Tell us about your game today...

First topic message reminder :

Congrats Super!

BlueCoverman wrote:Thanks Ray, I can recommend it!

So can I, although I had to wai a bit longer than Blue to enjoy it! Now that the house and garden are finally coming together we're at last getting out on the course, albeit rather scrappily at times

Back from Vilamoura:

Vale do Lobo Ocean - very nice holes, very "playable" very good nick with very fast greens and consistent throughout and was thoroughly enjoyable. A little bit dis-jointed as tees quite often across roads and through housing areas from previous greens, but that's being picky. Played OK, 30 points.

Vila Sol Prestige 9 and Prime 9. Prestige was previously the "academy" course which I was told was where budding tour pros went to hone their skills. Very tight, very tree-ey and I felt that you needed all the shots (straight, left right and right left of varying trajectories) to get round anywhere near OK. Frankly the toughest bit of course I've played anywhere but not a pleasant tough. Greens were lightning (which was nice). "Prime" is what the old 1-9 were. More open than Prestige (thank f**k) with some nice holes, but a bit tatty and the greens were scruffier and less consistent and some in quite poor nick. 29 points but mentally beaten up by it all. Shan't be returning. Don't have enough buggies (not interested in another "shouldn't be using buggies" argument, we do use them) and the organisation around them is shambolic.

Quinta do Lago (North) - very playable, very fair, very risk and reward. Superb condition, very nice greens for the time of day (penultimate group I think, we finished 18 with enough light for 1 more hole possibly). I opted for sensible 4 iron off all longer holes bar 1 par 5 and a couple of short dog legs where it was 5 or 6 to the corner. Hit tee shots as well as I have ever hit irons off tees, so much that I was cutting some dog legs with 4 irons leaving quite easy 2nd shots in (for example on the par 5 18th it was 4 iron 4 iron - although after 2 of the best shots I've ever hit, I bl00dy well left the 10 foot eagle putt 2 foot short ). Couple of shots offline and (rightly) punished on other holes and including four 3-putts I had 33 Points.

Place was full of Hale and Pace taxi drivers (I think it was Ray's description on another thread) and with the exchange rate it made for an expensive long weekend, but thoroughly enjoyable.

Nice one Roller. Sounds like you mullered your 4 iron off the tee on 18 and then melted your approach. Hope you made birdie!

Don't think i've ever played a course where the conditioning on the front 9 was completely different from the back 9. Rather bizarre.

I'm going to Murcia in 5 weeks. the way things are going the exchange rate will be €1 : £1 by then

raycastleunited wrote:Nice one Roller. Sounds like you mullered your 4 iron off the tee on 18 and then melted your approach. Hope you made birdie!

Ray, I don't think Mel-Ted would have got there, I think he must have Ab-So-Lute-Ly Cher-No-Ball-It to reach in two.  Then Bosch, two putt birdie, job done geezer

2 x 4-iron to a par 5? How long was it?
As for the different front and back nines .. was it a place where they had 3 or 4 nines where you mix and match? If so, different conditioning sounds quite believable (though maybe not ideal)

I did, both strikes were really rather good, and yes it ultimately yielded a birdie. Being geographically more northern I guess "effing tw@tted it" would be the parlance du jour.

The card says it's 440 metres. Tee was a tad forward from the actual block, so probably 425 - 430m round a decent left to right dog leg. Perfect cut of the corner off the tee cut out quite a lot of the full measurement (so I'm not claiming to hit a 4 iron 300 yards) and left 200 yards in according to my laser (of which about 198 I did manage).

The differing 9's course is a 27 hole set up. 9 - 27 (our front nine) is significantly newer than 1 - 9 and 10 - 18 (the original layout) so the condition(ing) was always possible, but I was surprised at how marked a difference there was. (Unless perhaps they had a spread of groups, all of which played 1 - 9 but were split over 10 - 18 or 19 - 27 to get more traffic over the day).

Cash machines were offering 1 - 1 if you wanted to accept that bank's conversion. I refused this and took whatever my bank gave (which ended up being 1.10 - 1.15 before transaction fees).

Same experience Roller - although lovely to be playing in 35 degrees. vale de lobo was the best we visited. 34 points but played off yellows so drive and flick to every hole...
Villamoura was a bit naff - conker coloured old folks and oirish bars.

Feeling chuffed today. Invite received to join the Suffolk Senior squad meetings during the winter. Being held at Bungay GC in January, Flempton GC in February and Woodbridge GC in March. Best I get some practice in!

Well done Blue, retirement it seems is the future.

In both senses...

Unfortunately Bungay sounds like where 75% of my drives end up!

I'm playing the Army course in Farnborough on Monday, have heard good things. Anyone played it?

MPB - I know it well, but you must never say the Army GC, it's Army GC, or some of them can get very upset!
Nice track, though prone to getting a bit damp. They have a big tree clearance programme in the pipe, though not sure how far eh the have got.
Opens with a par 5 which is very gettable to get you in the mood but watch out for 4 and 5, long par 4 followed by long par 3. Really good holes. I've always enjoyed it, but they changed 10 a few years ago, and built a new green which is excellent, but seems to belong to a different course.
Good views of Farnborough Airport around13/14 short par 4s, and increasingly steady procession of exec jets - noisy f.....s! Buildings are different class if you are into control towers etc!
You will enjoy it, with tough finish over 15,16,17 and 18 probably determining how much!
Probably longest course in Hampshire of back markers, or at least close.
Enjoy

Thanks Puligny
Drop the 'The' - noted! Luckily I managed not to put my foot in it, most unusual.
As you say, the course was very wet, and a couple of greens on temporary's which was a shame, especially as I asked the starter if there was anything worth knowing about the course and he didn't mention them - hence me overshooting the first temporary green by 30 yards...... Never mind
The bit right by the airport, whilst quite scenic, gave me the feeling that if i'd spent longer than the 20 ish mins necessary around there the constant droning would have eventually driven me mad.
All in all it's quite a nice course, the layout is good and the tree lined holes look nice. The greens were great considering the rain.
Very nearly a fantastic 18 holes but just lacking something to make it special, not that I can really put my finger on what that might be.
I played okay too and managed 33 points round a track i'd not played before, so fairly happy with that.

I know the thread title is "Tell us about YOUR game today" but I'm going to digress a little and tell you about a fantastic weekend at our club. Every year we organise an event called the "Tiger cup" where 24 of our juniors (ages ranging from 6 to 17) are divided into two teams (Europe and USA and battle out a Ryder Cup style comp over 2 days. The kids and the parents get kitted out in team colours, 2 non playing captains get chosen and the whole thing gets hyped up. The kids love it and put on some great displays of golf and sportsmanship that totally belies their golfing maturity. Absolutely brilliant to witness the kids deal with competitive pressure and put on a real good show.

For the record (and this is for Trussman :-p ) Europe won 14-10 to complete 4 in a row.

As an aside, 3 of our juniors who missed Tiger Cup selection went off to a County competition and brought back the County Junior knockout Team plate.

So chuffed with the rude health of our flourishing Junior Section.

JAS,
That sounds terrific; assuming modesty prevents it being renamed the Howler Cup, but you guys have got something special going.

kwinigolfer wrote:JAS,
That sounds terrific; assuming modesty prevents it being renamed the Howler Cup, but you guys have got something special going.

Ha ha, the spike bar is already named after him. To be fair he is good at sponsoring his event and donating prizes and when he does turn up he spends loads of time encouraging the juniors.
The main instigator of the growth of the junior section and who's brainchild the weekend event was though is my pro who works tirelessly and passionately at developing the junior section. As an aside, as a Junior he once took Howeller to a 5th extra play off hole in the Club Champs - Howeller was also a junior the first time he won it as was the guy he succeeded who went on to win the Brabazon. So we do have a rich history of junior excellence which hopefully we can reproduce someday.

Stellar weekend, completely out of the blue.

28/10 - "Masters" (medal round where all of the winners of any event since the previous Masters compete). Very dull, very successful, in fact knock of the year for me. Level par (-7 net), 2 birdies, 2 bogies, 14 pars 28 putts. Won gross, won net by 5.

29/10 - 12th round of our "Stableford series" (best 6 rounds to count aggregate) more eventful following the previous evenings frivolity (ie many beers). Leading going in to the last round, 9 ahead but 2nd and 3rd only had 32 points to beat to improve their aggregate while my 6th best was 36 (still with me?). Front 9 erratic. Booze fuelled driver leading to 4 bogeys but level 2's overall. Not improving my aggregate but still OK on the day. Back 9, scoring boots slipped on (again out of nowhere). -3 gross for 24 points, 42 overall (winning the day) and taking my total to 233 points (winning the overall by 9 after 2nd had improved his 6th best by 6 too). Average of 38.83 for my 6 best counting laps over the whole year.

2 days, +1 gross, -13 net, 4 wins, 54 putts, both non-qualifiers, handicap stays static (go figure).

Nice work Roller

Good stuff Roller, well played

A steady round for me on Sunday in the November medal played in windy and cold conditions on the Suffolk coast.  13 pars and 5 bogeys for a 77, net 72 was good enough for best gross out of 49 competitors. Nowhere in the net obviously!

To both of you.

Nice one Blue. Are you playing more frequently at Felixstowe?

Yes Grumps, condition of the course and greens is currently far superior to that of my Essex club.

Well done roller. Maybe it was the weight off your shoulders after jimmy floyd's departure that allowed you to swing more freely.

To be fair Ray, I hadn't actually noticed him arrive, let alone depart!

The place need a total re-vamp from the very bottom to the very top (and has done since Chris Wright et al bankrupted us). Every apparent step forward structurally is accompanied by 2 steps backwards on the pitch and whenever there is anything on the pitch the infrastructure immediately seems to bugger it up. Whilst it's a tight league and any sort of run puts anyone in the proverbial "mix" I'm certainly looking down the league more than up. Ferguson, Paisley, Guardiola - none of 'em could turn our lot into anything of use and love him though I do, if Holloway is the answer we're (again) asking the wrong question.

Still, I like the new crest and the consignment to history of the Briatore wig affair we've been stuck with recently!

It's been a shambles for years. The owners lurch from recklessly spending stupid money to not spending a penny, just no balance or strategy. The way Mark Hughes failed so miserably after his successes at Blackburn, Fulham etc just shows that the manager is not the problem.

A fantastic break in the cold weather yesterday and a wonderful round on the links of St.Andrews. mild, windless and course in good condition. Played well too and putted like Reverend Spieth on his way to the Masters victory. Sometimes winter can actually be good, and it's only 3 and a bit weeks before it starts getting lighter again.

super_realist wrote:A fantastic break in the cold weather yesterday and a wonderful round on the links of St.Andrews. mild, windless and course in good condition. Played well too and putted like Reverend Spieth on his way to the Masters victory. Sometimes winter can actually be good, and it's only 3 and a bit weeks before it starts getting lighter again.

Super - do you still have to carry a little door mat around with you?

raycastleunited wrote:

super_realist wrote:A fantastic break in the cold weather yesterday and a wonderful round on the links of St.Andrews. mild, windless and course in good condition. Played well too and putted like Reverend Spieth on his way to the Masters victory. Sometimes winter can actually be good, and it's only 3 and a bit weeks before it starts getting lighter again.

Super - do you still have to carry a little door mat around with you?

yeah, it's mats off the fairways unfortunately, but probably only use it a dozen times a round as you can just flick your ball into the semi, and you don't need it around the greens or on the tees.
Usually from November until the end of March.

Super flicking his balls into a semi - Mac must be loving that!

super_realist wrote:

raycastleunited wrote:

super_realist wrote:A fantastic break in the cold weather yesterday and a wonderful round on the links of St.Andrews. mild, windless and course in good condition. Played well too and putted like Reverend Spieth on his way to the Masters victory. Sometimes winter can actually be good, and it's only 3 and a bit weeks before it starts getting lighter again.

Super - do you still have to carry a little door mat around with you?

yeah, it's mats off the fairways unfortunately, but probably only use it a dozen times a round as you can just flick your ball into the semi, and you don't need it around the greens or on the tees.
Usually from November until the end of March.

If it's for use on fairways only I would never need it

BlueCoverman wrote:Feeling chuffed today. Invite received to join the Suffolk Senior squad meetings during the winter. Being held at Bungay GC in January, Flempton GC in February and Woodbridge GC in March. Best I get some practice in!

A late withdrawal has enabled me to receive a last minute invitation to join the 2016 senior squad Christmas meeting at Thorpeness tomorrow. Fortunately its a course I know reasonably well, still feeling as nervous as the kid just about to start at a new school though!

Good luck with that Blue, I'm sure you'll be just fine as long as Mrs Blue is there helping to distract the other seniors

Thanks Grumps, unfortunately far too cold for short skirts now!

One of my better rounds of the year today - but does anyone know what the rule book say about countback when everyone starts from the 10th?

My course has a couple of months in the winter where everyone starts off the 10th. The usual front nine is more prone to flooding so in the winter they spread the load on the course so that people only playing nine holes us 10-18

My understanding is that countback is done on the player's 2nd nine but it would appear not

Some of the best weather of the year in the last few days. Barely a breath of wind all week and some splendid golf to boot.

Lovely day in Hertfordshire on Sunday: mild (9 degrees) and sunny (sunglasses on for 16 holes), just a hint of a breeze, course in lovely condition for this time of year, greens very receptive, rough cut short for winter, tees brought forward too. All in all a perfect day for scoring. Expected to see more comments on the weekend's golf on here.

Very pleased with my ball striking with my irons, I consistently enjoyed the feeling of flushing forged mizuno on urethane... 12 greens in regulation including all 4 par 3's, 2 up and downs, but missed 6 putts from inside 10 feet. Pretty pleased with 4 over par after a month of no golf. I can live with the missed putts on slow greens... the last time I played golf was at las Colinas after Q school and the greens were running at close to 12 on the stimp.

What a start to the new year.

-6 gross on the Eden, 32 out, 32 back. Talk about peaking too early.

I bought a Taylormade M2 driver over the Christmas break and today was my first chance to get it on the course, and what a gorgeous day for it, short sleeves in January unreal! Delighted with the club, easily getting about 10yds on my old Titleist 909D2. 16 points for 9 holes so not too rusty! Looking forward to this season...

First golf since last October. Bounce game with a couple of mates. No pressure and no fart arsing around lining up putts etc. Typically, played really well - 72 (+1). Maybe I should try the same approach when it matters a bit more...

That's exactly the thing Navy, It's taking the bounce game mentality to a scorecard.
It's my main focus for this year, because I know what I'm capable of, I just need to do it in a competition.

Be th ball, is that the 2016 or 2017 M2?

McLaren wrote:Be th ball, is that the 2016 or 2017 M2?

2016 model Mc, from all the reviews I've seen they are pretty similar, Parfield and Rick Shiels seem to think so anyway... except from some minor changes to the look of the back of the club, and the luminous green (awful) colour pattern. I'm happy so far...

How much did you pay pay for it, I am interested as I am thinking about getting the 16 model?

I don't think the Bric-a-Brac shop will have them in yet Mac.

Super

I just don't think there is any point in buying a brand new club. If you know what shaft you are looking for its not like you get much more out of going brand new with a custom fit.

There probably isn't Mac, I was just making light of your claim you buy your golf gear from Jumble sales.

McLaren wrote:How much did you pay pay for it, I am interested as I am thinking about getting the 16 model?

I got a €250 voucher over Christmas and put €100 to it, so got it for €350 from www.halpennygolf.com. I've just checked their site and they are now advertising the new 2017 model for €450. I'm not sure they have any left, but i'm sure you would will pick one up somewhere.

Mac take a look at "Harrington International Golf Equipment Auctions" on Facebook. some really good deals there and plenty of M2s have been traded.

I don't have Facebook, is there another way to access it?

Mac, there's tons of outlets for used clubs. There's even one in Edinburgh. You'll find them through ebay.

I do however think Golf Bidder is a complete rip off, so I'd avoid them.

super_realist wrote:What a start to the new year.

-6 gross on the Eden, 32 out, 32 back.  Talk about peaking too early.

Crikey great knock Super, bet you'd like to bank that for a medal day...or was it a medal?