectory and I am compressing better. I just need to add more of the good ones and lose the bad ones. It is coming and I've got plenty of time to work on it with the season coming to a close in the next few weeks.

With this in mind, the match against the ladies section off the yellow tees was a good testing bed. The format was four ball better ball and I was paired with a guy called Roger McNamara. I've not had the pleasure of his company before but off 28 I was hoping he could be a dangerous partner. We were paired against Patty Dismore, and Heather Wing. Patty is doing a fantastic job as junior organiser and has worked tirelessly to get our junior academy up and running so successfully. Heather has developed a reputation as a fine competitor and been doing well in competitions so they weren't to be underestimated.

As the lowest handicapper I was giving plenty of shots which given the state of my game was a bit of concern. My opening five iron off the 164 yard par three (what a difference from the usual 229 yard mark we play off) was a bit off the toe and hit a green side bunker. I played a great splash shot but missed the putt. Fortunately my partner was on hand to seal the half. A par at the next won the hole, and despite my own issues down the third Roger won that too. I made a great par save at the par five fifth to win that and by the time Roger made a superb birdie at the eighth we were five up. That was the score at the turn.

I won the tenth with a good par. I used all my luck for September up on the 12th tee. I tried to cut the corner of the dog leg and hit a ropey old shot. We heard it hit timber very solidly and had no idea where it went. After a search in the vicinity of the trees without joy, I ambled towards the fairway only to see a ball sitting there innocently and unaware of the fuss it had caused. It was mine. I hit a good iron but it came up short at the front of the green and I was left with a twenty yard putt the length of the green. I coaxed it up to a foot and made a par. It was enough to seal the match 7 and 6.

In defence of both Heather and Patty, they didn't play anywhere near their best and playing a competitive round off the yellow tees was clearly a tough test. It does bring a lot more of the hazards into play, especially the ditches on the 2nd, 3rd and 12th. Also, there are some tees that are now a long way back and at a different angle that gives the hole a different complexion.

In the end, the men ran out 8-1 winners but not all the matches were as one sided as ours. To be fair our Captain, Ken Martin put out a very strong side made up of club match regulars. His opposite number Anthea Winn also put a strong team out and I think the more the ladies play off the yellow tees and get use to the course and plan their strategies accordingly, the better players they will be. I hope this becomes a permanent fixture in the diary. It was a fantastic success and next year I think the ladies will a real force to be reckon with.

My game is in a bit of a holding pattern. I seemed to have bought a batch of golf balls that are scared of the dark. I felt I putted well yesterday and the new Odyssey Tank putter is coming along nicely. However the ball refused to get into the dark hole. It must have lipped out at least five times. My swing though was all over the shop and I didn't feel I swung it well and scrambled to make a half decent score on some holes. It was disappointing especially off the yellow tees and with a big day out at Woburn this Friday I am hoping to make the changes work soon. The work I did in the drizzle this morning has improved my mood and I can see the improvements coming along. After tuning my swing, I worked hard on the putting stroke and made a slight difference to the address position, getting the arms closer to the body and the stroke feels more compact and controlled. I seemed to have found the missing "something" in the chipping stroke today too which is a big leap forward.

As I've said throughout the 2013 season it is close but I can't find a way to make it count on the course. Some good stuff is still ruined by the odd XXX horror show. Too many little mistakes, bad swings, mental errors and the odd bit of bad luck has added up to too many 0.1 handicap increases. That said, the quality of the ball striking is so much better and the bad ones are still in play. Having spoken to Rhys about Winter work, there is a bit of tidying up of the swing to do but nothing major. Chipping and putting is where it's at so I can make scores even when the swing isn't quite on song.

I had a great day yesterday even if the game was way off where I wanted it. It is great to see the ladies section at Royal Ascot looking to progress and develop. The club seems to be attracting new members on a regular basis and so the more we can offer the more we can keep these and make it a great place to play and relax afterwards. If I was a gambling man, I would say the men vs women match in 2014 will be even more hotly contested and a much closer affair. For now though, I'll keep working hard to get the latest lesson bled into my swing and reap the rewards.

Royal Ascot 2013 Captain's Day

Last Sunday was Captain's Day at Royal Ascot to celebrate the current incumbent, Ken Martin's year in office. The weather had a decided autumnal feel after the recent hot spell, with a couple of hefty showers to make life interesting and a big field going off a two tee start. It was good to see Ken and his chosen charity, Macmillan Cancer Support, getting the backing of the membership. In my opinion he has been a very good club captain.

I was off the first tee and looking to find something in competitive play that has been missing in recent weeks. On the downside, my swing had felt a little out of kilter for a while and range sessions had done little to fix the problem or give the confidence a boost. Warming up did little to light the spark. A double bogey on the first courtesy of an errant tee shot leaving me unable to hit the green with my recovery meant my mood was instantly downbeat. I got a great drive off the second and left me with a rare chance to go for the green in two. It isn't something I'd normally contemplate in a competition but had decided the game wasn't really there and so could go out with some freedom and just have some fun. I came up just short and right but pitched to a couple of feet and made a birdie to tidy up the first hole error.

I hit the third in regulation but an ugly three putt from thirty feet was a disappointment. Having split the fairway down the short fourth I only had a pitching wedge in. I put a real shocker of a swing on it and pulled it way left. It caught the bank left of the green and before it had got there I knew the outcome was out of bounds. It lies no more than twenty feet left of the putting surface and coming off the slope with pace there is nothing to stop it. I had no option but to drop another. This time I played it properly and stuck it to five feet and made the putt to rescue a bogey five.

I pulled another wedge approach at the par five fifth. Another miracle recovery shot allowed me to rescue par and I even managed to find the green at my nemesis hole, the par three sixth. Being Captain's Day there was the inevitable nearest the pin at the shortest hole on the course, the eighth and despite being the second group out, I got it to a respectable twelve feet to get my name on the sheet. I couldn't make the birdie but another up and down at the ninth meant I had turned one under handicap with nineteen points.

The tenth hole is a shot hole and a good drive and approach to the heart of the green should have led to a par, net birdie and another shot gained. I raced the first putt a couple of feet past, trying too hard to make a birdied and then missed the one back. It hurt and it was a chance spurned.

I made a net par at the next finding a bunker of the tee on the par three but standing on the stroke index 1, twelfth hole I was still in good shape. That was until I carved my tee shot way right trying to cut the corner of the dog-leg and ended up losing a ball. I dropped a shot at the next too. The fourteenth has been a bit of a card wrecker for me in recent months. It's a tight driving hole. You need to hit it far enough to be clear of the trees to the right of the fairway but there is heavy rough and trees if you err too far left. I made a solid contact but pulled it left. I hit a provisional and put it almost in the same spot. The provisional was actually out in the open and playable. The first one was against a tree trunk and although I managed to get it a few yards out and playable I was still nearly 230 yards from the green. I pulled my five wood and made the perfect swing and the ball ended up twelve feet away and I only just failed to make an improbable par.

In the end, despite a rare par at the long par four sixteenth and a dropped short at the seventeenth, I knew I wasn't going to win but a solid last hole would see me hit the buffer zone. In the end my net par was enough to do just that and despite a slightly disappointing 15 point total on the back nine, the 34 point total was better than I had anticipated.

There was a good prize table including Henry Cotton trophy, presented to the club by the three time Open champion. The winner of Captain's Day and the recipient was Ray Grubb.

Ray Grubb receiving his prize from club captain Ken Martin and next years captain Anthea Winn

A special mention should also go to single figure golfer Dave Grove who managed to record a hole in one on the sixth hole.

Dave Grove tells exactly how he managed to make an ace at the 178 yard 6th hole

As well as charity buckets for members to make contributions to the Macmillan Cancer charity, there was also a bit of fun outside the clubhouse where a ten yard bucket challenge was set up adjacent to the tenth tee. Players were given a chance to chip into a bucket placed ten yards away. Not as easy as it sounds but great entertainment especially for the watching masses

Get the ball in a bucket from 10 yards. What could be easier?

All in all it was a great day capped off by a free drink courtesy of the Captain and a lovely bowl of chicken and chips over which to discuss where it had all gone wrong for many and how it came right for those picking up prizes. Of course the day couldn't have run as smoothly as it did without the efforts behind the scenes of many unsung heroes and so I'd like to add my thanks to everyone who helped make the day a huge success.

From a personal perspective, the buffer zone was a welcome break from a string of 0.1 handicap increases. I felt I played with a modicum of freedom especially the front nine but as soon as the realisation of a good round being within my grasp, I began to focus much more on the score (probably why I three putted the tenth) and the swing got quicker and tighter. It's hard when you aren't entirely sure of your swing but I have to say overall, the lost ball on the twelfth aside, I was rather pleased with how it played out. There is still work to be done on the swing over the winter and I will be speaking with my teaching professional, Rhys ap Iolo at the Downshire Golf Centre, about what we need to tighten in the next few weeks now the nights are drawing in.

For now though, a big thanks to Ken for a great day and a great year in office and I look forward to seeing how Anthea Winn handles the mantle of club captain and how Roger Wing gets on as Anthea's vice captain. They have a tough act to follow but I am sure both will make their own mark on the club and keep it moving onwards and upwards in 2014.

Product Review - Odyssey Tank #1 Putter

I didn't mean to. I really didn't. Having gone to a recent Odyssey demo day at Royal Ascot, I had my head turned by a recent incarnation of Odyssey putters. Speaking with the Odyssey fitter and going through their Eye Fit (http://uk.odysseygolf.com/more/putting-info/eyefit/) they put the Tank #1 in my hand. It didn't help that the first putt I tried with it, a fifteen foot left to right effort, slipped sweetly into the hole. Short putts found the centre of the hole with alarming regularity and distance control on long uphill and downhill putts was sublime.

In the end I was hooked. I had tried to persevere with my Ping Anser or the Odyssey ProType Tour #9 milled model but I was lacking confidence and to be honest had been looking for a new spark for a while. I knew my wrists tended to breakdown in the stroke if I didn't work on it regularly and wanted something to keep them quiet. I am not a big fan of these super size grips and so was interested to see how a heavier putter would help. If you are after a perfectly balanced putter that will improve your stroke with greater stability through impact, then you need the impressive Odyssey Tank Putter. A big statement but it really does what it says on the tin.

The counter balance stability weighting system is 30g in the grip end combined with a heavier head of 400g to create quiet hands through impact. The quieter your hands are the less likely you are to twist or flick your wrists through impact making you putt more purely and more consistently. That is what the teaching pros and magazines all tell you but in reality it really works. I picked it up from the club pro as he opened the shop on Saturday morning and was making the first putt in anger on the first green some twenty minutes later.

 

For the technically minded amongst you, another reason this putter achieves a superior level of stability is through the total club MOI. The putter has a total club MOI that is 34% higher than a standard putter with a 19% increase in total club weight.

 

The Tank putter features the new and improved White Hot Insert. According to the marketing suits at Odyssey this insert has been highly engineered for a more consistent sound, feel and tour proven performance. I have to say that it definitely isn't as soft as the milled face of the ProType but it isn't as firm as previous incarnations of this insert. The RRP is £139 but a little bit of looking online found it on sale cheaper and credit to Ali White, the club pro at Royal Ascot, he managed to price match the lowest price on the internet.

 

The Tank #1. Heavier than a lot of others on the market

So what's the verdict. Well first round out I found that I got a bit lazy with the stroke and expected the weight of the putter to do all of the work and forgot that I had to do something at my end. As a result a lot of early distance putts came up several feet short. The feel though was satisfying. On the plus side I was holing out these tricky three footers. From close distance it was a case of back and through.

 

It must have helped as I managed a respectable 36 points in the Saturday roll up and managed to take the money. I found a degree of consistency in my game sorely missing in recent weeks and there were precious few moments of concern. The tempo was smooth and the "monkey brain" conspicuous by its absence.

 

Frustrated by the lack of distance control so obvious at the demo day I took the putter onto the practice green on Sunday for a vigorous getting to know you session. Remembering that the idiot holding it had to do some work; they haven't got an automatic version, I worked on a short back and through stroke. My putting stroke had always been a little long, arguably longer than necessary and I'd been told numerous times that there was a degree of de-acceleration. With the Tank, the heavier head and counter balanced grip does make it much easier to make a shorter concise stroke and I could feel the tempo was more even.

 

I was happy with the shape of the putter and had wanted to go back to a bladed face which is why I'd been playing with the Anser 2 and the #9 model had fallen from grace. The insert is still firm and there is a nagging worry in the back of my mind that on a course with much quicker greens than Royal Ascot where I usually play, that the heavier putter may struggle. I've only had the one full round so far but the initial reaction is positive and I think this one is a keeper.