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)