The season starts.

Well the first week of the season has finished. It started well on Sunday in the Archie Preston interclub knockout when although my partner and I didn't play our best, a nice run of par, birdie, par, par put us 3 up after 8 holes and although we got pegged back the match was all square after 17 holes. When our opponents found water on the last, I was relieved to put my tee shot just short of the green, which was enough to enable us win the hole and our match and the team won overall so we are through to the next round.

I only played on Monday, when I was marking a card for a new member, then Thursday arrived and it was the first qualifying competition of the new season.

I was really looking forward to the first game but things didn't start well a miss hit tee shot on the first meant a pitch over a bunker, I hit the ball well but misjudged the distance and found the bunker, I jot out but found another and walked off with a 6. This set a trend, I hit 2 good shots on the 2^nd but found a bunker. Drive slightly off line on the 5^th left me with a bad stance and I put the next in a ditch. A well hit but offline 3 wood on the 6^th that went out of bounds, a thinned approach on the 7^th through the back of the green, a poor drive and scuffed 2^nd on the 8^th all added to my woes and I finished the first 9 with a terrible total of only 8 points.

I started the back nine better and after 3 holes I had doubled my points thanks to a bogey, par, par start. 3 more bogeys followed, but then I went off a little and finished with 3 doubles, but at least 16 points coming home was double the score on the front nine.

I was hoping the the competition would be reductions only to prevent the 0.1 handicap increase that would put me back to 16 and fortunately that was the case, although one player had no such problems as me and won the competition with 37 points which resulted in her getting a 2 shot handicap reduction.

A busy weekend awaits me with the Northwest qualifier for the Golf Monthly forum King of Kings competition on Saturday and then the Captain's drive-in followed by the opening mixed on Sunday.

As usual this weeks competition round in all ts gory details.

Hole 1, A bit of a scuffed tee shot left me about 60 yards over a bunker to the flag, I misjudged the distance and although I hit my 56 degree wedge correctly, t was the wrong choice and it failed to clear the bunker, I came out to strongly and found a bunker on the opposite side of the green, I got out ok but had a a5 foot putt for a point which I missed.
 

Hole 2, A decent drive was followed by a 3 wood, which I hit well but to the left and it found a bunker near the green I got it out but only to the fringe, I over hit the putt and missed the return so a double bogey for 1 point.
 

Hole 3, I drove down the left hand rough and my 2^nd was hit ok but was still the the rough, and average 3^rd left a pitch to the green that ran off the side and 2 putts gave my a bogey for 2 points.
 

Hole 4, A well hit tee shot but it needed another club and I finished short, chip stopped dead on the fringe 2 putts for a bogey but no shot so 1 point.
 

Hole 5, hit the tee shot well but pushed it right and it finished on a strip of grass between a lateral ditch and the out of bounds. I couldn't take a very good stance and only suceeded in knocking it into the ditch, I took a drop and hit my next short of the green, I chipped on but missed the putt so another no point hole.
 

Hole 6, I hit a decent drive and took a 3 wood which I hit well but it went way right and out of bounds, I drooped a second ball and hit hit well to 40 yards short of the green. A fluffed chip and then I chipped on and 2 putts meant another zero points
 

Hole 7, I hit a lovely drive but thinned a 7 iron than ran right through the green almost reaching the hazard but stopping n long grass, not a great chip but 2 putts gave me a bogey and 2 points.
 

Hole 8, Not my best drive which finished n the left hand rough, I was near enough to the ditch across the fairway to clear it, but I ht it thick and the damp conditions went the ball didn't go very far. I hit my third to about 50 yards from the green but another fluffed chip, I hit the next well but a bit long and then took 2 more for a double bogey and 1 point.
 

Hole 9, ht the tee shot well but pulled it left, I chipped on and took 2 putts for a bogey, but no shot on the hole meant just 1 point.

So then end of a very frustrating 9 holes and probably my worst ever 9 hole return of just 8 points.
 

Hole 10, A very nice drive was followed by a 2 wood that was level with the green but on the right, a chip on gave me a 15 foot putt for a par but I missed it, however after the front 9 a bogey and 2 points was welcoming.
 

Hole 11, Another nice drive which with the wind behind left my 170 yards to the green, 9 times out of 10 I would lay up in front of the ditch near the green but with the wind on my back and a poor score, I decided to have a go with a 3wood. I hit it well but slightly to the right and it finish up in a greenside bunker. I got t out and 2 putted for the first par of the round and 3 points.
 

Hole 12, A good straight drive found the green and 2 putts from 20 feet gave me another par and another 3 points. In the last 3 holes I had scored as many points as on the entire front 9!
 

Hole 13, A decent drive ended up in a very wet part of the fairway but with no surface water showing I had to play it, I hit slightly behind the ball and as a result the shot wasn't that good and finished 80 yards short. A decent pitch and 2 putts gave my a bogey and 2 points.

Hole 14, After a weak tee shot, I pitched to about 10 feet but missed the putt so a bogey and with no shot on this hole only 1 point.
 

Hole 15, A good drive but a slightly scuffed 2^nd left me 125 yds from the green, again not a clean strike left me short of the green but a good but slightly long pitch found the green and 2 putts gave me a bogey and 2 points.

Hole 16, I pushed my drive right and into the tree line, I knocked it down the adjacent fairway so I had a pitch over the bunker but hit the ball off the toe and the ball went at right angles to my line. I then chipped on and 2 putted for a double bogey and 1 point.
 

Hole 17, I hit a good drive and a nice 2^nd to leave a 3 wood to the green but I hit it way right. I didn't get enough height on my chip and it went through the green into the stream at the back. I took a penalty drop then hit a nice chip t o3 feet which holed for a double bogey and 1 point.
 

Hole 18, I hit my tee shot right and it caught the tree and the ball finished halfway up a steep bank a muddy chip left me short of the green, I chjpped on and 2 putted for another double and 1 point.
 

A better nine for 16 points and a grand total of 24 was not what I was expecting when I went out full of enthusiasm. I could blame very wet lies, but if I had been hitting the ball well that would'nt have mattered.
 

Finally one bright spot of the day was seeing a treecreeper, a bird I had not seen before on the course.

New season appproaches

 

It has been a long time since my last entry, as I remember I had entered a long blog about some team matches and then for some reason everything I had typed was lost. I was rather annoyed and didn't have the patience to retype everything, and as the season was coming to an end I gave up on the blog,

however the new season approaches and so I am starting the blog again. This time I will be typing it in a text document first so that I can save it and hopefully not have the same problem again.

A lot has happened over the winter, I have had more lessons, bought new irons that I was custom fitted for and played a lot of golf.

The lessons have been mostly around my short game, chipping, pitching, bunker play and putting, the areas where lose most strokes and I do feel more confident in those areas even when the results do actually show it.

The new irons are Orka G5 Cti's these came out best after me trying various other manufacturers club. The odd thing about Orka is that you cannot buy them off the shelf and they aren't widely advertised so very few people have heard of them so I do get puzzled looks when I say that's what I have. They are heavier than my old irons so I am taking a while to get used to them but I trust that they will help my game.

Golf wise I have played almost as much during the albeit mild winter as I did during the summer. I played in my first pro am after bumping into a couple of local pros at Ellesmere which resulted in one of them asking me to play in a mixed event which I really enjoyed even though my game went off over the closing holes. We did finish 4^th so that wasn't too bad.

The Northwest forum players had a winter links competition, and I played at St Annes Old Links, Caldy, Silloth on Solway and Southerness. I had some decent rounds particularly at Caldy and Silloth, I finished 4^th overall, so not a bad showing.

Silloth and Southerness were played last weekend and we were joined by a number of golfers from Scotland and the North East and there was a competition for the weekend, again I came 4^th, this seems to be a pattern.

The weekend was very enjoyable, Silloth is one of the best courses I have played, particularly the first 9, Which is mostly played close to the sea, the 2^nd 9 being a little more sheltered, it was dry but quite windy and I scored 36 points, which while a decent score was a bit disappointing as I struggled on the greens and also failed to score on the last. Southerness was very challenging, a lot windier than the day before and also a bt of ran n the air, I only scored 28 points but did get a very nice birdie on a par 5 which I reached in 2 shots something I rarely do.

So the season is just a week away, although we do have our first match in the Archie Preston on Sunday at home to Wilpshire, we reached the semi finals last year so I hope we have a good run this year too.

Some photos from Silloth

and Southerness