I'm A Silly Old Hector

Some of you of a certain age may remember a children's TV series from the late 1960's and 70's called Hector's House. The main character was a dog, who seemed to get into endless mishaps. You can see where this is leading......

The season is reaching a peak and it's pinnacle the Club Championship is this coming weekend at Royal Ascot. I've not actually been playing too much, hence the lack of activity on here. I did manage a game last Saturday in the normal Saturday morning roll up. I actually started quite well until I came to a certain par 3, that pesky sixth hole. Despite my best New Golf Thinking and positive mindset I managed to lose a ball and didn't score any points. Despite this I managed to play the other eight holes of the front nine in a pleasing one over gross. From there I managed to find new and inventive way of letting a good round escape and although I came in under handicap it wasn't enough to take any money.

The following day was the monthly medal. Still buoyed by the comments made by a fellow member about all my practice not paying off in a competition and annoyed by my lame finish in the stableford the week before, I was looking for a good score. I missed the green at the first but chipped to four feet. I tried to save par but missed the putt. Two pars were secured and although I missed the fairway left on the fourth I had a good line into the green from the semi rough. I only had 125 yards and it was a smooth nine iron. I pulled it miles left and pitching on the bank by the green it rolled to its inevitable destination out of bounds. It was an unnecessary double bogey.

I found the fairway at the par five fifth but made a mess of the second shot to leave 150 yards in. I missed the green right into sand but having worked hard on my bunker play in recent I was confident that even if I couldn't get up and down I'd make no more than a six. I've no excuse but left the first bunker shot in the sand. I'm a silly old Hector!

Back to back double bogey's are not what's required in a medal round and now I faced that pesky sixth hole again. A huge part of this New Golf Thinking is about not spiralling down. Don't let one bad shot, one bad hole turn into two and so on. Time to get the round back on track. By my reckoning I was due a par on the hole and  hit a positive four iron into the heart of the green to sixteen feet for a simple two putt par.

The seventh is a 398 yard par four with a ditch traversing the fairway around the 230 yard mark. I hit a four iron but it was down the left hand side of the fairway. There is a large oak that sits to the left of the fairway by the ditch. I had to move the ball from right to left. Aiming at the right hand green side bunker I hit it like a dream. It curled in the air, pitched short and ran to fifteen feet. Although I missed the birdie it was a no thrills par.

I dropped a shot on the shortest hole on the course, hitting a seven iron right into another bunker. I found what can only be described as a "fried egg" lie and the ball was well and truly plugged. I got it out but had a thirty five foot putt for par. In the end, I was pleased to escape with a four. I redeemed myself with par at the ninth, pitching to five feet having missed the green to the right. It added up to 41 strokes going out or +6 gross in old fashioned money.

I started the back nine with a par, and narrowly missed the green right at the 178 yard par three eleventh. I putted it from a reasonable lie but it came up dreadfully short going up a steep slope and I couldn't make par from ten feet. Still it wasn't a bad start. The next, the twelfth is stroke index 1 and is a sharp dog leg left to right. Big hitters can take on a line of trees that flank the right side of the fairway. Succeed and it's a short second shot to the green. Fail and the same trees will block progress at best and can seriously hamper a second shot. It was playing down wind and so I took a bold line. It was a fateful error and the wild shot arced towards a patch of thick ferns and deep rough. I was lucky to find it at all but had no shot and was forced to take a penalty drop. Another double bogey.

John O'Keefe, author of New Golf Thinking will be pleased to read that I spiralled up at the next. Its another long par three of 186 yards. I nailed a hybrid to seven feet and made the birdie putt for a rare two. It got the round back on track. A shot went at the next. My drive found the fairway at the corner of the dog leg but the tree that resides on the apex of the bend blocked a direct line. I had to try and fade a five iron. Not my favourite shape and I hit it dead straight to miss the green left. A tame pitch and two putts.

I made par at fifteen and a a bogey at the sixteenth. I'd found the fairway but took five iron from 189 yards to come up short and right when a smooth four iron was the right club all day long. The penultimate hole is another testing par three at 218 yards. I missed the green right and had no green to work with so was happy to pitch on, two putt and get away with a bogey four. In fact. I'm happy with four at that hole most rounds especially with out of bounds lurking left and deep and heavy rough not too far away down the right side.

Coming to the last and a routine par five would see me home in 81 and a net level par 70. I only just missed the fairway down the right side but it nestled down in the semi rough. I tried to get a hybrid to the ball but only succeeded in carving it high, wide and not very handsome into a copse of trees and knee high rough. I could still be out there now looking for it and had more chance of discovering lost tribes. Lost ball. I got the next one down the fairway to leave a pitch in from 95 yards. I hit it fat. Big ball before little ball and it went nowhere. I pitched on and executed well to seven feet and made the putt for a lame double bogey finish. I'm a silly old Hector!

Hector, a silly old fool always getting into scrapes. So reminiscent of my golf. Lots of good and then the odd bad hole

In the end it was good enough for a net 72 (+2) and seventh place in division one. Level par (70) would have been good enough and so the four doubles were a real killer. To be honest, I never felt I was hitting the ball nicely all day long. The mistakes at the fourth and fifth were schoolboy errors. The double at twelve was an errant drive and the last was another poor swing from a poor lie.

I only had one practice session to work on the swing but in truth after a long and tiring day in work, the session didn't achieve much and was more an exercise in bashing balls than constructively looking for the reason why ball striking was off.

I played on Friday in the AGS (Ascot Golf Society) summer meeting off the yellow tees at Royal Ascot. Scorcio. The mercury touched 30 degrees and it was hot, arguably too hot. In a shotgun start I was face to face with that hole again to start, the par three sixth. My opening five iron was right off the bottom groove but it made the green for par. Although the day is a fun event, I wanted to play well but again it was an annoying day of not quite hitting it as I'd want, finding a way to make a score and then finding ways to throw in bad holes to ruin the hard work. In the end I stumbled home with 38 points for a top half finish.

The weekend saw me working on my ball striking on Saturday and Sunday was dedicated to chipping, putting from ten feet and in and some more bunker practice. It's been another frustrating chapter in Homer's Odyssey and the medal was a great opportunity to get a much wanted handicap cut but in the end was a buffer zone finish. It isn't miles off. I'm not spraying it and I'm making some good scores. I just can't stop throwing in bad holes. I'm a silly old Hector!

The weekend work has seen spirits rise. The short game is coming on but needs regular attention. I'm getting more confident holing out during rounds from five-ten feet and the work I did yesterday will renew that confidence. I'm definitely beginning to make a few more putts per round from this range and it's making a difference to scores. Confidence breeds confidence.

This weekend is the club championship. The main prize is for the best gross scores over two rounds and being brutally realistic, short of a second coming, there's no way I can compete. There is a handicap prize and this is where I'm looking. The format is a medal round on Saturday and a halfway cut on completion of play and the top forty or so go out in reverse score order (lowest round one gross scores going out last). I need to stamp out the silly errors which have littered the last few competitive rounds. take my practice work into my golf, go out, have fun and aim to be playing on Sunday in round two. Last year was the first time in ages that I'd survived the halfway axe with a steady net 72 but slipped to a net 77 and a mid table finish.

I feel there is a real score in there. The last few rounds have proved I'm capable of making a decent hash of things even when the game isn't on song. That's the secret to good scoring. I have to stop being a silly old Hector two or three times a round but if I do, I can go low. I'm aiming to play as much as I can this week, with a nod to the short game at some point. I want to be playing as much as I can. The course is where scores are made.

So dear reader there you have it. No handicap progression and another potential win, certainly a top three finish snatched away. Still you have to focus on the positives and if I can play this well and this consistently not hitting it well and get so close, then a good round is going to be a real handicap reducer. Those innocuous comments made in passing are still spurring me on (and yes I finished ahead of the .guy for the second competition running) and as a firm believer in getting out only what you put in, I'm still in a strong position for a big second half of the season starting with the big one next weekend. Time to leave Hector in his house

On The Right Track - Or Must Try Harder

There seems to be a pattern emerging. Stuck behind my desk for eight hours a day, the sun beats down and the weather is perfect for golf. Step out at the weekend for a competition and the waterproofs are required. How does that happen? To be honest I've taken advantage of the decent weather and been out playing a lot more. It might only be nine holes after work but it's given me a chance to enhance the work I've been doing in practice out where it matters.

This weekend was time for the monthly stableford at Royal Ascot Golf Club. Fired by the words from a member about my inability to make it count in competitions and buoyed by my general standard of play I was ready to go. There was an almighty deluge before I was due out which meant no warm up. On the plus side it had fizzled out to an annoying drizzle by my tee time but it meant I could play the opening hole without the need to wear full waterproofs.

It worked and I found the heart of the green at the 229 yard opener. I wasn't so impressed with the three putts that followed but no real harm down. A par followed at the second and third and I was hitting the ball nicely and things were ticking along. I found heavy rough off the tee at the fourth and my approach came up short leaving a horror putt  from off the green to a hole perched on an huge slope. Using my Aimpoint chart and making a perfect read, I allowed the 28 inches it indicated, yes really, and nursed it perfectly to a couple of inches. A fine save. Coming to the fifth, a par five of 503 yards I was way offline from the tee, played back onto the fairway and then hit a hybrid from 187 yards pin high just off the putting surface. I rolled it in for a birdie. I was flying.

I gave a point back at the sixth hole. I would call it my nemesis but that sort of thinking is banned under New Golf Thinking. In the end the chip and putt for a bogey was a good result. I dropped another shot at the ninth but was out in two under my handicap and twenty points. When I started the back nine in the same fashion as the front, with a par, par, par run I was suddenly five shots under my handicap. The thirteenth at Royal Ascot is another long par three playing 186 yards. I hit a wonderful hybrid into the wind and found the middle of the green for a satisfying par. I followed this with a net par at the next.

The fifteenth is another par five. I got a drive away into the left hand semi rough and hit a six iron to leave 107 yards from a good lie in the left hand semi. With just a wedge in my hand and five under my handicap, a green in regulation and two putts would see me in a wonderful position to contend and get a handicap cut. I pulled the wedge left into a bunker. A rare poor shot. I've been working hard on my bunker play lately and so was still feeling positive. I made a terrible swing, caught it way too heavy, and decelerated into the ball leaving it in the bunker. For my next trick, I got it out but somehow managed to contrive to double hit the ball. That was the hole finished and no points.

Part of New Golf Thinking is the ability to stop spiralling downwards after a bad hole. The sixteenth is the tightest driving hole on the course with out of bounds tight left. There are two large trees protecting the right side of the fairway and lush rough for anything too far right taking the out of bounds out of play. I produced my drive of the day and hit it miles. The hole measures 425 yards and I was left with just a six iron from 167 yards. It found the front of the green but I three putted from thirty five feet. A net par but it should have been much better.

The closing holes at Royal Ascot are tough. The penultimate hole is another long par three at 218 yards again with out of bounds in close proximity to the left. I missed the green pin high right and having to pitch over a bunker and with no green to use I was happy to get away with a bogey. I was still two under handicap on the last tee. It's a closing par five, dog legging to the right, and playing uphill with a pond guarding the right hand side of the green.

All I needed was one more good drive. As I mentioned in my last post, my teaching professional Rhys Ap Iolo is trying to get my shoulders lower at address. The bad shot comes from the right shoulder getting too high leading to a hook. No prizes for guessing what came next. A big hook deep into the thick rough. My provisional followed the same route. Fortunately I found the first ball. However, I could barely move it forward and I was playing four by the time I got it back on the fairway. In the end, no points was an inevitability. Thirty six points was eventually only good for eighth place in division one. It could have been so much better and there should have been a handicap cut to rejoice.

I suppose I should be happy with the way I managed to play so well for so much of the round. It proves I'm definitely on the right track and my golf is improving. What it did show though was I've yet to master this New Golf Thinking malarkey when I'm in contention. I fell away in the Stone Cup recently and again on Saturday. I can excuse myself the fifteenth. Bad holes happen and I bounced back well enough bar the three putt. However on the last I rushed. I didn't complete my pre shot routine and it was hurried and I paid the price. There is a lot in New Golf Thinking about RAF (rehearse, aim, flow). It stops the mind wandering. If I said pink elephant, as you read that your mind immediately visualised a pink elephant didn't it. It can't process the word "don't" so if you stand there and think "don't hit it left" or "don't go in the bunker" it processes the muscle memory to do exactly that.

Be honest, you saw this in your mind's eye when you read Pink Elephant didn't you

It was a good round. Don't get me wrong and I'm pleased with how my game is moving on. I just need to find a way to seal the deal though and getting into contention is the first step. There's more work to be done on New Golf Thinking and the short game and putting practice is paying dividends. I am working hard on my swing and the ball striking is better. It's moving nicely in the right direction. I just need to get some handicap cuts to put Homer's Odyssey on the right track. I'm pleased but frustrated. It's not the first time I've felt like that but onwards and upwards.

As a final aside, that member that fired my competitive juices languished a long way behind my tally. Thanks for the motivation and I hope that this round is proof enough that the old boy still has some life in him and that single figures will be reached. For now, I'll continue to plough my own furrow. Time for another chapter of New Golf Thinking me thinks.

All The Motivation I Need

Some of the more observant will have noticed that it has all been a little quite with Homer’s Odyssey. The simple reason is the fact that the Royal Ascot race meeting last week brings the thronging masses to the vicinity of the golf club and it's very much a no go zone. Not only is the course reduced to twelve holes to facilitate the landing of helicopters for the rich and famous and their transfer across to the course, but the practice ground is also shut and turned into a coach car park.

However fear not, faithful reader. I’ve not been idle. I had a golf lesson last Monday (16^th June) as a birthday present to myself. I hoped Rhys ap Iolo at the Downshire was going to give my swing a mid season MOT and tweak. Instead, he’s brought forward some of the planned work for the coming winter and in particular the issues I’ve had with address and my hands coming into impact. For as long as I can remember my shoulders have been hunched with the left one significantly higher than it should have been. This has always meant I’ve struggled a little for room on the swing and it has resulted in the hands being very active in the hitting area. It has meant that when everything is synchronised all has been fine but all too often, especially under pressure the hands get busy, the right shoulder becomes dominant trying to find room and I get the dreaded snap hook or come out of the shot and hit it to the right.

We’ve significantly adjusted the set up into something that looks and feels incredibly different. In a nutshell, we’ve changed the address position so the shoulders are far more level at address and pointing far more down the line as opposed to closed. In the lesson itself, there was a marked improvement in the contact and the ball flight was a lot more neutral. I lost the big cut to the right but because I didn't wholly trust the new set up and the slight change of path on the way back we introduced, the right shoulder was still involved resulting in big draws and the odd hook. Not as destructive as my pre-lesson stock bad shot but still missing the target left. Rhys did say it was a big change and we were peeling away a large chunk of the remaining faults ingrained over thirty years and which I’d played with and had to compensate for over that time. The cunning plan is to make everything more neutral with far fewer moving pieces and with less to go wrong.

Having seen a video from my first lesson in December 2012, compared that to one at the end of January 2014 and both of those to one from the lesson, with the club path, moving parts, over swing and radical lateral movement it was amazing I could play at all let alone get it round with a handicap ranging from 14-10 in that time.

As always, it seems that once you leave the sanctuary of a teaching bay and the steely gaze of the teaching professional, the magic dust that transforms the swing into that of a competent golfer disappears. I returned to the Downshire Golf Complex the following day to work on the changes and bleed them into a compact and repetitive swing. The results were a real Heinz 57 of all sorts of shots but primarily big hooks left and high cuts right. I already knew that anything going left would mean I didn't keep the the shoulders down at address, and that the right shoulder remained in charge causing the path to return the club closed and imparting the right to left side spin. It seems so easy to do, in theory and seeing it here in writing. The ones going the other way were caused by a steeper path into the ball and the need to try and find more room into impact causing everything to lurch up and outwards. In between, there were rare glimpses of hope, a sliver of light in what was becoming a morass of darkness.

Plenty of ammunition to groove the swing

I returned to the scene of the crime on the Wednesday. One of the reasons I use Rhys ap Iolo at the Downshire, apart from him being a terrific teacher, is that he genuinely has the pupil's progress at heart and if they struggle with changes he will give additional help and advice. To this end, he had some spare time and we nipped down to the teaching bay for a quick refresher and to see why I coudn't make the changes work. It's funny how a different feeling and a comment phrased differently got the penny to drop. I left him to his afternoon lessons and prepared to get to work. It was a much better session with all the clubs working well from the wedges up to the driver.

To finish the week, I’d arranged to have a playing lesson with Rhys on Friday so that he could watch the changes in action on the course and see how the new address position allowed me to hit the ball. I have to admit I was nervous as it was untried on the golf course. There were still the odd bad shot in there, partially through lack of trust, partially through rushing and partially because I’m an eleven handicapper and bad shots happen. However, using mental position A from my New Golf Thinking, there were far more improved shots, and those were longer and straighter than anything I’d produced this season. 2014 has already been a vast improvement on last year with a handicap cut, a win at the Golf Monthly Forum King of Kings qualifier at Camberley Heath, a flourishing short game and a much happier feeling to my golf.

I am getting much more distance as a result of this change. Getting into a better position at the start is getting me to deliver the club properly. To be honest, Rhys has knackered my club selection as I’ve no idea exactly how far I hit it anymore. As an example, I played the front nine at Royal Ascot this week. I had 138 yards into the third hole, normally a smooth seven iron. I flushed it and ended up twenty yards over the green. On the fourth, the fairway bunker, normally safely out of reach was found with effortless ease. I hit a driver miles down the par five fifth hole too. Granted I lost a ball on the sixth hole but that was pilot error. I was too quick, the right shoulder came in and I hit it left. I recovered on the next and my hybrid was in real danger of finding the ditch traversing the fairway some 230 yards off the tee. Despite the second shot going into the bunker I made a sandy par. To cap of my night, I bombed a driver down the ninth and again brought the ditch into play, finishing no more than ten yards short.

Normal service has now been resumed at Royal Ascot and this weekend is a chance to try the new address position in earnest in a couple of social rounds. Judging by the results playing with Rhys and on my own this week, I might just surprise a few people. I’m not getting too carried away just yet. I’ve often had success stripping away a layer of faulty technique but never really found a level of consistency to follow. At least there is no pressure on and I can focus on what I’m doing and evaluate the outcome from there.

The second half of the season starts now and all the big events like the club championships lie ahead. I am genuinely reinvigorated by the way I’m hitting it and how much short game and putting are coming on. I’m thinking better and clearer through the New Golf Thinking work I’ve been doing and everything suddenly seems simpler, clearer and focused. I have to say I’m now driven by that most basic of desires, to effectively stick two fingers up and prove people wrong. I overheard someone last night as I was working on my chipping and putting saying something to the effect “he spends so long playing and practicing but never gets better. It’s like he gets stage fright in a competition and bottles it”.

I’m afraid that’s a red rag to a bull. Those that follow my trials and tribulations on a regular basis know that Homer’s Odyssey is a long haul journey and not a quick trip. I knew from the outset that to strip away thirty years of ingrained golfing gremlins wasn’t an overnight job. Bit by bit, layer by later, it’s getting better, more often, and I’m unflinching in my belief that I’ll get to single figures. This has galvanised those intentions even further. Maybe there was a grain of truth in the fact that I’ve not always performed well in competitions at the club. I seem to produce my best golf away from “the heath of dreams” and particularly in events that have Golf Monthly anywhere in the title! Maybe familiarity has bred a degree of contempt and knowing the course so well means a degree of focus is missing. That’s where New Golf Thinking (for more see this month’s copy of Golf Monthly on sale now) will help.

The weekend will be a far better barometer of where the new address change has put me. If it works well and I play well, and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t, it’ll be a catalyst for the big drive to single figures over the remaining part of the season. If not I’ll look at why and come back with a fix.

All in all then a rather eventful time considering I wasn’t actually able too play much. I love the journey and I’m enjoying seeing how these changes adapt on the course. Despite the naysayers, I’m enjoying my golf, and in my own mind at least feel like this year has been a bit of a breakthrough and progress made. I’m a stubborn old fool and so I’m more determined than ever now. Stay tuned to see how the weekend manifests itself. It could be an interesting ride.

The End Of A Good Spell.. Or The Start Of Another?

Things have been quietly improving over recent weeks. I had a lovely handicap cut over the Bank Holiday weekend and recent form has been consistent. It’s been a long time since I’ve written that word on here. I’ve had a far more positive outlook courtesy of the work I’m doing with New Golf Thinking and even the short game has been behaving itself.

With that in mind I was looking forward to the monthly stableford on Saturday. Warm up went well and I was confident. However a thirty minute delay for a passing thunderstorm didn’t help and it all felt rushed on the first tee. My opening drive was a big snap hook left into the pond and an opening triple bogey and no points.

In truth, things barely progressed from there and if I’m brutally honest I didn’t engage my golfing brain or any of the facets I’ve learnt from the work I’d done on New Golf Thinking. It has a whole section on positivity and bouncing back but I seemed to forget everything. In my defence the weather was atrocious calling for full waterproofs and I was more focused on keeping everything dry and avoiding the long grass than on anything else. However, with the swing misbehaving, and a living in a world of hook and push, the ball wasn’t going where I wanted. Nor was it finding the middle of the club. No amount of thinking, New Golf or otherwise, was going to change a directionally challenged shot.

In the end I crawled out in a miserable thirteen points. About right for the dross I’d produced. Still, there was another nine to go and a solid back half could still claw back an air of respectability. That lasted as long as it took me to play the tenth hole. Another double bogey.

At least by now the rain had gone and we were enjoying sun. It did little to brighten the mood. Despite a fairway and green in regulation at the twelfth for a par there was precious little change in fortunes and the second nine followed the trend of the first with too many bad shots, too many wasted ones and far too few that were good. Even when I did find the fairway or make a good swing, this was followed up by something that wasn’t as good and I just couldn’t cobble anything together. In the end, my measly twenty seven points meant a 0.1 handicap increase and a lowly sixteenth place finish in division one and an end to the recent good run.

I decided to bite the bullet on Sunday morning and sacrifice my golfing soul to the elite roll up group known as the “Hooded Claw”. I’ve been using Sunday’s to work on my game (and enjoy a lie in) but I wanted to get out in the sunshine and right the wrongs of the competition.

Joined by the walking book of knowledge (some of which may even be true) Mick Mills and Russ Adamson, a man never going to be lost in the dark with his bright golf shirts, I was determined to play better. Yet again, I failed to engage my New Golf Thinking and yet again I chopped it around the sun drenched “Heath of Dreams”. There is definitely a correlation between the power of this New Golf Thinking and an ability to play with a clear head and think and execute well. It does what is says on the tin.

The “Claw” has a special prize for the lowest score of the day, “the bitch”. The unlucky person has to do all the fetching and carrying of drink orders and I was pretty certain my score of 25 was going to be nailed on for that dubious honour. Fortunately my blushes were spared, just. However it had been another terrible round.

All in all then, definitely a weekend to forget and the end of my good streak. Or is it just the beginning of another one? I’m annoyed with myself for not using what has been working and for not swinging well. I’d worked hard on chipping and putting and also on pitching, especially in the 30-60 yard area. Could I buy a putt? Could I pitch? Was my chipping strong? Of course not. That’s frustrating. It’s all about the scoring zone from a hundred yards and in this summer for me and where much of my practice time has been targeted.  If I can get the ball close and make more up and downs, it’s going to take the pressure off the rest of my game. It’s the difference between a 0.1 handicap increase and the buffer zone or a handicap cut. More work to be done. That’s fine. I’m enjoying working on the chipping and putting and have fallen in love with all things short game connected.

I’ve done a lot of work on my swing over the winter with Rhys ap Iolo at the Downshire Golf Complex in Wokingham and it had been working a lot better. There were a lot of old faults rearing their ugly head that I thought I’d banished. I’ve booked a refresher lesson for the 16^th (my birthday!) to just tweak things and freshen them up ready to kick on for the second half of the season. That desire for single figures is as strong as ever and the recent cut to 11 has brought it much closer. I can see it there on the horizon and now it is pedal to the metal and time to accelerate onwards.

What can I take from the weekend? Well my crappiest golf this season is a lot better than it would have been this time last year. My short game, bad as it was, is still better than it has been. I did hit some nice shots too. Just not that many. It has also proved, as if I needed verification, that New Golf Thinking, is a powerful weapon in my armoury. Those of you that read my last offering (and if not, take yourself there immediately) will know that I was in contention for large periods of the Stone Cup over the Bank Holiday. My second round began poorly but I showed good mental fortitude to get myself back to a point where I was level with my handicap by the fourteenth hole. In the end I fell away but I was in with a shout right up until the last few holes. That is a huge step forward in itself. My rambling point is that I hit a lot of bad shots in the second round of that competition but a better mental attitude made a big difference.

I am making a big thing of New Golf thinking for a reason. As well as being in the new edition of Golf Monthly as part of a feature on the subject (be warned, there is a mug shot of me in there), and my recent trip to The Grove, it works. It isn’t some form of crutch or something I can pin my successes or failures against and it won’t hide poor technique and execution. It does however give me clarity and a feeling of calm sadly lacking at the weekend.

I do feel disappointed at the way I played. I always do when I don’t perform as I know I can. That’s just my golfing DNA. Let me make one thing crystal clear though. I enjoy my golf irrespective of the outcome. These days I play free from a myriad of swing thoughts over the ball and even if my score isn’t what I’d have wanted, I know I am still moving forward. I am driven. That’s just me and while some may say at times I’m too intense that’s the way I am with golf and I make no apologies for that. It’s probably way too late to change and even if it isn’t I won’t be doing so anytime soon. I’m like a dog with a bone and won’t be happy until I reach single figures. When I do, I’m sure they’ll be another golfing goal to be reached and so it goes on.

I hit the ball much better on the practice ground last night and hopefully I’ve sorted some of the problems out in time for the monthly medal on Saturday. I plan to thrown myself upon “The Claw” again on Sunday and then the course is effectively closed while the world famous Royal Ascot horse racing takes place next week. That gives me time to recharge the batteries, have the lesson to check everything is working and then put the work in on the range ready to come back after the enforced lay off ready to play my best golf.

I’ve consigned last week to history and it’s all about the next game. It's the start of a new good spell. Single figures will be mine.

Hear Me Roar

What a washout. Bank holiday weekend in Britain usually means only one thing, lousy weather and boy, did it deliver on that front. There was a Royal Ascot major, The Stone Cup, an honours board stableford event, with players putting two cards in over any three days of the long weekend.

Having opened my curtains on Saturday and seen the rain coming down in torrents, I adjourned to bed and decided I wouldn't be playing. That meant it would be Sunday and Monday for me. The weather on Sunday was a little better, dry but with a brisk wind to keep things interesting. To be fair, the course had stood up well to the deluges, and again praise has to go to the green keeper and his staff for getting the course as playable as it was.

I'd played on Friday with a good friend of mine, Rob Dickman. He's only been playing since September and is an academy member at Epsom Golf Club in Surrey, adjacent to the iconic race course and home to The Derby. He ventured up and brought the rain with him. To be fair we started in a mere drizzle but by the fourth hole, it was full waterproofs. Being just a social round, there was no pressure but I didn't feel I swung the club that well but was well chuffed with my 33 point total in the abysmal setting.

Going into the Stone Cup I was looking forward to continuing my "New Golf Thinking" in a competitive round in tricky conditions. It has got some reaction on here, at the club and on the Golf Monthly Forum and I've no doubt the new positive Homer persona is seeing the benefits. If you haven't the faintest idea what I'm talking about check my previous review (http://threeoffthetee.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-secret-is-out.html) and do try and keep up. In basic terms it's an e-book written by John O'Keeffe and the golf coach and TV pundit Denis Pugh.

Arriving bright and early, along with a good number of fellow members, we went out in a roll up, drawing balls to pick partners. I was alongside Richard Burton (yes, he's heard them all before) who plays off an impressive 7 handicap, Dave Grove, even lower off 6, and Ian Jolley, off a feisty 14.

I started impressively enough, chipping stone dead from the edge of the green having hit a reasonable opening tee shot. I was feeling good and went through my New Golf Thinking (NGT) routine on the second. However, it's one thing thinking clearly, and another putting a good swing on it. I didn't and carved it into the ditch some 180 yards from the tee. It cost a penalty shot and a messy double bogey.

However, from there, something rather strange began to happen. Those that have followed my tales will know that the short game, especially chipping has for several years been a particular Achilles heel and caused me no end of anguish and affected confidence and dented scores. If you didn't know, where have you been? It's all there for you and even on Twitter (@mbedboro) so you've no excuse. I've been working hard on it for a while now and Rhys Ap Iolo at the Downshire Golf Centre in Wokingham has been working hard on improving both technique and my mental approach. In recent weeks with longer nights and warmer weather I've had a chance to get on the practice green and really develop feel and an understanding of how the stroke and club behave.

On the third I got up and down for a sand save and made a par. It looked like I was going to make a horlicks of the fourth, carving it into the rough, coming up woefully short from the heavy grass. I then pitched to two feet from 56 yards to save yet another par. I made a more regulation par at the fifth but then managed to top my tee shot on the 6th. Yes, that hole again. Once described as a nemesis before NGT I have been playing it a lot better lately and hitting it that badly into the hazard no more than 100 yards off the tee is a new first for me. No points for me there then.

I then pitched close again at the seventh from 82 yards and converted a six footer to make another par. With the wind on the shortest hole on the course, the 139 yard par 3 eighth blowing into my face, I took a six iron with the flag at the back of the green. I didn't hit it great and it ran over the back, giving me a tricky chip, down hill and with little green. I did well to get to within eight feet and then popped the putt in for another par save. Out in 19 points and under handicap with six single putt greens

The back nine started in the same vein and got up and down from the back of the tenth for another par. The twelfth is stroke index 1, allegedly the hardest on the course but playing down wind, I got a reasonable drive away. My approach was too far right and found a bunker some thirty yards short of the green. It came out way too clean and sailed over the back of the green, fortunate not to find the environmental area, out of bounds. Another chip well executed to nine feet and another single putt to salvage a net par.

It was almost a disappointment to hit the green at the 186 yard thirteenth for a straightforward par but I was back on the scrambling trail at the next playing an exquisite chip and run from the left of the green, using the contours to perfection. My hero has always been Seve and this was perhaps as close as I'll ever get to emulate his legendary short game repertoire and expertise. A fairway and green in regulation at the next for another par. The penultimate hole is a monster par three of 218 yards with wind from the right, towards out of bounds. I missed the green left into a bunker but simply splashed it out to less than a foot for par.

When it's your day, it's your day. I found the semi rough on the last hole off the tee. I hit a terrible second with my hybrid and it sailed way right over the tree line towards deep, deep grass. I played a provisional but never really believed I'd ever see the first one again. As we got around the corner, there it was, sitting on the path the green keeper uses to get from hole to hole. Lucky doesn't begin to describe the break. In the end, I made a simple net par. Another 19 points and 38 in total. Not only did it put me in third place but guaranteed my first handicap cut of the year. Here are my statistics for the round courtesy of Scoresaver 2 with the predicted handicap level per category in brackets

Fairways Hit: 33%  (Hcap Std: 20) 4 out of 12
Greens In Reg: 17%  (Hcap Std: 15) 3 of 18
Putts Per Round: 26.00  (Hcap Std: ** Pro **)
Sand Saves: 50%  (Hcap Std: 1) 2 out of 4 attempts
Par Scrambles: 53%  (Hcap Std: 2)

The weather yesterday was grim. It was raining when I arrived and was still coming down in a heavy drizzle by the time I set out. I was out again with Dave Grove who had managed a creditable 37 points himself in his opening round. We were joined by Dave Wild, yet another low handicapper off 6 and my regular partner Mike Stannard off 8. Intimidating. To be fair, they were all pleased with how NGT had helped me amass my 39 points, and I certainly hadn't swung the club well. I simply chipped and putted like a god and plotted my way calmly and clearly round, ignoring the bad shots and feeding off the short game.

I started abysmally and had only managed a miserly five points from my opening four holes. An opening tee shot snap hooked into thick grass set the tone and the tempo was way too quick and the technique wanting. I tried to keep calm, think NGT thoughts and keep patient. I made a par at the fifth and let out a roar and gave a fist pump. Think Ian Poulter at the Ryder Cup. To be honest, I'm not usually that demonstrative on the course and definitely not that vocal. I made a par at the sixth hole to blot out the horror of the day before thanks to yet another chip and putt. Cue yet more fist pumping and another "COME ON". I was really pumped and was getting myself back into contention. By the time I hit a pitch from 99 yards to twelve feet on the ninth and then sunk a twelve foot pat putt the fist pump was going into overdrive.

To be fair, my partners saw the funny side and kept my feet on the ground by mocking me incessantly. Dave Wild had lot to get excited about too, going out in a magnificent level par. Given the conditions it was a great effort and could have been a lot better. He was actually two under par gross on the eighth tee but sadly racked up a double bogey. However he'd played himself up the leader board and was only a few points behind my own tally. Sadly, for as good as his front nine had been, his back nine was the polar opposite. Lost balls, errant drives and a few short putts missed meant he came back in just four points. Many would have been apoplectic but he remained the perfect playing partner, willing me on to get back on an even kilter and kick on. He never once got annoyed, slammed his clubs or got irate. Maybe he's a secret New Golf Thinker!

I made a par at the tenth and there was another big roar and fist pump when I sunk a tricky side hill ten foot putt on the thirteenth for par. I found the fairway on the fourteenth but a little to the right and the tree on the corner of the dog leg prevented a direct approach towards the green. It would require a fade left to right. Not a shape I'm particularly happy playing. With 205 yards to go I pulled the five wood, rehearsed the shot, pictured it and addressed it. I hit it like a dream and it moved ten yards in the air, pitched short of the putting surface and ran onto the green, stopping six feet short. The birdie putt shaved the right edge of the hole but stayed up. However the par meant I was now back level with my handicap. I was right in the mix.

Like Poulter, I was fired up. Fist pumps and plenty of shouts.

I should have been able to kick on. The fifteenth isn't a hard par five but having found the green in regulation, I somehow managed to four putt, missing a short one from inside a foot. I felt I was in a bit of a trance. The clear thinking had gone and the brain was scrambled. Gone was the clear headiness that had compensated for a swing not performing well. I hit another snap hook and was I was lucky for the ball to stay in bounds but I had no swing and had to take a penalty drop. I produced another miracle shot, low under the over hanging branches but drawing back towards the fairway. I got away with a double bogey. It was a set back but a strong last two holes would make it interesting. My race was run at the seventeenth. I hit the tee shot into a bunker and then caught it thin again not taking any of the compacted sand. It sailed miles over the green into deep wet grass. I couldn't find one more miracle to get it up and down. To be honest I could barely see it let alone get a solid contact on it.

My last hole was a mess as well. Another double bogey and it was a limp end to a weekend that had promised so much. Dave Grove had quietly gone about his business and accumulated another 32 points to go with his 37 in round one and that was enough to pip my own score by one. I was already dropping down the list. Mike Stannard even managed to score more than my 30 point total and his round included a lovely birdie three on the twelfth. He's struggled lately for some form but there were definite signs of life. I have to thank them all for going out in the atrocious conditions, their support in my pursuit of glory, and for putting up with my posturing. Totally out of character and just something that came from within as I tried to win for the first time at Royal Ascot for several years.

So what can I take from this. First and foremost, the short game is definitely back. With the planned hard work I'm going to be putting in, this will only get better and better. The putting from inside ten feet is coming on. The New Golf Thinking, and in particular the "shorties" has given me a far more positive attitude and I'm not scared to go for it without worrying about the next one. On the flip side, my swing was way out of kilter all weekend. The tempo was way too quick. It was technically poor but somehow I managed to find a way to get it round. And what about "New Golf Thinking" I hear to you ask? Well I've still got work to do. Having worked so hard to get my score back to level handicap by the fourteenth, I let my mind wander out of the present.

Instead of one shot at a time I was thinking about what I needed to do on each hole. NGT talks about playing a career shot on every one but I lost the focus. Instead of career shot I though pink elephant. See you pictured a pink elephant in your minds eye as your read that didn't you? See how easy it is to picture something you don't want to?

At the end of the day, I got a fantastic handicap cut back to 11 and so the journey towards Homer's Odyssey is well and truly moving forward. In the end I came a creditable sixth and the winner shot a super 41 points in the pouring rain to go with his 40 points on Sunday. I would have needed something like a net 76 (+6) gross to win and in those conditions and with the lousy start that was always a big ask. I'm not happy with how I'm hitting it. I have been swinging better, especially on the range and in recent social games and so I don't think it's a major issue with technique. I'll keep an eye on the next few rounds and maybe get Rhys to have a look.

All in all though many more positives than negatives. I've a feeling you'll be hearing me roar with much more regularity. Well metaphorically anyway. The fist pump may stay as it's a bit of a motivational tool these days. I definitely don't feel comfy doing "a Poulter" but at least I gave my partners something to brighten their day on a rain soaked round. Homer has a short game. I don't let bad shots get in the way and I can fight back from a poor start. I have to admit, I was annoyed with myself yesterday after the round, and although I ultimately wouldn't have won, there was yet another handicap cut there for the taking instead of a 0.1 increase. Having looked at the bigger picture, this performance will hopefully be a catalyst to bigger and better things. Hear me roar!!!!!!

Up's And Downs

What a difference a bit of sunshine makes. It was a glorious weekend and my golfing ensemble for the roll up on Saturday was as vivid as the sun. Some had the audacity to call it garish but what do they know? One thing is for sure if you dare to wear you need to have the game and I was looking forward to it. Armed with the positivity of New Golf Thinking I was in the mood. My opening drive was short and right but an excellent pitch was enough to redeem a net par. However, when I stuffed my drive at the second into the ditch running across the fairway no more than 200 yards from the tee I was testing my positivity to the limit. A penalty drop and a good recovery I still made a six (net five and par).

From then I played some excellent stuff. I even managed to return to the scene of the crime in last weeks medal, the sixth hole where I'd recorded an eight, to hit an exquisite four iron to ten feet. I didn't convert the birdie opportunity but I got my par. Redemption. In the end I rocked out in nineteen points (one under handicap). I was hitting it nicely and in a good place

The tenth tee stands outside the pro's shop. There were a few members loitering with the pro as we made our way onto the tee box and my natty outfit caused a few comments. Give it and take it but having backed myself I needed to deliver with my drive. I nailed it. Long, high and with a hint of draw it was perfect. I missed the green but then produced a great chip with no green to work with and the surface running away from me. I got it to within eight feet and made the par putt.

I made a sand save from the right hand bunker at the eleventh and was flying. I stuttered with a messy double bogey after my tee shot found an unplayable lie. In truth I took too much of a liberty trying to take as much of the dog leg on as I did and it never made the carry landing in the bottom branches of one of the trees guarding the fairway. Still, part of New Golf Thinking is the power to avoid downward spirals and I stood on the thirteenth tee, a par three measuring 186 yards and stuck my hybrid onto the heart of the putting surface to set up a routine par.

I've been working hard on my short game and whisper it quietly, but I'm getting into a good place and beginning to make a few up and downs. I missed the green at the fourteenth and then pitched to three feet and made the par putt. I followed this up with a lovely birdie at the par five fifteenth, rolling in a downhill putt from fifteen feet. I frittered shots away at the sixteenth where I made a messy double bogey and then made a real botch of the seventeenth to record my only no score of the round. I'd missed the green at this 218 yard par three to the right and faced a pitch over the bunker. I was tempted to play the Hollywood flop shot but decided to play or more conservative pitch. In the end I never committed to either option and dumped it in the bunker.

The last hole, Hungry Hill, is a dog leg par five. I nailed another fine drive and hit a good second to leave 115 yards over the corner of the pond. The wind had risen a touch but hit a great nine iron to seven feet and calmly rolled in a birdie putt, downhill left to right. Another nineteen points for a total of thirty eight. I was happy with that although the magic forty points was there for the taking. In the end, it was good enough to tie for first place in the roll up.

Yesterday was a break from the norm. I've a good friend who has taken up the game last September and has joined Epsom Golf Club. It's a short but demanding course with treacherous greens that can make you look foolish at times. It's set high on the downs above the world famous Epsom race course with wonderful views over London.

Playing at a different club I decided to tone down my choice of clothing. The first is a long 205 yard par three and I walked off with a double bogey missing the green and then three putting. I hit a duffed three wood off the tee, had to pitch to 90 yards and then pitched too far. Perched on a steep bank I had a tricky chip on a small green with a slope down to the fairway if I ran off the edge of the putting surface. What to do? Simple. Take your nine iron, bunt it forward and stick it in the hole for a chipped par.

A far more subdued outfit to grace Epsom's tricky course

I then made a bogey four at the par three third missing the green short and left and then went on a par rampage, recording six straight fours. The fifth is a long 412 yard par four uphill towards the majestic grandstand on the racecourse. I chipped and putted again to make a superb par at the stroke index one hole. The sixth turns around playing downhill. It's another long par four, this time measuring 437 yards and yet again a chip and putt for par was secured. In truth I hadn't felt as though my ball striking was as good as the roll up at Royal Ascot but I was getting the job done. A case in point at the next came when I hit a pitching wedge to three feet. In truth I caught it a little clean and it landed short and the contours of the green did the rest. I missed the birdie putt. It lipped out which was annoying.

In the end though I was out in thirty seven blows (+3 gross) and chipped and putted from the back of the tenth for yet another par. The eleventh is a short par five and a good drive left 187 yards in. The secret of playing Epsom is knowing that you can't hold the greens, especially once they dry out in the summer. I hit a good four iron, landing it short but it still ran through the green. Another delightful chip to three feet yielded a birdie. I was two over gross and yet I was three over on the par three's alone.

The view from the fairway on the fifth towards the grandstand on Epsom race course

The twelfth and thirteenth are par threes. I should have been able to convert these easily but missed both greens long and left. My magic touch around the greens betrayed me and I made a bogey on both. I frittered another at the par five fifteenth three putting on an elephant graveyard of a green. The sixteenth is the signature hole playing 288 yards down a valley. I hit a great three wood which ran up some twenty yards short. I hit a great chip, right of the flag as I intended. It ran towards the hole and then kept on running all the way off the back of the green. I failed to get up and down. I followed this with a horrid double bogey on the penultimate hole missing the green right of another short par three.

The last is another a dog left par four, measuring 424 yards. I hit the drive of the day to leave a seven iron into the sunken green. As had been the theme all day, my approach went long and ran up a steep bank, flirting with the out of bounds, to leave a tricky chip downhill. I executed perfectly to two feet to make a closing par. In the end I was round in 78 blows, coming home in forty one (+6 gross). With par being 69 I was well under handicap again. The par threes murdered me and I was +7 for these alone so only dropped two shots on the other thirteen holes.

The view down the eighteenth towards the clubhouse

I have to be extremely happy with my weekend's work. Granted there was no pressure on my rounds with it not being a competition but I was delighted with how I played at Royal Ascot, especially my driving and short game. Yesterday I chipped and putted as well as I have for many a long year and I finally feel as though my game is coming together as a whole. In particular I am thinking with clarity and seeing the shots a lot more clearly and executing without a raft of swing thoughts polluting the golfing mind.

I only had thirty putts at Royal Ascot on Saturday including just twelve putts for the back nine. Yesterday I had thirty two putts but the heavily contoured greens at Epsom are one of the the course's biggest defence and so that was a pleasing return. I've said for a long time that there were good scores coming and I need to keep this form going into the bank holiday weekend next week when I compete in the Stone Cup. If I can keep the short game working then it takes so much pressure off the rest of my game. I'm delighted with where my game is and it has been a weekend of up's and (Epsom) downs. I'll continue to work hard on my game and just need to find some a few handicap cuts now to get Homer's Odyssey back on track. For now though I'll enjoy the fruits of my labours and wait for the after sun to do its work. Homer out

Snowmen In May

It was monthly medal time at Royal Ascot last weekend. However the weather was far from seasonal for May and there was the threat of heavy showers, especially early on, to go with a wind that was touching thirty miles per hour. Not only did it add a chill to proceedings but it was going to make scoring difficult. The course is beginning to show its teeth with the rough becoming juicy and lush and even the semi rough can be tricky to negotiate. There are some areas where the rough has become very thick and there are definitely a number of no go zones emerging.

I was drawn in the second group out and had an excellent group. I was paired with Royal Ascot stalwart and proficient golfer Geoff Adamson and the legend in his own head and the man known only by his nickname "Jaffs". He is also a talented player and so I was confident we'd produce some decent golf between us in trying conditions.

From a personal perspective I negotiated the opening two holes without any undue alarm and stood on the third tee with the honour. From nowhere I hit a mickey mouse snap hook straight into the out of bounds environmental area. No excuses other than it was a bad swing. A double bogey followed although "Jaffs" followed my lead and ended up even worse off with a seven. At least Geoff played the hole in some semblance on normality.

The fourth hole has one of those no go zones off the tee, down the right hand side. With a three wood in hand and it playing down wind it should have been an easy hole to find a fairway. Instead I hit another poor tee shot fading weakly into what has become deep and penal rough. In truth I was lucky to even find it in there and could only get a sand wedge out. I got it out well. Too well. It dropped apologetically into the fairway bunker and despite a superb long bunker shot it was another bogey and shot gone. I missed the green with my approach at the next which was frustrating, coming in from just 129 yards. Still I wasn't too badly positioned even with the mistakes at three and four.

In the past I've referred to the sixth hole as a nemesis as it has caused me some serious grief. In the world of "New Golf Thinking" that is no longer the case and I took to the tee in a strong mental position and saw only the green and the flag. That's what I saw but what the body produced was something akin to an octopus having a fit and the tee shot went so far right into the trees it wasn't ever going to be seen again. Having to reload I stood there with an empty head, that mistake forgotten. Well so I thought. It went further forward but never looked like making the carry over the trees and out of bounds right. Just in case I teed the next one up as a provisional and sod the "new Golf Thinking" stood there with a red mist descending and smacked the bloody thing as hard as I could. It ended up in the bunker.

The second ball was never discovered and undoubtedly never made the journey over all the trees. In the end I played a decent bunker shot to about fifteen feet but it came as no great shock when the putt ran towards the hole, tantalised me that it might drop and veered away at the last second. In the end I tapped in for a snowman, golfing parlance for an 8 based on the shape of the digit on the card.

The scene of the crime - the 6th hole. 

By the time I'd played through the next three holes, including the short eighth and ninth into the teeth of a wind getting stronger I was out in a dismal 48 shots. That's a massive thirteen over par and had already eaten all my handicap plus one more shot.

I started the back nine much better with a good par at the tenth and a net par four at the tricky eleventh. By the time I got to the thirteenth the wind was at its strongest and although it only plays 186 yards, I took my five wood and hit it sweetly and watched with amusement as the wind took hold of it, stalled the flight and it came up thirty yards short. I made a bogey!

Having found the fairway at the tricky and long par four fourteenth, which is a left to right dog-leg I knew I needed a good run home. My second from 200 yards was good and just ran off the back of the green calling for a deft touch with a tricky downhill chip and run. I nudged it to within seven feet and then made a putt. I got up and down for another par courtesy of an eight foot putt at the next too. I made a bogey at each of the three closing holes but came back in a much more respectable 41 shots for a total of 89 gross or 77 net.

On the plus side, conditions were so tricky the competition scratch score (CSS) went out to 72 and with my horrendous snowman being rounded down to a meagre double bogey for handicap purposes I managed to make the buffer zone and no damage was done to the scorecard. It had been a tough day and in the end both my partners also carded a snowman eight as well. In the sanctuary of the bar it seemed that a large number of players had done the same. No idea why there was so many snowmen in May but that was the way it went. Yes conditions were difficult but many managed decent enough scores so I can't use that as an excuse. Maybe it was just the age old story of card and pencil and the added pressure a medal round seems to inflict on normally calm and sane golfers.

Apart from not damaging my handicap further what can I take out of the day? Well for starters, "New Golf Thinking" is going to need some more time and effort invested on it. I definitely wasn't in a good mental position on the seventh or eighth tees, carrying the baggage of the sixth hole with me. I actually played some good shots on the back nine. There were still some poor ones, especially a hook on the seventeenth. I never really felt I was swinging well or in control of it and so was pleased that in the wind and damp conditions I managed to get it round.

There is a lot to work on. The swing is too in and out at the moment which is annoying considering the work I've put in over the winter. There have been some good days, such as the King of Kings event with Golf Monthly's Forum and my round at The Grove after the "New Golf Thinking" workshop. Those aside it still feels very much like my 2013 season where I can put sixteen or seventeen decent holes together and find a way to undo all of the good work with one poor execution. I am loathe to push the panic button or go back to Rhys ap Iolo at the Downshire for a lesson and feel there is a good score in there bursting to get out. I just need to keep knocking on the door and it'll open.

The funny thing is both "Jaffs" and Geoff did exactly the same thing as me and managed to extract mediocrity from the jaws of a decent round which is why I'm still happy with how I'm moving forward towards single figures. It isn't just me. The mental approach is coming on and I will get stronger and more focused. The putter is behaving after the abhorrent performance last weekend and the short game is coming along. I need to focus some time and attention to my chipping and putting which will bring its own rewards but in general terms I am happy. I could be happier of course but with some warmer weather on the horizon, a singles knockout with Huw Edwards in the Weatherall Cup first round to negotiate and some social golf this weekend to enjoy Homer's Odyssey is sailing ahead under full sail. Let's hope the snowmen have melted away.