Drive for show, putt for D'OH!

Rocked up to the club this morning, all excited about the medal and a chance for a handicap cut. However, following last night's deluge the competition was cancelled as the whole course was on temporary greens. Pants. I had been totally inspired by Bubba Watson's stunning second shot on the 18th at Kapalua and was hoping to have my own magical moments on the course.

Oh well 18 holes on the temps would have to do. My main aim was to strike the ball well and keep it in play. I am pleased to report I did exactly that for the first 10 holes hitting 5 out of 7 fairways. Though the headwind on the 4th hole caused me massive issues as I racked up a monstrous 7, it came to my aid in quite stunning fashion on the 5th. It felt like I had a gal blowing behind me and I struck the ball sweetly. It looked big but nothing could prepare me for the GPS reading, 281 yards!

I scored pretty well on the first 10 holes, racking up 22 stableford points but despite my improved ball striking, my score could have been so much better if I had a short game and wasn't putting on temps, grrr! I used the Kaymer approach today, chipping off my right toe and using my putting grip, and results were much improved but the longer chips and pitches were pretty poor. I really need to recalculate all my wedge yardages and practice, practice, practice.


We skipped the miniscule 11th and I decided to experiment for the rest of the round, using my 3 wood off the tee for every hole to get some additional practice with it. It's not my normal approach and it turned out to be a bit hit and miss, but all valuable experience.


It's all well and good being long but there were times today I'd be in a cracking position to get par and threw it away because of poor touch. Hoping to sneak in some short game practice tomorrow. All in all, it is another positive step in the right direction and I'm really looking forward to the winter league next week.

83 (60)
4(3), 6(5), 4(3), 7(4), 7(5), 4(3), 6(5), 6(4), 5(4), 4(4), -(3), 8(5), 6(4), -(4), 6(4), 5(4), -(4), 5(3)