Doglegging...

Battle of the brothers enjoyed it's second instalment today at my brother's home club: Theydon Bois. A lovely course carved out of Epping Forest but a little bit short for my liking. To counteract the rather minuscule length the designer has put in more corners than a Formula 1 circuit. Hole after hole offered up a dogleg that demanded a long iron or hybrid off the tee. It is probably for this reason that tee to green I played really well today, with a FIR of 50%. That said it is clearly evident that the metronome is having a positive affect on my tempo. Bar one woeful tee shot early on I had the type of ball control that I have yearned for a while.

Unfortunately, my short game is displaying the petulance of an attention craving teenager and only makes fleeting appearances. If I can get that in check I may well be cooking on gas. Following a poor start (+15 after seven holes) I built up a head of steam and on the back nine started to play some really good golf, including three consecutive pars. Biggest lesson learnt is my need to make stance and club adjustments to allow for hills and slopes. Suffolk is flatter than a pancake and so playing somewhere with a hint of gradient was a whole new experience.

At the end of the day I beat both my brothers comprehensively, struck the ball well and managed to inadvertently clock my eldest brother on the melon. Worry not as the ball was merely dropping from a tree not a full bloodied drive. It had skewed right off my club  and I failed to realise he was foraging in the undergrowth under the aforementioned tree. More reflection tomorrow but for now I'm a very happy man.

95 (69)
6(4), 6(4), 6(3), 8(5), 4(4), 6(4), 7(4), 3(3), 5(4), 5(4), 6(4), 4(4), 4(4), 4(4), 5(3), 7(4), 5(4), 4(3)