Tell us about your game today...

First topic message reminder :

Fresh thread - you know the score: share some of your tales of woe, indifference and banditry with us all.

Do you have regular shafts in your woods and Irons?

I do indeed Mac, Only stiff shaft I have is my rescue.

Had previously been fitted for stiff all round, but found regular works better.

played in a medal yesterday off the back stakes, hacked it around for 7 holes to be +4 but then got it going to be back to +2 thru 15 holes.... really in the mix.... hit OB for a double on 16. shanked from 100 yds out on 17 (made a good bogey) and then drove OB on 18 for another double.
strange thing was i really wasnt feeling nervy or like it was a choke. i havent shanked the ball in years with a full shot and the two drives OB were possibly down to poor course management. went for a big drive on 16 (our SI 1 470 yds) to try and get to a mid-iron and overdid a draw and on 18 i usually hit a 3w but went for a driver to make a birdie to be in the prizes.

hend

Sounds like you and JAS are both bottle jobs.  

I'm up your way next week for a week and a half Mac, fancy a game on Sat Sept 7th? Or will you bottle out?

hard to argue otherwise Mac!

Saturday - Dull lap, leaking shots combined with a desertion of my usual solid putting deserting me. 5 footers became 2 putts too often, 25-30 footers became struggle 2 putts and tipped over to a few 3 jacks. One token birdie on 17. 76 - 5 for 71. Point 1.

Sunday - Complete meltdown. Felt like I'd never held a club. Weird. Driving appalling. Irons bad. Short game drivel. Putting weak. 29 points. 7.30 start perhaps not the best idea...

First drive massive carve, lost trees right. 0 points. Second missed green, crap chip, down in 2 for a bogey. 3rd 3-jack bogey due to appalling positioning of second on to sloping green with tough pin. 4th, drive through green leaving opportunity to up and down birdie. Crap chip (really crap chip) 3 jack Bogey. 3 points after 4. Up and down for par on 5 & 6 (was in good position on approaches but missed), still struggling. Regulation par on 7 - Hurrah! Missed green on 8 by miles, good chip, missed putt. Bogey. 9 bad drive, bad approach bad chip 2 putts, bogey. Double 10 including a drop from under gorse and a dreaded unmentionable. Regulation par on 11 - Hurrah! Carved drive up 12, couldn't find it, second ball 6. Great shot to 6 ft down 13. Missed putt. Regulation par - Hurrah! Hooked one up 14, found ball I couldn't find from 12th tee. Frustrating! Found ball for 14th, hit green 3 jack. Huge pull on 15 then missed green, up and down par. Missed 16th, didn't up and down, bogey. Regulation par on 17 - Hurrah! Carved drive on 18, found it, just made green 2 putts to finish with another par. All in all a disaster.

Quite funny though...

We've all had those rounds where it feels like we've never seen a golf club before Roller, really weird, best just to write it off as a blip and move on to next week.

Chalked up to experience and moved on. Can't wait for Saturday already!

B team match Wednesday at Kilworth Springs(used to be home to gary wolstenhome)hadn't played it for a few years and almost an inland links super fairways huge greens horrible rough but overall very good even though we lost our match on 17.The opponents off 10 and 11 were only 1 over between them good players.I managed birdies on 9,12 and 13 to get us level and we both missed makeable putts on 14 to take a lead which was crucial in the end.Last two holes in the gloom.Overall we won the match and with one game left we need to win six-nil to tie the b team league.Tall order.

First game back at my club for about a month today. According to the website (last night) I was off at 9, with a couple of guys I know. Seeing them on the putting green at about the time we were due off I went to join them, only to be told I was supposed to be on the tee as the groups had been changed. Off I went then, without having had a practice putt on the greens which had been cored during the week and which hadn't healed very well. There was also some confusion over whether it was a medal or stableford comp, I thought the latter but it turned out to be the former. Also the first round with a new putting stroke.

So, no surprise then that I shot 76 for a nett 67 and won by 4! So chuffed, my first win of the year and first individual board competition win. Should get a decent cut too.

Congrats SJ - sounds a great round. If you thought it was stableford it's a good thing you didn't have any pickups but with a nett 67 I doubt that happened anyway

Thanks Davie. Confusion was only prior to teeing off, thankfully, but as you say there were no 'blobs' anyway. As has to be the case the luck went my way too, guess it was just my day.

Good round SJ - well played
 
I played at a club called Seckford Golf Club near Ipswich yesterday, a courtesy round in preparation for a Curry Cup semi-final match next weekend. I had never played there before and knew nothing about the place, other than it was the club that Steve Wright, the guy that murdered 5 Ipswich prostitutes in 2006, was a member!
 
What a strange little course with 7 par 3's, 10 par 4's and only 1 par 5, at only 4981 yards off the white tees it is quite comfortably the shortest course I have ever played and had very little grass on a lot of the fairways. Obviously driver barely required and after working hard in the previous four matches to get to this position the choice of venue for the semi-final is a little disappointing to say the least. Our opponents for the match are Felixstowe, I'm sure that they won't be that enamoured with it either, but I guess the team with the best short iron and course management players will prove to be one that is victorious on the day!

Has anyone put in a general play card in order to hope for a cut? I've never done it.

I play off 17 and a couple of months ago had a lesson which seems to have clicked a couple of things into place. My last 6 rounds have been +12, +10, +12, +14, +9 and +8.
All friendly knocks but all from the back tees with fellow members and marked properly. I missed the last medal as had something else on. There is i think 1 more qualifying medal and 1 more qualifying  stableford so not many opportunities to get cut.

Any opinions on the merits of submitting a non competition card or should i just let the qualifying comps take care of it?

There's no guarantee i will continue to play the same but I'm a bit concious that, unless i do get a big cut in one of the 2 remaining comps, i will spend all the winter comps playing off 17 and may quickly become unpopular?!

Don't you have to declare your intent to submit a general play card ahead of completing play or can you just lob them in?

Merits of handing them in are handicap reductions and I guess being able to demonstrate that you thought it might be a bit unfair to continue competing off your current handicap and that you are a good guy (as there's plenty of players that would hang on to the higher one to clean up!). Don't forget that winter comps even on temps can be qualifiers too though as long as it's a measured course (I think that's right?) 

That's a very good run of scores regardless of the circumstances for a 17 h/cap btw

Thanks Roller
Our place had no qualifying comps all winter last year which was my first as a member there.

You do have to declare you're entering a card pre round. I don't mean putting in one of the already completed cards.

Oh and I'm not necessarily a good guy, I just would rather get my handicap down and improve my standard than win a comp.

BlueCoverman wrote:Good round SJ - well played
 
I played at a club called Seckford Golf Club near Ipswich yesterday, a courtesy round in preparation for a Curry Cup semi-final match next weekend. I had never played there before and knew nothing about the place, other than it was the club that Steve Wright, the guy that murdered 5 Ipswich prostitutes in 2006, was a member!
 
What a strange little course with 7 par 3's, 10 par 4's and only 1 par 5, at only 4981 yards off the white tees it is quite comfortably the shortest course I have ever played and had very little grass on a lot of the fairways. Obviously driver barely required and after working hard in the previous four matches to get to this position the choice of venue for the semi-final is a little disappointing to say the least. Our opponents for the match are Felixstowe, I'm sure that they won't be that enamoured with it either, but I guess the team with the best short iron and course management players will prove to be one that is victorious on the day!

Cheers BCM. Seckford sounds awful, can't believe it's being used for a major SF. I take it they're in the other semi?

Yes SJ they are playing Fynn Valley in the other semi at Haverhill. Final to be played at Gosfield later this month.

Well good luck anyway, and at least the final's on a decent track. I do enjoy our annual society outing to Gosfield.

Bit of a roller coster ride yesterday, medal round on the Championship Course in the Tassie at Carnoustie. Decent breeze 2 club maybe gusting to 3 club. Got off to a flyer, missed birdie putt on 1st but nailed a punched 5 iron from 148 on 2 to 3 feet and got the birdie. Wedged into 12 feet on 3 and left the birdie putt hanging in the jaws. First mistake came on 4, ballooned the approach right, awful lie but managed to salvage bogey. Tap in par at 5. Bit of bunker trouble down 6 & 7, bogeyed each. Sweet soft draw with an 8 iron on 8 and rammed in the 10 footer for birdie. 2 nice irons on 9 then a 3 stab to be out in 38, probably playing some of the best golf I’ve ever played.

After a good up and down on 10 for par it started to become a struggle. 3 stabbed 1, caught a bit of a flyer out rough so ended up on wrong tier of green...downhill downwind 1st putt. It got worse on 12, good drive down left middle, it kicked left into rough and I had one of those “is it gonna fly or is it gonna grab the club” type lies. Took an 8 from 158 into a crosswind, aimed for middle of green (rather than go for tucked pin) it flew everything and ended up in deep crap way through the back. Chopped out, chipped on but missed a 6 footer so a double. Nice wedge to 3 foot on 13 and tapped in for another birdie.

So...standing on Spectacles (14th) 4 over gross. boomed a drive up the middle. Scoped it at 180 to the flag (unless you’ve played Carnoustie you might find this next bit hard to believe). Took a 9 iron (enough to carry the Specs and let it run down). I couldn’t believe it, I was at the front of the 4th green (4 & 14 share a double green - circa 235 yard 9 iron...wtf??). 150 foot 1st putt, ended up with a 4 putt double bogey. Nice 4 iron off the tee on 15 and left 180 in. Aha I thought...well a 9 iron will be too much club. Hit a wedge and watched it bounce and roll. Got up there and it was left hanging just above the front of the green, another foot and it would have rolled down pin high. Tapped it down the slope but missed the 5 footer for par. The frustration was palpable at this point. I was playing good golf and still being beaten up. 5 iron kicked left on 16 into front left bunker, out to 8 foot, missed the putt. So 2 pars for a 78?? Eh no, after a good drive on 17 had 225 into the wind and in 1 moment of sheer unadulterated lunacy I pulled a driver out, I could see the shot, I really could and I’ve hit driver well off the deck plenty times. This time...dunked into the burn, dropped out, 4 iron from 168, faded into right bunker...a bloody 7, Hindsight is a wonderful thing - with a good score going it was 8 iron wedge or a pair of 9s and a safe bogey with a chance of a par. Near carnage coming down the last as well. just a bit left with the drive. in rough, ball below feet, 190 in 160 to clear burn. Shouldn’t have taken it on but did, rifled a 6 iron out, watched heart in mouth as it sailed toward the green, I knew it was dipping too quick, it hit the concrete side of the burn and shot into the air and came back about 40 yards, chipped on and 2 putted for an 82. 8 shots gone in the last 5 holes made me feel like a right chopper but in reality, overall an 82 net 75 is not a bad score around that track with a medal card in hand.

As if to rub salt in the wound, the 80 on the Burnside Monday added to yesterdays score gave a 162 total....and the cut off for the scratch matchplay was....Yup 161!! The best learnt lessons are the ones you learn the hard way!! Safely in the handicap knockout though, hopefully I can get a wee run in that this year.

Well played and good shooting. Having played Carnoustie more than a few times, it sounds like you played really well but didn't get too many breaks at the same time.

Wouldn't be too disappointed about not making the Scratch matchplay, not speaking negatively but surely off of 7 you would prefer to qualify for the handicap knockout instead of the Scratch to have more chance of going deep in the competition?

Hope you take your good form of yesterday into the Knockout stages. Good Luck.

6 and 5 win last night in final league match.Overall we are joint top but loose on countback.
Old chestnut rules question though for anyone.Player hit tee shot to par three into woodland on the left- part of the course.then said give me another ball and played onto the green.Whilst having a brief look for the ball I mentioned that this would be the ball in play if we found it.No said the other lad 6 handicapper because he played another ball(didn't declare provisional).If I had found the first ball within the time I surely could have insisted.
Mr 6 handicap also said for a ball to be declared provisional you had to name and number it(news to me?)he was getting a bit irritated though 5 down after 7

The second ball cannot be a provisional ball unless it is clearly stated on the tee before anyone has moved forward to look for the ball potentially lost outside a water hazard.

So in the case you mention the first ball is lost as he did not play a provisional but dropped a ball under rule 27-1 and not the provisional rule 27-2.

Into the 2nd round of the Maulesbank but not without a helluva fight. With 3 birdies and a gross 71 I'd have expected to cruise home...er... no, had to go down the 19th and stiff my 2nd shot to 2 feet to break the deadlock.

Thought I had home when I birdied the stroke 1 14th then go 3 up with 3 to play by parring 15. Crikey, he birdied 16, I had to par 17 giving him a stroke for a half. Then he went and dropped his birdie putt on 18.

Great match though and if today's is even half as good then it'll be something to look forward to

I told you that you were playing to your maximum or beyond.

Why does no one ever listen?  

Mac,
Do you believe it's ever possible to play to your maximum?

I don't think it is. There is always something left out there. Technically I've got it in me to birdie all the holes on my courses and eagle the fives.
Will it ever happen in 1 round? Unlikely, that would be the maximum though, and I'd probably give up if I ever did it.
The good thing about golf is it is the ceaseless and unlikely quest for perfection.
I'm not Kim Jon Il so I'll continue to search for it.

Whilst nobody was interested in my earlier plea for opinions on submitting a 'general play' card to get a cut  , i'm pleased to say i managed to scrape together a round of 79 last night in the midweek stableford and so will go from 17.4 to 15.3. Happy days

Seems to be conjecture about cards in general play. Some people seems to be allowed and others don't .

Do you mean at some clubs you can and others you can't? I thought there was a rule now about being allowed to?

Don't think so, certainly not for Category 1 as far as I know. I think supplementary cards can be added when someone is struggling to meet the 3 card a year minimum, however I've never heard of it being permitted to just hand in a card anytime in the UK.

I think you can matey

http://www.englandgolf.org/page.aspx?sitesectionid=340&sitesectiontitle=Supplementary+Scores

Interesting, not sure how you signify your intent though.
Also not sure if it is permitted in Scotland.

It's a CONGU thing so i would assume it is, i guess possibly not though
At our place you just inform the pro shop before the round, they make a note and presumably let the handicap secretary know. End of the round you just hand the card into the pro shop if open or chuck it in the handicap card letterbox

Seems fair enough for the honest though, although obviously open to a great deal of cheating.

Oh absolutely agreed
I said to someone last night actually that it's funny our place goes to such lengths at weekend comps to draw groups randomly etc to prevent cliques and cheating, but you can turn up for the midweek comp and play when you like with whom you like and the same for these supplementary cards. Go figure!

I thought you had to declare beforehand if you were going to submit a card. No?

Sneaked into the last 16 today with a one up win. Not wishing to tempt fate but I've booked an extra night in the hotel...just incase. Big ask tomorrow with Last 16 morning and if I get through, q/Final in the afternoon

Tremendous Jas. Keep it going.

Great stuff JAS, keep it up!

JAS, you do have to declare yes

Good luck in the Tassie

What a frustrating game this is! Nothing as good as JAS is doing but played a Medal today (first balls hit in a month) and shot 72 (+1) inc. a snowman(!) up our par 5 4th after driving it to within ~250 yards and in the middle of the fairway(!) - how did that happen?!?
Still, good result but if only....

Another round of 80 and 11 over for me today and I'm now a 14 handicapper. Been chopped 3 shots in 3 days

Nice going MPB, well done mate. Navy, sums up golf really as you say a coulda, woulda, shoulda but nice recovery as you didn't seem to let it affect you.

I am a high handicapper and a relatively short hitter, but today I parred a 535 yd par 5 at Bethpage.  First time I have ever even come close to parring that hole.  If only I could play like that every hole !

I've done a Harrington, and followed my win last week with a lesson on Wednesday and a swing change. Played a pairs match yesterday which we won comfortably but my game was very up and down - 8 pars, 2 birdies (both on par 5s which have been my weak spot lately, so that was nice) but all manner of mares on the remaining 8 holes. When I got it right, though, the new swing felt great.

A nice round of 87 today playing to my handicap.

Now if only I hadn't lost 3 balls of the Tee could have been so much better.

Plunky wrote:I am a high handicapper and a relatively short hitter, but today I parred a 535 yd par 5 at Bethpage.  First time I have ever even come close to parring that hole.  If only I could play like that every hole !

Yaay...Good stuff Plunky

Just realised I never updated before driving home...Gutted...3 up with 5 to play in the last 16 and bottle jobbed it completely...Well not quite, was having to give a shot on every hole from 14 in except the last, he parred 14 & 15 and I didn't get the birdies. I had another safe par at 16 while he scraped a bogey. So 1up and 2 to play. We both had trouble off the tee on 17 and eventually both found the fringe of the Championship'17th green in 3 (awkward ;-/). Both hit OK chips but he canned his putt for a 5 net 4 which I couldn't better so all square going up the last. a bit of the lefts off the tee (too conscious of the OOB right). Coming out the wispy rough from 125 I tugged my 8 iron into the wind right into the gorse...game over. That one shot will haunt me until next year.

Still...loads of positives to take from this year, To get a cut on the Championship Course was awesome, that and beating a local shooting a gross 71 in the first round of the Maulesbank were the highlights. I think it's taken 4 years to actually get a decent appreciation of how to play both courses (in terms of where you can miss and where you cant and where you should be placing your ball and how to do it). Looking forward to next year already.

After going out in the morning round I took a trip over to Standrews and had a pop at the Jubilee. Tricky in that wind, right to left all the way out and left to right most of the way back. After the wind blew the driver off course twice in the opening 4 holes I decided a 4 iron was probably the better option off the tee in most cases. Not a great score (88) but my mind was elsewhere at what could and should have been across the Tay.

Saturday - Medal. Struggled with everything but at least the 8 footers and less have re-started to drop after a couple of unexpected shakey weeks. +7 through 15 (off 5) 9 Iron to a foot (directly behind the hole) on par 3 16th, must have shaved for a 1 but couldn't see as it's uphill. Just missed birdie down 17 and wedge to 2 foot down 18 to get it back to +5 (off 5) net 70. Terrible conditions so CSS up to 70 for a slightly unexpected hold and an even more unexpected lowest gross!

Sunday - Stableford. Everything just felt right. Long game mostly smooth. Irons clipped. Chipping good. Putting stroke felt there and results pretty good. 1 under out but must have started to think ahead rather than on the next shot. Cue bad drive, unlucky recovery clipping a tree leaving 230 yards. 210 yard rescue 3rd into greenside bunker and needed a sandy with an excellent putt to save par on 10. 3 more very good scrambles for par 12 through 14 so still 1 under going down 15. Big sloping green from front to back, pin middle, land at front to dribble down to hole. I thought I'd hit a perfect approach but it just stuck at the front. 25 footer topside looking down a skislope. Somehow left it 4 foot short and also misread the break. Missed the big breaker for par so back to level. 16th tee, same club as Saturday in hand - totally out of the blue a dreaded pipe. Found it but left a 54 in. Found the right tier of the green but missed the 15 footer. Up to plus 1. Texas wedge 2nd and tap in birdie to get back to level on 17. Ripped driver up the last but chunked wedge just shy of the green. Texas wedge again and then in for a level par 70 and 41 points. Very satisfying scoring and attitude throughout.

Away day next week and then our greens are being cored Monday. If the weather holds they might recover after a couple of weeks but that's likely to be it for our putting surfaces for the season.

What a weekend. Club in the final of the "Jack Hicks Trophy". 4 foursomes in the morning and 8 singles in the afternoon. Morning all going swimmingly. We won 4-0 with an 8&7 victory by my partner and myself. (I have to admit though that I have played better and lost!!). PM out last, fully expecting to be agreeing a half once the rest of the boys had done the business. Not so. All I heard was doom and gloom. Did hear though that two of ours had got to dormie 4 up. So all on the last game. Mine was a bizarre match. We had only had 1 hole halved when we got down with two to play and I had just gone one down for the first time! (Three putted 15 to go all square then made a bit of a hash of 16). So the second half of the day was on 17, dormie 1 down. Birdie putt got airborne (I'm told - my head was firmly down until it was almost at the hole). Anyway he parred it too and the match was tied 6-6. In that event, it down to a count back on holes won and we sqeaked it21-16. One the plus side, when the pressure was on I was striking the ball about as well as I had done all day, but the short game unfortunately left a bit to be desired.

Sunday went out and shot 37 pts (0.2 off). Jack Hicks Captain commented that if I'd played like that on Saturday I could have saved him alot of grief - c'est la vie!