Mostly Matchplay

Sunday was the next round of our fourball knockout, My partner and I were playing the two girls who had beaten us in the final last year.

 After halving the first with pars, I holed a nice putt for a net birdie to win the 2nd. We halved the 3rd and 4th with net pars before losing the 5 th to a net birdie. we halved the 6th with gross birdies after another nice putt from me, but lost the 5th even though we both had shots, my 2nd finding a bunker and escape running through the green into a hazard, and my partner messing up a chip.
My partner won the 8th wth a net birdie, but we losat he 9th when one of our opponents hold a long birdie putt.
A net birdie for me won the 10th, but we lost the 1tth to a par after I found trees off the tee. We were all square again after a net par from my partner on the 12th and halved the 13th when I holed for a net par.
We lost the 14th to a par after my putt lipped out, but a net birdie from me won the 15th. They went back ahead on the 16th with a par when my 2nd found a bunker then another putt lipped out and my partner fluffed a chip.
The 17th was halved in net pars and then on the 18th they both found the green and I was through the back, I failed to get down in 2 and that was the match lost 2 down.
My partner off 24 played well and I had some very good holes but in the end we were both too erratic.

It was a great match though.

Monday and 16 of the Ellesmere girls went to play at Skipton in their open. The course is set above the town with nice views all around. The course itself undulates with several plateau greens and has several interesting holes particularly on the back nine A small river runs though the course and provides a natural water hazard on several holes on the back nine. On the 14^th and 15^th in particular the river runs right in front of the greens. The 14^th is only 270 yards long from the red tees but is stroke index 2, mainly due to the river which means a very accurate approach is needed to the green and the 15^th is a down hill par 3 with the river running along left hand side and in front of the green. The 17^th is a very short par 3 but its up a steep holl to a very small green, and the 18^th is uphill all the way to the green by the club house.

It was certainly an interesting course to play and my game was as up and down as the course. I did have several good holes but my round was most notable for the stupid mistakes made that had nothing to do with the way I was playing. Firstly following a poor chp that failed to reach the green, I marked my ball on the fringe for the 2^nd time in two weeks and then a few holes later after playing a lovely second shot to just short of a green, I failed to check the ball I was playing was mine and only discovered it wasn't when I went to mark it after a really nice chip, so instead of a short putt for a par I had a 2 shot penalty and then had to play my own ball and of course didint ht half as good a chip!

Our team finished with 78 points nowhere near good enough to get in the prizes but we had the consolation of having the best score of the Ellesmere teams.,

Tuesday saw me back at Ellesmere for another matchplay game, this time in the singles Challenge knockout. I was playng Doreen who beat me in the competition last year and in fact went on to win the competition.

Doreen hit a lovely tee shot on the first and won the hole with a par to my bogey, although I won the 2^nd when I holed a nice put for my par after being through the green with my 2^nd.

Doreen had a shot on the 3^rd and I drove into a bunker and having got out tried to clear the ditch with my 3^rd as Doreen was nicely down near the ditch in 2 but although I hit it well t caught trees and I finished up with a 7 against Doreen's par 5.

We halved the 4^th in bogey 4s, I hit the green with my tee shot but had the full length of the green to putt up and took 3.

I hit 2 nice shots to be just short of the green in 2 and Doreen found a bunker with her 3^rd, chipped on and 2 putts gave me a bogey 5, which was enough to win the hole and get back to all square.

On the 6^th I hit a good drive followed by a lovely 3 wood that landed short but ran up onto the green, Doreen just missed her par and I two putted for a birdie 4 to go 1up.

I hit a decent drive on the 7^th although it went quite a long way right and after Doreen had hit a weak second I hit my 2^nd to the fringe of the green and after Doreen could only put her ball the the ditch from a bad lie, I two putted for a par to win the hole.

Another decent drive on the 8^th meant I could ht my 2^nd over the ditch to about 50 yds short of the green, Doreen, who had laid up in 2 the scuffed her 3^rd into the ditch. Doreen hit a nice 5^th after takjing a penalty but I chipped safely onto the green and 2 putted for a par 5 to go 3 up.

A lovely tee shot from Doreen found the green on the 9th and after I failed to get up and down from just off the green she won the hole with a par to pull a hole back.

We both hit poor drives on the 10^th and both failed to find the green in 3 I chipped a little long and then Doreen thinned her chip but had a nice putt and was in for 6, I over bran my putt by a couple of feet but holed for a 6 too and a half.

We were both short of ther ditch in 2 on the 11^th, Doreen hit a lovely pitch to about 8 feet and my pitch was pin high bit 20 feet away, I missed my birdie putt and Dorrens just missed too so we halved the hole with pars.

I hit a lovely drive on the 12^th which finished about 15 feet from the hole, Doreen was short but chipped on but failed to hole her putt for a par, so 2 putts gave my a par and the hole to go back to 3 up.

I was giving a shot on the 13^th but hit a lovely straight drive, Doreen also hit a nice drive but was short in 2, while I hit a nice 5 wood which found the green, Doreen's chip only found a bunker and although she got out I hit my birdie putt right up to the hole side for a tap in par and Doreen missed her putt so I won the hole to go 4 up.

I overshot the green on the 14^th and Doreen found a bunker, I hit a poor chip that ran right though the green then fluff another chip, whereas Doreen came out of the bunker and holed a nice putt for a par to get me back to 3 up.

I hit another lovely long straight drive on the 15^th, Doreen hit a nice drive and a reasonable 2^nd but I ht a nice 3 wood that pitch short right of the green and bounced down and ran onto the green, a first for me as I have never been on this green n 2 shots before. Doreen's 3^rd found a bunker again and she putt her 4^th on the green, but I putted up for a tap in birdie whch won the hole and the match by 4&3.

I really played well with 6 pars and 2 birdies although I still had 3 doubles, Doreen herself had 5 pars but sadly for her she was rather inconsistent. So I was very pleased to win what I expected to be a very tough match.

Thursday was the open at Ellesmere, despite the weather forecast we were lucky with the weather and all players more or less avoided the rain. I played steadily including birdieing the par 15^th for third time in a row. We finished with a decent 84 points but were beaten by 2 87s and an 88. The winners were visitors which was good as out open doesn't get as many entrants from other courses as we would like.

Friday was our first away match in this year's shield and we were playing at Ashton under Lyne. It had been a struggle getting a full team with people dropping out, but fortunately I did have 7 players after lots of phone calling. I was giving just one shot to the lady I was playing against and I lost the first hole, before halving the next 3. I parred the 5^th to get back to all square, but lost the 6^th which was the hole I gave the shot on. I went 2 down after the 7^th where I hit a very long drive but then made a mess of the pitch to the green.

Things started to turn on the 8^th where my opponent hit a wild drive that went way out of bounds and I won the hole with a double bogey, taking 3 putts on a very tricky green. I then got back to all square again after a bogey on the 9^th. A lovely chip after being short of the 10^th off the tee gave me a par and I went 1 up and bogeys on the next 3 holes saw me go to 3 up. I hit the green with my tee shot on the 14^th and opponent, who had hit her tee shot short, put her 2^nd in a bunker right under the lip and more or less unplayable. A good putt from me saw the hole conceded and I was 4 up with 4 to play. Neither of us played the 15^th very well, but she fluffed a chip from the back of the green and a double bogey was enough for me to win the hole and the match by 5&3.

The team match was very close and we were sitting 3-3 with the last pair out playing the last hole. Unfortunately their player won the hole and so we lost the match 4-3. Despite losing the match we did put up a very good showing, Ashton has some tricky par 3s and also some of the greens have lots of little breaks that you just don't see.

I will be back at Ashton in June as we have drawn them in the next round of the Archie Preston Mixed knockout, a repeat of last years quarter final that Ellesmere managed to win.

A pretty good week

This last week has been a very busy one, with two competitions at Ellesmere plus 3 opens.

Sunday was the Bell Trophy at Ellesmere, it is one of our board competitions, the afternoon was windy with a little rain around. I got off to a steady, if unspectacular start with 6 bogeys and one double over the first 7 holes before pars at the 8^th and 9^th saw me finish the first nine in 44 shots, right on my handicap.

I double bogied the 10^th followed by another 4 bogies. On the par 5 fifteenth I was on the green in three but left my first put 3 feet short and missed so that was another bogey, On both the 16^th and 17^th I again missed from about 3 feet again for two double bogies before hitting the 18^th with my tee shot before leaving my first putt short and for the 4^th hole on the trot missing from around 3 feet.

So I finished with a disappointing 46 on the back nine for a total of 92, which less my handicap of 16 gave me a net 76. It seemed that everyone else struggled and I ended up with the winning score, so have a trophy to pick up at Lady Captain's day when the presentation of the major competitions is done.

I had been really looking forward to Monday as I was playing in the open at Pleasington one of my favourite courses in the area. I really like it although it is a long challenging course. I have played there a couple of times in the past but never the full 18, as the course is split by a railway line and the 6 holes on the far side were not played when I have been there before.

I played with Hannah and another lady from Davyhulme, and we were greeted with a hailstorm when we arrived but the weather clear up before we teed off and it was a lovely afternoon. We started quite steadily until we crossed the railway, the 5^th hole has a very sloping green and although I was only 20 feet from the hole I managed to 4 putt including missing a 6 inch putt that ran away from the hole when I went to tap it in.

Despite struggling on several holes it did not diminish my love of the course and I will be looking forward to my next visit.

We finished with a mere 61 points and I was surprised to see that it was the 2^nd best score in, however the ones out before us had had the worst of the weather, so I expected a lot of scores in the afternoon to be better than ours, Amazingly apart from one score of 75, most of the scores were low and we finished up in 4^th place and in the prizes, a pleasant surprise.

Tuesday I was playing with Hannah again at the Davyhulme open, my 2^nd visit there in 5 days, we played with 2 girls from Ellesmere and like Friday we started off the round in the rain. It rained steadily for the first 5 holes and after we had putted through water on the 5^th green, the klaxon went off and the round was suspended. The rain soon stopped and after a delay of a hour we went back onto the course.
We didn't play too badly, however I felt I let the team down on the par 3s were I only scored on 1 hole. We ended up coming 4^th but out of the prizes this time.

Thursday was a medal round at Ellesmere and I thought the conditions ere near perfect form golf. I had a very up and down round but after 15 holes I was playing below my handicap, I had parred 5 holes and birdied the 15^th but I had also had a couple of doubles and a treble bogey. Sadly I double bogied both 16 and 18 to finish with 89 shots less 16 for a nett score of 73.

When the scores were being checked I was informed that I had failed to sign my card and this meant I was disqualified. It was a silly mistake on my part, I needed to put my clubs in the car after the round and I had popped my card in my pocket while I did this, I then remembered it and put it into the box without checking it.

It turned out that I would have finished 2^nd, scoring wasn't as good as   thought it would be and CSS had go up to 74, so happily despite being disqualified I had a small handicap cut and am now back down to 15.

The final round of the week was at Warrington, another really nice course, with great views both over to Manchester and also the Welsh hills and in the far distance, Snowdonia. I played with Hannah and another 2 ladies from Davyhulme. We started really well, had 2 pars and a birdie on the first 4 holes and Hannah had a par and a birdie so we had a great score going. Sadly we couldn't sustain this good scoring but we still played pretty well and finished up with a decent score of 78 points. Scoring was pretty good all round though with 86 points winning but we were only 3 behind the 2^nd place score.

Overall I had a very enjoyable week and played pretty well too, I am still lacking that last little bit of consistency though, especially when faced with 3-4 feet putts, I miss far more than I hole, in fact at one point at Davyhulme on Tuesday I had putts from that distance on five successive holes and I missed the first 4 before finally holing the 5^th.

Thursday's round

Hole 1

My tee shot just ran off the back of the green, chipped to about 10 feet and hole for a par 3

Hole 2

I hit a nice straight drive but then hit down on the ball with my 3 wood and it only went about 60 yds, I hit a nice 9 iron which agan just ran of the green but I chipped to a couple of feet and holed for a bogey 5.

Hole 3

My drive was left and I hit a 6 iron short of the ditch, another 6 iron was pulled left and I had a pitch over a bunker to the hole, I played safe and went for the middle of the green but again overhit the ball, I chipped on and 2 putted for a double bogey 7.

Hole 4

Again I hit my tee shot through the green, I chipped a bit long and 2 putted for a bogey 4.

Hole 5

After a good drive again hit down on the ball with my 3 wood and the ball didn't go very far, I then pulled my 3^rd into a bunker shot of the green I managed to find the green and then hit a long putt to a foot and holed for a double bogey 6.

Hole 6

I hot a good drive and then finally a nice 3 wood to about 50 yds short of the green, my pitch was a little short and left a long birdie putt, I got it close and holed for a par 5.

Hole 7

A decent drive but to the left hand rough, I hit the second to the fringe of the green but did not hit my chip close enough and I had 2 putts for a bogey 5.

Hole 8

A good drive and a nice 3 wood left me a chip to the green but I hit it a bit long and it ran over the bank at the back, I chipped on and 2 putts gave me a bogey 6.

Hole 9

I found the green with a 9 iron and although I left my birdie putt 3 feet short I holed for a par 3.

So 44 shots on the front nine, which was right on my handicap.

Hole 10

I hit my drive a long way to the right but a good 3 wood left my a 30 yard pitch to the green, I over hit it a little and then it a poor chip back, I t hit a poor putt and then missed from 3 feet, so a very poor triple bogey 7.

Hole 11

A decent drive, then an 8 iron which left my a longer shot to the green than would have liked but hit another 8 iron and found the front of the green, a good first putt and a tap n for a par 5.

Hole 12

I hit a nice straight drive that unfortunately ran right through the green to the bank at the back, I chipped on and holed a nice 10 foot putt for a par 3.

Hole 13

A decent drive left a 5 wood to the green, which sadly clipped the top of a bank and finished finished quite a bit short of the green. I chipped on and 2 putts gave my a bogey 5.

Hole 14

I hit a nice teeshot but it was sadly way right of the green behind a bush, I went to hit a low chip in hope of getting close to the green but fortunately I got a nice bounce off a bank and found the green, 2 putts gave me a bogey 4.

Hole 15

I hit a nice drive and then slightly thinned a 3 wood which left a wedge to the green, I hit a nice shot to about 15 feet and hole the putt for a birdie 4.

Hole 16

I hit my drive way right over trees towards the 3^rd fairway I saw some men playing the 3^rd and was worried when on played their shot from close to where I though my ball was, when I got there was pointed to a ball on the fairway but when I check it was not mine, I was right to be worried they guy had played my ball, so I had to wait while he went to retrieve my ball and replace it from where he had hit it. I then tried to hit hit to the right of the green to leave me a reasonable chip but I only found a tree and it bounced back onto the 3^rd fairway, My 3^rd went through the green and I chipped on and 2 putts gave me a double bogey 6.

Hole 17

I hit a lovely drive and then laid up in front of the ditch from where I hit a 3 wood that was straight at the green. As there s a steep bank leading down to the 17^th green I was unsure where I had finished and sadly found that it had gone through the green but fortunately it had finished just short of the stream at the back n longish rough, I chipped to about 10 feet but missed the par putt so a bogey 6.

Hole 18

I thinned my tee shot which hit the bank in front of the green and bounced back down into the stream, I took a penalty drop and then hit a good pitch which finished up just off the back of the green, I chipped to 10 feet and holed the putt for a double bogey 5.

So the poor finish meant 45 shots for the back nine and a total of 89 for the round

Things are getting busy

On Sunday I played in the Dearden Trophy, a mixed 4BBB board event, my partner, Neil, and I gelled very well on the front nine and we finished it with 23 points, sadly we couldn't keep it up but still scored another 18 points on the back nine despite a few holes where we both played poorly. Our total of 41 points ended up being enough for us to finish 3^rd and in the prizes, although we were way behind the winners who had a fantastic 45 points.

We played together again on the Bank Holiday in a friendly “frolics” competition but played poorly.

On Wednesday I went to Penwortham near Preston to play in the Lancashire Ladies Senior Championship, the weather wasn't very good, very windy with squally showers but I was looking forward to the competition. I played with a nice lady from Haigh Hall and got off to a good start with a bogey on the first followed by a par on the 2^nd. The 3^rd hole s a par 3 with a raised green with bunkers at the front and out of bound down the right hand side, it was also playing straight into the wind. I was quite confident when I took out my 7 wood but the ball shot off the toe of the club and straight into the trees and the OOB. I teed up another and promptly stuck it in a deep bunker, four shots later I got it out to the fringe of the green, where I marked it to clear the sand off the ball, oops that is a one shot penalty. In my defence it was hard to tell it was the fringe but its no excuse really as I had done the same thing last year. Two putts followed and I walked of with a 10!

I played quite steadily after that with mostly bogeys but a few pars and a double bogey until we reached the 16^th. I hit my ball a bit too far to the right and it turned out to be 6 inches past the out of bounds posts. I t hen played my provisional ball to the right of the green but when we got there we couldn't find it, so again I played the provisional I had hit and the end result was another 10. I then parred the last two holes.

My total of 96 (net 80) wasn't that bad considering the two 10s and I only finished 4 shots outside the prizes. .

Thursday was the club qualifier for the Peugeot Coronation foursomes, I played with Joanne, and we were very lucky with the weather, managing to avoid the rain most of the round, Joanne putted superbly and we managed to score 40 points, which was more than enough to win the competition. We now qualify to go forward to the regional final which will be held at Crewe Golf Club, with a chance to qualify for the grand final to be held at St Andrews.

Friday was a busy day as The Lancashire Ladies interclub competition clashed with the next round of the Archie Preston and I was due to play in both.

The weather in the morning was horrendous with strong winds and heavy rain when we set off. By coincidence I was paired with Hannah from Davyhulme, who I often play in opens with. I hit the ball well despite the weather but I did struggle around the greens, which were very wet, often with patches of water on them. Unusually for me I only managed on par in the entire round. I finished with 96 shots for a nett 80. The best 3 out of four rounds in each team counted and Ellesmere finished with a total of 234, two of our girls had 75 and 79, which along with my 80 were the best 3 scores. Despite having the worst of the conditions, Davyhulme finished 2^nd and we were 3rd, but as only the first 2 qualify for the final we just missed out, a shame as we did qualify last year.

After a couple of hours break I was off to Ellesmere for our match against Greenmount. I was partnering Neil again and we were receiving 4 shots from Geoff and Sarah the pair we were up against, we started the match one down as that is a rule of the competition.

Details of the match.

Both the men found the green with their tee shots on the first and I putted first and holed my birdie putt from around 25 feet, Sarah unluckily hit the back of the hole but the ball didn't drop, so we won the hole to get back to all square.

We were both on the 2^nd green in 2 shots and Sarah putted first from around 15 feet and holed her putt for a birdie 3, I just missed from 12 feet so went back to one down.

We won the 3^rd when Sarah went out of bound to get back to all square.

 I was short of the green on the 4^th with my tee shot and Neil left the ball on the fringe, Sarah found the back of the green and Geoff putted up a little short. I then holed my putt again from around 25 feet and Sarah missed so we won the hole to go one up.

The fifth and sixth were both halved and then on the 7^th Sarah hit their 2^nd short of the green but I put our 2^nd into the ditch so we had to take a one shot penalty, Neil then found the green about 30 feet from the hole, Geoff chipped on and then I again holed a long putt for an unlikely 5 and Sarah missed her putt so we scrapped a half.

On the 8^th we both hit good drives, Neil's 2^nd was just off the green but Geoff found the rough Sarah knocked the ball out but short of the green and then Geoff chipped on, I chipped to about 3 feet and as we had a shot here, they conceded the hole and we went two up.

Neil hit a lovely tee shot on the 9^th but was too long and found the hazard behind the green, Geoff's ball found the fringe of the green, I took a penalty and chipped to about 8 feet, Neil had the putt for a half but just missed so we went back to one up.

We halved the 10^th and then had a shot on the 11^th, Neil's drive found the trees and so I could only knock the ball 30 yds down the fairway, Geoff was on the fairway and Sarah laid up in front of the ditch. Neil hit our 3^rd left of the green and a little long and I chipped onto the green, Geoff found the bunker and Sarah hit their 4^th to the back fringe from where Geoff chipped into the hole for a par. Neil couldn't hole his par putt but with the stroke we received we halved the hole to stay 1up.

On the 12^th, Sarah found the greenside bunker and I hit my teeshot just short of the green from where Neil repeated Geoff's shot of the previous hole and chipped in for a birdie. Geoff left his ball in the bunker and we were back to 2 up.

Neil found a bunker off the tee on the 12^th whereas Geoff hit the middle of the fairway, I got the ball out but not very far and then Sarah hit a lovely shot to find the green. Neil found the green but I couldn't hole the putt and their par won the hole to take us back to one up.

I hit a poor tee shot on the 12^th but Neil hit a lovely ^pitch to about 10 feet. Sarah was just short of the green and Geoff chipped to about 4 feet, I left my putt short but fortunately Sarah missed her par putt so we stayed 1up.

We had a shot on the 15^th and were unlucky when Neil's 3^rd to the green took a bad bounce and finished on the little bank behind the green, Geoff had found the front of the green with their 3^rd and Sarah hit a lovely putt close enough to be conceded. I chipped on but Neil just missed our par putt so the hole was halved and we were still one up.

On the 16^th Sarah hit a lovely drive, but mine was a little short, signs of the long day taking its toll on me?, Neil's shot was a little low but took a nice bounce and finish about 15 feet away, whereas Geoff found the fringe, Sarah putted the ball dead and my birdie putt just fell away at the end so we halved in pars, still one up.

Geoff found the rough on the 17^th but Neil was right down the middle, Sarah didn't hit a great shot and they were still in the rough and I chipped down in front of the ditch, Geoff's 3^rd was short of the green but Neil hit a great shot, which found the green. Sarah chipped onto the green and then I rolled my putt close enough to be conceded. Geoff had a putt from 15 feet to keep the match alive but he missed and we won the hole and the match by 2&1.

We had been the 3^rd of 7 matches so we waited around the 18^th green while the other matches finished and although most were very close, Ellesmere came out on top and won the match 5-2 to progress to the next round.

It was a very long day for me and I must admit I was shattered by the end of it.

A good week

 

 

Monday saw my first open of season, a team of four at Crompton and Royton, I played there twice last year and I really like the course. It s quite undulating and although not too steep the course s hilly and flat holes are few and far between.

It was a shot gun start and we set off on the 9^th, I was playing with Hannah and 2 other ladies from Davyhulme and we got off to a decent start, I was pleased with how I was playing and seemed to be continuing the decent form form from last week. As it turned out I actually scored better and went round in 84 shots, which was 4 shots under my handicap. We ended up in a 4 way tie for first place but after a card play off we ended up with 3^rd prize.

I cannot praise the organisation of this competition high enough, the shotgun start s a great idea as it means everyone finishes around the same time, and the ladies had provided a lovely tea of sandwiches and hone made cakes, before a brief presentation. Quite often you play in an open and then don;t find out who has won unless you ring the club up later.

Tuesday saw myself and my partner Jackie playing our first round of the Hebblethwaite trophy the clubs doubles knockout. The format is four ball better ball, which means everyone plays their own ball and the the best of the pair is counted. We were played the two girls we had beaten in the semi finals of this knockout last season.

We won the first 2 holes after I started with a par and then a birdie, on the 3^rd hole 3 of us received shots but after a great drive I found the ditch with my second, The girl giving the shots parred the hole and Jackie couldn't match it so we went back to one up. The 4th was halved with pars, and the 5^th was also halved with bogey 5s. Jackie parred the 6^th for another half, then parred the 7^th also for a half. The 8^th was not played great by any of us and we won it with bogey 6 to go 2 up and I parred the 9^th to go 3up.

We lost the 10^th to a par, before I hit my 3^rd shot on the 11^th to 2 feet and holed the putt for a birdie to restore our 3 hole lead, the 12^th was halved when Jackie holed a nice putt for a par and her net par on the 13^th put us 4 up.I hit a lovely tee shot to 10 feet on the 14^th and although I missed my birdie, the par was good enough to win the hole and the match by 5&4.

I was really pleased with my game, and I worked out afterwards that I was only 6 over par after the 14 holes, including a triple bogey on the 3^rd.

Thursday's competition was a stableford and I set off full of confidence, however I failed to score on any of the first 3 holes, I was a little unlucky on the first when my second from a bunker was sat up in the sand and came out to cleanly and the ball flew over the green and finished up behind a tall hedge. On the second me tee shot finished on the edge of a bunker and had to play my second stood n the bunker and followed that by a poor chip that found a bunker. The 3^rd was due to me shanking a 9 iron into deep rough.

After that I picked up and had 6 pars and only one double bogey to finish up with 33 points, which would have just been in my buffer. Sadly for me CSS ended up being reduced by one shot leaving me out sde my buffer and incurring a 0.1 increase, my 10^th increase in a row.

On friday I took a couple of guys of the Golf Monthly Forum around Ellesmere and played really well including a 10 hole spell that I played in level par with a birdie, 8 pars and just one bogey, although I was 9 over for the over 8.

Thursday's round.

Hole 1

I ht a decent tee shot but it held up in the wind and finished n a bunker n front of the green, t was sat up on a bit of raked sand but although I went into the sand the ball sailed out and over the green, leaving with a high hedge between my and the hole, my chip ran through the green, another chip finished 3 feet away but missed the putt, so a 6 and no points.

Hole 2

I hit my drive a little right and it finished just outside a bunker, I? Had to stand in the bunker about a foot below the ball, I hit it ok but pulled it across to the left. I had a bare lie and a bunker to get over and I hit my chip thin and into the bunker. I got it out ok but didn't reach the green, I chipped on but just missed the putt so a triple bogey 7 and no points.

Hole 3

I hit a decent drive and an iron left me a 9 iron from the green but in the rough, the ball shot off at 45 degrees and finished in deep rough I hacked it out then another chip finished just short of the green, I ran the ball onto the green but again just missed from 10 feet for a triple bogey 8 and no points

Hole 4

A decent tee shot finished pin high but off the green, chipped on and just missed the par putt so a bogey 4 and with no shot on this hole 1 point.

Hole 5

I hit a good drive and then a 3 wood left me about 10 yards short of the green, I chipped to 32 feet and holed the putt for a par 4 and 3 points.

Hole 6

A lovely drive but then I topped my 3 wood a little and was left with 60 yards from the flag, I chipped on but the ball didn't run out and I left my birdie putt 5 feet shot but I holed for a par 5 and 3 points

Hole 7

Not a great drive but a 5 wood finished 20 yards wide of the green, my chip just ran off the green but 2 putts gave me a bogey 5 and 2 points.

Hole 8

I hit a good drive but it finished just off the fairway with a clump of grass right behind the ball, I thought I could hit it ok but I could only actually hit the top of the ball and it only went about 30 yards, I hit a good 2 wood which finished 10 yards short of the green, I chipped to 10 feet and holed the putt for a par 5 and 3 points.

Hole 9,

my tee shot finished short and left of the green and on a path, I didn't have a great area to drop in and my chip did not reach the green, I chipped to about 10 feet and 2 putts gave me a double bogey 5 and 1 point.

So after I terrible started I rallied well apart from the 9^th and finished the first 9 with 13 points

Hole 10

I hit a good drive and then a 3 wood which finished n the dip in front of the green, I chipped on and 2 putts gave me a bogey 5 and 2 points.

Hole 11,

a good drive and then a lay up with a 9 iron left me another 9 iron to the green, I hit it well but it only just reached the green leaving me about a 50 foot putt, I judged it great and tapped in for a par 5 and 3 points.

Hole 12

A decent drive finished just off the green, I chipped a little short and 2 putts gave me a bogey 4 and 2 points.

Hole 13

A good drive and a nice 3 wood which held up in the wind and found a bunker, I came out to 6 feet and holed the putt for a par 4 and 3 points

Hole 14

I hit the drive well but way right and it came down in round amidst a lot of trees, I had a gap out and hit it well and it found the green, my par putt just fell away so a bogey and 1 point, no shots here.

Hole 15

A decent drive and a lovely 3 wood left a wedge to the green, I hit it a little too well and the ball found the green but on the upper level. I had a putt down to the lower lever but miss-read the break and finished 3 feet away but missed the putt, so a bogey 6 and 2 points.

Hole 16

A nice drive left a nine iron to the green and I hit it to 15 feet, my birdie putt was just short so a par and 3 points.

Hole 17

I hit a decent drive and then laid up with a 6 iron which was again pulled a little and finished on a slope. My feet were below the ball so I allowed for a hook, I hit a 3 wood well but t stayed straight and I had to chip from right of the green, I hit a nice chip but onto a downhill slope and the ball didn't hold on the green. I chipped to a foot and holed for a bogey 6 and 2 points.

Hole 18

Yet again pulled a 6 iron into the left hand bunker, I came out to the fringe and although I hit the putt short I holed the 2^nd for a bogey 4 and 2 points.

So a really good week and I played very well with the exception of those first 3 holes in the competition.