Ray of sunshine

Despite the glorious weather the outlook on my golf game has been somewhat overcast. However, today the clouds peeled back and the sun shone as things began to click. The key to this change of fortune is simple: a much better pre shot routine and a shorter backswing. Biggest surprise is that I'm still hitting the ball a similar distance, which is probably due to cleaner ball striking.

Don't get me wrong it's far from perfect, but definitely a huge step in the right direction. From nine holes today I hit four GIR and narrowly missed landing a fifth. After slappy tee shots on the 1st and 2nd my ball striking got so much better. I feel that I may have just turned the corner. I didn't convert my chances today but that was due to rushing the short game to focus on long game.

The one remaining issue to resolve is to get my 3 wood firing again. Still skying it but hope to resolve that in the near future. But for now things are looking up!

51(36)
5(3), 8(5), 3(3), 6(4), 8(5), 4(3), 7(5), 5(4), 5(4)

Dejected, Downhearted, Despondent...

isastrous it was and trawling the dictionary for any other adjectives beginning with D that can sum up my golfing mood...ah yes Despair. It's all gone horribly wrong. 110 in the medal, seven penalties, good shots punished with bad bounces. The word nightmare doesn't come close. Out in 60, back in 50 AND with two pars on the scorecard. It really was a car crash of a round. I did have a lot on my mind, as well as the golf there was also the fact that I was back on the Radio 1 Surgery on Sunday night. The radio stint went well, the golf didn't and time for me to back to another D, the Drawing board.

Having spoken to the assistant pro after my round there is clearly one thing letting me down, Direction. There were very few shots wasted yesterday because of a poor connection. In fact the connection was significantly better with the new grip. The problem was controlling where the ball went. The plan of action? Shorten my back swing.

So for the foreseeable future i am only permitted to play and practice with a half back swing. I also have to take more time in my practice as if I was playing a shot on the course everytime. This means deliberately spending longer lining up each shot and getting my set up and posture consistent. I'm allowed to spend the same amount of time practicing but only permitted to hit half as many balls. As it is the summer I should b ok for distance as our baked fairways are rolling like tarmac. I did hit some good shots yesterday, the putting was solid if unspectacular as was my chipping. Those 7 penalties alone equated to 13 lost shots and removing those sticks me at 97. I'm putting it down as a bad day at the office but with a holiday coming up I'm not sure if the break from golf will be a good or a bad thing.

110 (71)
7(3), 7(5), 6(3), 7(4), 8(5), 4(3), 10(5), 5(4), 6(4), 4(4), 4(3), 9(5), 6(4), 6(4), 7(4), 4(4), 5(4), 5(3)

Seve Ballesteros: Golf Icon

I didn't really like golf in the 80's, actually to be honest I didn't really like golf until a couple of years ago. I found it boring to watch and couldn't quite understand the fascination with the sport that captivated my brother whenever it appeared on television. Despite all that, there was one golfer who I could connect with, one who I did admire, one whose cavalier approach to the game was so awe-inspiring it transcended all the issues I had with the sport. That man was Seve Ballesteros. When I watch old clips on YouTube now, I am even more amazed by his skill, flair and audacity. When I took up the game I wanted to have a short game like Seve, play delicate floaty bunker shots like him, bend the ball around impossible angles like him.

And so, like the rest of the golfing world I am in mourning for an inspirational, courageous man. Seve you are a legend, an icon and a golfing great. You will be sorely missed by millions. You blessed our lives with your wizardry, touched our hearts with your bravery and will be cherished forever in our memory. Rest In Peace.

Getting there...

Dejection on the course: a familiar feeling this month

Went out this evening and played nine holes. With the May medal looming this weekend I have been worried that my latest swing change would not bed down in time. After today I feel more hopeful that I'll be able to put in a good showing on Saturday. It wasn't spectacular by any means and I still have problems skying my hybrid and 3 wood. Throw in a few shonky putts and a rushed hole when I was given the chance to play through and I walked off with 16 points knowing full well that I'd left a good 4 or 5 out there.

The grip is starting to feel more natural and there were signs that the red dot and my modified re shot routine will yield positive results. Trying to get better at this game is tough and often frustrating but days like today offer a glimmer of hope and a vindication for all the hard work. After my round I spent 20 minutes on the putting green, something I've neglected recently. That was also time well spent and I feel I have a lot more confidence now.

The fairways are hard and fast and I think that I will take advantage of this by playing my 4 iron more regularly off the tee to help boost and maintain my confidence. Get it in play and then make decisions from there. I have no idea what has happened with my 3 wood but I just cannot find that low penetrating flight I had a few weeks ago. There is no time to resolve that issue before the weekend but next week I feel a trip to the range may be in order.

I guess the moral of the story for anyone else out there who is struggling with swing changes is stick with it. Now when I get it right I have much more control over the ball and get better results. It's been painful, at times distressing, and quite arduous. I also imagine there is more pain to come but for now I'm happy to be making small progress.

42 (31)
5(4), 5(3), 7(5), -(4), 5(4), 7(4), 5(4), 4(4), 4(3)

Father and son

Gator Golf: just not realistic enough

It was just like one of those too good to miss Supermarket deals: 11 days off for the price of 3. I did have to recount a couple of times before handing in the annual leave card but it was an inspired decision. Despite playing a lot of golf the highlight for me was much closer to home. My son is now officially golf nuts. His 'swing' is more of a hockey push at the moment but he is keen to get the real deal.

Two days ago we sat down and watched The Masters recording instead of Ice Age (for those of you without kids that's huge). He refuses to play Gator Golf with me as it's not proper golf. Instead I have had to bring my putting mat upstairs as he wants to hit the ball in a hole. Colourful plastic golf balls are out only real ones will do. He's obviously content to build his game as he has snubbed my premium Z-Stars in favour of a Wilson Distance ball. I took him over to the Heath with his plastic club and golf ball but he cried because he wanted me to take him onto Rushmere Golf Course. He now wants a golf cap like Daddy and woke my missus at 7am yesterday coming into our room, putting my cap on and proceeding to whack his ball round the bedroom. And to top it all off he no longer wants his lavender snuggly cat at bedtime insisting on dozing off cuddling his plastic driver and holding his golf ball.

I'm delighted. My dad was a keen gardener and my fingers were anything but green. Now he has gone I wish we had spent more time together. Last night when I came home from work I spent 15 minutes on the putting mat playing with Tiger jnr amidst a cacophony of childish giggles and screams of "what a good shot". I hope it is the start of things to come and the creation of many golfing memories to cherish!

Little red dot

My focus on course needs improving and so I have turned to a technique used by Louis Oostuizen at last year's Open. To improve his focus before each shot he drew a red dot on his glove and used that as a mental trigger prior to executing each shot. It certainly worked for the plucky South African as he surprised everyone to hold his nerve and secure a maiden Major victory.

I've noticed that while I hit the ball well on the practice hole, I struggle on the course. I think this is about how I approach each shot. Tension, lack of focus, bad set up, a sneaky peek before I've completed the swing, these are all things that an contribute to a poor shot for me. So I've drawn a red dot on my glove and created a mnemonic from an acronym of the word 'dot'.

Direction - this is to get me to identify my target in the distance, my target six inches in front of the ball and then align myself so the clubface and stance are directing the ball to my target.

Object - quite simply this is the ball. I am guilty of moving my focus off the ball prior to impact so this phase is to remind myself that I will look from target  to ball and then remain focussed on the ball till the swing naturally pulls me through

Tempo - I can get a little thrashy with tension on the course. I need to stay relaxed and swing at about 70 or 75%

Here's hoping it helps me in my medal on Saturday. It's not quite the Open at St Andrews but it's still a competition I want to win.

April statistics

Start of the new season and the hope and promise has been replaced by frustration and despair, well momentarily I hope. I registered my best ever score off the whites at the beginning of the month (97) and had hoped to press on and consolidate scores in the mid 90's. However, I was having problems with inexplicable snap hooks and went to see my pro on 23rd April. St George's Day turned out to be a bit of a nightmare as I have struggled to come to terms with the adjustment he made to my grip. More on that later in the post.

Practice
Putting is still being neglected but I have racked up a lot of hours this month, mainly in an effort to bed in the new grip, improve my chipping and resolve my issues from bunkers. 19 hours and 25 minutes of practice has resulted in one very positive outcome: my chipping is much more consistent and reliable. I hope over the summer months that I can take my vastly improved technique and work on my distance control. I am please that I have exceeded Padraig Harrington's advice to spend 20 minutes a day on your short game, although I packed my time into 3 or 4 more lengthy sessions a week. In my opinion this is sound advice as my ability to score is vastly improved. The problem I have at the moment is creating those chances to score.

Distance	Time (minutes)	% of practice time
Driver	0	0%
Other Woods	0	0%
200 - 250 yards	20	2%
150 – 200 yards	95	8%
100 – 150 yards	205	18%
Short Approach	635	55%
Bunker Play	85	7%
Putting	125	11%
Total	1165	100%

Rounds
As an illustration of the impact of my latest swing change I will break down my round stats into a before and after snapshot of my lesson.The statistics below are a comparison between this month and last month as usual. Fairly consistent though still lacking the ability to convert my chances. I only had one week with the X Factor chipping technique and the nine holes I played once it had a chance to settle I scored 20 points.

Statistic	Performance	SS2 Handicap level
Fairways in Regulation	28% (29%)	22 (22)
Greens in Regulation	17% (18%)	15 (15)
Putts per Round	35.31 (35.17)	19 (19)
Birdie Conversion	0% (0%)	28+ (28+)
Par Scrambles	7% (4%)	28+ (28+)
Sand Saves	0% (0%)	28+ (28+)
Penalties per Round	1.38 (1.38)	14 (14)

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

...and then I had my lesson. Since then I have hit on 5% of Fairways and 3% of Greens in regulation. I am tking more putts (36.58), not scrambling as well (3%) and racking up more penalties (2.32). It's a statistical horror show but I guess it is part of the improvement process. Following my most recent practice session I know that the ability is there but the belief and on course focus is lacking.  I'm hopefully playing tomorrow and a chance for me to put my woes behind me and gear up for the May medal. I know I've got the game to get another cut!