Hole 1, par 3, 147 yards (162 whites)
You drive across a valley to a green with bunkers both left and right, there is no great problem in being short but the are bushes just over the back, I take a 5 or 6 iron and am pretty confident of hitting the green, as it’s the first though I am happy with a 4 or even a 5.
Hole 2, par 4, 362 yards (399 whites)
You drive of a slightly elevated tee over a ditch, with big bushes close in on the left as a result I usually aim to the right where the fairway is reasonably generous, the fairway is uphill with a bunker on the right that normally doesn’t come into play for me but probably does for longer lady hitters or from the men’s tees. An iron for the 2nd shot usually sees me within 120 yds of the green protected by 3 bunkers, the fairway runs down to the green for the last 100ds. I am more than happy with a 5 on this and a 6 is ok.
Hole 3, par 5, 424 yards (504 whites)
The second longest hole, the fairway is slightly down hill and tree lined on both sides ,fairway, with bunkers both left and right, these are just out of my range but I sometime get near to them. 120 yds from the green is a broad ditch and the shot to the green is uphill. If I hit a decent drive and 2nd shot I am usually between the 150 marker and the ditch so I am fairly confident of being on or around the green in 3, so I disappointed not to get a bogey here and a par is a possibility.
Hole 4, par 3 132 yards.(259 Whites par 4)
Supposedly the easiest hole on the course, the hole is slightly downhill, but the fairway slopes from left to right so a ball that bounces short of the green will normally kick to the right. There is also a bunker short left of the green. I struggle with the right club here, a 7 iron will land short but the kick on landing is unpredictable, a six iron can run through or off the green to the right leaving a chip up onto the green plateau anything from a 2 to 4 is possible from a decent tee shot.
the mens tee on this is an almost blind drive with a nasty carry.
Hole 5, par 4, 353 yards (371 whites)
A slight dogleg, with a lateral water hazard down the right and a narrow ditch about 200yds from the tee, a bunker about 50yds from the green makes it a true dogleg for me on a hole I cannot reach in 2 I play 2 shots before being able to play a short 3rd into the green, which also has 3 hidden bunkers along the right hand side of the green. Again a 5 is good, a 6 ok. A hole I haven’t managed to par as yet.
Hole 6, par 5, 393 yards (417 Whites par 4)
A straightforward hole a flat fairways slopes down to an upturned saucer shaped of a green, with lateral water to the right. 2 decent shots and I hope to have a good chance of hitting the green, although the ball will often roll off it. Anything more than a 6 is a disappointment and I hope for a par here.
Hole 7, par 4, 325 yards (349 Whites)
The fairway runs down hill towards the green but a ditch running across in front of the green presents a problem, front right of the green is a stand of trees and there is a big drop behind that is classed as a lateral hazard. If I can drive down the left far enough I have a chance of going for the green but if I go right or am short I have to lay up. I am sometimes tempted to try and clear the ditch when I shouldn’t with often the predictable result. I look for a 5 but not too worried with a 6. A good drive and I am hoping to have the chance of a par.
Hole 8, par 5, 383 yards. (439 whites par 4)
A long straight hole with the broad ditch again a feature about 130 yards from the green. A good drive and I am tempted to try and clear the ditch with my second, this can be a problem as the bank leading out of the ditch is rough and it takes a good drive and good second to clear this too. I am usually tempted if my drive is on the fairway. Probably the sensible option is to lay up but unless I can hit the 20 yds of fairway from the 150 marker to the ditch, I cannot reach the green in 3. I often mess this hole up because if this and a 7 or even an 8 is not unusual, despite a 6 being relatively simple to achieve. I tend to score best her e when I missed the fairway with my drive.
Hole 9, par 3, 104 yards (180 whites)
A lovely little hole, which is a lot longer from the yellow or whites. The hole is in a little valley with rubbish all down the right on the other side of a stream that runs upto and then around the right and back of the green. A bank down the left can deflect the ball towards the green but there is rough there which also catch the ball too. I usually take an 8 iron and expect to hit the green, The green itself slopes towards the stream so if up are above the hole it can be a tricky putt. This hole is a good par opportunity.
Hole 10, par 4, 366 yards (419 whites)
A drive back over the broad ditch along an undulating fairway to a raised green should not present too many problems. Unfortunately it does, there is a dip in the fairway where my ball usually lands and often gets thrown to the right, leaving a 2nd shot from the rough and often with trees in the way unless I can hit the left of the fairway, which I rarely do. So another hole where a 6 is not a disaster and a 5 feels like a par. A par is so far unknown and a 7 is often likely.
Hole 11, par 5, 406 yards 4(36 Whites par 4)
Quite similar to the 8th, although the green is just over the ditch and has a narrow entrance with bunkers left and right at the front, so it takes an accurate 3rd shot if I get within 150 yds in 2. I hope to have the chance of a par but a bad 3rd shot can put me in trouble.
Hole 12, par 3, 191 yards (206 whites)
A long downhill par 3 which is out of my range, with trees down the left and rough down the right. I have stopped using my driver here because I normally end up in the right hand rough, so a 5 iron off the tee and hope for a good chip, a 5 is more frequent than a 3 here for me.
Hole 13, par 4, 355 yards (409 Whites)
Again similar to the 10th but a flatter fairway with a bunker down the right, just out of my range, the green is not as raised as the 10th but has bunkers both left and right. Stroke index 1 and again a 5 feels like a par, which I have not had yet.
Hole 14, par 3, 143 yards (153 Whites)
Hole 15, par 5, 410 yards. (536 Whites)
This is a slight dogleg with a sloping fairway front right to left, although the direct route is to the left the lie can be poor due to work done laying a pipeline under the course. So a drive to the right is ideal but there are a lot of trees along the right of the hole so care is needed. This also means the drive is uphill. The green is 2 tiered with bunkers front left and also to the right so care is needed with the approach as there is also a steep bank leading down from the green on the left, with a lateral hazard at the bottom, and due to the shape of the hole is often approached from the right. Again 2 good shots will give me a chance of hitting the green in 3 but due to the green’s protection leaving the 3rd short but central is not too bad. I do often get a par here but occasionally mess it up too.
Hole 16, par 4, 311 yards (388 Whites)
This is an fairly easy hole although the fairway is tight with trees down the right and a lateral hazard down the left over which there is quite a drop to the 14th fairway and also a thin line of conifers overhang the fairway right down to the green, a bunker protects the front right of the green. Because of the possibility of a wayward drive which has cost me in the past, I now take a 5 iron off the tee, which gives me a chance of reaching the green if it’s a good drive. I do look for no maoe than a 4 or a 5 here but the green is very long and 3 putting is a good possibility depending on where the pin is.
Hole 17, par 5, 478 yards (503 Whites)
The longest hole from the red tees, a slightly uphill drive with bunkers left and right before the fairway slopes down unevenly towards the ubiquitous broad ditch 150yds from the green. The green is set in a bowl with a steep slope leading down to it. A stream runs along the left side of the green and around the back with a steep rough bank with bushes immediately behind it. My best hope on this hole is to get as close to the ditch as possibly in 2 to have any chance of reaching the green in 3, so far I have not achieved this although I have been on the slope which sadly had a lot of grass on it which held the ball up. I normally hopr for 2 decent shots which leaves me a 3rd over the ditch to leave a chip down to the green, due to the nature of the bank a run down it is unpredictable so I like to get near enough to be able to play a short sand wedge and hope to hit the green and not run much. A 6 here is great, although a 7 more usual sadly and often more than that.
Hole 18, par 3, 122 yards (157 whites)
A lovely finishing hole but not as simple as the yardage suggests, the tee shot is over a valley with a steep rough bank leading up to the green from a stream, there is lots of rubbish on the right and bunkers both left and right. Also 2 big trees growing from the bank leaving a tight line to the green through the gap between them there is also very little room at the back of the green before the flags of the clubhouse which is out of bounds, also the putting green is back right and also out of bounds. Anything landing short of the green is liable to end up at the bottom of the steep bank or in the stream. I hope to hit the green with a 6 or 7 iron depending on pin position on the undulating green, but any score is possible depending on the tee shot, I have birdied the hole but also and a 10 and even a 14 after trouble with bunkers and out of bounds.
My golf is a bit mixed, my driving is a little erratic, I can follow a nice straight drive with a bad slice or hitting one off the heel without, in my mind, doing anything differently, this is very frustrating and I intend to have a videoed lesson to see I I can find out what is going wrong. I expect to hit a good drive 160-170 yds although with the wind behind me I have topped 200yds a few times.
My irons are the strongest and most consistent part of my game, I expect to hit 140-150 with my 5 iron, my 5 iron is my most used club as despite a lot of practise I cannot hit woods off the fairway with any sort of consistency and so it is not worth using them in Competitions. As for my other irons I am fairly confident of my distances, which drop 10yds per club down to 100 yds with my pitching wedge. I believe I can hit my sand wedge about 50 yds but I do lack the confidence to use it fro that distance.
My chipping is not too bad but again it can be great one day and not so good the next, I tend to chip and run with my 8 iron and I am quite happy to play my sand wedge over obstacles. The use of my wedge has been a bit up and down but recently I have been using it a lot better and am now fairly confident with shots below 100yds
Bunkers, are again a problem, I am always confident going of getting out but occasionally I have bad days and have once taken 10 shots to get out.
So finally putting, this is really where my problem lies, the number of times I have been on the green in regulation on ly to 3 or even 4 put are too many to recall them whole. I struggle with judging distant, one hole leaving a put woefully short, the next far too long and then leaving one stone dead. It is very frustrating and at the moment is preventing me from getting my handicap down further, the problem is I don’t think its something you can be taught how to do. I do also sometime struggle to hole puts of under 3 feet, this is probably more about alignment and something I need to work one.
Well that’s my course and my game at the moment. I tend to score better on the front nine than the back nine. So far my eclectic score for the season is 76, which shows my potential if I could just do it all on the same round. My best competition round so far is 95 although I have broken 90 in a practice round. I feel it is within my current ability to get my handicap down to 18 if I can cut out the inconsistancy, but I need to be able to putt better to get it below that.
Well that brings things up to date so now I can keep the blog current in future.
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