Back To School

It doesn't seem so long ago, that my golf game seemed to be in a good place and I was finally making some good scores. Granted they were often blighted by one or two nightmare holes but that's been an ongoing issue for a while and nothing new. However, if you cast your mind back to my last humble offering, I'd come off the back of a lesson with Andy Piper, the professional based at Lavender Park Golf Centre in Ascot I regularly use for tuition. He'd changed a lot in terms of set up and losing a cupped wrist position at address and at the top of the swing. Things hadn't been going well and I struggled on my trip to Kingswood. Things back at my home club, Royal Ascot, hadn't got any better, culminating in an all time low point total in the second round of the Stone Cup over the bank holiday weekend.

The set up changes seem to have led to weak cuts. Distances with all clubs are down and the driver has a mind of its own, determined it seems to carve the ball as far right as possible into the deepest rough each hole has to offer. To be honest, Royal Ascot Golf Club is now looking an absolute picture, the best it has since it moved to the new course and we started playing in August 2005. However accuracy is now at a premium, and if I was to err on a note of slight criticism, the semi-rough is too long and it's a lofted club to get the ball forward. It really needs an intermediate cut, then this depth of rough and then the real bundra we have, which to be honest, if your ball goes into it, you deserve to be reloading. Of course that muttering is just my point of view although I know it's a view others have voiced in the 19th. Maybe the word will get back. Maybe the club just have a sadistic streak and not happy with taking our subs annually enjoy watching us suffer each weekend as well!

This week is the world famous Royal Ascot horse racing festival. Although the club is technically open, playing on a reduced course, to be honest the aggravation of getting to and from the club with revised traffic flows, huge crowds and a lack of practice facilities, mean I tend to give it a wide berth each year. We do have a number of reciprocal agreements and many use this week to take advantage and travel to sample other courses.

As my game has unravelled a little, I'm using it to have a number of lessons. On Tuesday (14th) I had an hour with Andy Piper to sort all that ailed my game in recent weeks. On Friday I am having an hour with Gary Smith, an England Golf coach, a Golf Monthly top 25 coach and inventor of the Linear Method of short game. This is down at Sutton Green Golf Club in Guildford and has a designated short game area (Gary Smith in Surrey Golf Magazine - turn to page 26/27).

I have spoken many, many time about Linear Method pitching and chipping and it's a technique I feel more comfortable with than a more conventional method. I've been working on it, self taught via an instructional DVD, but now I've a chance to get the top man to make sure I am doing it properly, give me the absolute chapter and verse on this (the search on the front page of this site will give you all you need to know about all things Linear). That's still to come though. This was about getting my swing back on track.

As well as a teaching professional, with a portfolio including many single figure golfers and professionals, and being an examiner and coursework assessor for the PGA, Andy Piper teaches golfers at all levels under the ethos of "Enjoy the Challenge" and tailors and approach to suit golfers of all abilities.

Andy Piper - the name in charge of trying to sort my ailing golf swing - Brave man!

I'd hit a few balls in warm up and it wasn't going too badly. Andy arrived and watched me hit a few. It didn't take long for Dr Golf to deliver his prognosis. We started with an old friend, poor posture. Too stooped over with the shoulder in front of the feet. From there, I'd over egged the pudding from the last lesson. I got the hands too far forward which had now opened the shoulders. From that position it was inevitable that I'd get ahead of the ball and so the weak fades and lack of distance was a foregone conclusion.

The cure, as always with Andy was simple. We started by getting taller and closer to the ball so the shoulders were much more over the top of the feet and not in front. From there, we tweaked the hand position at address and moved the head position slightly back. Think the iconic Jack Nicklaus head turn. From there it was simply a case of making the same swing I had, ensuring I stayed behind the ball at impact and bingo, the ball began travelling straighter and further. In fact distance was a few yards up on what I'd consider my average per club. There were still some bad shots, but these derived from a poor tempo, far too quick in the takeaway. We call it the excited puppy, where I see progress, and like a puppy get way too excited and so don't go through the checklist in set-up and swing way too quickly.

Having tweaked the irons we moved onto the driver. As I alluded to earlier, the semi-rough we currently have at Royal Ascot is rather long and penal and finding where the mower goes is vital. We didn't play around too much with the set-up we'd created and it was a case of simply swinging smoothly, feeling the toe of the driver was taking over through impact as I had a tendency to want to hold onto it and push it down the line instead of letting it release. Again, distance returned and dispersion was far tighter.

This was an hour long lesson. Like the usual thirty minute ones, time flew by and it was over so quickly. I feel back in tune with my game and plan to work hard over the next few days to get the set up changes in place before the course re-opens fully next week and I can get out and test the revamped swing. I don't feel we've re-invented the wheel with the changes and I haven't got a plethora of swing thoughts in my head. I've a basic checklist to go through, mainly about the initial address position and standing closer and taller, then trusting it and letting it flow.

So far so good with my return to school week. I've a new swing aid to tell you about once I get it for my 50th birthday tomorrow (16th) and I've given it a test. I've also got the hour of tuition with Gary Smith on Friday. This I'm really excited about as I feel the Linear Method is far better suited to my short game. It sits better in my head and I feel I can commit better to the shots. I'm self taught to date and so hopefully Gary will add some meat to the bones and he'll tweak what I've done myself and get my short game really firing.

I've a lot of work to do in the next week or so to make these changes from both lessons feel natural and get them working out on the course. As always, I'm committed to the challenge and while the odyssey towards single figures remains in hiatus with health issues curtailing as much playing and practice as I'd like, its still game on as far as that's concerned. For now, I need to get the ball into play off the tee more often, something I feel more than capable of doing, and then using the new set up to stay behind the ball and deliver a solid strike onto target. After Friday if I do miss the target, my new short game skills should see me right. After all, what can possibly go wrong?

Kingswood Golf Club

My golfing exploits have been curtailed recently and appearances on the course have been sporadic at best and the games I have played have left a lot to be desired. I had a recent lesson with my usual teaching professional, Andrew Piper at Lavender Park. We changed the set up and in particular getting rid of a cupped left wrist. However, since then, I've struggled and have little confidence in what I'm doing and even less confidence taking it out on the course. It's a work in progress and something that I understand can lead to a variety of swing issues, but I'm struggling to feel comfortable at address, make a committed swing and find a way to deliver the club back to the ball properly.

I have had a long standing game arranged with my oldest and best friend at Kingswood Golf and Country Club, located in Tadworth, Surrey, very close to the world famous Walton Heath Golf Club and next door to Surrey Downs. The journey there was fraught with the M25 struggling to cope but once there, I received a warm welcome from the receptionist and professional. The locker room was spacious, with a large number of visitor lockers available. Having got there early and to get the journey out of my body, I ventured to the practice ground. It's a fairly small range and if I had a gripe, it was that the quality of the balls wasn't great. However, it did the job and I was actually finding the centre of the club on a regular(ish) basis.

I wandered back to the clubhouse, as the practice ground is set a five minute walk away, past the tenth tee and halfway house. I met up with my friend and an old acquaintance from a previous society day, paid my green fee, discounted to £33 and got ready to do battle with the course.

The course was designed by the famous designer James Braid and he oversaw the work while serving as head professional at Walton Heath and it opened in 1928. He was also responsible for the likes of Carnoustie, Gleneagles and Hoylake. Kingswood has undergone a re-design by Howard Swan and the course now boasts ninety nine bunkers strategically placed to capture errant drives and misplaced approach shots. Even off the yellow tees it's a long and testing examination (Kingswood Scorecard).

It's a parkland layout with mature trees lining both side of the fairway and along with the excellent positioning of fairway bunkers, asks a lot of questions on each tee shot. Get it right and the hole is always there in front of you with nothing hidden to trick you. Miss the fairway and while the rough isn't penal in terms of depth, which makes finding errant shots relatively easy, the number of trees ensure that even if you have a full swing, there isn't an easy route back into play. The greens are relatively generous, well guarded, and although they weren't frightening in terms of speed, there were subtle breaks on every one. They were extremely firm and even well struck irons would release on landing and so it made club selection difficult.

The first in a gentle opener over the brow of a hill. I got a good opening drive away splitting the fairway which settled the nerves. Despite it being a Friday afternoon, at the start of the bank holiday, there wasn't too much pressure in terms of the number of players and the pace of play was good. I had my normal array of good, bad and indifferent shots on the front nine. We stopped at a pleasant half way hut by the tenth tee and enjoyed a very nice bacon bap and drink. The break and food did nothing for my game and I struggled early on over the back nine.

The back nine is longer than the front including a stretch of long, testing holes from the fourteenth to the sixteend, that run along the side of a valley and which finishes with a 430 yard par four. Playing into a breeze it would require two lusty blows to get home. As I missed the fairway, the green wasn't on my agenda.

The last hole plays uphill to a green set in front of the clubhouse and so any putting indiscretions are played out in front of a gallery but it's a wonderful setting. I can imagine that if you have a good competition card in hand, especially in a big honours board event or the club championship, with a large crowd watching it could well be a nerve jangling conclusion to the round

Kingswood putting green and club house

Like many courses, Kingswood is one of those that you really need to play more than once, to work out which bunkers you can take on off the tee and which you need to avoid. You also need to know where position the approach shots to let it feed towards the hole and the greens will take several rounds to learn some of their nuances. That said, it's an excellent course, beautifully maintained, and one that gives a visitor value for money and is fair and honest test. The club house and locker room are clean, airy and welcoming and the staff are friendly and attentive without ever being obtrusive.

They have spent £500,0000 on upgrading the course and since then it has been selected to be a qualifying course for the 2011 Seniors Open and hosted the Surrey Amateur Championship and PGA Surrey Open in 2014. Kingswood have plans to build on this and make it not only a must play for the visiting club golfer, but to host more prestigious events.

The day itself was fantastic. Brilliant warm sunshine, great company and a well presented course, that on the back nine at least, proved far too good for my struggling game. I can't wait to get an invite back again, (especially as my friend has now become a member), as long as the M25 behaves (two and a half hour return journey that should have taken fifty minutes). I did get a discounted green fee and they offer a mid-afternoon rate of £45, although I'm not totally convinced it would be worth the full £70 quoted on their website even given the quality of the layout. That of course is just my opinion, and I have a reputation of being financially prudent (tight as some would say) so maybe it's just the thought of me parting with my hard earned cash

Course presentation, layout and condition 8.5/10
Practice facilities 5/10
Halfway hut food and service 7.5/10
Welcome and service 8.5/10
Access and easiness to find 7/10
Food and drink 7.5/10

Overall mark 7.5/10 (well worth a visit)

The Circus Comes To Town

I am pleased to say that for the most part, I've carried the good form from my previous post onwards and that I played last weekend, in both the Saturday roll up and the monthly medal on the Sunday. However it's not all tickety boo in the golfing garden as yet again a mental meltdown cost me dearly. More of that later. Also, I missed out on any playing this weekend just passed although I did get some practice in, not all of it as good as I wanted. However I'm getting ahead of myself.

The Saturday roll up is a relaxed and friendly format, stableford off club handicap, and is usually run as an individual winner takes all, and a team event depending on how many three/four balls we have. If scores are tied, it's one tied all tied, and we usually invest the funds into lottery lucky dip tickets for those partaking that week, in the hope of the "big one" and using any tiny prizes to fund a Christmas drink for all members of the roll up. I say it's friendly but the banter on the course and especially in the 19th after is biting, with no quarter given.

I had been playing well as I alluded to in my last offering. In glorious, nay, barmy weather, I started with a net par and then went on a roll. Par, par, birdie, par, birdie. That meant standing on the seventh I was one under gross. Unheard of, certainly in recent memory. Now I know what you are all going to say, I bet he thinks about it too much. I know the mental side of it and still try to stick to New Golf Thinking (search it on the blog, there's several posts about it) and the old cliche of one shot at a time. No excuses for taking a double then, especially having found the fairway off the tee. Par and then another double, courtesy of a duffed pitch and another par and I was out in 38 gross (+3) or 21 points. There was definitely a lower score, maybe not level par, but definitely lower, in that nine.

Do you know the funniest thing? I wasn't actually striking it that well for the most part. It was scrappy but I was getting it around. I started the back nine with another double but kept the net par scores coming. I did find the green at the par three thirteenth a tricky 186 yard hole I don't get a shot at (SI 17) and while I dropped a few more shots, I managed to sign off with a par at the last. It wasn't pretty. The whole round hadn't been. It was still a respectable seventeen points coming in, for thirty eight in total. I was in the box seat sitting in the bar all the way until the last group when another player matched my efforts. One tied, all tied so the money was invested in the lottery. As I'm typing this you can safely assume we didn't hit the big time.

Naturally, I was in a positive mood going to the medal the next day. The day was even warmer, and for the first time (hopefully not the last) the sun cream was out. Take care out there guys. I was hitting the ball reasonably well, certainly better than the day before, but not as well as I can. However it took me until the fifth to make a par, followed by another at the next. I made a big mess of the shortest hole, the 139 yard par three. Big hook off the tee, trying to go flag hunting, two duffed chips and two putts for a double bogey. The ninth always plays into a breeze even on the warmest of days and it took two of my Sunday best shots to find the fringe left, pin high. I walked off with a par and was level handicap. In a medal I'd take that every time.

Playing the eleventh, the wind picked up. I took an extra club, the hybrid. I cannot lie (well I could) it was a bit of hook but held up in the wind, landed on the front and ran up to three feet. It certainly fooled my playing partners who thought I'd played for it. I knew I'd dodged a bullet. It didn't stop me draining the birdie putt though.

Remember back at the start of this ramble I mentioned a mental meltdown. Those of a nervous disposition should stop reading now. The twelfth is stroke index one, 409 yards in length although it can play shorter if you take on the line of trees to the right of the hole. There is then a ditch some ten yards over the trees that also runs the length of the hole, and so if you're going to take it on, make sure you get hold of all of it. I had already opted to play straight, hope for a small fade if possible, and go from there.

The view from the 12th tee. Only the big boys should take the carry on.

I actually hit a nasty weak slice towards the tree line. I had it already mapped out in my mind. Take your medicine, hit a chip and run with a four or five iron towards the hundred yard marker, pitch on, two putt and no-one need know. When I got to my ball it had actually run further through the trees than I thought. Not a problem, stick with the plan. For no explicable reason, and having found I was capable of making a full swing without catching any limbs, the plan evaporated. I suddenly thought I was Seve reincarnated and could hit a low fade some 170 yards under the limbs in front, move it past the bunker short right and run it up the entrance and to the flag. What could possibly go wrong? Walking off with a nine, yes nine, including the obligatory three putt, it was clear I didn't have an iota of Seve's talent. Why do I never learn. The chip and run forward meant a double was the biggest score I could make. In my (feeble) defence, this particular road crash was a moment of craziness and I am usually so much stronger mentally than that and my normal bad scores come through poor technique. This was a rare moment.

I think they call it bounce back ability and to my credit I realised immediately it was a moment of golfing insanity and not a loss of form. For the second day running I made par at the thirteenth and although my game was getting ragged in the heat, both in the midday sun and the midst of the battle, I was hanging tough, despite a silly bogey at fifteen and a double to follow. I closed with two net pars and so despite the twelfth hole signed for a net 72 (+2) and safely in the buffer zone. I came sixth in division one. The winner, with a marvellous net 66 (-4) was never going to be caught but second was level par. I could have been right in that mix and in line for a top three finish. As you can imagine, the post round beer didn't taste as good as it could have.

As I mentioned I never really felt I was in control of my swing completely, Not during that birdie blitz in the roll up or the true test of golf in the medal. However as you can see from the statistics below, I was hitting all my targets, bar the driver. If I can do that and not feel I'm firing on all cylinders then it has to bode well for the rest of 2016

7th - 8th May statistics

I didn't play this weekend. Life got in the way. That was annoying as it was the monthly stableford and I wanted to get back on the horse and see what I could do. I managed some practice. The short game, and in particular bunkers and pitching with the linear method was better, but my swing was off, and too many moving parts again. It felt I was swaying off the ball in the takeaway which was a fault from a recent lesson. I started hitting it better yesterday but had to really grind it out and so have booked a lesson with Andy Piper, my regular teacher to see the problem and the fix ready for the weekend.

The biggest regret though of not getting a game was the chance to play the course as it was. We have the Jamega Tour (Jamega tour website) in town for a professional event at Royal Ascot. The tour is an initial feeder tour for up and coming professionals to try and make a name and move upwards towards the Europro tour, the European Challenge Tour and then a chance at the big time. Yesterday was official practice day for the Jamega competitors and the course had been set up perfectly. It definitely looked a picture and by all accounts played even better. Greens had been mown and rolled and fairways cut and defined. I tried to listen without showing too many green tinges of jealousy.

I've seen some of the scores from round one and apart from a blistering seven under, there were only twelve under at par or better, proving once again, and something we the members feel every time we play, that the course is no push over. If the professionals can struggle (and there were some big numbers in round one as you'll see on the website) then it gives renewed hope to my own efforts.

I'm looking forward to my lesson this week. It's been a while and Andy Piper has a knack of watching, usually without even filming the swing, making a couple of changes, usually to posture (my biggest issue), tempo or takeaway, and suddenly the ball is flying laser straight. You stand there and wonder what's just happened. It doesn't feel as though anything has altered, certainly after a dozen or so dead straight shots. and you feel six inches taller. I usually hit a small bucket after, just to reinforce the change, and to get it bleeding into my swing. This means I can usually hit the course, or practice ground, confident in the new swing.

As a bit of light relief, I came across this recently. Watch it as I'm sure there is part of you in here. I certainly recognise a few traits myself. As someone who enjoys working hard on his game it was actually a bit of a kick up the backside and a reminder that to get better it isn't about working harder necessarily, but definitely about working smarter. Enjoy. Five Reasons You Don't Get Better At Golf

As I'm in a jovial mood, chipper from recent exploits I'd also like to share a link to a blog Using The Bounce from a regular Golf Monthly Forum member by the name of Chris Swanson. He's as mad about golf as I am and loving the ups and downs of being a handicap golfer. He's set his own targets for the season and has his own thoughts on this great game but his latest offering was so funny but resonated so accurately it needed a bigger audience. I hope you enjoy this ditty about how time consuming golf is Time Consuming Game

So the Jamega circus has come to town. I've played the clown, yet again, albeit a week early, with that madness. For the club it puts us on a bigger golfing map and will increase the profile even further. It's reinforcing how much the course has come on in the last few years and the reputation for being no pushover and it's a prestigious event for a club only into it's twelfth year in its new home. For my part, my golf has got to be seen as moving forward again. I could have done with playing this weekend but that's gone and I need to take the changes from my lesson, work hard and get out next weekend and make some good scores.

I am still working hard on all things linear for my short game. Pitching is coming on and the last week seems to have seen it getting better. I can still get it wrong but it's an ongoing piece of work. Bunker play is good and I can escape every time. I've been trying to learn a specialist drop and stop bunker shot for when I find myself short sided. It's in there, just very hit and miss at the moment and it's not something I'd consider in competitive play unless absolutely necessary for a bit. For a general escape from sand, I am far more consistent but just need to add finesse and distance control. The chipping remains the weakest element and is perhaps something to which I've not allocated as much time as I should have. That is the next thing to be addressed in the coming week or so, weather permitting as even I'm not going to go out after a hard day at work and stand in the rain working on my chipping. So why mention this? Well the loyal amongst you (and I'm truly grateful as you must be long suffering by now) will remember my lovely wife got me a lesson with Gary Smith, the inventor (for want of a better word) of the linear method. I'm now in the process of contacting Gary to arrange to use this, hopefully the week beginning June 13th, when the Royal Ascot race meeting is on and using the golf course becomes mission impossible with the crowds and congestion.

All in all though you find your narrator still in positive mood. I'm looking forward to the next few weeks and getting fully into my golf now the main part of the season is imminent. I've no idea what happens once the circus leaves town this week other than leaving the course in tip top condition and there for me to get out and take on with renewed vigour. I hope you enjoy the other links I've served up for you and I'll see you next time for the next update on this pursuit towards single figures, or at least a single round without a pesky car crash hole or two.

Another Forward Step

Whilst golfing activities remain somewhat curtailed compared to what I'd like, and certainly I feel my season has yet to start in full glory, what little golf I have been playing has had a lot of good stuff attached to it. If only I was able to do more. That will come

The great British weather has continued to be wet, unusually cold and very windy and while the intent to work on the game remains strong, the actual amount of practice was limited. Indeed with the Jubilee Cup looming yesterday on the bank holiday, and with a weekend away with the wife already booked, I was acutely aware that my playing partner would be severely let down by my lack of playing or practice. As a result I adjourned to the range last Friday. The results weren't pretty but I was getting club on ball. I even managed to cash some brownie points in with the wife and dashed straight from the weekend away to the club to work on my swing, my short game and my putting. She's a wonderful lady!

The Jubilee Cup is a better ball, stableford event. I am actually a previous winner, way back in 2010 but these days I'm a gun for hire without a regular playing partner these days. I managed to get a game with Geoff Jones, a stalwart of the Saturday roll up and off his handicap a very handy man to have on his day. CONGU have changed the way the handicap is worked out and under the old format of three quarter handicap I was due to play off 10 but the new format is 90% and so I got 11 shots. Happy days.

I have still been playing around with short game techniques, particularly in the pitching department. I want to nail my colours firmly to the linear method (I've spoken about it before and plenty on here to digest if you search for "linear" on here, but this is a taste of where I am - http://threeoffthetee.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/2016-looking-forward-to-it.html). I have to be honest for bunker play it is by far the best method I've used. Getting it to work on the chipping and pitching has been a bigger and ongoing issue but I had a positive session on Sunday with linear pitching and chipping, and took it out into my warm up before the Jubilee Cup. It was now about trying to trust it on the course. That however is something I could say about all aspects of my game

My warm up was all about tempo. It had been the key to my last good round in the weekend roll up. I started with pitching, and the linear method was working nicely. I moved onto the full swing, and clicked into a good posture and even better tempo. All was rosy and I was keen to get out and get it on. I ventured to the practice bunker. The linear method of escaping the sand was on point. I had a few balls left. I should have left them where they were but had to go and try and hit a few more seven irons. Suddenly the swing was quicker, I was swaying on the takeaway and all the good work in the previous half an hour unravelled.

I was still determined to do my best to support my partner and so the snap hook off the first wasn't what I envisaged. It actually found a good lie, fortunate not to find the pond and definitely lying better than it deserved. I hit a good recovery but came up short, and into sand. I made a nasty double bogey but Geoff came to the rescue. I hit a sweet approach to three feet to set up a birdie opportunity at the next which I duly converted. We were off and running. Well, until the next hole at least. I went into a hazard off the tee, courtesy of a swing way too fast in tempo and which had too many moving parts. I made a decent double bogey and this time Geoff could do no more than match my score.

We were combining well as a pair. So well in fact that we managed to amass a very credible 21 points going out. Ahead of the card and chugging along nicely. The partnership faced its first crisis at the tenth. I went way left again, and was fortunate a second time, to a) find it at all and b) find it in such a playable lie. I scrambled a net par as my partner had issues of his own. I then produced arguably my shot of the round, drawing a hybrid into the 178 yard par three, playing into the teeth of a strengthening breeze to set up the easiest of pars (net birdie). I then took a back seat for a few holes as my partner came to the fore but was on hand again at the fifteenth to sink a crucial four foot putt for par.

We needed a steady finish. No heroics and no silly mistakes and we were on course to post a decent score. Probably not a winning score but one that may have picked up the minor placings. We both had problems on the sixteenth and for the first time, had conspired to have a bad hole simultaneously. Geoff could only make a double bogey six and I had a three foot putt to improve on that with a bogey (net par). I had worked hard the day before on my short putts and holing out in that crucial area from two to four feet. I had been holing out well all round. I took my Aimpoint read, picked my spot, made sure I was still over the putt and let the putter head flow back and through. The ball travelled towards the hole, actually started to descend and then somehow decided to do a full lap of honour and pop back up and finished, almost mocking me, behind the hole. We had dropped a point at a vital time.

As my handicap has just rolled over to thirteen, I'd normally get a shot at the 218 yard par three penultimate hole. Not today off the 90% mark. My tee shot was right and came up short. It left me a knee knocking pitch off a downhill lie, over a bunker to a tight pin with the green running away. I could see the shot I wanted to play, pitching it on the up slope on the back of the bunker, and letting it take a hop forward and down towards the flag. Irrespective of which short game technique I was embracing, this wasn't an easy shot. Trust the work you'd put in. Trust your feel. Trust your club selection. Trust and execute. If there was ever a moment to see how my linear method was working this was it. It was a pivotal moment coming off the back of the last hole farce. I swung the club. It popped up, cleared the bunker, pitched in my landing zone and meandered towards the hole. In the end it ended up four feet past but it was as good as I could have done. The job wasn't done and I needed the putt. This was a harder putt than the one on the last hole but this time there was no mistake. I made it and saved a crucial par.

The last was playing right back into the wind and as it's a par five uphill with water guarding the green, eating into the front and the right, it proved impossible for my partner and I to manipulate our second shots into a position that made attacking the green a viable option. It would come down to a pitch and putt to make a par (net birdie). In the end, while we both played good shots, we couldn't coax the ball in. We had to make do with a level par eighteen points coming in. Nothing too shabby in that and with twenty one going out, it was thirty nine points in total. In the end, we came sixth. There were three sides on forty points and four on thirty nine. If that putt at the sixteenth had dropped we would have been in the mix. You can say that about any round though can't you. It's all ifs and maybes and had you done this, that or the the other, it could have been so different.

2016 Jubilee Cup statistics

Now the dust has settled, I'm pleased with how Geoff and I combined. It was a partnership that showed some potential, and it's regretful that he already has a regular partner. I will continue to hire myself out (normally to the lowest, nay, only bidder) and hope sooner or later I can find someone willing to join forces with me on an ongoing basis. With my health beginning to improve to a degree, my season is finally ready to blossom and I can get fully into my golf.

A Forward Step - Progress Definitely Being Made

I am still looking at all things short game. That's really where I see my potential to save shots and anything approaching a functional chipping, pitching and bunker game, combined with a solid putting stroke can make a real difference to my scores. In fact, it's my putting that has been a weak link and I'm averaging 34.30 putts per round this season compared to an impressive 31.71 last year. It's things like par scrambles I need to work on, down at just 14% in 2016. That's why most of my practice is focused on the short game. I'm sticking to the linear method. No I mean it this time. I really mean it. This is what I feel more comfortable using, this is what I have used before and what I know can produce results. I've still got my lesson with Gary Smith, the founder of this technique, a Christmas present from my wife, to utilise. I'm hoping this will refine what I am doing and iron out the inevitable flaws I have at the moment.

All in all, there is a rather satisfying air of optimism and last weekend has definitely been another forward step. Now my recent health issues appear to have been sorted (touch wood) and having found a swing and tempo that for the moment is working, I can really get my teeth into my game. I really enjoy working on my game. I've said many times that golf has never come easily and any successes I've achieved have come about by determination, hard work, some sheer bloody mindedness and every now and again a bit of decent playing. I have mentioned that while I remain unbowed in my belief that I can and will get to single figures, 2016 is a season of taking stock, making sure I am back to 100% health and not worry where the handicap goes.

There is still a lot of room to improve in all areas. Getting it right on and around the green is my focus. I want to be the best short game player in the club. Arguably an unrealistic goal, certainly a lofty one, but if you don't set the bar high what have you got to aim for. I play with a large number of members in the monthly competitions, of varying handicaps. What I see on a frequent basis is that many, while not long off the tee and so unable to attack many holes, including some of the longer par threes, many have honed a solid short game. The only area I would say many struggle in, is bunker play. This is something I feel the linear method gives me an advantage in as it really utilises the bounce of the club.

Onwards and upwards dear reader. Short game practice and then a full weekend of playing, including the monthly medal on Sunday. I am back in a good place with a renewed mojo from such a good golfing performance. It is definitely starting to come. I am happy, positive and engaged. I've not been able to write that for a while. Forward steps dear reader. Very big and positive forward steps.

It's Been A While

It's been a while in all senses of the word. My golfing exploits have been seriously curtailed in recent weeks with the ongoing health issues. Practice has been sporadic and so with little to report, there has been a lull in proceedings on here.

I had managed an appearance in the monthly medal at the start of the month. With a lack of golf, especially on the course, I was pleased to avoid any major embarrassment and carded a net 76 (+6) and finished thirteenth in division one. I'm now playing off 13 (12.5 to be exact). The good news however is with the warmer weather, I've started to work on the game a little more and have been playing more golf. Granted last weekend wasn't fantastic and form was shocking and I hit the ball terribly and although I've tried to graft through it at the range, form was patchy at best. My pitching issues returned, partly through a lack of application on my part and partly through dabbling again with various techniques and eventually getting caught between a rock and a hard place.

Before I was taken ill, I put my name on the list for the inter-club matches and was surprised to see my name down in the home game on Saturday against local rivals Maidenhead Golf Club. These matches are hard fought, but are generally friendly games. Some have a small trophy up for grabs (sadly not this one). They aren't as cut throat as some of the knockout matches, usually county or national events, where the better players are representing the club in an attempt for glory.

I was partnered with an old golfing partner Derek Williams. In all honesty, the match was done and dusted by the fifth as we surged into a five up lead. In fairness to the opposition, they never really got started and made a number of poor shots early on. I did rub salt in the wound with an outrageous birdie at the fourth with a viciously curving putt from fifteen feet. They rallied a degree but we were still four up at the turn.

Maidenhead Golf Club

We lost the eleventh to give them a just a hint of a comeback. We won the tricky twelfth courtesy of receiving a shot, and I then hit my shot of the day at the 186 yard thirteenth, sticking a five wood to ten feet for a winning par. We won the fourteenth in relative comfort to tie up the match 5&4. The damage was done early on and had the opposition played the front nine as they had the back, it could have been a tighter game. Overall the match was tied 3-3. Despite the win, I didn't actually play that well. Patchy would describe it well. Some good and some rank rubbish in there as well.

Sunday saw me returning to the scene of the crime. A fortnight ago in the Sunday roll up I posted my lowest ever points score. There is a tradition in the roll up that the lowest score is dubbed "bitch of the day" and as a result has to order the drinks at the bar and serve them to the tables for the other competitors, paid for from the winnings of the roll up top scorer. It was my first time I'd suffered this mis-fortune and the banter was savage and incessant. I wasn't going to repeat the experience in a hurry.

The day dawned cold, but sunny and I stood on the first tee with no expectations, especially given the dodgy form in the match the day before. I had warmed up well and had a good tempo and was striking it reasonably well. My opening tee shot was well hit but left into a bunker. I've struggled with this facet, mainly as the practice bunker has been waterlogged for long periods. It came out well and softly and finished eight feet away. The putt was sweet and dropped for a sandy par.

At the second, I had 176 yards in. I nailed a four iron and assumed it would be on the green. However came up short. Annoying but I was pleased with the shot. The trick was repeated at the third when I hit an equally good five iron which was reluctant to find the green and came up short. I chipped to six feet but missed the putt. Up and down pars at the next two holes and I was on a roll. I gave one back at the sixth, something of a bogey hole for me. However again, I hit the hybrid as well as I could and just missed the green left. It was on a horrid, wet muddy lie and so I did well to get it to six feet but couldn't make par. That was redeemed at the next where I hit a quality five wood from 221 yards and which this time found the green for a safe par.

If you are a regular reader, you will know that in 2015 and in the rare games of 2016, many of my rounds, good, bad or indifferent were regularly blighted by car crash holes. Despite being in the midst of my best round this year, I had one of those moments again. Having found a bunker right of the green at the 139 yard eighth, I thinned the bunker shot, sculled the pitch back into sand and thinned another bunker shot. I pitched on, even though I couldn't add to the stableford tally and walked off with a quadruple bogey. I simply cannot stop chucking these stupid mistakes in.

I made a net par at the ninth and walked off with eighteen points for the front nine. With that calamity on the eighth, in there, I could still have gone out well under handicap for the opening half. As you'll see this was going to have ramifications.

I was in a calm place. For the first time in months, I had an air of serenity, was making some excellent club selections and swinging the club wonderfully well with a superb tempo. My drive on the tenth wasn't the best but found the fairway. I nailed another long iron, a four iron, which this time found the green. I drained a twelve foot downhill for a birdie. I made a small mess on the next, with a double bogey courtesy of a duffed pitch into sand but bounced back again with a par at the hardest hole, stroke index 1. A great drive with a hint of fade around the dog leg, a five wood that again was well struck and again came up short, I chipped past the hole and made another fifteen footer.

I was steady until the sixteenth where I made a double. A net par at the penultimate was followed by a par at the last. I hit a six iron from 146 yards at the last to ensure I cleared the pond lurking to the right of the green. I pushed it and was worried it would find a watery grave. It bounced and I found it on the green. I nestled it down to the hole side for a par. Back in nineteen points, under handicap and a total of thirty seven points. It was leading in the clubhouse and so the "bitch" ghost had been laid to rest. With a big turnout, there was a decent kitty up for grabs and it was heading my way until a player in the last group came in with a 38 point tally. How I was left to rue that mockery I made of the eighth. However it was my best round of the year by a long way.

17th April roll up statistics

I was pleased with the way I played and for a vast amount of the round I hit the ball wonderfully. It's that one car crash hole again that leaves a bitter taste and takes the gloss off what was a good golfing day. It's been a while, especially in terms of playing that well and given everything going on off the course health wise, it's hard to be too picky. However as my health improves as I hope it will and I play more and more, if I want to be competitive, start getting some handicap cuts and generally posting good numbers, then I still need to find a way to stop these. It's still on the agenda to have a session with Andy Piper, the teaching pro I use at Lavender Park Golf Centre in Ascot, to talk about the mental side, NLP thinking and finding a way to stop these silly mistakes.

If I could save the way I felt warming up, my tempo, inner peace and sheer enjoyment of the day, I would love to be able to recall it on those days it isn't clicking. Sadly I can't but hoping it's a sign of better things to come. I am trying to work mainly on the short game aspects and limiting myself to one practice session on the full swing a week. That should make sure I don't over do it from a health perspective and will stop me ingraining swing faults or becoming stale. The short game from a hundred yards in still remains the focus of my attention.

It is so refreshing to give you a glimmer of positivity regarding the golf. Of course I'm acutely aware that my form seems to come and go in a heartbeat at times but with social golf the order of the day this coming weekend I can go out and relax with good company and simply try and repeat the feeling of calm and exquisite tempo I had on Sunday. I am planning to work more on the short game as the pitching in particular is still a concern and I need to make more up and downs with my chipping.

Apologies to one and all for the delay in bringing any form of communique to you and glad that when it came it had a win in a match (and Derek Williams and I stretch our unbeaten run) and that my individual form has, for now turned a corner. I'm hoping to be on here more often as there's a lot of golf, a few ideas for something a little different to bring you, and the odd bit of kit to review. It's been a while. I won't leave it so long next time.

Journey's End - Who Knows?

If you have been reading my recent posts, you'll be aware that I've recently had some medical issues and I write this with a heavy heart. It seems that there are going to be some ongoing issues, in terms of balance and eyesight, at least in the short term. Given this I'm not going to be able to play as much golf as I'd like or practice as hard as I'd want. I'm only going to be able to golf when my health dictates and will be on a very much as and when basis. This means that while I remain totally convinced that there is a single figure golfer in there, trying to break out, I am calling time, short term at least, on Homer's Odyssey and my pursuit to single figures and just trying to get out and play when I can and enjoy the chance to do so without worrying about the effect it has on my handicap. I am assuming this will start to see a steady rise northwards until I get myself fit and healthy again.

However the good news (or bad if you aren't a fan) is this isn't journey's end and I will still be posting on my trials and tribulations, equipment I've tried, and review gadgets and events I've used or attended.

That brings me nicely to the monthly medal last Sunday, which was also a qualifier for the Royal Ascot Cup a matchplay event where the top eight men, qualify to play the top eight women in the knockout event. To be honest, (and always good to get excuses in early) I felt really unwell in my warm up, going dizzy and feeling very light headed. If it wasn't for the fact that the third member of our group didn't show and I felt compelled to go out and mark the card for my playing partner, I'd have withdrawn.

I actually started reasonably well with a net par on the opening two holes before the round began to unravel with a quadruple bogey at the third and a triple at the next, including and ugly four putt. I was struggling with concentration, balance, tempo and co-ordination and felt totally out of sorts. I managed a couple pars before another ugly double bogey at the shortest hole on the course put the skids on any thought of a comeback with the failure to escape from a bunker being the culprit. I then managed to par the tricky 400 yard ninth. It was a case of one step forward and two backwards.

March 2016 Medal Statistics

I actually started the back nine with a degree of form and three net pars, although I didn't find a fairway or green in regulation and I was working flat out to get anything. My ball striking was solid but I seemed to lack any power and my distance was a long way down on normal. Bad shots were weak slices to the right. I didn't know why and couldn't find a remedy. Sadly, by the fourteenth, I was a spent force and back to feeling very dizzy over the ball and struggling. I was resigned to getting my 0.1 back on the handicap taking me to 12.5 and now playing off 13 and to be honest I was just wanted to get round and get home. A run of double, single, double bogey, killed off any waning enthusiasm and even though I hit the green at the 218 yard penultimate hole, a rare feat in recent times even at full fitness, for a par, I topped my tee shot into the hazard in front of the tee at the last, and struggled to a closing triple bogey. The score was an irrelevance really but it was two nines of 47 for a gross 94, nett 82 (+12) and a 17th place finish in division one.

I'm not sure where my golfing future is going to take me. I simply cannot keep playing feeling as bad as I did last weekend and so I will be picking and choosing when I can play depending on how I feel on any particular day. It has put the skids under my chances to chase down single figures in 2016. I've been told the prognosis going forward is positive, but still have a barrage of tests to get through. However, what it has done in a bizarre sort of way is change the game plan totally.

While I've always enjoyed my golf, good bad or indifferent, and certainly enjoyed the hard work and time I've invested trying to improve all aspects, by parking the pursuit of single figures, at least for now, it has opened up the opportunity to simply go out and play, and swing with perhaps more freedom. The handicap is going up. That I'm afraid is an inevitability, although if I have a good day, then with more shots, I could be very, very dangerous. I still plan to practice when I can, but this is going to be restricted to all things short game. No bad thing in itself.

This isn't some woe is me tale, Crap happens to everyone at some point or another and it's how you deal with it that defines how bad you let things get. I'm back playing over the Easter weekend in our annual bogey even at Royal Ascot Golf Club. This is matchplay against the course in essence, and players must play two round over the four day Easter period, but can choose which days they want to play. I've already played my first round on Good Friday. I am still blighted with a lack of distance, especially off the tee and I played very poorly, but managed to cobble a reasonable score of three down to the course. If I can play that badly and still score reasonably, in relative terms. then there has to be hope going forward once I sort the swing issues out. I'm due to play tomorrow (Easter Sunday) but with gale force winds and very heavy rain showers due throughout, it's going to be a round of attrition.

I have no expectations tomorrow or for the 2016 season going onwards. Is it journey's end? Who knows but I don't think so in the longer term. It simply means I need to work even harder to get the shots off and that after this hiatus I am just starting from a higher point. The intent and the belief remains the same, to get down to single figures. In the meantime, I intend to simply play until I get the clean bill of health and then it's pedal to the metal and flat out to make up for lost time. Who knows, this may even be a weight lifted off my shoulders. There have been many, both at my club and on social media, that have said that my goal has become a burden and in fact has held my golf and progress back. They say I try too hard, work on too many things, have to many swing thoughts and generally get in my own way. Well these unforeseen circumstances and the break in trying to get to single figures will see if they were right.

This is far from journey's end but a short term change of focus and direction. I've become acutely aware that health and family come a long way before trying to get better at golf and while I won't let recent events define me, I have to listen to the medical advice and my body. Getting out for any sort of golf or practice is a bonus at the moment so I plan to seize these with renewed vigour and swing freely, enjoy the surroundings and the company and not worry at all about the score. There's a long way to go with Homer's Odyssey and it isn't over by a long way. Have a great Easter and enjoy your golf.

Aimpoint Express

Turn on the TV coverage of any golf tournament across any of the tours and you'll see a bunch of players on the green waving their fingers in the air. Are they checking the wind or sending some weird semaphore signals? No. What they are doing is reading the break in the green using Aimpoint Express.

As a regular reader reader of this humble offering (what do you mean you aren't?) you will know that several years ago I attended an Aimpoint clinic to learn the original chart based method of reading greens (Aimpoint Clinic) which has transformed the way I read greens and being universal has allowed me to get accurate reads even on courses I've never seen before.

However times have changed and so has Aimpoint. What you see on the TV is the latest incarnation of green reading which has taken the time taken to get an accurate read down to a matter of 15-20 seconds and has done away with the necessity to carry the chart with you. Like the graph based system it's accurate and universal to any green and any stimp speed.

My course was at Downshire Golf Centre and the class consisted of Jamie Donaldson, Aimpoint's Senior European Instructor (http://jamiedonaldson.co.uk/) who works with a number of tournament professionals to use and understand the process, Rhys ap Iolo, teaching professional at Downshire, and one other pupil which meant we got a lot of expert one on one tuition. In essence the Express system allows a player to use his feet to gauge the percentage of slope and then relate that to the number of fingers to use in the read. Of course it isn't quite as simple as that and there are differing techniques based on this principal for reads from 1-6 feet, 7-20 feet and over 20 feet. We also learnt how to deal with those annoying double breaking reads too.

Adam Scott looking at another Aimpoint read

Now I know what all the naysayers and doubters will be saying. It's mumbo jumbo and sticking fingers in the air can't possible work. I can't give you the mechanics and science behind it, and if you have any questions I suggest you either a) book a lesson and try it for yourself, b) contact Jamie directly (or a US based teacher at http://www.aimpointgolf.com/findInstructor) or c) google it. The bottom line is simple. The chart worked and Express works equally as well and is much quicker. If it was a fad or rubbish, why would Scott, ladies number one Lydia Ko and a host of others put their chances of winning in jeopardy with something that doesn't work?

The session started with learning to feel how slope changes on a green and getting a personal reference point for gradient ranging from 1-5% and once we practiced making a decision on the percentage on a number of putts on Downshire's undulating practice green, it was time to start with those pesky 1-6 foot putts. We learnt how to make the read and then wandered around the green, making various reads and then more importantly trying to sink the putt. Even moving out to the 5-6 foot range, usually a problem, I was making a good number of these and those that missed were good reads and usually a result of not starting the putt where I aimed. That of course isn't unique to Aimpoint and it doesn't matter how you read a putt, if you can't start the ball on line regularly then you won't make many putts.

There is a different way of taking the read for those mid distance putts which again we learnt and then put into practice trying to make putts. I knew from using the chart that sometimes the amount of break you are being told by the Aimpoint read seems huge and there could be no possible way it was that big a slope. However time and again, we all set the ball out where the read told us and time and again the ball took the break and all scared the hole and left a tap in of a few inches, or dropped. It's wonderful for the confidence to see the ball disappear and you only need a couple of these per round to really make a difference to scores and handicaps.

The longer putts follows the same methodology of using the feet to gauge the percentage of slope but again the way the break is actually read is different and spread over the length of the putt. The expectation of holing anything over 20 feet is low, even for tour professionals and so at my humble mid-handicap level, it's about not three putting and making the second putt as stress free as possible. As slope percentage increased, so does the amount of break and having finally found a vicious side hill putt I gauged at 5% slope I needed Jamie to explain how to read it. I'm not planning on leaving too many of these and in truth, my putt wasn't great but that was down to pace and not the read. Second time around I put the ball next to the hole so the read wasn't the culprit.

Once we had a final round up and a question and answer session to clear any remaining problems it was a case of staying out there and working on green reading and making the putts. Now as I've alluded, while Aimpoint is proven to give repeatable and accurate reads, it still requires the player to make a solid stroke on the putt which relies on solid technique. That comes down to me getting out there and working on my stroke, something that will happen more now Spring is in the air and I am over my recent illness. A good read and a good stroke are a recipe for success. Last season I got my putting average down to 31.71 per round. If I can make this closer to 30 in 2016, I can save valuable shots and hopefully get those crucial handicap cuts.

Aimpoint isn't a fad and will only continue to grown in both the amateur and professional game and the proof of the pudding really is in trying it. Yes, the course could be seen as expensive at £90 but for two hours of tuition and something that you can use on any green it is money well spent, especially when you consider how much of the game is played on the greens. I'm confident the new method will see me in equally good stead as the chart did. I simply haven't played enough golf yet, something that is going to change, but this will really help going forward. Time will tell.