On The Right Path

I had a lesson last night with my teaching professional Paul Harrison at Maidenhead Golf Centre.

It's been a while since we had a look at my full swing as we've been putting in the hard yards on the Linear method of chipping. I still had an issue with this, particularly on the very short chips and so we split the lesson in two with a fifteen minute refresher on the short game and the rest giving my full swing an MOT.

Chipping wise I am struggling when there isn't much distance between the ball and the flag, say just going over a collar of green to a tight flag a few paces on. I couldn't get it right or find a swing speed to execute. It turns out I'd been over complicating things again and moving my weight about, not only too much but in the wrong direction through the shot. After simplifying it back down I feel more confident over the shot. I dare say on the course it will be a different proposition but we'll wait and see.

Having cured one problem it was onto the main swing. I've been striking the ball really well of late and so I was nervous about Paul making any wholesale changes especially with a few trips to different courses coming up and the first round of my Volvo Pairs knockout with my partner Mike Stannard next week (representing Golf Monthly into the bargain). He watched me hit a few and was reasonably impressed. It seems the swing itself is pretty functional at the moment and the real issue he had was with my address position. My posture had slumped a little and my arms were tucked in towards my chest which meant I wasn't really giving myself as much room as I might to make my turn.

He has gotten me to stand much more upright in a more athletic position with a softer knee flex and the arms extended out more (without over reaching). It was such a simple and subtle change but the result was massive. I feel as though I have so much room through the hitting area. It has got rid of a lot of the misses left which Paul explained was down to being so cramped at impact. It is an area that is easy to let bad habits come back into and so I need to pay particular attention to my posture at any practice session I do. He has shown me on video how I should be standing and has suggested I take regular pictures of my posture to make sure I am not slouching and the hands aren't tucking in.




This is what we're aiming for



Other than that little tweak I am pleased to say the overall swing has passed its MOT with flying colours and whilst we both recognise it isn't perfect or even textbook, it has the makings of something repeatable now. I went back to the range tonight to work on it and I have to say the prognosis is good. I feel that the ball is perhaps a few yards longer (hard to tell with range balls) as I've more room to come down and through onto the ball and it is definitely coming off the clubhead nicely. If there was a down side it is trying to find a balance between extending the arms correctly and over-stretching particularly with the longer clubs and the driver especially. When they were good they were fantastic but some felt awkward at address and the outcome wasn't pretty. This is where the over-reaching crept in.

All in all then a very worthwhile exercise last night and time well spent tonight. I need to keep working on the driver, but if we can get this on song then I've a feeling there is another good score looming large. It's just a shame that the forecast for my round at Windlesham on Friday is less than favourable but it's a round of golf, on a working day, so I think we can put up with a bit of rain and wind. And it's a freebie. To be honest I'm buzzing and really can't wait to try it out on the course. Naturally the chances of translating it from range to first tee are slim, but the lesson has re-energised my self-belief and the fact that Paul is so pleased with progress to date and confirmed we're a long way down the right track has made all the effort seem worthwhile. Cue one Happy Homer.

Hybrid Hunting

As I alluded to in my last post my Taylormade Burner hybrid has been misbehaving for a while and regularly produces huge hooks left, usually resulting in the ball being lost or at best in a difficult lie. So much for it being a rescue club. The issue stems from the fact that it sits slightly closed, cunningly designed to give a draw bias. The problem is my teaching pro has got me swinging on a much better swing path and so I generate draw anyway and so the bias only adds to this hence the big banana shots left. I've not had much confidence with it for a while and the time had come for a change. Enough was enough.



The 07 Burner - definitely out of favour

 I have to be honest and say given the opportunity I love to try latest gear out and I am a real magpie for anything shiny and new. The weather here in deepest Berkshire has been pretty abysmal today and you can definitely tell that lawn tennis is back in town (doesn't it always rain at Wimbledon?). However it gave me the perfect opportunity to spend some time looking for a new 3 hybrid.

I must confess I am a Taylormade fan and so I was immediately drawn to their offerings. I'd discarded the R11 model having tried it at a previous demo day and really not liked it in any set up. As a renowned tinkerer anyway the adjustable flight setting was always going to prove to difficult to resist. Any bad shot would have to have been the set up of the club and not the end user and the wrench would have been permanently in my grubby hands. That left their latest Superfast model which like the R11 is white on the crown with a black face and designed to promote better alignment

I really wanted to like this club with its sleek design and whiteness which really does make it easier to pick the ball out and ensure it points where you want it to. Sadly though the RE*AX SL 60 shaft in both stiff and regular flex was just too light for my quick swing and it was a nightmare to control. In truth it only took about ten balls to realise we were never going to get along.

Not to be deterred though I went for last years version of the Superfast which had a more traditional black head. It came with a RE*AX 60 Superfast shaft and given how the newer model had behaved I opted for the stiff version to start with. The results were better but not great. In truth my other Taylormade clubs are all regular shafted and I've never been told at any fitting or demo day that I needed stiff flex specifically. Maybe the regular would do the trick.

In the end the regular flex was a step up but not really what I was looking for. Now I had a problem. Taylormade had let me down and I was forced to fling myself to the mercy of all the other manufacturers. So many models and so many variations. In the end it came down to three. The G15 and I15 from Ping and the Cobra Baffler Rail Hybrid. I did try offerings from Cleveland, Titleist and Mizuno but to be frank, although the Titleist performed the best of these, it didn't look right to my eye behind the ball and I never stood there with any confidence. Translate that to the course and I could see myself doubting my ability with it and I think we can all guess how that would end.

Eventually it came down to a chose of two. The Cobra is a very good hybrid and will suit a lot of golfers. It has a good ball flight, looks great behind the ball and is very forgiving. The rail on the sole will make it very easy to cut through longer grass and so will be ideal for shots from the rough. However it didn't quite make my last two and it was a straight shootout between the Ping G15 and the I15.

I have always been a big fan of Ping gear despite being a Taylormade gear whore and I've already written on here about coveting the I15 irons and so I guess there was an air of inevitability about the final two. The G15 is a peach to hit and is very versatile and forgiving. The high ball flight may not suit everyone but the distance it produced was very much on a par with my Taylormade. I tried it with the Aldila Serrano 85 hybrid shaft in both regular and stiff flex and it was the stiff that performed the best.

In the end though the daddy of them all was the I15. It was awesome in terms of distance, at least ten yards further than any other model I tried using the Mamiya AXIVcore Tour Red 85 shaft. The regular was good but in the end the stiff flex fitted me to a tee. Ball after ball sailed high and true with a lovely penetrating flight and a delicious hint of draw.

So I've a shiny new hybrid in my bag. It does look a little lost amongst a sea of Taylormade clubs but on the day it was the best of the bunch and as we all know it isn't about what it looks like or to some degree how it plays, all that counts is the number on the scorecard. It has one degree more loft than the Burner it's replacing but I can live with that as it flies further. I can stand there with confidence now without fear of losing the shot left all the time and as confidence is such a big part of my golfing psyche I can't wait to get out onto the course to try it. I'll be hitting the driving range this week as my golf club will be in the midst of the Royal Ascot race meeting and so getting in and out of the club is a nightmare and it's best to give it a very wide berth. However I'm off to Windlesham Golf Club on Friday and relishing the prospect of the first proper shot with it.

All in all it was a very enlightening experience and a very enjoyable one. If you are struggling with your longer irons, I thoroughly recommend you look at a hybrid. There are plenty of makes and models to choose from and there is bound to be one out there for you. As for me I'm tired but very happy with my purchase and it does look enticing sitting in my golf bag next to me as I write this. I think this will be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Back To Earth (With A Resounding Thump)

Not a great day on the course today. The swing was all over the shop, the mind wasn't on the job in hand and I couldn't get anything going or find any sort of spark. Fortunately it was only the usual Saturday morning roll up and so there was no damage done to my club handicap, although the roll up guys cut me two shots for winning last week so I was playing off 11 today. At the end of the day two shots made no difference and it was woeful, especially the front nine.

It had all started so well with a chip and a fifteen foot putt for par at the first. Then the rot started. I hit a drive out of bounds on the second. A truly woeful swing. I steadied the ship at three and four but missed the green miles right from 147 yards with my approach at the fifth. I duffed the recovery into a bunker, and then forgot the "splash" part of a bunker shot and hit it way too clean and over the green into deep rubbish and failed to score. I hit another poor, poor tee shot on the 6th (did I ever mention my loathing for that hole?) for a lost ball and no score. I did manage to redeem myself out of sand when my tee shot at the eighth missed the green right and I escaped to four feet and holed out. A terrible three putt at the ninth cost me (it was a hole I don't get a shot on off my new roll up handicap) and all in all it added up to a measly 11 points.

Things didn't improve down the tenth when the drive went left into long rough and I could only hack it forward about twenty yards and then missed the green with my next. Even when I hit a good shot as I did on the par 3 eleventh, with a 4 iron finding the heart of the putting surface, I contrived to three putt from no more than twenty feet. What a muppet.

I made a good up and down at the next which helped and found the front of the green at the par 3 twelfth and this time the putter behaved. It was my driver that was mis-firing. I hit one way right off the 14th tee and was lucky to find it and luckier still to get a shot. The sweet spot went missing off the fifteenth tee too. However it was the missed green from 131 yards with just and 8 iron in my hand and a duffed chip that were really to blame for not scoring on the hole. By the time I reached the 17th I was running on empty. My mind wasn't on it (had it ever been "on"?) and the swing was all over the show. Ironically I found the green at the long 218 yard par 3. Guess what followed? Correct answer. Another three putt. I managed an acceptable 6 (nett par) at the last for a dismal 25 points. No cash for Homer this week and it was back to shelling out.

The good news is I think I know what the fault is and so it's off to the range tomorrow to work on it. If it doesn't come back I've a lesson booked for Tuesday which was going to be looking at the mental side (shot preparation, swing thoughts etc) but can easily be switched to a swing assessment. Then it's a case of working it through before going off to play Windlesham on Friday http://www.windleshamgolf.com/

It's my birthday on Thursday (45 years young) and so I went out and treated myself (ok I used some birthday money) and bought a new carry bag. Being a bit of a Taylormade fan (brand whore) I went for their new R11 bag.

It looks great, is nice and light and has plenty of pocket space. The guys in the pro shop at Royal Ascot did me a deal on it and priced matched the best internet price I could find so everyone's a winner. I'll be trying it out for the first time at Windlesham on Friday so I need to find a decent golf swing to do it justice. At least the retail therapy numbed the pain of today's round. Hopefully I'll get it cracked again tomorrow. I'm also off to look for a new 3 hybrid in the morning as the current Taylormade Burner has been mis-firing for ages. It sits closed and I can't stop hooking it so I'm off to find one with a more neutral set up. I love testing new clubs so it could be a long morning for the shop assistant! I'll be sure to let you know if I find something I like. I love this birthday lark. The Queen's got it right and I think I need two birthdays as well if only to keep up with my spending on golf gear.

May's Report

As some of you may be aware, I keep a track of my performances on a rather nifty piece of software called Scoresaver 2. www.scoresaver.co.uk which helps me keep tabs on what parts of my game are going well and which are a damp squib and causing me to lose shots. Yes I was a train spotter in a former life. There is a serious side to it and I give my teaching professional Paul Harrison a breakdown so we can see where it's all going a bit "Pete Tong" and structure our lessons accordingly. On course it takes no more than ten seconds to record the information and a couple of minutes to download it into the system.

Enough of the spiel, what did May bring?

Key stats for Martin Bedborough (Hcap: 13)

Fairways Hit: 42% (Hcap Std: 15)
Greens In Reg: 26% (Hcap Std: 12)
Putts Per Round: 32.14 (Hcap Std: 12)
Sand Saves: 9% (Hcap Std: 20)
Birdie Conversion: 15% (Hcap Std: 12)
Par Scrambles: 17% (Hcap Std: 18)

The numbers in brackets are a guideline contained within the system to give you a ball park figure on how your numbers match up compared to your handicap. On first sight, some of these figures would appear shocking especially the sand saves and par scrambles. On the one hand I'll be the first to hold my hand up and say I don't spend enough time in the sand to make significant progress and that I lack a consistent and reliable swing in bunkers. On the other hand my defence is that I'm going through a learning curve with the Linear Method of chipping which includes bunker play and so it is an ongoing work in progress. Also, I have to say the standard of the bunkers, particularly at Royal Ascot lately has left a little to be desired. There is a definite lack of uniformity with some having plenty of sand in to play an explosion shot and others seemingly so, only to find the club hitting the integral base of the bunker itself and skidding with inevitable consequences.

The par scrambles too don't tell the whole story and again is down in the main to adopting the Linear Method. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, here's a very good link that shows you the basics (this is the pitch shot but the chipping is just a scaled down version) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzLzmRPmxJU

It's championed by Gary Smith, a Golf Monthly Top 25 coach, advanced fellow of the PGA, England coach and coach to various county sides.

I've not managed to conquer it fully yet especially in competitions and so my short game remains as fragile as England's back four against Switzerland last week. Still if good old GMac can go into meltdown at Celtic Manor there is hope for us all.

Out of the rest of the numbers, only the driving is below my standard and has always been an issue for me. Ironically it is one area that has been on the up lately. Royal Ascot is very much a course that requires you to keep it in play to be able to make a score and it is definitely something that has moved on. which of course leads to greens in regulation (GIR) being easier to find.

So what does it all add up to? Well for the most part it shows that my game is gradually coming back. The ball striking has been good for a while and finally I'm beginning to take advantage. Of course the biggest area of disappointment is the short game. I recognise that a good, nay, a mediocre, short game will always save me a number of shots. Given the depths of despair I was in with my chipping, I'm already way ahead of where I was but it is a long road ahead. Of course by now you'll know I have a penchant for practice and so I'm sure with some hard work (and some faith in my ability) this area will improve. I'm due a lesson next week anyway and so I really want to work on the short game some more. On a side issue, if you do take the trouble to watch the video link, I'd be interested to hear your views. Is there mileage in this different, yet simple approach or is it just a bonkers idea for those that have lost the plot.

And there you have it. May is done and dusted and we're getting better even if the numbers don't necessarily add up. I'll be reporting back for June and lets see if we can continue the forward momentum. Onwards and upwards.

A Screeching Halt

Well like the gloriously warm spell of weather we've been enjoying here in Berkshire, my golf game came a to a screeching halt. Cold, overcast and breezy this morning for the Centenary Medal at Royal Ascot I was first out in the draw and so led the field off.

Now a lot has been said about my golf in competitions. I've been accused of trying too hard, thinking too much and putting too much pressure on to play well, get a handicap cut and move towards Homers Odyssey of a single figure golfer. I've not really been thinking too much at all lately as the last two rounds have been social rounds with no baggage and lo, I've played well. Today I was determined to go out and do what I'd been doing to good effect and not think about the round in any context. Enjoy the good shots, forget the bad and let the score take care of itself.

A noble vision that lasted one shot. My opening drive was carved right and narrowly missed going out of bounds. However I was forced to play backwards which I failed to do with any aplomb. My third shot, (on a par 3) found the sand and the escape wasn't great. There were low expectations standing over the putt but the putter was as hot as it had been yesterday and I canned an absurd twenty footer to rescue a five.

In truth the round today never really got going. I was trying to just play the shot without thinking too much about implications or score, much as I thought I'd done in the last two rounds. However in truth I wasn't thinking enough, or in particular, paying enough due care and attention and so threw shots away like confetti in the breeze. I missed the third green from 120 yards for a double bogey, and despite then making two pars and an acceptable bogey four at that pesky 6th hole (par 3) I threw another two away at the 7th. I had found the fairway and then hit an out and out rank poor five iron. I basically nobbled it 100 yards along the deck into the rough. The recovery overshot the green and the chip back barely made the putting surface. Two putts later I was writing down another double bogey on the card.

I thought I'd throw another double in on the next. The tee shot found the bunker and it had nestled just inside the back lip of the trap. With one foot outside the bunker and the back edge of the bunker to avoid it was a tough, tough shot. However just for once I pulled of something a bit special and it not only came out perfectly but was only about fifteen feet from the pin. Two putts to salvage a bogey. Three putts later we're recording a five for another double.

If that was bad then the ninth was just messy. I hit a good drive which was a fraction too tight to the fairway bunker and it duly found the sand. Not a problem thought I as I wandered up to play my next shot. If the bunker shot on the last had been tricky with one foot out of the sand this was a doubly difficult problem with a high risk tariff. It had literally just fallen into the sand from the side and I was faced with standing outside the bunker, with a downhill lie. Just get it out you fool I hear you say. The options my friends were limited.

There is a ditch that traverses the fairway and was about thirty yards away going forward towards the hole so anything going forward would need to clear that or be played delicately to avoid rolling in on the fast running fairway. Coming out sideways would need a good shot to get over the edge of the bunker and would still only have one foot in the sand. Problems, problems. In the end I opted, wrongly in hindsight, to give it a go with a 7 iron with the intent of catching it thin so it would come out low and potentially have enough velocity to bounce the ditch. The execution was lacking and I hit it right off the toe. It ran straight right like a scalded cat. I dropped another into the sand, extricated myself to the side with the one leg in escape route and went to look for the original shot. Surprisingly (NOT) it was lost and so a third consecutive double bogey brought to an end a shocking front nine. I had only hit a couple of actual bad shots but had been so lax in my thinking over the ball that I'd frittered shot after shot after shot away. My purple patch had hit the skids.

I decided that on the back nine I'd adopt a more pragmatic approach. More care and attention without trying to be over analytical or over thinking the execution. I hit a good drive at the 10th and only had a simple eight iron in from 129 yards. I missed the green left but did manage to chip and two putt to salvage a five (nett par). I overshot the par 3 eleventh with a five iron. It was downwind and my shot did land on the narrowest part of the green and so it wasn't a great surprise. The chip back wasn't great but no real harm done in terms of the second half score.

The tee shot at the 12th had cost me yesterday but today I went on a more direct line opting not to take the dog leg carry on. Perfectly struck I had a perfect lie and a four iron approach. For the first time in ages, well two games, I went into meltdown again. I pulled the 4 iron left into thick rough, hacked out into a bunker and then air mailed the bunker shot through the green. A duffed chip, a half hearted second one and two putts meant a vicious snowman (8) on the card. Not pretty. Golf is a truly ridiculous game. I topped my tee shot on the 187 yard 13th no more than one hundred yards and hit a mediocre shot on to the green. I was at least twenty feet away looking at a sharp right to left breaking putt that was downhill towards the cup and so going to be like greased lightening. To be honest the heart had gone out of my game following the trouble on the last and so inwardly I was resigned to three putting. I hit it well but it was travelling way too fast until it found the hole. Dead centre and dropped straight in, no questions asked for a "routine" par.

I got back on the double bogey train at the next courtesy of yet another duffed thirty yard pitch shot which of all the facets of the game is normally one I don't have an issue with. By now, the medal card was wrecked and interest was waning. It probably reads as though I was having a howler. In fact the actual ball striking for the most part had been good, certainly on the longer shots but it was from close range that the problems were occurring and I was just being so wasteful. Even trying to think more on the back nine hadn't really helped.

By now my brain had switched off. It was like an old Western town just before the final shoot out with the tumbleweed blowing through

However it must have worked as I made a birdie at the par 5 15th hole. I left myself another thirty yard pitch shot but played this one perfectly to within six feet and made the putt. Stupid bloody game. I was forced to lay up at the 16th as I had pushed the drive right and couldn't go for the green. A nine iron from 126 yards went to within four feet for another relatively easy putt and another par. I even hit the green on the long par 3 17th (218 yards) and made another par. Sadly though the round would end as it had started with another double bogey and it all added up to a rather messy nett 79 (+9).

It looks bad and probably reads bad too. I said in my previous post that the "no pictures on a scorecard" saying would come back to bite me on the bottom. People will look at the score on face value and not realise there were some good shots in there. There were far too many bad ones too but overall I wasn't as devastated as perhaps I might have been in recent months.

However it does beg the question what went wrong. Why this screeching halt after a lot of good golf? Well we all know form is fleeting in this game but it does only seem to be in competitive play that I can't perform to anything like my true potential. Where does it go wrong? I tried adopting a more relaxed approach, perhaps too laid back in todays case. Granted there wasn't too much in the way of banter today. The company itself was excellent but both my partners were intent on trying to make their best scores possible and a medal round is never going to have that same devil may care atmosphere as a friendly game with some mates. It's about harnessing the relaxed approach though and trying to play well without thinking about how to do it.

I'm off to give this book a read.

I'm becoming more and more interested in this side of the game now. Clearly it appears I have some kind of mental block that is stopping me executing in competitions even when the swing itself for the most part is functioning within acceptable parameters.

I've obviously got what you might call "competitive baggage" somewhere in my psyche and the ability to produce card destroying shots from nowhere. I need to find a release valve or a trigger to stop this happening. It strikes me that most of the guys that play at my club, and I guess most others, find it easier to accept the bad rounds, enjoy the good ones and play with a certain degree of freedom. Perhaps it's the Odyssey itself causing the problem. Maybe single figures is out of my reach. Certainly with the handicap in full retreat it would appear so. However I don't think it's the case. I know I'm on the right path but what I need are ways of working through the mental side. I'm sure this book will help. I'm a big Rotella fan and have read a couple of his other tomes which made sense and were explained things in a way even a fool like me could understand.

Royal Ascot Golf Club is forced to scale down operations to accommodate the crowds that flock to the Royal Ascot race meeting, a landmark event in the English social calendar, and so there will be no more competitions until June 25th which is the monthly stableford. In between times I've a lesson with my teaching professional, Paul Harrison, and I'm going to be working on triggers and mental exercises on the course to dump this baggage. I'm not quite going into the murky world of sports psychology but thought it might be interesting if nothing else to at least dip a toe in the water. I fear I'm a lost cause. We'll just have to wait and see but for the moment let's see what Dr Bob has to say. Chapter One........

Show Me The Money

I played in the normal Saturday morning roll up yesterday with the usual suspects at my club. The weather was glorious and I was unusually buoyed by my performance on Monday where I managed to shoot a personal best score. The roll up is good old, fashioned social golf. Granted we all put £2 in the kitty and there is usually a first and second prize, but it's all about the fun. The humour at times can be tougher than the golf but they are all great guys and I always look forward to playing.

I started off poorly for once, given recent form. I skied my drive to leave myself well short of the green, pitched on and then three putted for a single point. Not what I had been looking for. I needn't have worried unduly as I then went on to par the next three holes before making a sumptuous birdie at the 503 yard 5th. Fairway in regulation. Check. Second shot to position A+. Check. Decent lie. Negative. Having hit a great lay up to the perfect wedge distance the damn ball was lying in an old divot. I hit down on it and although it came out low it was the perfect distance. One bounce, a lot of check spin and there it was lying next to the hole like an old ginger Tom in front of the fire. It left a simple five foot putt which went in dead centre.

Now we've spoken about my ability to conjure up problems from nowhere before. As your guide through Homer's Odyssey, warts and all, I'm pleased to announce I found a new way to not score any points on a hole. I pulled this new trick off playing the par 3 6th, my nemesis as my recent blog will testify (http://threeoffthetee.blogspot.com/2011/05/hackers-guide-to-royal-ascot-hole-6.html)

I hit a decent 4 iron that just caught the right hand bunker. No problem, just get it out, two putt, take a bogey and one point and move on. Not today. I'm not sure how I managed it but I hit the ball twice. Once on impact and then as I followed through, propelling it off the front edge of the green. Naturally there is a penalty and no reward for trick shots like this and even though I rolled in a great eight footer it made no difference. I played the 7th like a fool and dropped another point but got it straight back by hitting the green on the short par 3 8th hole and knocking in a twelve footer left to right downhiller for a rather cheeky birdie. I smashed a drive down the 9th and almost hit it too well into the ditch that crosses the fairway at the 290 yard mark. Granted it was downwind and downhill but a timely reminder that the hazard can come into play at this time of year. Out in 20 points and only scoring on eight holes. Happy Days.

My mood was enhanced even further when my 9 iron to the 10th was spot on and left just three feet to negotiate for another birdie. I missed the green left at the next into a bunker but came out pretty well (for me) and rattled another single putt in to save par. My luck ran out a tad on the next though. I thought I'd hit a perfect drive cutting off a fair chunk of the dogleg and clearing the trees that block progress. However when we go there, I had not only failed to do so but the ball was nestled unplayable at the base of one of them. Chalk up a six for a lonely one point. Damn!

I needn't have worried. My putter was on fire and having missed the green left at the difficult 186 yard par 3 (somehow recognised as the second easiest hole on the course) and having only hit a mediocre recovery I rammed a huge curling putt from all of fifteen feet for another par save. As they always say, no pictures only numbers on the card. Mind you that will return to haunt me.

I made a pigs ear of the 14th, thinning a simple pitch shot through the green and having to rely on another single putt to salvage a point. My driving has always been a bete noire but for the most part had behaved impeccably. I launched one down the 15th into the perfect position and as it was downwind decided to go for glory and hit the green on this par 5. In truth I hit it too well and the shot ran through the back into bandit country and I was lucky to find it and to have a shot. I managed to chop it out to the edge of the green and two putt.

I missed the green right at the 16th after another good drive but this time the short game rode to the rescue and a deft chip left a simple tap in for another par. Two rounds, back to back, going to plan. As hard to believe for you reading this as it was for me playing the shots I'm sure. Of course it was inevitable that the driving wouldn't last. Coming to the 18th, it is another hole that has a ditch crossing the fairway at about the 270 yard mark, but it is always fast running, playing downwind and so often in range even for relatively short hitters like me. I elected to hit 3 wood to stay short and as if to top and tail the round hit it as badly as I had on the first. It went short and right and left me with not option but to play out sideways. I recovered well enough to make a six (nett par) and had completed a second nine worth 20 points for a grand total of 40.

Now the one thing that makes our roll up or "greedie" as it's known so interesting, is there is always one guy every week that plays well below their handicap and scoops the money so there was no counting of chickens until everyone had returned.

In the end I had taken the cash. Granted it was only £12 but a win is a win. It did however mean my new "Greedie" handicap has been cut by two shots for winning (for four weeks) back to 11. At least it'll give me a chance to remember what it was like when my official handicap was that low too.

The one thing I've found from these last two rounds is that the more relaxed I am, the better the banter is, the more I tend to play on auto-pilot and not worry about too many technical issues. I will grant you my short game is never more than a thinned chip away from collapsing and so is always on a knife edge but that aside, the guys I play with make it so easy to just stand there, assess the shot and swing. Of course seasoned golfers, teaching pros and even rank beginners will all be screaming at the screen that you're supposed to do it that way all the time. Do you know something? You'd be right but I've always had a habit of being a thinker and it is only through the encouragement of some good golfing friends and some plain talking from the Golf Monthly Forum that in the last eighteen months I've tried to play a more natural, hit it, find it and hit it again type of game. Sometimes it works and sometimes it works in the beginning until I have a bad few holes when the voices in my head return. One thing is certain. You cannot produce good, or more importantly consistent golf with a thousand swing thoughts occupying your mind.

So what do these last two rounds tell me (and you)? Well the swing is finally working pretty well and for once the unforced errors were outweighed by a stellar putting performance (only 29 putts) and that when the mistakes came they weren't card wreckers. It says very clearly that when I'm on, I'm still pretty damn good but that clearly I'm not "ON" enough. So what do we do to change that. Big question and one that I think may need a radical approach. Plans are afoot bloggers. I'm going to a mysterious place to see if I can exorcise these voices. Things are going to get deep.

Cause For Celebrations - Yes But...

Well finally, after promising so much and frankly letting you all down I've managed to deliver. I played a round at Royal Ascot on Monday as a marker for two guys putting their second round cards in for the Stone Cup event being held (play any two days out of three over the Bank Holiday period). After months of near misses and what might have been I played sublime golf and went round in a personal best at Royal Ascot of five over gross (75), out in 37 (+2) and back in 38 (+3).

Right, lets get the downer and disappointing bit out of the way first. Had I just waited twenty four hours and played on Monday that score, equivalent to 44 stableford points along with my 31 points from the first round would have been enough to win the whole event. Gutted. It would even have been enough to get me down to an 11 handicap again. Doubly gutted. Why didn't I wait? Well the forecast had been for heavy drizzle and more persistent rain for Monday and so in my wisdom decided to play in the dry on Sunday. Of course the gusty strong wind I experienced also died to nothing more than a stiff breeze making it much easier to score. Thrice gutted. However there is no point worrying about what could have been.

Five over par. Well blow me. Where did that come from? There was no hint of that on Sunday when all I could manage was another measly 31 points to match the one I had on Saturday when I went into meltdown in the last four holes.

Time to celebrate - AT LAST!

 Ironically I started off with a four (nett par) which was a shot more than I managed on both two preceding days. I followed it with four straight pars before missing the green on the 6th,  hitting a rubbish chip shot and giving myself too much to do to save par. I missed the green by a good thirty yards left on the 7th when I hooked my approach and it looked like a third straight bogey at the short par 3 eighth but a great nine foot par putt saved the day. The ninth as usual was playing directly into the stiffish breeze and so played all of its 400 yards. I hit a good tee shot but was still faced with 179 yards in. I opted for a five wood into the wind and hit it great but just missed the green left and it was sitting on an upslope about fifteen feet from the hole. I told you my short game was coming back. I hit a perfect wedge and it pitched where I wanted and ran gently into the heart of the hole for a birdie.

I hit a booming drive down ten and then put my nine iron from 113 yards to four feet and converted. Back to back birdies. No you haven't logged onto a proper golfers blog it is still Homer's story. I dropped a shot at the 12th, the hardest hole on the course (according to stroke index at least but not the most difficult for me personally) by rushing my approach having spent some time looking for one of my partners ball and feeling pressure from the group behind to keep moving. I only had a six iron in my hand but pulled it into the left hand bunker. I even managed to make par at the 16th, the scene of one of the disasters from Saturday. I wasn't going out of bound left again. No way Jose. Instead I missed the fairway right but my recovery ended up about twenty yards short of the green. The new improved Homer short game (version 3.1) put the ball to withing five feet and the Odyssey putter back in the bag for the mis-firing Ping Anser did the rest. I dropped shots at the last two holes (still net pars) but I can't have too many complaints.

And there you have it. Vindication, at least in the short term that just once in a while I can still play this game

Of course we all know that it is all about doing it again next time out and I'm certain that 75 is going to take a lot of living up to. I have to be honest and say that good players, books and instructional DVDs all say that a good score will come when you feel perfectly calm inside and that is exactly how it felt. I didn't feel rushed, everything was in sync and even the odd bad shot didn't end up in bad spot. I could see the lines of the putts and my stroke was smooth. I felt I had plenty of time in the swing and that to be truthful felt that every shot would be good. I guess the million dollar question is how do you bottle that serenity?

Nothing better than shooting a personal best either and certainly a great way of getting rid of that bitter taste of frustration and not winning another Royal Ascot "major" but I'll take a 75 anytime. It's the usual Saturday roll up and the Centenary medal on Sunday so hopefully it won't be a flash in the pan. That's the beauty of my game. It's Forrest Gump golf. A round is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.