Adieu...

Well I have just returned from a wonderful holiday in Portugal with my family and though I did not take my clubs to be honest I didn't really miss them. Lying out on the beach in the glorious sunshine I came to the decision that it is time to bring an end to the blog. It has been enjoyable and will remain a useful account of my early attempts to play this frustratingly wonderful game. That said I have made minimal progress and whilst the drive to improve remains, it is not fueled by the same hunger as when I first started on this merry journey.

I'll keep the blog live, as an archive I guess of my ramblings, but there will be no more updates. If you want to keep up with how I'm getting on I do tweet @tigerdes and post the odd update on the Golf Monthly forum.

Thank you for reading and I hope that you have been entertained over the past couple of years.

Adieu mes amis...

New job!!!!

So just one week to go in my old role and I will be starting my new job. I had promised to let you know what that job will be and now's a good time for the big reveal. As you may recall it was a daunting interview process but one that has filled me with positivity and excitement. It is without doubt my favourite charity and one with an affinity that stretched back to when I was eight years old and used to save money to donate in a blue egg.

So in a week's time I will be starting work as the new Head of Volunteering for the NSPCC and though an immense challenge awaits, I cannot wait to get started. Getting this job has been an immensely proud achievement for me and I hope that over the next few years I can make a really positive contribution to this amazing cause.

September Stats

Progress. Despite the Felixstowe debacle (the stats for which are not included) things are moving in the right direction. I'm hitting many more GIR which has had an adverse affect on my scrambling and putting stats but I'll take that as it means I am scoring better. Looking for a good showing in the Autumn Series and November medal.

Practice
Not had much chance to practice this month but that was mainly through holiday and taking the last few opportunities to play a midweek nine instead of toiling at the range or practice ground. I expect next month I will be practicing a lot more, especially with the longer clubs. I', working on getting myself a practice 6 iron I can leave in the new office and use at the range around the corner, which will help.

Distance	Time (minutes)	% of practice time
Driver	0	0%
Other Woods	0	0%
200 - 250 yards	0	0%
150 – 200 yards	20	4%
100 – 150 yards	155	34%
Short Approach	180	40%
Bunker Play	15	3%
Putting	85	19%
Total	455	100%

Rounds
Penalies are up again which is not good but all in all I'm fairly happy with my stats this month especially the improvements I am making in GIR. I'm also creating and taking more birdie opportunities which is really encouraging. I've now birdied 8 of the holes on the course and string pars together on a number of occasions. I just need to swing smooth and focus. Concentration is the key to me going really low.

Statistic	Performance	SS2 Handicap level
Fairways in Regulation	27% (29%)	23 (22)
Greens in Regulation	25% (19%)	12 (14)
Putts per Round	36.98 (34.83)	21 (17)
Birdie Conversion	14% (13%)	14 (16)
Par Scrambles	5% (10%)	28+ (25)
Sand Saves	- (0%)	- (28+)
Driving distance	254 (257)	4 (4)
Penalties per Round	2.29 (1.87)	23 (19)

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

My target last month was to improve FIR & GIR and whilst fairways remained consistent greens in regulation did improve. Just need to tackle those pesky scrambling and penalty stats.

Cleveland HiBore XLS Review

Cleveland HiBore XLS Driver
As someone who hits a fade I have to hit a really fade slice to get any left to right movement with the club. The stability fins (code for funny looking scooped out back) are designed to counter this shape and generally Hit hit this driver with a soft draw.

I'll not lie, it makes an awful thunk sound on impact, a bit like thwacking a golf ball with an aluminum baseball bat. The look at address takes a bit of getting used to and I'm not sure it would suit a purist that likes looking down on a pear shaped driver head.

Despite these aesthetic and acoustic issues it goes a country mile. I'm averaging 260 yards with it, which includes the poorer 230 yard connections and the mahoosive 290+ drives. As a high handicapper I cannot fault this club and though I wished the head cover would stay on a bit better, it will be a fixture in my bag for a while to come.

The Golf of Your Dreams: Book review

The Golf of Your Dreams, Bob Rotella 

(Audio Book, 2004)

With his lisping drawl Dr Bob narrates to you his book Golf of Your Dreams. The book is about making a plan with your coach and with yourself about how you can and will improve. Listening to the book rather than reading it does allow some of the messaging to sink in more easily and I keep meaning to stick it on when I am in the car on the way to the course, invariably I forget.

As with all Rotella books it is steeped in common sense, sound advice and no real surprises. But getting those critical, if simple messages, constantly reinforced is an important thing. Recently, regular blog visitors will have noticed that I have taken a more positive approach to my posts, refraining from lamenting my troubles and focusing more intently on my successes. The result has been significant;y improved scoring and immeasurably improved enjoyment of teh game. It is the latter of those two things that I hold most dear. I am buoyed on returning from the course, rather than being frustrated that I have to wait another seven days to right any wrongs I committed.

I'm not going to lie to you, if you are familiar with the words of wisdom of Dr Bob there isn't much new in here that you haven't already heard or read before.That is except maybe the nudge to have a playing lesson. My coaching plan is actually to take a break from lessons and to instead look to develop what skills I have using the knowledge I have gained so far. This is almost flying in the face of Dr Bobs guidance, but I feel I need a break from tutelage and a regimen of mental conditioning. As always Dr Bob will be my close companion.

However, in the New Year I intend on having a couple of playing lessons before the start of the new season, alongside a review of my swing. Starting afresh almost as an established golfer with an improved understanding of his own swing.

If you have yet to try Dr Bob I'd recommend this book along with 'Your 15th Club' and 'Putting out of Your Mind'. They may not have worked for me yet, but a friend of mine who is also a believer has seen his handicap cut from 24 down to 18 this year, as well as winning numerous competitions, including the nett Club Championship.

82%

Scotland in the East: Felixstowe Ferry GC

The Felixstowe Ferry Clubhouse and the 12th Green

Our friends north of the border would have described the wind that greeted me at Felixstowe Ferry as a mild breeze. But to me it was like a gale force wind the way it toyed with my ball and generally caused me countless problems. The course at Felixstowe is steeped in tradition and history. Built in 1880 it is the fifth oldest course in the UK and contains a couple of two hundred year old Martello towers. The fairways were in fantastic condition, most likely in my opinion because they are hit so infrequently. They are very tight especially on the brutal holes that hug the coastline.

You begin your links adventure with a downhill tee shot with a view out to sea to your right and a road, that divides the course, winding away to your left. The wind and a slight draw saw my first effort bouncing down the tarmac and my second into the long grass by the side of the road. In fact I don't think anyone in my four ball found the short grass.

Opening tee shot went left, waaaay left!

The stand out holes for me would be the 7th, with a stream that zig zags up the fairway, making you think carefully about which segment of the short grass to aim for. The 12th is an unusual hole hit uphill and over the road that clearly was not in existence when the course was first built. The netting to protect the road does not make the hum of oncoming traffic any less unnerving and the car park to the back right of the green usually affects club selection more than the bunkers to the front. My recommendation, take the extra club.

After the 13th you wind your way around the first tee, past the 18th green to the 13th tee box at the highest point of the course hitting down to a fairway that looks as thin as an emaciated stick insect. For me this offers the most spectacular view of the course and whether or not your tee shot finds it's target you can't help but silently applaud the majestic, yet brutal, beauty of it all.

You finish off with two tough uphill long par 4's the first of which is guarded by a Martello Tower that my errant approach shot smacked into. A thoroughly enjoyable, if challenging test of golf, and I will most definitely be revisiting our very own piece of God's Own Country in the future.

Experimentation...

Well my last three on course outings have taught me an awful lot. A bit of experimentation yesterday has helped me to decide on a strategy for my next competition. Till now I've sometimes played too cautiously and it has backfired. That old conundrum of risk and reward has often led me to place a healthy wager with the course at an inopportune moment. So with recent experience fresh in my mind and a little look at my statistics has helped me identify where too attack. Interestingly, it is on one of my problem holes that I first intend to take the course on. Our 4th has caused me many problems in the past. However, I have noticed that I have got my best scores when I've had a go from the tee, though interestingly with wind behind that can be with as little as a 4 iron. Conversely our par 3 6th, which is notoriously difficult to hit and stick is going to be treated with more caution. Some of the easiest holes on my course is the stretch from the 8th to the 11th. However, having a go with the longer clubs yields very little benefit, except for the most accurate and powerful strikes. So I shall take these on with no more than a five iron in hand. It has been a worthwhile planning exercise and it has certainly opened my eyes to a number of misperceptions I've had about how best to tackle my own course. Only time will tell if theory translates into performance. What I will say is this. My personal best was achieved with similar tactics to the ones I'm proposing and the holes I got wrong that day owed more to poor execution rather than poor planning.