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.

"general stance, grip and posture"

I really wish there was a way to ensure that this was constant every time I played. I am sure 90% of my poor shots come from set up or take away departing from what it should be.

Exactly McLaren.

My golf pro said the same to me.

He said most of my poor shots during lessons, he could tell they were going to be poor before i hit the ball.

It's always the slightest thing as well. I have struggled a bit with my take away at times. My shank periods at the start of the year stemmed from this as i was taking the club too far back on the inside and was then either leaning forward onto my toes or looping the club too far foward to compensate from such a poor take away.

I've enjoyed the lessons so far (just 2) but it really makes you appreciate the little things that can have such devastating effects on a good swing.

It's striving for consistency that makes the game so god damn addictive for me. I don't think it's ever possible to be fully satisfied with all aspects of your game and when we're seeing pro's struggle on what appear to be basic shots at times it's somewhat comforting.

Not played much for the last two months.
Played the last three weeks. First game back was a real mixture for an 83.
Second game was pretty grim, it just felt all wrong and I had no idea where the ball was going. Somehow got it round in 81.
Third game I played really well, struck some lovely clean iron shots and seemed to have found a bit of extra distance from the tee. Putting felt good. Scored 81.

Funny old game.

Deadly got a bit excited on the second game when he was out in a one over par 36. Finished with a 79 which resulted in a two shot handicap reduction.

RD2 Club Champ qualifying tomorrow. Forecast is wretched, fortunately R1 was a good score. Embrace the conditions eh?

Switched a planned bounce game for today to yesterday. Thank goodness given the weather!
Scrappy par on the first followed by a nice birdie on the second. Decent 3wood on in two to the par5 4th. Followed by a three putt. Things stayed reasonably steady until 7where i bit off more than i could chew with a tricky punch shot through the tree trunks.racked up a double, then further unravelling on 11, meant i gave up on the score and tried a few tweaks. Ended up playing a lot better toward the end of the round. Think i've not been relaxing my right elbow enough at address and its been preventing me making a fluid start to my backswing . Pleased with my ball striking over the last few holes, and my chipping was far better than usual. Not really A game, but maybe around C and far better than the usual Z.

SR

Wen a wer a lad,
I used to be a good bad weather player.
I always had a good realistic idea as to what score would win on a poor weather day and I played for that. So if I was six over at the turn in my wee brain I would be one under. Kept you focused and positive.

Exactly doon, just been thinking about weather conditions and I'm just going to try and hit fairways, aim for middle of greens and take my medicine when necessary. No silly shots.

I always start off +5 in my head.

Our club champ qualifiers tomorrow. Breaking 80 might be enough for top 32 if we get a bit of wind. Normally don't mind poor conditions, but recent form has been so patchy i just don't know what to expect.

I shall be out in the morning wearing the special insoles provided by the physio so we'll see if I can enjoy a relatively pain free 4 hours or so.Been wearing them for 2 days now and amazed at the effect they have in adjusting feet and general posture..

ban_bam wrote:Our club champ qualifiers tomorrow. Breaking 80 might be enough for top 32 if we get a bit of wind. Normally don't mind poor conditions, but recent form has been so patchy i just don't know what to expect.

Gutted. Todays qualifier postponed until tomorrow due to the rain - had to withdraw as have other plans.

Ban, if the weather's anything like what we've got 10 miles along the road from you then tomorrow will be cancelled as well. Our 1st round of club champs was lost and fairly sure that tomorrow's won't get played either!

Spot on - today cancelled too. Just waiting to hear what they're planning instead but may get a shot afterall

Wish my qualifier had been cancelled. Worst round for five years.

O dear. Wot went wong?

Terrible conditions, awkward wind and not striking it well.
Was trying to cosy it round, which clearly doesnt suit my game.

Shame - assume you missed out then?
Our 1st and 2nd round Qualifiers are now next weekend. Looking forward to it as i've no other medals planned until our trip up north next month (when i'll hopefully get 3 in 6 days.).

I just made it in as conditions were the same for everyone and no one put in a good score.
First round tomorrow.

Super

I imagine we all now know how you feel when tiger does well.

Weather was a bit tasty on saturday.One of my playing partners made 14 straight bogeys before finishing with 3 pars and a birdie.Enough to win the group.
Feet were really painful and Ive had to drop out of all club matches.Cancelled game next week I fear this is going to take some time not happy

Played Belleisle for a change. It was in beautiful condition and the weather was great.
We had a later tee time and Deadly got a bit twitchy when he saw three fourballs in front.
Played the first 9 holes very well for 19 points to Deadly's steady 16.
Fluffed a wee pitch on 11th and it all fell apart. Played like a muppet for the rest of the inward part for 33 points. Deadly played great and finished with 39 points for another handicap reduction to 16.

We waited patiently behind the fourballs of elderly members, a few minutes on each shot, no chance of getting through.
When we finished I was amazed to find that we had completed our round in 3 hours 15 mins.

Beaten by a 12 year old by 1 shot gross saturday.Little beggar got up and down from bunker on the last and put it to less than a foot to win the nearest the pin as well.
Delayed start to clear some water from the greens awful front 9 but scored on every hole and 21 pts back nine playing all sensible,3 deliberate lay ups and some decent putting.feet lasted for about 12 holes then agony.
Following my comment about hailstones last week i went to drop daughter at her mums last night.Mercedes written off and every house in the village with dozens of broken roof tiles.

Troon Darley was fierce, the rough and heather as high as an elephants eye.
I got a shock on the first tee to find that I only had half a dozen new balls in the bag. I swopped bags and balls to play my local 9 holer last week.
Started well then Deadly and I both lost two balls on the 5th hole.
We continued with some great and some terrible golf. I struck some beautiful irons but they generally just missed the greens left and right.
Level with two to play and I lose a ball right.
Six footer for birdie on the last with Deadly all over the shop. He holes a tramliner for a point and I miss the short one.
Halved game with 33 points each. Pretty good going on such a difficult course. We lost 7 balls.
Deadly had putts for two's on all the short holes and managed to miss all of them.
8.30 start in the mizzle, saw our first golfers on the course at the 16th.
Finished at 11am to a packed car park and heavy rain forecast. Ho Ho.

Doon, good to hear someone got a game in. You might be the only guy in the UK to play in the last two weeks.

Hi Doon, who's this Deadly character you speak of?

McLaren wrote:Doon, good to hear someone got a game in. You might be the only guy in the UK to play in the last two weeks.

We were open both days last weekend. The rain was pretty heavy on Saturday night into Sunday morning, but the greens were perfectly playable. Two started getting a little surface water towards the end but well away from the hole positions. The fairways were very damp (big puddles) in places but there was always somewhere to drop. I didn't have to take relief until the 18th. It had been raining stair rods for about 8 holes by then. Being Chairman of the Green, it was my decision to play and I was out first so if we'd thought it unplayable we could have called everyone in. Mind you comp was won with 36 points by some lucky b****d who had an afternoon draw when the rain finally stopped!!

Deadly is my normal playing partner, a well known local celebrity.
I have been slow coaching him for the past couple of years. he has progressed from absolute hacker to 16 handicap, could easily become a lot lower.

Played the Medway Open today, played errr crap for 13 holes, then played some decent stuff intermittently but overall crap.

bad start and finish but some bits in between were quite good.
27 putts helped me to 34 pts, three less than Deadly who is on good form.

In fifty+ years of playing I saw something new today. I miss hit my second shot 20 yards short of a greenside bunker in the semi rough. Deadly's 7 iron second shot was heading for the bunker when it pitched straight on top of my ball and bounced sideways.

Vale of Glamorgan friday/saturday.Sharing the hotel with the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic team.Still not convinced by the design of these courses after 3 visits but still a great place to have a couple of days off.Played the lakes on friday with the help of a buggy and did pretty well but the greens have some severe slopes(better ball so no idea of my score).Finished with a lovely cut 4 iron to the final 'island'green and halved the match.Saturday stableford on the Welsh National and couldnt get a trolley would you believe let alone a buggy.All the handles had been nicked.So carrying and by the third hole I knew I was in trouble with the feet.Managed to pick up a trolley at half way and limped to the finish with just 13 points rounded of with a missed 4 footer for birdie on 18.Giving it a rest for a couple of weeks but seriously considering packing in until next year.

On holiday this week, and getting a few games at my away course. Played the medal on Saturday - wee warm up then straight out of the blocks with a birdie on the easyish 1st and a par on the tough 2nd. Three putted the next for bogey and was in good position with just 90yards approach shot into 4th. Up till then i'd been swinging and striking it sweetly, but my pitch started a terrible run of the thins which lasted up to the tee shot on the tenth tee. Having started so strongly it was a complete mystery - i dropped 8 shots in as many holes 3-10, then suddenly redescovered my swing and played some good stuff coming in. Pars on 11-12 - Near misses for birds on holes 13-16, then finally holed a decent 10 footer on 17 for a long awaited birdie. Parred the tough 210 yard par three finisher and was left pleased but also a wee bit disappointed as just 2 better on the front nine woulda coulda shoulda sealed a nice wee piece of silver ware. Still pleased to figure near the top, only my third top ten of the season so far, and hopefully something to build on with Medals on Wed and Thursday coming up.

playing in mothly medal.cracking my driver all day and hitting great iron shots. putter really wasnt working. was 3 over thru 10 with about 5 puts missed inside 6 feet. then outa nowhere the i drain 2 long puts to get to +1.
i kinda realise im going well, having got thru the tough part of the course and into the usual scoring holes. where i have 60-100 yard pitches to the green on three of next 4 and the other is a 160yd flat par 3.
i play them bogey, double,bogey, bogey to ruin my card.... and it was all off good tee shots.
i really need to get to the range with my SW and LW and just hit balls in the 60,70,80,90,100 yard range.

As for today game - just nine holes with an old friend who used to coach me a bit as a junior. Quite poor scoring wise - but much breezier than Saturday so got to try out a few linksy shots which was good fun.

Finished off the week up north on Thursday with a poor performance in the medal. Felt like i was swinging the club well, and started ok. Missed the 4th green by a couple of yards and took 3 to hack it out of some really deep rubbish. Things went from bad to worse over the next 3, as every shot seemed to be coming up short despite feeling like i was putting a decent swing on it. After flushing a 2iron and 8 iron and still coming up 20 yards short of the front of the 320 yard 7th i discovered a crack in my ball. It had obviously been weakening over the previous few holes. Not something i'd ever come across with a pro v 1 before . Didn't play great over the next few - chasing it a bit i guess - but finished strong : a good 2iron over the top of the flag on the 212yd last, and knocked in the 20footer coming back. A nice way to end the week!

Played our long overdue winter league final last night. A rematch of last years final which we lost. Started off well, pars on 1 &2 were enough for 2up . I carried right over the back of the 3rd and my partner 3putted from 20ft to gift them a half. Lost 4 and 7 to nett birdies. Par was enough to win 9 & 10, then lost 11 when one of our opponents chipped in for a nett birdie . Won 12 again with par, lost 13 to another nett birdie. I hit a great wee 7iron to about 12 inches to clinch 14, then parred the next, and closed out the match on 16 with a nice birdie. Striking the ball well other than driver which i skied a few times. Particularly pleased with the par 3s . Gave myself good chances for 2s on all of them. The greens were rubbish again - other half had been tined . Certainly felt like winter golf!

dynamark wrote:Vale of Glamorgan friday/saturday.Sharing the hotel with the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic team.Still not convinced by the design of these courses after 3 visits but still a great place to have a couple of days off.Played the lakes on friday with the help of a buggy and did pretty well but the greens have some severe slopes(better ball so no idea of my score).Finished with a lovely cut 4 iron to the final 'island'green and halved the match.Saturday stableford on the Welsh National and couldnt get a trolley would you believe let alone a buggy.All the handles had been nicked.So carrying and by the third hole I knew I was in trouble with the feet.Managed to pick up a trolley at half way and limped to the finish with just 13 points rounded of with a missed 4 footer for birdie on 18.Giving it a rest for a couple of weeks but seriously considering packing in until next year.

Don't mean to nitpick but i think you played the Vale. (vale of glamorgan is a different course )

I've been there a few times too. The lakes course is an ok resort course is. A few mickey mouse holes though .

The Wales national on the other hand is an absolute beast. A cracking challenge with some seriously tough holes. Last time i played there it was set up for the challenge tour event, with 200 yard carries to the fairways and thick rough . Very poor finishing hole wwith 18th green at the back of the car park.

Must be a sad day when you are unable to walk 18 holes or carry your bag. Have you got an injury dyna ?

After three weeks off completely to rest my feet I remembered on saturday why I love this game so much.Usual fourball ,lovely day,plenty to talk about,melted a drive straight down the first and found a bit of run for the first time this year.two birdies on the front nine in 38 pts.Lost the money and feet were bad towards the end but no matter.I was seriously thinking of packing in until next year but no way- Ill try to play once every two weeks and see how it goes.
Ray-my 13 points shows what a monster that course can be and the 18th is a real shame.Dreadful design.Foot injury is 'plantar fasciitis'and it hurts like hell

feel like i haven't hit a ball for ages... its only been 8 days ... off up to the range this evening for a bit with my wedges and a 6 iron. pro shop 'fun' comp on saturday, not much bothered about that, but got a medal on wed next week followed by club championship qually on the saturday, so hoping to play into a bit of form in time - perhaps get the handicap back down to where i know it can be.

Bit of a rusty start with two lost balls in 5 holes ....then
Deadly and I played some great golf for about 10 holes, only dropped a couple of shots to par between us.
Seem to be hitting the ball noticably further of late and also hitting some very sweet dead straight shots.
Deadly finished with 41 points to be cut to 15 and as I had lost 3 games on the trot [our rules] I go up to 15.
Best golf I have seen Deadly play and he is really making progress with his ball striking.
I putted well but holed nothing over 5 foot for 35 points, score did not really relate to the way I had played.
We are off to The Dukes at St Andrews in a couple of weeks so we both hope the form holds.

Played a Medalford on saturday.Front nine points and back nine medal play take the points away from medal score and lowest wins.First time out for 2 weeks and again OK. 17 points for 9 holes and one over on the medal 9.Course in really good condition.Couldnt live with one of the guys who made 23 points front nine and didnt take any chances back 9.
36 hole club championship yesterday and only 15 entries.Not good

Remembered why I love this game last Thursday. Society at Cotgrave, I mean, The Nottinghamshire, and shot 72 (+2) round the Masters course and followed it up with 68 (-3) round the Open course .
Best ball striking I can remember and even the driver (Geek DCT I should have kept in the bag from a couple of years back it would seem) was going straight and very long - drove one short par four GPS'd at 279 by pitching smack in the middle of the green. Putter wasn't even that warm and missed a number of makeable putts in both rounds.
Swing thoughts were 1) make sure to keep it low for first ~18" on the way back and 2) make sure start downswing from right thigh.
At least the season is finishing well!

Good shooting NBS

Finally dried out after our trip to The Dukes @ St Andrews.
We knew we were in for a soaking so on advice from a friend we hired a buggy.
Deadly and I have never used a buggy before as we consider them fit for only the elderly and infirm. Boy were we glad we used one, there are miles of walking between some of the holes and it is quite hilly in places.
Due to the wet and windy conditions we decided to play match play with 3 Mulligans on our first ever level game.
We had used all of our Mulligans up by the 8th hole. Deadly got the first par of the day on the 12th. I managed two on the last 6 holes.
We were both hitting some good shots but the conditions were fierce, we were the only match to play 18 holes.
Strangeish course, I kept seeing other courses designs, This is like the 15th at Loch Lomond and this one is like the 12th at Lochgreen etc.
Loved the rough bunkers and the overall design seemed good. The short holes were a bit ordinary compared to the other holes.
Funny little run from the 14th to the 16th when you feel like you are trespassing on a exclusive housing estate.
Nice clubhouse and friendly welcome.
I got the laugh of the day when standing soaked to my knickers in a wee puddle whilst returning my buggy tee. The Assistant approached and asked if he could help, I said that I just wanted to confirm my second round tee time.
PS I stuffed him 2/1.

Doon the Water wrote:Finally dried out after our trip to The Dukes @ St Andrews.

I am supposed to be playing there on Friday, heavy rain forecast for the Friday afternoon too... pity about that. Does it look a well drying course?

Doon the Water wrote:standing soaked to my knickers in a wee puddle

I know you're getting on a bit Doon, but couldn't you have held it a bit longer?

3 mulligans? i'm sure it was a very nice game but its not golf

are you american?

Slowride...we had to lighten the mood of the day and it just seemed like a good idea.

Redrage...........It goes against all of my core golfing beliefs but .........PLEASE TAKE A BUGGY. Costs £40 but well worth it.
I think if it survived Mondays rain it will survive anything. It is a bit like Woburn, cut into a big wood on the top of a hill.
Definately not a 'Heathland' course though. I think they are bordering on trades description there.
Come to think of it I can't think of one Scottish 'Heathland' course.

Ps Redrage.
They have 4 sets of mens tees from 7500 to 6100.
Don't even consider the black [7500]
If your group are decent players I would go for the white tees, if not follow our example and play off the green [6100] that was plenty long enough for us.

Doon, Ladybank is certainly a heathland course, not to mention Kingussie, Blairgowrie, Edzell, Alyth, Kirriemuir and Scotscraig.

only played edzell and alyth from that list but concur with s_r.
dukes is much to 'farmers field' soil in places to be a heathland.

SR
For some strange reason I have not played any of those courses.
The only one that I had been told is heathland is Blairgowrie.