Golf - Some progress is happening slowly

Play Your Best Golf - Break 90 Vol 1
Jun 02 2010  The last two days have been spent practising and getting a semblance of effective consistency with the driver and irons in my bag. The driver did not require much to improve and get the result I am after. It has been a lot of fun the past couple of months hitting booming drives off the tee. I am not a big hitter of the ball, never had the physical conditioning or swing dynamics to get the long metres off the tee. With that in mind it was my decision to wallow in the ability to drive 250-270 m for a few weeks. It was not a waste of effort, learning to control your drive and deliver the ball as accurately as possible is crucial to improving your handicap. Having never been in the position before and have a reliable drive technique to practise this with has been another distraction in my game of late.

For those of you are not aware, I have been back playing golf a little over a year now. That means there is a long way to go to reach the various stages of lower handicaps. The transition from low 20’s to the teens is where I am at now. Where as previously my handicap had several holes giving two strokes added on to par now it is three (21Hcp). I can play bogey golf and plug along easily enough, it is more enjoyable to grab the moment and see how well I can play and win competitions though. Getting my drive on par 4’s to the 150m marker or closer to the green has been achieved. The accuracy was not there and this week I have corrected the fault in my set up that seems to have been the cause. I was concentrating during setup on the tee in my body alignment. Changing the focus to the club head during set up courtesy of advice from Billy Dunk and Kel Nagle (yes been reading Golf Porn again) has delivered accuracy. Apart from the accuracy, the most noticeable change has been that I am standing a lot closer to the ball on the tee and the club feels more comfortable in my grip not being stretched out so far to reach the ball.



Next up in the improvement list was the irons, been getting too much height and some atrocious pulled and sliced shots of late. This was compounded with the 3 changes in clubs of late. Two of the sets were too short in the shafts, plus being older clubs have more loft than newer models. Having the reshafted clubs available to use again since last Friday has been an improvement in the equipment. The shot execution was still below average until yesterday. The crux of the problem was that for some reason I had started playing the ball closer to my front foot. This resulted in me scooping the ball up and not having the loft of the club doing the work. It was as simple as that, moved the ball back in my stance and the accuracy and distance returned to the iron shots. All of them that is, from 3 iron to Wedge iron, I use all of theses clubs from 170m in to the green.



Proof is in the playing though and this morning I had to rush out early and get 9 holes in to see if the practise had delivered. Early start as it is ladies day and the course is full from 10am onwards. The results were 5 greens hit in regulation, a 42 off the stick, all drives on the fairways and a very enjoyable morning hit. My putting was very ragged, only one birdie but that was not a concern it was the long shots I wanted to see the results from. Past few weeks pitching and putting has been no fun at all as these shots have all been the make or break strokes trying to scrape home bogeys after my erratic drives and fat second shots. No matter what my goals are in golf, having fun and enjoying playing are always the most important ones.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Hit ‘em straight all.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - not all games are fun

Play Your Best Golf - Break 90 Vol 1
May 30 2010  Gotta love the rain when it is blowing sideways into your face on the golf course, well you do when it does not last for too long. A couple of holes had the rain fall down and it is the first time this season that winter conditions had to be played in. Which for our local course that means welcoming the wind off the Southern Ocean. One very surprised golfer here, instead of having my shots blow all over the course I was instead treated to shots going where the aim was. It was amazing to be hitting the ball and not being at the whim of the weather. Do single figure handicappers get the same thrill of a shot going to the spot it was aimed to? I reckon they do it is just not mixed up with the thrill and shock surprise of playing such a sweet shot. On the last hole my second was onto the green in regulation. Hitting into the wind it was the final proof that the reshafted clubs have the right setup.

Even started to get the distances right in club selection across the gamut of all my irons. Particularly the approach irons 8-W, and the feel with the 7 iron in playing pitch and run was spot on. Driver was right on the mark today as well into the wind, with the wind and cross wind nothing went wrong, a little wayward and a few difficult second shots which did not help my score. Speaking of which, I admit to having the most uninspiring competition round ever today. The competition was a Modified Stableford and to be honest a total waste of my time and I found it as interesting as watching grass grow. (which answers to the score of myself and the two others in my group) We did not even bother to tally it up as the round progressed. Put our cards in and let the captain figure it out, the fact that cards were printed up for each player to carry during the round showing how to score in this type of comp. sums up its relevance.



This is how you score in Modified Stableford Nett Albatross (3 under par) = 8 points, Nett Eagle (2 under par) or better = 5 pts. Nett Birdie (1 under par) = 2 pts. Nett Par = 0 pts Nett Bogie (1 over Par) = -1 pt and Nett Double Bogie (2 over par) or worse = -3 pts. I really cannot be bothered having to deal with this sort of scoring in a game. It may be fun and a challenge to match the scores but the size of the field 5 players (Pennants took a lot out and the weather conditions) speaks for the interest in this sort of competition as well. Perhaps I could have been more interested and made the effort to track my score and use it to have a good game focus. But I didn’t and know for a fact that next time this event is in the program I will be a non starter. My final score was -10 the only thing I did do was play out every hole and so a 104 off the stick was my total and two others had the same gross as well. As much as I enjoyed playing some good shots my lack of interest in scoring had me play several half hearted pitches, 5-6 poor second shots that added up to the bad total and I still could not care. In summary of the result and days play “Big deal, never again”. Mind you the group had a great time playing the 18 and had a lot of good laughs. Thankyou for your time and attention, Hit ‘em straight all.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Caddy for championship finalists

May 29 2010  An enjoyable experience being the ‘eyes’ for one of the golfers in the matchplay yesterday. Did make an error in the previous post, the guy who is losing his sight’s handicap was 7 and went out to 12 with the new handicapping system. The glaucoma which is causing the blokes vision to go is gradual and prior to the onset of this his handicap was down to 4. The opponent was a fella who started playing last year as I did and is slowly getting his game together at the minute on 32, being handicap matchplay the 12 handicapper gave him a stroke on every hole plus two strokes on one.
Play your best golf - break 90 Vol 1

I did speak to them both on the first tee explaining that I was there to observe and not to have to bother about including me in the social chatter as the game progressed. It was all convivial for the match as it went anyway, I just wanted to let them know that I understand the gamesmanship that goes on during these matches and did not need to be considered a distraction. On the back nine I did ease myself a little more ‘space’ away from them. The game was getting serious and by the 14th hole I don’t think they even knew I was there.

After 9 holes the low handicapper was 2 down after winning the 9th. The high handicapper is one of the biggest hitters at the club his short game lets him down and his club selection is a failing limiting his options. Tends to hit hard and long without any finesse. Good grief here I am on 21hcp making this observation and I have only recently began realising there is more golf swing speeds besides “FLAT OUT”shots can be shaped deliberately and not flukes that come about when trying to hit straight. Five holes later the score was all square, the 11th to 13th holes are tight and no room for error off the tee and the low handicapper won both 11 and 12, had the chance to go one up on the 13th and missed a short putt to end up halving the hole. A little reaction of disgust in himself steamed out and it was game on from there. Match play in finals adds pressure on players and it can be the mistakes made from club selection to thought that gets the result in the end. This match went to the 18th hole and even with a bad drive and a bad second, third long into the bunker fourth on the green, fifth a lagged putt that stopped short, the higher handicapper sank a sensational putt, 4 metres, down hill over a tiered green to hole out in 6 and still lose to a sensational 5 m lag putt his opponent stopped 4-5 cm from the hole and and par the last.

It was a matter of pressure having a greater effect upon the less experienced player. Some poor club selection in particular choosing a ‘Lob’ Wedge ( I think they are called that? 60 degree loft) around the green and popping the ball up in the air and going forward a metre or two and still off the green. Not once but several times On the other hand the lower handicapper played a game that unless I was there would have been indescribable. Perfect placement to my vision (not to the guy losing his sight) the fact that on our course which is 14 holes, 4 holes are played twice with different tee markers. On the holes played twice his shots were in the same position from drive to second and on the green in regulation. If you reading this are a single figure handicapper that is without doubt what makes the difference among the grade of golfers. ‘SHAPING THE BALL WITH DRAWS AND FADES TO LAND PRETTY MUCH EXACTLY WHERE YOU AIMED’. That is a huge advantage and display of ability and skill from the better golfers. Having several practise swings before playing a shot was exactly the same each time the by the low handicapper and did he release some power in the swing. The totally smooth effortless swing that does not show any sign of effort.

I have a long way to go in getting to 15hcp this season, at least there is no delusion in the effort and improvement that is needed to achieve this. Also the reality of my getting to 15 is by no means certain, although the end of June should give me some indication of how my progress is going. I have now started using the reshafted clubs after the glue curing period ended Friday. I tried really hard to not use them until Saturday but it was like having the keys to the lolly shop and not opening the door to have a peek. The longer shafts have been the exact change needed, the ball now gets the distance that was lacking before. Not an increase in distance but back to my usual club ranges. Also have gained a much better ‘feel’ and touch using the clubs around the green which is vital. The results so far with the new clubs were a 43 with 14 putts Friday and a 94 with 32 putts Saturday having a social practise hit. Tomorrow will be a challenge as my putting is still poor and my accuracy (Long to Mid Irons) is not up to standard. Next lesson with the club pro is going to be on my long and mid irons, he has done a terrific job showing me the way to use a driver also pitching and putting around and on the green. I am a great believer in getting professional coaching to tune up and establish a golf game. It makes a lot of sense and gets results for me. I have listened to other golfers say that lessons have not helped them which is hard to believe. Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all”.Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Results make it worth the effort

Play Your Best Golf - Break 90 Vol 1
May 27 2010 Practising what you preach is a must with golf, words are not going to improve technique and skills, hitting balls correctly is. Got out early to have an 18 hole practise round to see if my deductions were correct in the improvements that would be worked on in coming months. Used the short shaft, Keith Knox blades and finished the front nine with 48 strokes (21 putts). Came home in the back nine with 43 strokes (15 putts). Total 91 strokes and 36 putts for 18 holes, deduct my handicap (21) for a nett 70. There was four 3 putts and a couple of duffed short pitches in the 18 holes. Did not have any warm up hits the first five holes were where most of the putting errors and duffed pitches were made. Before a round, having 20-30 practise hits plus putting warm up is my usual routine. Not to be taken as an excuse, this is the reality of my ability and 21 Hcp.

Moving the ball back in my stance definitely had the effect that was deduced yesterday and is an adjustment to compensate for the short shafts on the Keith Knox irons. A little wallow in the pleasure of using these sticks, delightful and easy in the hands to swing and strike the ball. The shorter shafts will have to be replaced eventually. Today my mind was on the task did hit a couple of fat and thin shots but once the front nine was finished as the score showed came home very well. Hitting greens in regulation and on the last hole was 2cm off getting a birdie to finish. Also left the big driver at home again and used the #3 metal off the tee and fairway again and well to. A great improvement on the disastrous efforts that were why it was taken out of my bag. Very satisfying to play to my handicap today and only taking four days to get some good insight into the practise routine and game plan changes needed to go down in handicap again. Putting and pitching will be concentrated on in the build up to Sundays round and see if I can come in among the winners.



Tomorrow morning I am caddying and walking the course with two of the finalists in the club Handicap matchplay comp. In a testament to the recently introduced handicap system one of the players who has a degenerative eye disease is in with a good chance. He is going blind slowly and has virtually no peripheral vision, under the previous handicap system he was on 11-12 now out to 17-18. He requires his playing partners to watch his ball when it is hit as he cannot see it’s flight in the narrow tunnel his eyesight is reduced to. I am going to do a bit of caddying and mostly be watching the balls for both players. His opponent is a player who is beginning to get consistent with his game. Hits a very long ball and never holds back, in March he won the first round of the Southern Ports Tournament C grade on a day where the wind was a gale blowing balls backwards, sideways and into orbit. Was the second best qualifier in this championship, the number one qualifier was knocked out today 4 and 3, beaten by the player who wiped me off the course. Have a great coming weekend and Hit ‘em straight all.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Practise and new irons to lower the scores

Play Your Best Golf - Break 90 Vol 1
May 26 2010 Returned home after four days on the travelling and partying circuit. Good to get away have a play in the nighttime and socialise while doing a little business at the same time. No golf in the trip aside from picking up the latest addition to my club collection. Very happy to have a set of Keith Knox R700 blades circa late 1970’s (I will guess). New grips on them and although a little short in length have been a delight to use the last three days. Have been hitting the ball very sweet and the smaller heads on the irons are “light as a feather”. I have also reshafted the set of late 80’s irons and they will be ready friday/saturday for a hit. The longer shafts will be a good correction for my accuracy and distance consistency.

The progress in the past months has been very gradual in my game. In essence it is a matter of relearning a lot of the basics again and coming to grips with the requirements of playing to a lower handicap. It has been most surprising to notice the difference in my own ability to play shots, the improvement is a little disconcerting, now it is a matter of not expecting slices and hooks to happen. The ball flying straight and true is a delight to experience off my clubs. There is several specific improvements which have been establishing themselves in my game of late. Now I can identify them and accept as permanent aspects of my game for now and not the occasional fluke that I used to try to have repeat.



First is the drives off the tee, after the lessons in January 2010 the club pro put me on the right track with my swing plane. Since then the hours of practise have delivered better results than I even considered possible. First off the Driver a King Cobra S9.1- 9.5 degree has been a revelation from my first ever swings with it. I have never been a big hitter of the ball on or off the tee. Even though in 2009, I used the 3 iron off the tee choosing accurate and controlled hitting of the ball with as few errors as possible in preference to “no Idea” ball clubbing with Drivers. The past two weeks my distance off the tee is 220-250 metres with the driver. Accuracy is average and nothing that some dedicated practise and set up routine cannot improve and establish. This morning I left the Cobra and took a No 3 metal, a club that I was very erratic with previously. Nine holes later no bad drives, 200-220 m average and some amazing hits that were shaped with draws and fades as well had me gob smacked. Irons were a bit ragged to begin, the last 5 holes began to get the set up with the shorter shafted irons figured out. Simply a matter of having the ball a little further behind the front foot solved the over hitting errors. Ended up hitting the last green in regulation and one putt for a birdie. Drive #3 Metal 220m, 5 iron 150m and Putter 1.5-2m in the hole. Speaking of the putter the PGF model 705 is perfect, took a while to track one down and was well worth the effort. Pitching/chipping is a little scrappy at the minute, nothing that some practice will not address and improve either.



The simple program is the same as it was when starting out. hitting buckets of balls with all my clubs. Not forgetting the same with Pitching, chipping and putting. The difference this time is that the hitting will be a lot more measured and directed to hitting targets for all clubs.



Having seen friends make the move from low twenties handicaps to teens has made it easier for me. All of the work put into getting my swing and actions working well does not end it is still a matter of “hitting balls” to improve. It has been frustrating as my brain has been figuring out what I need to do next. Sitting here at the minute knowing the steps required in my program, it is so obvious all along what I had to do, yet it did not click until this morning. The past two weeks in particular built up

my awareness of the transition coming. Lately some of the balls hit have been perfect and then the shots have been repeated with following strokes. A bit of revelling and wallowing in this delight has happened. Then there have been the blow out holes which when on 25-22 Hcp are a lot easier to recover from. With a 22 handicap a golfer can have 4 double bogies among a round of bogies, pars and birdies, that is a handy number of strokes to have in hand during a round. The trial with the blades and other irons has not helped in my results of late. That time has past now and the consistency will return. With the new handicapping system it is going to take a little longer to drop strokes even so 18 is the target by the end of July 2010. Thankyou for your time and attention.

Hit ‘em straight all.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - A lot has changed in 12 months

Play Your Best Golf - Break 90 Vol 1
19th May 2010 Golf is a game that is for many people one of the very few things they willingly initiate and accept change in. You have most likely experienced this yourself and even at this given time the reaction to the new handicapping is still resonating. The year seems to be flying along and this morning while browsing backposts up came my initial entry in the ISeekGolf.com Player Description, March 13 2010. I am editing it here now and putting the changes in brackets.

First name: Geoff

Height: 180 cm (looks like my growth spurts are over)

Weight: 103 kg (105kg stopped smoking 3 months ago and been snacking a bit too much)

Location: Limestone Coast

Years Playing: Started playing seriously again in 2009

Righty or Lefty?: Righty

Home Course: Robe

What’s in the Bag?: Driver – King Cobra S 9.1

Irons – Shark XLT 3-SW, Dunlop Putter (2 x Hybrids MaxiFli 16deg. & TopFlite 18deg. )(Irons Ben Hogan power thruster blades and ProSimmon “Ping Karstens 1980’s” lookalikes, Sliver Scot 60deg. L/W)(PGA Model 705 BAT Putter)

Handicap: 22 (21)

Handicap Goal for 2010: 15

Strengths: Consistent

Weaknesses: Concentration lapses (been a little less practise than in 2009)

Your Typical Pre-Round Routine: 30 min driver, irons warm up, 30 min Pitching, putting. Stretches, Sacrifice chicken.

Your Golf Attire (usually): Neat casual

Club Distances: Varies Summer or Winter (Driver 220m-250m)(Irons 150m usually a 5 iron, since using the older clubs distance is less because the club lofts are greater)

Your Usual Ballflight: Straight, slight fade on occasional long irons (Straight and a draw on Driver and irons now)

Have You Played Competitively? Yes, golf is a sport and I like to win as well as improve my game :) Where? Every home club comp, Various club Opens When?: Whenever I can.

Pick The Ball Cleanly, or Divot?: Cleanly (starting to take divots now and working on this with the blades)

Blades or Cavity Backs?: Cavity backs (BLADES)

Links or Tree Lined?: Tree lined

Range Rat or Gain Experience By Playing? Both

What Time of Day Do You Prefer Playing? Any time

Do You Get First Tee Jitters? No

Your Overused Golf Sayings: “I’m happy with that”, “Bugger” and of course “F#@K”

Quiet Player or Loud?: Quiet

Walk or Golf Cart?: walk

Favourite Golf Quotes: “At least it went forward”

Highest / lowest / current handicaps:36/22/22 (36/21/21)

Best golfing memory: Winning Club Handicap Championship 2009 (Second place Southern Ports Tournament (3 rounds) “C” grade



Even though my height has not changed of late there has definitely been a few times that I have felt taller of late. This has a lot to do with some excersises and physio therapy that has been done since April. Well worth the effort. Damn it have got a bit fatter of late, not smoking is a poor excuse I gave up in the 1980’s and lost 10-15 kg then. A bit of lazy b@st@rd attitude is a better reason for this and having and extended holiday of sorts since the end of February.



My equipment has had a total make over, the Cavity backs are gone from the bag after giving good service since June 2009. In the last two weeks an old set of Prosimmons “ping” Karstens lookalikes has been purchased and used together with a set of mostly Ben Hogan Power Thruster blades. This week end a set of Keith Knox blades will be picked up for the bag. Also with the set of Prosimmons came a PGA putter which feels perfect in my hands and a Silver Scot 60* L/W. Purchased a set of new Presto irons, with True Temper firm shafts (half inch longer) for use in reshafting the Prosimmons. Oddly I have another set of 1980’s irons and they too are short shafts.



The move to blades has been coming for a while and I could have by passed getting the Ping lookalike set, my original set in the 1980’s were like these and it is a feeling of familiarity and they do have assistive Toe-Heel balance and weighting that is a benefit for my current ability. Using the blades already is part of my transition to this style of club. It is a purely personal trait to do this in my chosen manner. Starting with the older blades is a deliberate choice to give me a benchmark in comparing what is available in the market now. I would like to stress that the Cavity back SHARK XT irons were fine and the over size head and assistive club design did help a lot. The last few months though it has became a feature of my game where the assistive attributes of the irons were a hindrance and played me into trouble. Since moving to the mix of blades I have noticed improved accuracy and in particular ‘feel’ around the greens when pitching and chipping. Cavity backs do not pass on the direct feel from the ball hitting the club, for those who have never hit anything but Game improvement clubs ask anyone who hits blades what a mishit feels like! Hitting a ball sweet is a delight, a mishit is like an electric shock and being hit with sledge hammer in unison. The feel and touch around the greens with blades is a joy for me and is totally energising to my game enjoyment.



Equipment is part of the development. Golfers in general are very open about their progress over the years and being a good listener it has been valuable assistance. Perhaps you have been through the transition of Breaking 90 for the first time or from low 20’s to the teens, low teen’s to single figure handicap. Golf is a game of stages for each individual and it has been a revelation to become aware of what is needed to be done for me to go the next step. When on 23+ hcp blowing out 1 to 3 holes a round was a lot easier to recover from. The past 4-6 weeks has been a mixture of getting the equipment and taking action to change the game I have been playing to suit a lower handicap.



One of the benefits of how the playing groups are made up at my home club is they are random. Having played with virtually every member in every grade, socially the club is easy to mingle at. Being a good listener there is all the information needed passed around among players. Some are eloquent others terse in golf chatter. Yet from among them all I have garnered the experience of various journeys down and up in handicaps. Just as I am sure that you reading this have had the gamut of experiences in reaching certain levels of playing ability.



Can you recall the first time you realised that having reached the mid to low twenties that it was a begining all over again to get to the teens?

Thankyou for your time and attention Hit ‘em straight all.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Consistently making the wrong shot not the right one

Play Your Best Golf - Break 90 Vol 1

17th May 2010 Maintaining my consistent efforts in competition is becoming a bad habit at the minute. Once again a blow out on one hole (11th) and an Out of bounds on the last hole after having played myself back to one over my handicap was a disappointing end to a great day on the course. Irritated at myself and playing the drive that went OB when I should have walked away from the tee due to outside noise distraction. At the time I was on a roll hitting the ball well and totally on my game, set myself for the drive, focussed on finishing even with my handicap for the 18. Then it started, the squeaking wheels of a buggy on the next fairway. It was a crescendo of screeching squeaks and I still played my shot when common sense dictated walking away from the tee until the noise stopped. No matter it shows that my mental attitude is still not right in competition and I can wear that more improvement is needed.




Played with a totally new club configuration in the bag; Cobra driver and the two rescue clubs then my Irons #3, #9, PW SW were all the Ping Karsten style irons, #4,#5,#6,#7,#8, were all Ben Hogan Power Thruster blades The cavity Back SHARK XLT’s which have done a sterling job as my club since June 2009 are being replaced. First it will be with the PING lookalike, after I have changed the shafts this week to longer ones, same as are in the Sharks. Not as forgiving and as with older clubs the loft is higher than current clubs, due to manufacturers decreasing club lofts in recent years. This did cause a few problems with under clubbing on Sunday, my short game was a little off a few times so making two putts max on all the greens was earnt on the day. Finished with a total of 32 putts out of a Gross 94 and nett 73 not the best of rounds but given the changes to my game and equipment at the minute I am still on track to reach the mid teens in my handicap this year.



Be seeing the club pro for lessons soon, his coaching with the use of the driver, and my short game + putting has been crucial to my current game. Now it is time to work on my long and mid distance irons. I am an average player and not over stated in my real ability to be able to pick up and rectify my errors. The club pro does a great job for me in this aspect, my game would be stagnant if I did not take the lessons.

Hit ‘em straight at.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - New clubs, Blades or Cavity backs?

Play Your Best Golf - Break 90 Vol 1
15th May 2010

From Left (low) to Right (highest) in the pic are my irons from;


2010 – Ben Hogan 1960’s Blade, 2010 Unknown Circa 1980’s cavity back, 2009 Shark XLT Cavity back, 1986 YGF Cavity back



“Come to the Dark Side, Luke”… Use Blades.

In my time of playing golf one phrase has been regularly given to me as a comment and advice. “Don’t use blades!” Being one of those fortunate people who became serious about golf in the 1980’s the club choices available have grown markedly. It’s worth remembering, however, that until Ping made a huge impact on the golf equipment scene ALL irons were “blades”. The greats of yesteryear all improved and perfected their game on thin, small sweet spot irons that offered feel yet little forgiveness.

It’s only in relatively recent years that the industry as a whole has poured money into research and marketing to establish cavity back or improvement irons as “the” clubs for anyone who isn’t approaching a scratch score sheet. Being told; “I cannot….” plants a seed in my mind to one day have a go at something I can’t do. To make a short story long (again!) when I became a casual golfer during the 90’s the playing evolution of my golf stopped. In the build up to this my thoughts were becoming serious about trying blades. This time in the space of less than a year at the minute I have gone back to the future. First step was buying a set of new cavity backs, because the club style I wanted were no longer available. The Shark XLT’s were a bit better than the Dunlop Pro Tour set I used for the first month of playing. No great difference in effect, a little more “forgiving” definitely. This became a problem in the end, all to often I would mishit an approach shot from 130-150 m and out with 7 to 4 irons and the ‘forgiving’ aspect of the club would correct the error to carry the ball the distance but the accuracy was anywhere from 20 to 40 m left or right of the target. In my estimation ten of the holes at my club course with that error margin on long iron approaches end up with lost balls or unplayable lies. Not blaming the tools totally, the fella hitting the ball is the person who caused the mishit to happen.

Having gone from a 32 Hcp to 21 Hcp with the Shark XLT’s the frustration was that some of my developing shot playing skill was affected by the ‘forgiveness’ of the club interfering. It is now a week since the second set of clubs I purchased arrived and I have already broken 90 with them, and played myself into some good touch. Seeing as they are 3 cm shorter and 20 + years older than the Shark clubs that was an impressive result. It has proved that the less forgiving club, which when mishit, jars my hands and shoulders still sends the ball forward but not flying into trouble. Going a step further with the revamping of my clubs, an old set of blades near 40 years old off ebay has now joined the mix in my bag.

Just as some manufacturers, Titelist is one that has produced composite sets where the cavity back long irons have gradual progress to ‘muscle back’ (blades) with the short irons. I am certain that the cavity back iron has taken my game to the level it has reached and been a great benefit. I am just as certain that in the near future I will be playing with 100% of my irons being ‘blades’ or musclebacks as the term is applied. all of the nay saying about blades has been a total furphy, and in some cases been based upon arrogance not real appraisal of my ability. I do not feel as though the Dark side has lured me into the Star War of Golf Technology. yet It has been apparent through personal experience and research that the battle of the iron’s does exist among golfers.

The following is from “Blade Irons Vs Cavity Back Or Improvement Irons” @  Blade-Irons-Vs-Cavity-Back-Irons

“The crux of the debate lies in the following:

Cavity backs offer a large sweet spot which makes contact will the ball easier and as a consequence will “correct” slightly misaligned shots. This is called “forgiveness” and it is what these clubs are famous for and have been marketed as providing. The bottom line is that they make it easier for you to hit the ball straighter and with distance more consistently – they are assistive.

In contrast, blade irons provide a much truer reflection of your actual swing on any one shot. For example, if the club face is slightly misaligned on impact then this misalignment will be apparent in the trajectory, distance and direction of the golf ball after contact.

So – cavity backs are the obvious winner you might say as they will enable me to hit the ball straighter and further more consistently?

This is both true and not true.

While cavity backs are easier to hit and will result in a quicker level of consistency they do encompass two flaws which depending on your own aims for your golf game and your playing habits you may or may not want to have to accomodate.

The first of these is that because they are corrective in nature faults in your swing can be masked (ie hidden from you). Therefore, while you may make faster progress in the short term you are also likely to plateau more quickly as unlike blades they don’t force you to make a rigourous inspection and analysis of your swing. Many players consequently find that when they then decide to switch to blades after using improvement clubs for a lengthy period that there game falls to pieces as swing faults that were once hidden become instantly magnified. The consequence – a loss of confidence and an increase in scores. This experience by golfers is often the source of most negative comments about blades. “It’s the clubs they say”, when in fact it is very much their own swing.

The second and critical flaw if your making real in-roads into the game is that the short cavity back irons which are critical in your approach to the green are lacking in feel and shot-making capabilities. It’s your short game where the nuances of golf really come to life. A little more here, a little less there – that’s what your looking to perfect on your way into the green and the clunky nature of the over-sized improvement iron club heads make such control difficult.”

Thankyou for your time and attention, hit ‘em straight all.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Eliminated from Handicap championship

Play Your Best Golf - Break 90 Vol 1
May 07 2010  Played my Elimination final yesterday morning and came off second best. Was an excellent game played in good spirits which is always a bit of a challenge to start with, the social side of the game is not high on the agenda in matchplay. Was well beaten with a 5/4 result after 14 holes, yet did not feel disgraced. My opponent played some sensational golf hitting the greens in regulation, my opportunities on the 1st, 4th, 8th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th were all missed, no particular fault caused the result, a few bad putts, couple of ‘fat hit’ seconds to the green, and a couple of pitches that did not get close enough to the hole. I drove of the tee well, hitting fairways, the rest of my game was untidy and some poorly executed shots especially seconds, when I had my opponent under pressure cost me dearly in the end.




Was a bit concerned that I would be a “bad sport” in losing, My competitive nature is one thing, speaking what I am thinking might have me belt out something better off not said. Not a problem for most people, in my case though an important part of my career is based on saying the first thing that comes into my head. Now know that I am not a “bad sport”, bugger, would have prefered not to have found out though.



Having benefited in matchplay games before when my opponent was the one whose game was ‘off’ on that day. It is still a surprise to look back at the round and the 7 holes that I let myself down on to such effect. One member at our club goes so far as stating, “he has never been beaten by an opponent in matchplay.” alluding to the reasoning he made some errors and was not outplayed. This is total rubbish, good manners has me hold my tongue in this and I do not ever want to be that full of myself to say the same about any game I play. That is so damn rude to the winners ability to outplay the loser.



My last month of golf has been full of this erratic play, and to be on the receiving end of a couple of shots the opponent pulled out their ar*e this time, shows that golf is the great leveller. Phil Michelson did the same at the Masters this year from off the fairway and won, and at the level we play at the same shots happen. We are more surprised when they do, more luck than practise and skill for us club golfers in those ‘miracle’ shots.



Not at all disheartened with continuing to play as much golf as possible. Like any golfer awareness of other players is more than just keeping score during a round. The demeanour and attitude of other players is a part of the game that is often discussed around a club. Again something that is not a great concern and although warranted for some players when action has to be taken. Often I think it is just pissant bitching that is pathetic if the people saying it don’t have the guts to say it to someone else’s face. It has been refreshing to lose this time, and get benefits for my own game and character. Would much rather be a gracious winner than a good loser though, BUGGER! Thankyou for your time and attention. Hit ‘em straight all

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Putting practise tool

Play Your Best Golf - Break 90 Vol 1
Can’t go past a few days away from home to refresh the mind and body, first break in a couple of weeks from working and did the world of good. Looked forward to getting back on the course and hitting a few balls around as well. The final 16 has been split into two groups of 8 for the Handicap matchplay elimination rounds. My group is headed by the best qualifier and apart from two players on 10 and 11 the other six are on 20-25 hcps. So far two of the matches have been decided the player on 10 hcp lost to a 21 handicapper 4/3 and the top qualifier (25hcp) won his first match 2/1 against a 20 Hcp player.




Playing my match tomorrow or the day after, drawn against a guy I have played with the past two weeks and giving him a stroke on 3 holes our respective handicaps are 21 (mine) and 24 (his). Will be an interesting match as there has not been much between us although I have been better over 18 holes in the final scoring of the past rounds. The match play index is different to the weekly competition playing index but not too much difference Number 1 M/play is the No. 2 Stroke play indexed hole, Number 2 M/play is No. 9 S/play and Number 3 M/play is the No. 4 Stroke play indexed hole. Must admit that I am fairly indifferent to the possible if any effect this can have on the outcome. Confident that I can win and have been fine tuning my putting and pitching that past week. My pitching has been a positive in my game of late getting within one put range. My putting has been in the doldrums though, not devastating in effect on my usual game but not at the level required to win matchplay and put pressure on opponents.



I had some putting coaching in February which improved my technique and accuracy. The club professional used this tool that is simply a metal tube which has two 20 cm pins at each end that stick into the green. Then it is a matter of putting balls with the club shaft running back and forth along the tube. It makes is easy to concentrate on the movement technique without concern about the club movement. During my trip away a visit to a hardware store ended up with me getting some towel railing and a couple of long tent pegs that have since been put together and I have my own putting tool for practise with now. This has been put to good use and the benefits are very noticeable already.



Have been concentrating on using the Driver to better effect in practise and that has made me reconsider the decision to use it less often. It has taken a bit of work to improve but again it was simply a matter of technique on the tee. Not being the best of golfers and only enthusiastic about improving my game, it takes me a while to identify my various faults and correct them one at a time. Presumably you have heard the words “see a professional” often enough when asking for assistance with your own game. That is not always possible, in fact we have only had a resident club pro for the past two years. In my own example though I have had coaching on three parts of my game, Driver, pitching and putting. Without doubt this has been well worth it and together with my filming of my stroke play keeps my game consistent and is money well worth spending. Thankyou for your time and attention. “Hit ‘em straight all”.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Handicap Championships

Play Your Best Golf - Break 90 Vol 1
1st May 2010 Arrived back home late last night after a 3 day break in Adelaide. Headed out early this morning top have a swing and played 9 holes a little ragged on the pitching and putting touch as was expected the driver and fairway shots were okay. Headed in to see the finals draw for the Handicap Championships ended up in 8th position out of 16 and playing the same guy I have played the last two rounds at the club with! Will be a great game of match play, I will be giving him a stroke on 3 holes as I am on a 21 hcp and he is on 24. Happy with the group of 8 I am in as well, it includes the 3 guys I beat in last years Hcp Championship and the other 4 are all on 20-25 hcps. Will be putting in some fine tuning for the rest of today on my game in case my opponent wants to play the elimination match tomorrow, get my putter and picthing wedge sharpened up as I will need to be at my best possible to win the match. Hit ‘em straight all
Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Anzac Day and the sun was shining!!!

Play Your Best Golf - Break 90 Vol 1
26th April 2010. Anzac Day was a surprise with a soaking of rain in the early hours of the morning to end up with a day of sunshine and a slight breeze for the Monthly Medal and second round of qualifying for the handicap Championships. Went out for a warmup hit with the Driver and hybrids a couple of hours before play. Used the shorter range area and managed to get the hybrids into a reasonable spread. The Driver was something different on this short range (220 m) for the first time. Reigned in the stroke power and put in a definite effort and received a satisfying draw and accuracy that has not been a consistent part of my game off the tee. Will be definitely taking the driver out on the short range regularly in the future, the range results were not in my game on the course that afternoon. Mostly because I tend to hit a bit harder in competition and took the strategy choice of not changing my game after one experience a couple of hours before hit off.




Had an acceptable preparation for Sunday starting to get improvement with the putter and pitching around the green since adding the Sand Wedge from my first set as a lob wedge has been returning great results. Played in the Club Chicken run 9 hole Friday comp and came second with 18 stableford points, 46 gross/14 putts in the rain. Had 4 bad drives that made it impossible to hit those greens in regulation and 2 bad seconds in the 9 holes. Broke a stick for the first time on the course, one of the bad drives had me off the fairway amongst some native currant bushes. Could have played out side ways 20 metres to the fairway, yet knew I was close to squaring up with the guy in our group who was leading, he won Friday beating me by 1 stableford point. Had a few practise swings and was confident I could go forward and over the trees in front and if I hit it sharp enough carry to the green with an 8 iron. Gave the shot my best effort and pulled the follow through after striking it and the ball flew straight and true but short, and the club felt out of balance in my hands. Looked down to see the shaft bent and creased in the middle about 75 degrees. managed to finish the hole with a bogey and even now three days later say I would still play the same shot that broke the shaft. Fortunately I had my old 8 iron to fill in the gap in the bag for Sunday. It was okay to use on the day, it is 4-5 cm shorter than my broken 8 iron and 20 years older so I struggled for some distance and pulled a couple of approach shots that should have hit the green from 120 m.



Was partnered with the guy who won on Friday and for the first time I can recall was the lowest handicapper in the group, by 4 strokes. Have come to the realisation that I am getting antsy on competition days. Was irritated with the crowd of social golfers playing in between the competition groups and the racket coming from the area alongside the first tee from players talking. One of my pet hates is pedantic people, those that demand everything to be perfect and expect it to be some one else who makes things perfect. I can wear the etiquette breaches and generally they do not bother me, having played with pedantic golfers who seem to have a new complaint every hole, becoming a hypocrite and joining their ranks would be the last straw and I would quit playing before that. Makes a lot more sense to look at my composure and attitude on the tee that needs adjustment instead of passing the responsibility off to others. Had a bit of misfortune on the first and my drive clipped a tree branch as it came down and went 10 m to the right to be out by 30 cm, bugger. hit my second with the provisional fat and 20 m forward, then started to get my game in order after that, two putting the green hurt though and ended up with a 9 on the par 5 first hole.



Just could not get the putter working for the first 5 holes 2 putts on all of them from one putt range in my opinion. The whole 18 holes I did not hit one green in regulation yet after 13 holes was back to square on the card with my handicap. The old Sand Wedge was lobbing the ball inside a metre from the hole, the one putts were coming and par scores help every time on a 21 handicap in competition. Five holes to go and I was ready to make a charge and break my handicap. The 9 on the par three 14th sunk my charge. It is not an easy hole 151 m from a tee 20-30 m above the green, native bush to the right and a water hazard to the left. Hitting into the wind down to totally still green in a gully, set myself up wrong on the tee and did not take the practise swing, overconfidence and aggression had me pay the price of two lost balls.



Finished the round with a gross 97, for nett 76(21hcp) and 28 putts. Same nett score as the previous qualifying round in much worse windy conditions and a 22 hcp. In the previous round I made my a similar error on the 15th that stopped my charge for a good score. Time to put some thought into my demeanour during rounds, I am still going to play aggressive golf it is enjoyable. My error is in my sticking to the set up routine that gets me into position instead of letting the attitude of attack replace tried and proven technique. The real pain is that I have dropped from 7th qualifier to 8th or 9th instead of getting up the rankings. Not concerned about who I am going to play in the first elimination, match play is a forte of mine and it will be close and tight. Taking into account my last few rounds I am blowing two holes a round and that is nothing in matchplay where it is the hole score that wins not the final round total. Back to the driving range this week and doing strength/stamina gym excercise, have stopped this the past few weeks and made some errors that were related to fitness over the last few holes. Hit ‘em straight all.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - it never happens overnight patience is a virtue...

April 19th 2010 Worked on my swing after the problems in March were noted and the changes are not huge but a major step towards getting close to the correct technque. Long ways to go in adjusting to the new body movement freedom and getting acustomed to it. Feels strange to say the least.




Finished the week off with social rounds on Thursday (18holes) Friday (9) and Saturday (18) for the respective gross scores of 87/29 putts, 47/16putts and 91/34putts. The old putter is back in service and it will not take much longer to get the ‘feel’ and touch on the greens improving. It had better as the 2nd Qualifying round is on this coming weekend 25th April. Even though my last score should have me qualifying (currently sitting 7th out of the 16, 7 strokes off top qualifier and 4 strokes from 2 and 3). I would prefer to have a score closer to my handicap at least to feel comfortable. After last weeks 6 days of playing I have began to get some fitness and form As effective the hitting of balls on the range helps refine and improve technique and consistency, playing on the course is still the final conditioner. Had Sunday off it was an Ambrose comp. and there was not much energy left in my tank to play another 18 holes, having achieved what I wanted the rest was better.



It is another case of back to the future, almost a year since I started playing and the same practise routine that worked well then is still as effective. My technique and consistency has improved having gone from 32 to 21 in handicaps stakes explains that. Dropping the next 5 strokes will be another challenge. A major bonus has been the improved physical fitness and the additional repair of some existing injuries which did cause discomfort during some rounds and make it impossible to play several times as well. The past month has been a time of dedicated physio therapy that is returning better flexibility and movement in the lower back which is pretty much the last area that needs to be tuned up. This will be an ongoing part of my golf regime in 2010 and will eventually make it possible to complete a swing close to the technically correct manner.



The best round on Thursday was assisted with being joined on the last four holes by one of the club pennants team who was out having some practise. We have played several times socially during matchplay preparations. Given he is a single figure (9) golfer I actually beat him in one 18 hole matchplay practise off the stick in 2009. It was not me playing brilliant golf, he had several wayward shots and I came out one shot better with an 85. This time we played the 4 hole off the stick and I beat him 2up. At the time my mind was focussed on breaking 90 with 4 holes to go when we met up and this added component definitely lifted my game. Without doubt you can include me in the category of golfers who believe match play definitely improves my game play. The two things I noticed during those holes compared to the previous 14 was my concentration and preparing to play shots was much better and I putt with a more confident, direct, attack on the hole.



The last 24 hours has delivered a good soaking of rain here and whilst last week was clear and sunny with a little breeze, winter is beginning to effect the course now. The most noticeable difference is the shorter ball flight through the air, you have to put a bit of power into drives to get flight distance. The ball on fairway’s run has been gradually decreasing, fortunately for me the improved technique and using a driver will still get me 210-220 metres off the tee this winter. A big improvement on the 170-180 m I played with last season using the 3 iron off the tee. Thankyou for your time and attention, hit ‘em straight all.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - injury rehab get the experts advice don't play doctor yourself...

April 15th 2010. The new handicapping system had a few surprised faces among the golfers on Sunday. Several had gone out 3-4 strokes and after the Stableford competition actually had smiles on their faces, having played at or just under their new handicap for the first time in months. The most disapointed golfer was of all things the club handicapper who has busted a gut over the past months getting his handicap down and he went out three strokes! He has kept his good humour about it and it is only the effect upon having reached goals set for himself and then having the achievement taken away that stung a bit.


For me I ended up dropping only one stroke, my scores over the past 3 weeks have not been good enough and the lower scores in my last twenty were all at the end of 2009 when in good form during the lead up to the Club Handicap championships. Not that it made much difference the last fortnight has had me laid up twice for two day periods with back spasms from the effects of the excercise routine from my doctor to strengthen the damaged lower back I have. This is all good in effect that this week I have had a remarkable return of flexibility and the stiffness is gone. The next four weeks will build upon this, and personally it just feels great to be able to have full movement again after so long.

The game was a struggle for me as I fronted up after Friday and Saturday being restrained to minimal movement between the lounge and bed with the back spasms. Even so it was good to get out and walk without to much discomfort, albeit very gingerly. Returning the result of 27 points given the events leading up to the round was no surprise. Even though I am an optimist there was times when it was bloody hard to see anything good about some shots. Putting was atrocious, pitching had so many where they were mis-hit and the longer shots really were a strain to play. Yet I had some great returns hitting greens in regulation, and drives that were on the fairway and long as well. The fact was I could actually move my body similar to how most players swing, it felt very strange after so many years of being restricted in the movements. Have done another video of my swing since the one at the end of March and it was great to see the front foot staying on the ground and the back foot and leg actually rotate on the follow through. Nowhere near as fluid and smooth as most golfers hahah it almost looks like an after thought in my swing because my body is surprised it can actually do this :)

Monday morning a visit to the doctor to get flu shots and get confirmation the discomfort and back spasms were actually a good thing resulting from the excercise routine. They are and here I am on Thursday and am totally relaxed and no vestige of stiffness. Went out and played 9 holes after seeing the doctor, Monday for a gross 47, Tuesday 18 holes for a gross 92 (38 putts) Wednesday 9 holes a gross 48 with 18 putts! The upshot of the last few rounds is that the new putter (mallet style) as good as it feels will be taken out only for practise and the one I have used for the past 10 months will be used in competition. Nothing wrong with the new putter it is just that I am more adept with the original one in getting accuracy and distance. To have finally managed to get lower that 30 putts a round was a big achievement for me over the past months and Tuesday I felt gutted with the 38 putt round. I hit 7 greens in regulation, not a single birdie! 5x three putts and 3x two putts that should not have happened. Back to playing as I did last year again for a couple of reasons, stacked on 5 kg in the past few weeks and playing every day last year did me the world of good when I first started. If it works why stop doing it because you think that fiddling with it is better that leaving it alone. Thankyou for your time and attention. Hit ‘em straight all

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Strategy and another injury flare up...

April 9th 2010. Bugger again!!! Getting organised to go for a practise on the range after having a decent hit yesterday playing 14 social holes and getting some rythym and feel for my improved swing. Moving the body correctly developing a very consistent draw with the hybrids and longer irons. 8 – PW nice and straight into the greens from 120 metres out. Have even started to get the new putter on track, have got myself a mallett style putter similar styl to the Odesssy 2 ball. it is more sensitive with the ball striking and direction and the preciseness of this appeals to me. Will still use the Dunlop Vista 4 putter, I am very accurate with this in fact. The only major difference with the mallet putter is getting the distance on long putts 8m plus. Tucking my elbows in today has improved this.




Made a strategy desicion as well today am going to shelve the Cobra Driver for a couple of weeks until I can get its back into a good accuracy rate around 85-90% fairways again. Concentrate on irons only as I did very successfully last season but with the addition of the 16 and 18 degree hybrids will be better and put in a good defence of my Handicap Club Championship from 2009.



Yes back where I began, another flaming back spasm mid morning!! two in 10 days and mightly irritated. Painfull but temporary a day laid up and recomended treatment ice and walking does the job. Not a major concern I have had much worse pain and again it is another MVA related matter. even so it is a good thing. This is the last of my many injuries to be got back into good condition and the flare up is caused by the excersises being don to strengthen the area. In 4-5 months I should be back to better than I have for a very long time.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - First Edwards Trophy round, at Blue Lake Golf Course

April 6th 2010. Been a couple of days since the trip to the BLUE LAKE golf course and playing in the Edwards Trophy round. Not the best I could do with a 46 on the front 9 and a 53 on the back 9 for a nett 76. Ended up 6 over and the back 9 obviously was my downfall. Two totally different 9’s for those that have never played there the front 9 is on the flat and the back 9 is up among the tree line on the heights. Bugger the course changing and me not switching on to the need to alter my game. had three, 3 putts and a couple of fat seconds on the fairways and there is 5 shots that should not have happened and added extras to my score. Hence, I am not too gutted by the result and being the first time I have been there it was a battle without being familiar where the greens were and best way to approach them. also the greens were a challenge a little more pace, that I had no problem with. A lot more borrow on the greens and that really did make putting a challenge for me, with only 3 cock ups out of 18 greens was not to disapointed. Did not have the usual confidence to play short pitches onto the greens as I do on my home course the ball would not sit for me. Should have played at least 4 more pitches onto greens instead of playing the putter from the surrounds in retrospect that was a strategic error I made in the round that cost me in the end. Not to make excuses and to give a bit more facts to why I was not too disappointed with the result was that during the week I spend two days imobilisd with a back spasm that came from nowhere. Stuck in a chair or flat on my back for the first day, standing and moving was flaming agony, the second day was able to walk short distances. with the odd twinge and as stiff as a board. Knew it would only be a two day bout from the start but it stuffed up my preparation.




Have already started planning a return to the course for another round. The 3 fella’s I played with from the club were a good group to play with and great company. One of them was on 5 when 19 and has only started playing again in the last 6 months. hahahah found that out after the round which made sense of why he played some absolutely astounding shots from trouble to hit greens in regulation yet was on 26. As I am returning to the game after 20 years away we had an interesting chat after and I am glad that I never reached the level of handicap he did. It is frustrating for him ,hahah he made the comment that ‘Golf messes with his mind’ because he is still coming to grips with his current ability and capability in a round, but his memories still tell him what he should do and how to play during a round to a 5 hcp. Mind you I cannot see him still being in the twenties in a month’s time. The more balls hit during rounds alone without practise even, will soon see his handicap in the high teens.



For myself it will be a bit of dedicated driver practise this week and putting to tune up for the weekend. Stableford competition and I have gone out to 22.5 after the Sunday round which will have no effect as the new handicapping system will be in place and under that I drop to 19.3. Hit ‘em straight all

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Training Video, injury restrictions

APril 1st. 2010. Behind in my practise this week the injury flare up in my lower back has taken a couple of days to improve. I could have had some hits with the driver but I would rather be a little underdone and fit than unable to play a round. As the video shows I can swing with the injury but my body is restricted and unable to follow through with shots. This causes a couple of problems, inaccurate off the tee and lose a bit of distance. Being able to compare my swing yesterday to December is a good reference point to see myself from. If you can video yourself it is well worth the effort, I have done it each 3 months since starting again and it is a great benefit. The accuracy loss is the biggest problem. Happy to play without using the driver though and use the #2 Hybrid which is a 16 degree club still get close to (off the tee) 200m but again accuracy is a bit of a problem. No where near as damaging as a ball hit off target with a driver though. A new putter turned up in the post today, nothing flash, a used Proline heat VII based on the Odessy White Hot 2 ball style. Putting is not a problem for me now, after some coaching which the club pro pointed out some technique improvements that have obviously benefited getting the shots in the hole. This has contributed to taking 3-4 strokes a round off my scores in the past month. I am starting to build up a selection of clubs that will all contribute to the set I eventually end up putting together for myself.


Video Link at ABC Contribute of Golf Swing corrected;
http://contribute.abc.net.au/_Improved-Golf-Swing-April-2010/video/982138/32422.html

This shopping around to create a set of clubs so soon after starting again has surprised me a little. As optimistic as I am it has been quite a revelation and unexpected to have played this well since May 2009 and gone from 32 to 22 handicap. Very happy to have not gone out and purchased a top of the range set of clubs to begin with, looks like I was right (and lucky) in getting a serviceable new set for $195 at a Drummond’s clearance sale. It was a total spur of the moment decision and since being back in the game the technological advances and quality of clubs available has been astounding to choose from and absorb. Thankyou for your time and attention. Hit ‘em straight all.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Championship qualifying rounds

First qualifying round for the Club Handicap Championship was played this weekend. With a solid rain falling overnight softening up the course and more rain and 30 knot winds forecast for the day there is no way to predict how many golfers the field would be. Let alone the playing conditions, general consensus for most players was that “rain is not a problem, and the wind isn’t here yet so I will play.” As it turned out the forecast wind did not come with the force predicted and after the first nine the rain had stopped. Even so it was an entertaining day on the course, after summer the season has well and truly broken and it is goodye to those drives that run 50+ metres after hitting the fairway.




Playing in groups of 3 it was interesting at the end to see that ours with two nett 76’s and a 77 had qualified 6,7 and 8. I have been told that it is going to be the Best 16 qualify for the finals, still want to confirm that again to be certain as there is a number of players who did not play that are good chances to qualify in the next round. Given the conditions I was willing to accept anything from a nett 72-76, so I scraped in. With a scrappy 46 on the front nine, I was confident that making a charge to get a 72 or less was possible. It is still a little surprising to be sitting here, not having been back playing for 12 months yet and admitting that my confidence is such that I think like that during a round. Even more so is the realisation that in the past 3-4 months, playing aggressive golf, attacking greens from 150m in, pitching and putting to get the ball in the hole every time (hahah not succeeding of course) is now my standard game. It has been so subtle and again seems to have came from the two coaching lessons in January and February, one on driving and the other pitching and putting. With regard to the round just played dropping two 5 metre plus putts for a birdie and par and pitching well enough to not even have to bother about the fear of three putting is what kept my scrappy front nine on track. Getting a 52 on the back nine was the result of three bad drives and three bad fairway shots, which included with the three bad drives on the front nine which all required a chip out of trees to play the third shows where my score was affected worst.



Not the slightest bit disheartened though, I am a 22 handicapper trying to get to 18 and with a very slight chance for 16-15 at the end of the year. Absolutely no fantasies about my ability be sure of that, reality suits me well enough and keeps me happy on the golf course. Sometimes to much reality, if that is possible. The past couple of weeks I have really been putting in an effort to sharpen up my fairway shots, hitting more greens in regulation is a must do to get the goals set. Not accurate enough yet, getting very close to the greens though and the improved pitching especially, plus more consistent putting has been valuable of late. In fact being so satisfied with this I have neglected my driving practise. What a bloody dickhead! Figured out my last rounds stats this morning and a 66% success rate for my drives. That 33% failure was balls in trees/rough and requiring chips to the fairway for second shots plus penalties in some cases. When I average a 75% to 80% driving success rate I play to my Handicap, 80-90% I break it. Yet here I’ve been off in lala land, so pleased that I can finally pitch and putt decently and trying to improve ‘shots at the green’, while neglecting bloody driver practise which sets up the way to play a hole in the first place.



Next qualifying round is the 25th of April so 3 weeks to tune my game up and try to improve the ranking for play-offs. The top three qualifiers at the minute is made up of a 28,19 and 26 handicap players, and having played with them all deserve serious consideration as the potential champion. The 28 handicapper is at that tipping off point where he is going to score nett 65’s. A few club members have not given him any credence as his playing method is committed to hitting hard and long. Drives of 260+ m and 8 iron to Sand Wedge from 150 m in. In 12 months I have played several rounds with him and seen his consistency improve, a golfer who never holds back, always entertaining and now getting less erratic is well suited for the Club Handicap Championship. The 19 handicapper is consistent and has a great match play attitude, powerful off the tee with a good approach and short game, only his putting lets him down at times. The the guy on 26, returning to the game after 14 years and in less that three months down to 26. His qualifying round of nett 72 included 5 Out of Bounds penalties! His biggest strength is his weakness, hits a long ball 270m to 300m, thankfully the shots stray off the course because he comes in with mid to low twenties putts and has a good short game. The rest of the field includes past Champions, a smattering of single figure handicappers and a couple more consistent 27+ golfers. The first and third placed though are of particular interest to me as they are players I would have to give strokes to in match play and have a game that can definitely beat me.



Planning a trip to the Blue Lake course on Sunday 4th April to play in the DK Edwards trophy, best 6 of 10 rounds on regional courses. I find that a good way to tune my game is to get off the home patch and have to play a different game on another course so this is a great way to do so. Thankyou for your time and attention.

“Hit ‘em straight all”

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Another day, more excersise does it work?

Had a day off the course as is typical for Monday, enjoy having a day of deliberately avoiding golf, it is refreshing and the best way to start the week after Sunday comp. play. Okay I do still think about the game and plan the coming week activity depending on what competition is coming up and of course my real world commitments. Hey, I am obsessed not totally wacky-banana-looped about golfing. There are a few benefits to my other life that have benefited from golfing though that cannot be ignored. even my Girlfriend has admitted that me playing golf is a good thing.




First and foremost is physical fitness, I never enjoyed ‘training’ much for any sport, the skills development works were always fun but the running laps, situps etc just made a sport seem like and effort too far. Yet for some reason I have never found golf to be intrusive when it comes to the fitness side of training. There are a couple of improvements i have noticed with my battered body since starting to play again in May 2009. The most obvious recent one was three weeks ago hopping on the pushbike and how easy it was after 6 months of not riding it to pedal up the hills around home. Walking around golf courses regularly for 9 months has been the reason for that. I don’t jog, next time you see a jogger travelling along just look at how uncomfortable they look! I like excercise that feels good if it make me look like I have constipation and trying to take a crap the size of a watermelon that is not comfortable. Forget that adage; “No Pain, No Gain” having survived a car accident. in the 1980’s and endured some intense pain on the path to recovery, today I happily kick people who say that as hard as possible in the groin. No need to thank me, I am just pleased to help you :)



No doubt golf has helped me take the last few steps in quitting smoking again. Never been a fulltime smoker, nor drinker of alcohol. Going teetotal for months even years in the past, apart from socialising after golf, I rarely drink alcohol apart from going out to dinners or parties these days. Smoking is one of those ‘excess in moderation’ things that unfortunately involves a physical addiction. Stopping is hard yet this time will most likely be the end of the habit. Having totally lost interest in the activity, it is as enjoyable as jogging to me so why bother doing it.



I don’t go to a gym, and my weights and bench press have all been tossed. I use two physical excercise tools to develop stamina more than strength. Even though they are one and the same in essence in this case. I have been using a chest expander and also a pair of spring hand grips since 2009. Both of these have given me assistance in my golfing as was intended. All I wanted was the stamina/strength to be able to play 18 holes consistently and I no longer have that lack of physical ability to maintain my optimum ability during the closing stages of 18 holes. Both pieces of equipment are easy to pack when travelling and it takes no more than 15-20 minutes in 5 min increments during the day to complete the repetitions. I don’t do a lot in fact. up to 150 hand grip squeezes/day (started with doing 30). Chest expander started with two springs and 25/day now 3 springs and 120 + per day. Best of all you do not have to do this religiously every day, Having a week or two of not doing it is no problem. I just have a routine that allows me to do thin and if I have a particular tournament or game coming start again a week or two before and am in fine form on the day when needed.



Thankyou for your time and attention, “hit ‘em straight all”

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - training made easy with technology

I am a “scrooge”, not really it is just that when it comes to golf except for equipment purchases, membership and entry fees and social spending I avoid spending any money. I also am very self reliant when it comes to making things happen and getting something done. Golf has made me make changes in this area since starting again. The first time I realised that my way was not 100% right was the realisation that Technology has made the game very different since my first foray onto the course. Way back in the last century (haahahah) I started with using Top Flites then as I improved used Optima as my preferred competition ball. I now have a bag full of Top Flights as range/practise balls and use Taylor Made’s LDP Burners as comp balls. Softer and better distance to strike from the tee and fairways and a better feel on the putting surface for me at least.


Using equipment from my career in golf is a bonus and the filming of my swing and putting etc has been a great asset. If you have access to a digital camera or can even set up your phone to film yourself do it. I have filmed myself every three months and the value to my improvement and confidence from this is realised with my current games status and having dropped ten strokes in less than 8 months. A common answer from other golfers when this topic is brought up is presumably from a sense of modesty. “I do not want to shatter my confidence seeing how bad I swing a club.” In fact it is seeing how much you do right that makes it easier to see how little needs to be changed and improve your swing from making these videos.

Clubs are a totally new category these days, metal, carbon, graphite shafts. titanium, stainless steel, hybrid, alloy heads, grips of every fabric and style… I think the point is made with that. Making the choice is up to you and the professional/golf technician who fits you with the sticks. Lastly but no means least is lessons with club/golf pros. Absolutely recommended, it seems at the time to be spending money on ‘nothing’ except words and then having to do all the work to get the result directed to you. Follow the instructions though and reap the rewards with a better game is all I can say from my own experience.

Thankyou for your time and attention, “hit ‘em straight all”
Link to Swing Video below;
Contribute.abc.net.au

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - practise - practise and more practise

22nd March 2010 Lazy start to the day, had a bit of extended R and R this morning. Could be that the post match beer plus staying up to midnight having to finish off some work on Sunday made the sleeping easier.


Okay the result was almost what I wanted in Sunday’s comp, came in second with a net 69 after 18 holes. Sunday Stroke Round – Front nine 43, Back nine 48, total 91. Nett 69. 29 putts. Played a good consistent game and it was fun with the other players, one a single figure handicapper and the other 2 are in the mid twenties and at that stage where their game is beginning to improve and drop strokes. The 3 of them are big hitters of the ball from the tee, between 250-270 m drives, where as I am in the 220-230m distance with my drive off the tee. Now as serious as I am about my game I do enjoy the fun of mucking around and for the last couple of holes we decided to ‘Not hold back’ off the tee. There was no way I was going to hit the ball as far yet I got a lot of value from this on the last two holes.. Of course I was at least 20 m behind the shortest of other three but my shots were all on the fairway and only 110-120 m from the green with a clear shot at the target with no trees or rough impeding my effort. Accuracy is a much greater asset than being able to drive a bomb into the stratosphere. Mind you watching a player launch a 270 m drive off a tee is well worth it. My interest in this player is more than novelty, he has returned to the game after a ten year break and is already back down close to his previous handicap. It is quite possible that he will be a definite contender in the Handicap Championships, qualifying rounds start next week and I am pleased to have seen his game now. If I manage to qualify, there is a good chance he will be a qualifier as well.

As mentioned in a previous post response, I have replaced the #3 and #5 fairway woods with a #2 hybrid in my bag and that has been the correct move. I only use the two fairway woods rarely in a round perhaps 6-7 times. Never been accurate enough with these two clubs for my own satisfaction and the #2 Hybrid has already given me improved accuracy plus 200 m distance in a club for the second shot on par fives, into the wind on par fours and off the tee on the particularly tight par fours that dogleg left or right and are too short for the No #1 driver.

Most importantly, I had less than 30 putts yesterday and began to get the feel of the improvements the putting lesson from the club pro in late February. I combined a lesson on two parts of my game I was not satisfied with at that time and knew needed some coaching. Pitching and Chipping + Putting. Being a low twenties handicapper I hit greens in regulation on occasion, for me I need to be no more than 110-100 metres out for my ability to be accurate enough to hit greens now and then. Even with the extra distance of my Cobra driver and run from the summer fairways I am too far out usually to be accurate enough, so the pitch from 5-10m is vital part of my game in finishing holes. My low putting score was the result of being able to pitch the ball close to the hole consistently around 1 to 2 m distance and the improved putting accuracy combined with this to save me 3-5 strokes off my score. To highlight how good my round was, I only had one bad hole a 10 and still came in with a gross 91 and nett 69. The ten was a result of my other fault that is being worked on, the ‘brain fade’. I am still having concentration lapses on a hole towards the end of a round. This one was particularly bad (at the 15th) as it included a bit of over confident arrogance which had me play two strokes without due care in club selection, hitting my drive a fraction too hard had me slice out of bounds and following my set up routine that worked so well on the other 17 holes. The benefit is that I did it this week and have learnt a lesson before the qualifying round to come that I will have to tune up.

Thankyou for your time and attention , it is coffee o’clock for me now and back to doing some real work. Hit ‘em straight and accurate all.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Retail warranty service

March 22 2010 Returned from Adelaide with a free #2 Hybrid on Friday. The good folk at Drummonds replaced the broken XLT Driver with a Top Flite 3000 18degree hybrid. Spent a bit of time Sat arvo and Sunday am before the comp practicing with the stick. Took the #3 and #5 woods out and as expected used the new club four times and it produced the results much better than the fairway woods. I agree with the increased playing improving your game. I have cut back to playing 3-4 days a week ( 2×9 holes and 2×18 holes max per week) and range practice on the other days. This balance stops me from overdoing the physical effort and I bounce back well after a round now. Cheated with the quit smoking did cold turkey last time and quit for 8-10 years this time taking Champix and no withdrawl symptoms and a few side effects that are all better than having a smoke.
Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - practise, coaching and quitting smoking too

I have kept a daily Golf Diary since last year as I worked towards 2010 and noting my results, thoughts and the things Iwas learning. Had Swing lessons in January with the club pro, I just waited until I thought I was half decent and had some ability thatcould be ‘worked’ with and the coaching was going to have an effect. which it most definately did. I actually had 3 things to be ‘looked’ at to improve my game, and did two lessons; 1) Swing Plane – action was corrected to be more Inside/Out and stopped the slice i had. Lesson 2) Pitching/Chipping – I practise this but never seemed to have it quite right – Follow through technique was not right and using wrists instead of fore arms and the most important part to finish every hole Bloody F@%#King “Putting” have never been consistent or settled in this part of the game. Now 2 months later after the game this weekend am very happy it was the hardest part to change after the lessons. Putting is a very personal feel thing and the adjustment and confidence in the changes took a lot longer to adapt to. The quit smokes is a doddle with the Champix tablets and damn I feel better already lol
Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Quitting smoking does feel good

17th March 2010 At the minute I am going through the worst self inflicted trauma a person can do to themself. Quitting smoking, having done this before and then started again a decade later made me wonder if I am a glutton for punishment. This is week five of a twelve week program taking the Champix tablets. It is all going a treat but the withdrawal symptoms suck. The inability to sleep and disrupted sleep patterns are by far the worst side effect, been up since 5 am (again!) plugging away on the PC doing the work that would normally be done during the day. Any other time that would mean i can head out to the course for longer to have some practise except to day I am travelling to Adelaide.
Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Practise and it gets better

16th March 2010 Had a casual 9 holes yesterday morning first real hit in four days or so apart from practising pitching and puttting. A bit sloppy with a few shots but that was no matter and there was a bit of experimenting being done. Mind you there is no doubt I am not a good golfer just good enough to play to my handicap on most days. With the season proper started it is time to return to my chosen way of playing the game that worked so well in 2009, Accurate and Percentage golf. Summer was filled with a lot of practise with the drivers 1 to 5 and having added the Cobra and being consistent with off the tee with accuracy and of course the extra 20-30 metres it was money well spent in lessons and club. To be honest using the 3 and 5 has really added nothing much to my game at all. (as posted before only used irons last year) Admittedly after having the original driver break as described previously, the quality of the sets drivers is in question to me. In the future the 3 & 5 drivers will be replaced with better quality clubs. The original Shark XLT-3 was good value on par five holes with the second shot yet on my club course I am easily well past the 150m marker using a 3 – 5 iron as well. The XLT-5 was handy for those occasional fairway shots 180 metres plus out or into the wind which are just too risky to attempt with belting the ball with the 3 iron.


Preferring to stick with my accuracy over distance, and the consistent results of my irons I am going to take the 3 and 5 fairway drivers out on the bag for comps. The Cobra will stay for those 15 holes it gets used on the par 4 & 5 tee blocks and the distance it gives with acceptable accuracy for me. I am going to get myself a couple of hybrids to replace the fairway drivers. Been considering this since November having seen the results other players get with them can see them as a worthwhile addition to my set. Will add a #2 Hybrid and a #3, anything with a loft from 15 to 18 degrees for the first club to go in the bag.

The practise over summer has definitely improved my golf, it took 4 months and 2nd place in the March Southern Ports Tournament “C” grade confirmed the effort was worth it. I dropped 5 strokes thanks mostly to improving a few parts of my game. Particularly pitching and chipping accuracy from 100 metres in. Hitting greens in regulation from 100m – 150 m + is still very erratic at about 20 to 30% success which for a 22 handicapper is a bonus, getting a stroke per hole and 2 stokes on 4 holes. The increase in my confidence has gone well with being more aggresive in attacking the green and even though my ability is far behind the low teen and single figure golfers it is thoroughly enjoyable getting pars and a birdie or two per round.

Off to have a bit of practise this morning, before sitting in the club this afternoon running the Beginners Ambrose comp. which the club has continued after its success in gaining new members last year. I got tired of sitting back and listening to all the ideas for membership drives, so put myself forward with a list of suggestions from other members. I believe that if you are going to suggest something then it is only fair you commit to putting in the effort instead of it being lumped on the usual members who seem to get all the jobs.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - returning to my sport of choice

Welcome to my obsession! The good thing is you have the same problem in most cases if you are reading this at I Seek Golf.com. So forget about this being anything close to sensible balanced opinionating and comments. Good grief it is about how golf is intertwined with my life. Admittedly most of the extremes with my golf are covered with the words; “going internally berserk” but among golfers it is not even noticeable.


Had to think twice at how long I have been playing again and it was in May 2009 that I started out on the course again with a 32 handicap to start. Played virtually every day for that month, every second day in June and by July had a routine of sorts that included playing 9 holes a couple of days a week 18 on Sunday Comps and 1-2 hr practise sessions on the other days. In a position to be able to do that and it suits me and if you have any failure to get what golf is for me, read the first sentence again lol. Mind you also missed out on a lot of practise hits with soft tissue injuries up to Dec. 2009. The best one being the straining of scar tissue in my back and ribs from a car accident in 1983. F@#!king hurt a lot for 6 weeks and had to play in the “C” grade finals with it. The good thing being that the injury was actually a part of putting my back muscles into being where they should be in my body after having healed “crooked” so it was a good thing. The Pain sucked and anyone who wants to recommend “No pain No gain” I hope you enjoy me kicking your groin as hard as I can and helping you to improve.

Soon purchased a new set of Shark XLT clubs on sale at Drummond’s clearance. a 2006-7 model but for $195 good value quality stainless steel cavity, steel shaft 3-Sw Irons Drivers 1-3-5 Titanium Head, carbon shafts. I played all my competitive golf with my Irons mostly, preferring the accurate consistency over the wayward spraying with the driver and No. 3 wood. Each golfer has their own ‘way’ of playing mine worked for me. In the 2009 season using iron’s only I won two monthly medals, won the club handicap championship, Won handicap section in two club opens “C” grade and second in another.No 1 Driver has been replaced with a King Cobra S9.1 driver as it broke. Simply the face of the club began to cave in as it was made with lesser quality metal after less than 3 months use up to Jan 2010. Here is the first new thing learnt since returning to golf; Technology makes a huge difference. Even at my best with the original driver I was still 20 to 30 metres on average shorter than with the Cobra. Had made the decision to not have any lessons until I was at least half decent at golf and on 20, Was putting in a serious effort to reach that figure in Jan and it was when the driving went to shreds at this time I had a lesson. The club professional actually picked up the face damage during the lesson plus gave me some valuable coaching. Even so the two weeks of lost club golf cost me the target and I made it to 22 when the time had ran out. No complaints it was a bonus really. I wanted to reach 20 and qualify for “B” grade in the Sth Ports Tournament instead played “C” grade and came second after the three days. So here I sit this weekend 14/3/10 opening day is a Pinehurst comp. and the season commences today, with the Captain’s Trophy next weekend 21st followed by the 1st qualifying round for the club Handicap Championship. Going to try and reach 16-15 hcp in 2010, the Cobra driver definitely makes that achievable. Managed to play to 16 socially a couple of times over summer but winter golf is a lot harder.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff