Signed on the dotted line...

Well I have finally bitten the bullet and am now officially a golf club member. I’ve joined Waldringfield Golf Club in Suffolk and am really looking forward to spending many weekends on the par 71 course, meeting new golfers, making friends and of course that all important mission of getting the handicap down.
In terms of facilities I am very, very happy with the short game practice area. Two separate areas for chipping and pitching practice as well as the mandatory putting green. The pitching area has a number of flagged targets as well as two greenside bunkers. I’m not sure how popular the practice facilities are but I’m hoping that won’t be used too frequently by other members so I can make the most of them! Only one driving net though so I'll still need to visit my local driving range to work on the full swing properly.

As I’ve never been a member before I’m not sure what to expect but I am particularly looking forward to playing in my first medal event. I miss competitive sport and it will be a strange feeling participating as an individual rather than a member of a team. I am playing my first round on Sunday, so of course there will be a score update coming soon. I’m really hoping that the swing practice I have conducted since the last round will have paid dividends but not to the expense of the short game!

I’m hoping for no more than 36 putts and a couple of pars but other than that I’m just going to soak it all up and savour every moment.

To view the club website click here.

Comments:

Homer
Well done for getting in. From my own experiences I’d suggest getting yourself well know with the pro, secretary and the steward as all are usually good sources for getting a game (the latter also helps when getting served when its busy!)

Get into as many events as you can and get your face known. I’m sure with the longer nights there will be others that use the short game area and putting green and rather than being an inconvenience it may be a help especially if thwy are low handicappers for getting some sound short game advice.

You’ll need to learn the course so try and get out for as many holes or rounds as you can (even on your own) so you get to know the bad places to hit and where you can lay up to or how certain holes set up. You can only pick this up over time and the same goes for the contours on the greens.

When you play competitions, especially the first you’re bound to get nervous. You’ve read Rotella and he talks about using those nerves positively. Just remember that if you are having a bad day to be courteous to your partners (no whinging or club throwing) and to observe the etiqutte. If you’re unsure how to proceed with a ruling don’t do anything without asking, especially touching or moving the ball.

Above all ENJOY IT. There will be some guys you don’t get on with and thats fine but for the most part members will be glad to have you on board. Project scrath is definitely up and running now and the clock is ticking!

Tiger
Like the glass is half full approach to busy practice areas, I’ll bear that in mind. Good shout on the steward hadn’t though about that, but definitely aiming to get to know as many people as possible so I’m never short of a playing partner. Although I tend to play better on my own I find it a very lonely experience and like the companionship of other golfers. I’ve already got a tee time booked for Sunday and will see if I can get down to practice on Saturday (HID permitting). I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited about sports club membership, ever (and that includes the athletics team at Loughborough with the most amazing training facilities I have ever seen!) Thanks for the support.

Paul
All the best with project scratch. No doubt you’ve read “Dream on: The challenge to break par in one year” by John Richardson. It’s a great inspiration to all golfers.

Tiger
Hey Paul, yes I have read it and put a review on here a while back. It was a throughly enjoyable read. If you Reviews in the menu bar you can search through all my past book reviews. Thanks for your support.