Scramble

Never had so much fun on a golf course. Ever. Period. Played in the pros challenge Texas Scramble today where the aim was to shoot lower than our two club professionals in Texas Scramble pairs. I had a new partner today and Ian and I did pretty well to come home +1 nett.

These things are always tougher for higher handicappers and with Ian's handicap of 25 we needed to play off a handicap of 11 for the day. The swing changes from my last lesson seem to be bedding in as my iron striking is getting steadily better, with two belting tee shots setting up a couple of 2's. I think playing with the Srixons had a massive positive effect as well.

I'm hoping to get out for a round of strokeplay on Monday but the event today was a massive success. Never seen so many people out and the Club Captain has promised they will run the event again. Winning score a quite stunning 63 gross which was better than the pros 64 before you deducted the 3.2 handicap.

My two mates have now joined the club and we've agreed to play pair scrambles every now and then as it is so enjoyable.

Mild, green Fairy liquid

Do you remember that series of adverts? I do and have to say it never inspired me to give my mum a night off, roll my sleeves up and do the dishes. These days the special machine does it and makes them all sparkly clean. Still have to do the pots mind and in these tough economic times it's Lidl's economy version rather than the mild green stuff. However, as I continue to work on my short game I feel a growing need to go back to the old days, fill up the sink and reach for a scourer.

Why? Because hands that do dishes feel as soft as your face and quite simply my hands aren't soft enough. Practice was wet today so not a true reflection of my ball stopping skills. That said if the heavens remain open the course will be a tad damp on Saturday and my short game practice session will be even more helpful.

That said I'm still not sure how I can seriously work on making my hands softer. I do play much better with relaxed hands, I just need to learn how to do it more consistently.

How do you mark yours?

So the idea of a star with initials was disastrous so I needed a new way to mark my ball rather than putting my initials on it. After much though last night I eventually decided, as this is the Year of the Tiger to emblazon my balls with the chinese symbol for Tiger. Took some getting use to and it was hardly masterful script but they'll be no mistaking my Srixons when I play on Saturday.

I also like a clean appearance when I putt so I have inscribed my balls on the opposite side to the aiming stamp. I'll be hitting the course tonight to practice my short game and get the feel of the Srixons before I play on Saturday. Here's hoping that playing with two mid teen handicappers, the symbolic power of the chinese writing and a continued improvement in my ball striking will fuse into a wonderful mix of my best golf. I'll let you know the outcome on Sunday...

Growing golfing fraternity

Till now I've not known many people I can go and knock about with of a weekend, so am really pleased a couple of friends have decided to join my club. They played on Tuesday and though it's not in as good nick as their current track, it's a lot cheaper, still in good condition and, as they commented, a good golfing challenge.

So I'll be playing with them on Saturday afternoon before atoning for my sins last weekend by marshalling the Ipswich Half Marathon (Sunday) so HID can take part.

The Srixons are in the bag and the pennies are being counted to hopefully pay for my hybrid next month. I'm interested to see how my new golfing buddies will manage the course on Saturday and if their approach differs drastically to mine.

Impatient

So Friday was a bad day on the course and Sunday was a pretty good day. First time I've been able to play twice in 72 hours and it has made me greedy. I want more especially as I'm convinced I know what I need to do. My eagerness has been heightened by the fact that 36 pearly White Srixon AD333's have arrived. It will be the first time my practice and playing bag will be brimming with identical balls. I'm hoping that will give me a new found confidence around the greens and greater accuracy off the tee.

I'll be marking them up tonight and thinking of adding some positivity with stars or maybe diamonds (though the association of diamonds in the rough might be an unwise parrallel to tempt). Mmmmm. Stars it is with my initials inside.

It also seems that my namesake has got his balls back following the announcement if his divorce. To be honest I am not surprised but I am pleased that it seems to be amicable (well as amicable as is possible given the circumstances) and they are putting the kids first. I also hope that this will enable Tiger to recapture the golfing form that has deserted him, though preferably after the Yanks visit Celtic Manor for an ass whooping in October.

Balls...

My ball striking wasn't that hot on Friday so I went out today to play nine holes and get my iron striking back. Didn't bother to borrow a hybrid and didn't take the 3 Wood out of the bag. At my last lesson my pro wanted me to concentrate on turning my wrists over so if I missed, I missed left. he also wanted me to swing easy and he would have been proud of me today. It's probably the best I have ever hit my 4 iron and I was swinging pretty well.

A key component of today was a change of ball. Till now I have used Titleist ProV1x lake balls but today I played a Titleist PTS Solo till I lost it on the 12th and then used a Wilson TNI Distance which I played for the rest of the round. This helped no end on my iron striking keeping the ball straight with a little draw most of the time. Side effect was that it caused havoc on my short game, with chips that just kept on running. Ball of choice till next Spring: Srixon AD333 which I hope will be a nice compromise.

Anyway back to my round. I only had dispensation to play nine holes but it was going so well I stayed out. Unfortunately this meant knowing my score to see if it was worth it. I think this posed me problems on the back nine when the wheels came off. I also had a fair amount of bad luck today but if that evens itself out next time I play I'll be more than happy.

A few wasted opportunities and poor shot choices, but it's all part of the learning curve. I also hit some really solid shots today and am pleased with the progress I'm making. Every fairway I missed today I missed left, I had six long putts today that stopped about 3 inches from the hole, I had only one 3 putt and that was on a tough two tier green, all in all I'm starting to see measurable improvements in all departments of my game and I'm feeling much more optimistic.

So in the end I lost my nerve and carded 101 and as you will see from the scores per hole it fell apart on the 14th, so close and yet so far. Not to worry, I'm practicing tomorrow and Wednesday night (when I'll hopefully have the Srixons) and playing again on Saturday. This will be my last round before my first competitive medal, that day 4th September will be a true barometer for how I'm getting on.

101 (71)
4(3), 8(5), 3(3), 6(4), 6(5), 3(3), 8(5), 5(4), 6(4), 5(4), 4(3), 8(5), 5(4), 6(4), 8(4), 5(4), 6(4), 5(3)

Ice creamed

Well yesterday's golf was a great experience. Unfortunately, I didn't contribute as much as I would have liked to the team's points total but there were occasions when I'd score 2 when we had two 3's or 1 when we had two 2's.

The format for Captain's Day was team's of 4 with top two stableford scores for each hole counting. As a team we didn't play particularly well and amassed 73 points which we knew would be way short of the expected winning total of about 85-90 points.

That said we had a bloody good laugh and finished quite strongly. Plenty of banter flying about including my failure to clear the ladies tee on the 6th when we played furthest from the hole buys the drinks and the others, who went first, stuck all their shots on the green. Pressure got to me and I just swung too hard. Oh dear.

I need a Louis Oosthuizen trigger to get me in the zone and then I need a consistent pre shot routine to ensure I get everything right at set up, every time. We snaffled a bargain fourball at Brett Vale golf course in the auction and I'm looking forward to going back for a round there, especially in the company that I played with yesterday.

The day was slightly soured however by the winning teams score, an unfeasibly high 99 points, made more galling by the fact they had driven past us as we played our penultimate hole smugly bragging that they had bagged 86 points. Mmmmm.

All in all a thoroughly enjoyable day and a lot of money raised for MacMillan nurses who, according to the auctioneer's Freudian slip, would have touched quite a few of us!

Eheeeeee cha'mon!

Was MJ a left handed golfer?

Enjoyed a decent practice session working on the short game last night. Bunkers, chips, pitches, putting, approach shots all getting gradually tidier though bunkers are becoming a bit of a nemesis. Anyway, the biggest lesson learnt today was to follow Mr Poulter's advice. In between been a world class golfer and entertaining his fans on twitter by wearing a cheese hat, Poults proffered some advice to a golfing magazine. He suggested players remove their glove when playing short delicate shots.

Many of you might do this already but I've just got in the habit of only taking off the glove on the green. Last night I tried some chips and bunker shots without a glove on and it did make a massive difference. I'm actually a little surprised at what a difference it makes.

So when I tee it up later on today I'll be moving away from the Michael Jackson look whenever I am in and around the green.

I've made quite a lot of minor tweaks recently so it will be almost impossible to tell if any one makes a significant difference but I'm hoping that the amount of practice I put in and these little adjustments will all prove to be greater than the sum of their parts.

I also tried out a Wilson Fybrid and Ping G15 hybrid last night. Didn't like the Wilson at all and the Ping, what an ugly club. That said it did feel good off the face and better than the Cobra, but the softness of the shaft meant that everything was bending viciously left. I think I'd be better suited to the Aldilda Serrano stiif shaft but I think the baffler has got competition on its hands.

Powakaddy Double Bill: Trolley & Bag Review

Powakaddy Twinline 3

I was pretty sceptical of trolleys at first. I'm a bog strapping lad why do I need a golfing zimmerframe to help me round the course. No I shall carry my clubs, balls, towels, extra clothing, food and 14 gallons of water on my back for four hours. It won't affect my game, my enjoyment or make me extra tired...er yes actually it did. 

So once I had dispensed with my machismo I realised that I should invest in a trolley. I had read a lot of positive things about the Powakaddy and now I own one it's easy to see why. It folds up pretty compact and fits snugly into the boot of my Focus along with my cart bag. It's easy and quick to set up and take down and the brolly holder is a nice addition, providing a sheltered cocoon against the elements. My course is pretty flat so I rarely need the footbrake but when I have used it I have had no problems. It rolls smoothly and requires minimal effort to coast it along the fairway (when I'm on it that is)!

My only slight gripe is that the handle does twist a bit when being pushed, which can be a small annoyance but on the whole it's a reasonably priced, well designed, ergonomic tidy piece of kit.

Powakaddy Deluxe II Cart Bag
When I first got my trolley I used my stand bag. Problem was I couldn't easily access the main side pocket and it didn't fit particularly well on the trolley. Mmmm time for an upgrade.

I've kept the stand bag for the winter as the Sasquatch is a great bit of kit, but invested in a Deluxe II cart bag and it fits the Twinline beautifully. To be fair you would expect the two to be extremely compatible, but Powakaddy have clearly thought through the design of the bag, providing a veritable plethora of pockets for all your golfing needs. In fact the main challenge when you first get it is remembering where you've put everything.

I have to say that I feel much fresher coming down the straight and can carry even more paraphernalia than before. This has been especially helpful with the confused summer weather we've been experiencing. I love them both and would definitely recommend.

Rating: 85%

Constable country: Brett Vale GC

"What's that?...my shot, terribly sorry I was miles away". That last bit's a lie, I was right there, totally immersed in the idyllic beauty of this picturesque golf course. It's easy to forget that you came to Brett Vale to play golf, especially on the stunning stretch from holes 4 - 11. In fact all that's missing is John Constable feverishly creating another masterpiece at his easel.

Back to golf and the biggest challenge comes at hole 13, a long uphill par 4 that doglegs right and will test even the longest drivers to hit GIR. My personal favourite however, is the aptly named par 3 10th, 'Death or Glory'. Surrounded by bunkers deeper than a munificent sheikh's pockets, miss the green at your peril!

First competition coming up

So I have an official handicap of 28 (oh dear) and my first real, bona fide, proper, every stroke kinda counts, you've got to be in it to win it, and there are even prizes competition is taking place on Friday. It's Captain's Day and a friend of mine has entered a team. Top two scores count for your team, in a 3/4 handicap Stableford.

I'm really looking forward to it, mainly because I can have a couple of disasters and still post a decent score. Got 22 points on the back nine last week and will be taking a couple of hybrids out with me which will hopefully help me repeat that form. I know that if I keep it in play I can play to 18, I truly believe that, so here's hoping the sun shines, the birds sing and I have a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. Bring on the banter!

Another interesting thing is that we will be having a shotgun start. I'm used to playing our course from 1-18, I've never even started a round on the 10th. Here's hoping we kick off on the 7th (the start of my favourite stretch of holes) so I'm in full swing by the time we get back to the 1st.

Nick Watney my heart goes out to you

Ok, I'm a little bit angry with him as well. There I was on the eve of the USPGA toying with who my free bets should be placed on. Having broken my golfing gambling duck at The Open, I had been rewarded with two free bets by Paddy Power and William Hill. You had to use these back in July so I played it safe and went with McIlroy and Westwood. Lee's injury meant I need to back someone else.

Hunter Mahan went straight down, he was bang in form and at 35/1 well priced. I couldn't see the Yanks letting yet another outsider claim a Major on their soil after McDowell at the US Open, and if they did I couldn't see past Rory. So my other two picks would be American. I was tempted by Furyk but couldn't see him having the staying power (at least I got that one right), so I plummed for two up and coming players: Sean O'Hair and Nick Watney.

Now what attracted me to Watney, other than the 50/1 odds, were what a nice guy he was. Following his interviews at Augusta and St Andrews I was struck by what a down to earth, all round nice guy he was. So it would be almost a double win if he romped to victory at Whistling Straits, a 'Nice Guy Comes First' kind of headline and a helpful bit of wedge in my back pocket.

Now I didn't get to witness his horror show first hand, although I'm sure he displayed a great deal more dignity than Sergio Garcia on day one. But I was stunned to see him crumble so dramatically, blowing his overnight lead on the opening four holes and then plummeting to a 'can someone please put me out of my misery' 81 (+9). I really do hope he bounces back, as decent sporting role models are difficult to find these days and Mr Watney deserves to be at the pinnacle of golf, if for no other reason than his good humour, honesty and integrity.

As for me, that sudden cash windfall that would have financed my hybrid has upped and vanished like a fart in the wind. Oh well back to counting the pennies...

Shotmiser G500: Equipment Review

Since pretty much day one I've been working on the Pelz Short Game system. Practising religiously to be able to execute a quarter and half swing accurately with my three wedges and then to learn how far each one travels. This whole process hinges on three simple factors:

1. Being able to execute the shot
2. Knowing how far the ball will travel
3. Knowing the distance to the target

For my birthday this year I was lucky enough to receive a Shotmiser G500 that is helping substantially with points 2 & 3. I unfortunately haven't had the time to focus on painstakingly measuring my exact distances yet, but I do know them to about 5 yards. Since using the Shotmiser on course my wedge play has significantly improved and I can only see that getting better as time goes on. In fact the Shotmiser is partly responsible for my first ever birdie. We have quite a few two tiered greens and knowing the right distance is critical when you want to land on the bottom or top tier.

On Sunday the pin was on the bottom tier. I'd left myself 78 yards to where I wanted to finish (more on that later) but I had to clear a bunker and not land it on the top tier. Using the Shotmiser I gauged an accurate distance to the slope and hit my wedge into the slope, knowing it would roll back down the hill to the pin without any risk of landing short in the bunker.

The Shotmiser is slightly different to other GPS systems. Firstly, there is no annual subscription but you do pay per course. This is ideal for me who will invariably play 4 or 5 courses regularly. If I travel to another course on the odd occasion I can either buy a strokesaver, play without it or pay a little more than the strokesaver would cost and buy the file for that course. Since I got my Shotmiser, Garmin have released a competitive product G3 or G5 which may be worth a look for those people that tend to play a lot of different courses.

The next main difference, and for me the best feature, is that the Shotmiser tracks you around the course. By this I mean that as you walk to the hole the overhead view of the hole rotates and zooms in. This means that what you see ahead of you on the course is accurately depicted on the screen. Let's go back to my earlier example. I'd hit my tee shot slightly left so the screen showed the bunker directly in front of me and the green and back of green.

Which leads me nicely into point three, the touch screen technology. On the Shotmiser you can tap any point on the screen and it will tell you the distance to that point, I tend to use my tee as a stylus. So I touched the screen just past the bunker, mmm if I didn't hit my Sand Wedge cleanly I could end up in the sand. I touch again at the point on the green where I though the hole was, and a third time for where I felt the slope ended. All of this took about 10 seconds and I knew that I needed to hit a half swing with my gap wedge. If I caught it a little fat I'd still clear the bunker and a little too clean and I had some wriggle room on the slope. The ball hit the slope and rolled back to six foot from the pin and it's not the only time it's helped me with my approach shots over the past two weeks.

If like me you could end up anywhere on the course and need to know accurate distances for a variety of reasons this system is a great help. You can also record each of your shots and then review your round to see your distances and in my case how you zig zagged up the fairway!

So the cons. The sleep mode can be a little annoying as it takes a few seconds to wake up. The stats package could be more detailed something they are working on in an end of season software update. Courses cost £5 each to download and if your club has more than one course they charge you per course rather than as a package, which is a little cheeky. It will take you at least a round to get used to it, but once you are it is extremely simple to use. They do render the whole course so as long as you are not Out of Bounds you can get your bearings. I find this particularly useful as it allows me to record shots on our practice hole and get my distances that way. 

Overall I found this to be an excellent product, let down slightly by the cost of the individual course downloads, though you can buy bundles where you get a number of free courses. My course was a little out of date following a series of modifications this year but they have promised to update the file asap. I'm very content with this purchase and would recommend to anyone in the market for a GPS.

But don't just take my word for it the Shotmiser also won the Best on Test Gold Award from Today's Golfer.

To find out more or to buy the Shotmiser G500 visit:

www.snoopergolf.com 

Rating: 88%

Real progress

Today's round didn't start too well. In fact it started very badly, my tee shot went right and the Wedge I played just rolled a smidgeon too far and trickled off the back of the green. Queue a six followed by a nine and a five. It all went massively wrong on the 4th where I ended up blobbing in frustration, before massively slicing my tee shot on the 5th eventually carding an eight. Another five followed before a glimmer of hope...

I've been toying with the idea of getting a hybrid and today borrowed a Cobra Baffler hybrid from the pro shop. I finally got to grips with it (at least I though I had) on the 7th hole, a short par 5. I drilled me tee shot 223 yards to the left side of the fairway and then hit again just over 200 yards to leave me a chip onto the green. Unfortunately I overcooked it and two putted for par. It seemed as though this would be a rare plus point as I double and triple bogeyed the following two holes.

So nine holes in and a solitary par (that should really have been a birdie) I'd carded a 51 + a blob, it wasn't pretty. Then it clicked. I got to grips with the hybrid, my wedge play went to another level and despite the strong winds I played a pretty solid back nine which included my first ever birdie.

I hit the hybrid 191 yards into a strong headwind on 10 and hit my wedge intentionally onto the slope past the pin for it to roll back down the hill for a six footer that I put away. It's taken me four months, but I've finally got that birdie monkey off my back. My ball vanished on 12 (my fault for pulling the 3 wood out of the bag) causing a rather frustrating blob blemish on my card, but other than that I had a pretty solid back nine coming in with a 36 + blob.

All in all I'm a happy chappy

• an overall score of 87 for 16 holes
• improved FIR (36%) and GIR (25%)
• 22 stableford points for the back nine
• average driving distance of 193 yards
• +7 for the 8 holes I completed on the back nine

It's not ground breaking but I'm starting to miss more fairways to the left, which is something I'm working on, my pitching is much improved, my chipping is getting there and I must now save my pennies to buy a 2I hybrid. Used a 3I version today, but think the extra distance will better fill the gap between my 3W and 3I. Here's hoping Messrs Watney & McIlroy can keep it together this evening...

87 (62)

6(3), 9(5), 5(3), -(4), 8(5), 5(3), 5(5), 6(4), 7(4), 3(4), 4(3), -(5), 4(4), 5(4), 6(4), 4(4), 5(4), 5(3)

Could this be the weekend?

I've been out to practice since my lesson and the signs are encouraging. Really hope I can take it onto the course tomorrow. Our hard working committee members are enjoying freedom of the course in the morning with the Commitee Cup. I hope the weather is kind to them, they deserve a good competition. As a result I'm not teeing off till 11.40 but I'll have a chance to warm up properly and get my hands turning over and my tempo relaxed.

Lately my poor ball striking has cost me dearly and maybe with the latest swing changes, a spot of luck and good concentration I could break 100 for the first time.

I'll also be keeping a close eye on the USPGA as I've had a little wager on Nick Watney and Rory McIlroy and they're both doing rather well. I'm not a gambling man and from my past flutters I've never won. Here's hoping they both hang on...

Feeling good

Breeze drifting by you know how I feel
My ball soars through the sky you know how I feel
Landing pin high you know how I feel
Its a new dawn, its a new day, its a new life for me
yeah its a new dawn, its a new day, its a new life for me ooooooh
AND I'M FEELING GOOD!

Wow. I'm over my kit issues and went down to the club today for my first lesson with my new teaching pro. I have to pay tribute to the foundations laid by my old pro as overall I've got a pretty solid base to build from. He watched me hit a few shots and asked me what I was scoring. I told him. He was surprised as he thought I should be scoring high 80's low 90's. Then he saw me hit a few more shots...

Three things to work on for now.

First, try to maintain the bend in my right leg on back swing. Currently, I am straightening it which is affecting my balance and weight transfer.

Second, work on a drill which gets me to turn my wrists over and hit a shot with draw. This way I can develop a consistent shot shape and play to that. At the moment I have no idea if its going left or right, I aim down the middle of the fairway and give myself no room to get away with a bad shot. This way I'll aim down the right side of the fairway/green and have the whole area to play with.

Third, slow down. I swing much too fast. As with my last pro, he pointed out I hit it a pretty long way anyway, distance isn't something I need to worry about. No pro golfer would swing as fast as I was with a 7 iron, they would just use a 6 iron instead.

What really helped was having a lesson on the practice hole and getting a very clear idea of where my balls where ending up rather than on the bland range. I stayed on after my lesson and hit my own balls, this time with an 8 iron and it was then that I shocked myself. Doing the practice drill with my feet together I was hitting my 8 iron almost as far as I was murdering my 7 iron when my pro was observing. I built that up into a full swing, with my swing thought being about my right leg and stuck my first shot to four feet from the pin. Consequently, I am a very, very happy bunny. It's early days yet and I have to put the practice in but I am starting to better understand the biomechanics of my swing and what feels right. And so with joy coursing through my veins I'll sign off with the immensely talented Nina Simone...

Annus horribilis?

I had a bit of a bad year in 1992. I turned 13 that year. I missed out on a birthday present because my brother broke his glasses. I had just realised how truly wonderful the fairer sex were, at the same time as recognising that I lacked the requisite skills to engage them in conversation, let alone tonsil hockey. All in all it was a pretty bleak year. The Queen famously used her Christmas speech to share with the public that she'd had a bit of a shocker as well. Two marriage break ups and a fire at one of her several castles all put into perspective by a terminally I'll friend who continued to put other people first.

Some people are saying that Liverpool had an Annus Horribilis last year, I think they had a blip but poor old James Corden had an absolute stinker. Seriously how awful were his world cup shows.

To be fair whilst I think by regal standards 1992 was a bit of a shocker, in a broader context it wasn't really that bad. James Corden on the other hand may never be taken seriously ever again! As for me my first year of golf came to a rather uneventful end with my recent 109. I've learnt more from my mistakes (probably because I've made so many) than anything else. But today heralds a new beginning. I think the best decision I've made all year has been my focus on my short game. It's by no means perfect but currently the strongest element of my game and hopefully getting stronger.

I'll be starting with a new teaching pro on Thursday (hopefully) and lessons will be taking place on course/practice hole rather than on the range. I'll be playing more often as I now have the freedom to take myself to golf. My bag is pretty sorted just a hybrid to add in the short term. I had hoped to make much more progress than I have to date but that said the season is not yet over.

One thing I do know is that over the past 368 days there has been joy, excitement, frustration, disappointment, confusion and a soupçon of stupidity. But all in all, more of an annus mirabilis, here's hoping there are more wonders for me to savour next year.

Confucius

"Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes"

Well I've made more than a few mistakes during my golfing life. Let's start with the club fitting debacle. As was quite rightly posted on my Thursday post PING webfit suggests that my clubs should be 0.5/0.75" longer than standard. They are currently 1" longer, so what's the problem? Well the fitting pro in a different shop who saw me in the flesh thought that they should be an inch longer. And I only went in there because other people had been saying I looked too stooped at address.

But what about all those really nice shots I hit? What if the niggly back pain is being caused by swing flaws? I called the men at Titleist, their machine agrees with the one at PING (no surprises there then). I give up, I don't want to be technical I just want to play and enjoy playing, but so much conflicting and confusing information...Arrrrghhh!

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand" 

Not had a lesson for ages, that's probably the root of all my issues. Decided to give the pro at my local club a go, he's reasonably priced and has been a bit more full of banter recently, which is a very important quality. Alongside that from now on I will only buy clubs direct from the manufacturer at a fitting centre or demo day, that's my lesson learnt.

"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop"

I am far too impatient and always in a rush. I have hopefully at least another 40 years (if not more) to enjoy my golf so. So I need to be more patient on the course and off it. Progress will come and it won't come as rapidly as it has for others but it will come. My pitching and chipping is improving with every game and practice session. My putting has taken a little bit of a dip recently, but that is partly my fault for stepping out of my routine all too frequently. It's my long game that is suffering, here's hoping I can get my swing back on track soon.

"Study the past if you would define the future"

So my round. The highlights:

• a wonderful tee shot on our tiny par 3 11th that left me a 15 foot putt for birdie
• a cute chipped approach shot on 15th to leave a testy little 6 footer for par
• a 238 yard tee shot on the 12th with a lovely draw around gorse bushes ( I was particularly chuffed with that one)

Lowlights were too many missed putts where I didn't follow my routine and poor ball striking with my irons. It fell apart a little toward the end but when I set out on my golfing mission my plan was to learn the game backwards, the huge progress on chipping and pitching gives me a lot of hope.

FIR 31%, GIR 6% Putts 40 mmmm.

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do"

109 (71)

4(3), 8(5), 4(3), 9(4), 6(5), 4(3), 7(5), 5(4), 5(4), 5(4), 4(3), 8(5), 7(4), 7(4), 5(4), 8(4), 9(4), 4(3)

One year on...

It's a year to the day my golfing journey began and I still have so much to learn. Let down by my driving and putting today but my wedge play gets better with every game. I'll give you a detailed update tomorrow but in a nutshell I shot 109, which confirms my handicap will be 28, had far too many 3 putts a nightmare with my 3 Wood and the nasty twinge in my back is getting worse...

Where to now?

So I got up early and ventured to Ufford Park to whack some balls and get remeasured. The verdict: the sticks definitely need lengthening. To say I am upset would be an understatement. When you spend that much money to be custom fit and then the clubs are the wrong size is galling in the extreme. My vital statistics:

Finger 3.25"
Hand 8.25"
Wrist to Floor 39.5"
Height 6' 4"

I'll be taking them back from whence they came and asking them to resolve the issue for me and we'll see where we go from there. The tell tale signs:

1. Looking overly crouched at address
2. 'Good shots' being pulled left
3. 'Bad shots' being thins or slices
4. Significant glove wear on the heel of the palm
5. Lower back twinge

I can't get them sorted out before my next medal so will play each shot like a pitched approach clubbing up to boost distance. It's my birthday Saturday, not really the present I was hoping for!

Off topic...

I'm currently on a two day training course to learn more about how to apply Social Return on Investment (SRoI). The training is run by the new economics foundation and so far has been utterly brilliant. My day job is quite varied but includes responsibility for evaluation of our investments. I work for a charity and in a world that is increasingly dominated by tight finances, charities need to get better at how they demonstrate their impact. SRoI is a tool that can help us to do this.

Anyway I thought you might want to get to know me, as an individual, rather than just as a frustrated golfer. The clip below suns up both SRoI and my personal views on the limitations on current economics. nef used this Robert Kennedy speech to kick off the training and I hope you find it as compelling as I did.

July Stats

Bit of an up and down month with the 3 Wood, insufficient practice time and a new found freedow courtesy of passing my driving test. All in all a very eventful and simultaneously uneventful month. A measly total of seven hours practice time and just three rounds is a disappontng return, but with a lot of golf plans for August maybe this will be my breakthrough month.

Good news on the practice front is that I will be getting a Shotmiser for my birthday that will hopefully help me determine my wedge yardages. I've already been allowed an early play with it to get familiar and I think this is the start of a beautiful statistical relationship. But before I get carried away on my latest (or should I say soon to be latest) gadget, let me tell you about my practice time this month.

Practice

Distance	Time (minutes)	% of practice time
Driver	0	0%
Other Woods	45	11%
200 - 250 yards	0	0%
150 – 200 yards	10	2%
100 – 150 yards	10	2%
Short Approach	240	57%
Bunker Play	0	0%
Putting	115	28%
Total	420	100%

It's no real surprise then that my iron striking has gone to pot while my short game seems to be getting stronger. Need to get myself in a position to score more often as I growing in confidence about my ability to convert those chances now.

Rounds
Not pretty reading at all, I'm going backwards. That said July was a tough month for me, I hit my lowest ebb and am hoping to bounce back stronger in August. In the past my accuracy off the tee has been negated by my poor short game. My putting stats have been made worse by the disaster round of 120 that brought Project Scratch crashing down to the ground. Penalties are still much too high and I have decided that I will persevere with the ProV1x (albeit lake balls till I get a bit more accurate).

Statistic	Performance	SS2 Handicap level
Fairways in Regulation	21%	26
Greens in Regulation	9%	22
Putts per Round	37.67	23
Birdie Conversion	0%	28+
Par Scrambles	4%	28+
Sand Saves	0%	28%
Penalties per Round	6.33	28+

The SS2 handicap level is a calculation made indicating your performance on different facets of your game.

I feel like a stuck record but I am aiming for at least one visit to the range each week with a primary focus on my irons and 3 Wood. I am praying that I'll get back into the groove next week and have a very Happy Birthday in my next medal.

Sally Gunnell's

I feel a bit sorry for our Olympic hero at Barcelona 1992. Despite being a shining light for British women athletics at a dark time when medals were few and far between, her name is now synonymous with the rather unattractive, yet highly effective daisy cutting shots that still reach there eventual targets.

While Britain's athletics team are performing superbly back in Barcelona, the perfectly sculpted team comprise no members who can relieve Ms Gunnell of her unfortunate golf shot description duties. I was enthralled yesterday watching Ennis, Farah, Greene, Williams and Rimmer etal bringing home the precious metal.

Having reflected on my performance yesterday I'd have been somewhat happier with a collection of Gunnells. I got the floor hugging properties right but lacked the 'skill' to keep it running and running and running. I am thinking that maybe knowledge that my clubs are not long enough are playing some part. What I do know is my lack of flight has coincided with a swing change to get me further forward at impact. I used to lean back a lot, perhaps that stopped me from thinning the beejesus out of it? No that can't be right either, perhaps it's because at present I'm just a bit (or probably a lot) crap.

So I've decided on two things:

1. I must practice much more
2. I'll stop taking Ms Gunnell's name in vein

After all she trained hard to become an Olympic champion, whilst I practice insufficiently and bemoan my lack of skill.