Played to my limit to win...

Monday 14/2/11 Played to my expectations on Sunday, which is why the result was so pleasing to me as a player and a person who loves the game. Breaking 90 was the goal of my golf for 2010, when that happened it was a close run struggle to an 88 or 87 at best. Always very pleasing to break 90 during the season yet it felt like I was being teased with the allure of a better golfing experience being just out of reach. On the 18 th of December in the Kingston Open an 88 off the stick was the beginning of the current run of good score, resulting from the preparation for the Southern Ports Tournament.




After the stroke round on Sunday and a score of 82 gross for a nett 65 with 30 putts my handicap is now 16.1 down from 19.3 in December. In fact 8 of my 10 flagged scores are in the last 9 rounds played since the Kingston SE Open. What was particularly pleasing about the result in the last round was that I went out with a definite game plan, played exactly as I had prepared to do so. Scored an 82 that instead of being a surprise result was a far more pleasing reward, one I have worked hard at for three months to be able to do.



In the last practise session on Saturday I gave the Cobra 9.5 Degree driver a good work out, that still had a woeful spray of accuracy in 50 % of the strokes. This was not such a problem prior to the back injury in early January, there is still some residual problem from this affecting the use of the club. The Driver was not in the bag for the competition and this was a major reason for the good score, hitting fairway after fairway and clear shots to the green every time with the #3 Metal. This morning a new #3 turned up in the post this one is a stiff shaft Cobra compared to the #3 Shark regular flex I used in the round. Have been out and had a good try out with the two clubs, with the wind no distance difference, into the wind the Cobra gives a lower flight on the ball. Main difference is that I can work the ball better with the Cobra, it “feels” more direct in the connection between the player and the ball control.



To be able to play to my limit and the enjoyment that came from returning to accuracy over distance again, far outweighed the confusion that reigned during 2010 as I struggled to combine improvement with ability. Not carrying a Driver in my bag will not be a permanent feature, already I am in the process of purchasing a replacement that I can use with better consistency at the minute. This is based upon the experience I had during late 2010 with a 1990’s model Bridgestone Driver which I found had the same improved ball control and accuracy as the #3 metals do off the tee in my game. At the minute it appears that my skill level is not good enough to use 460cc Drivers to the same degree I can with smaller sized Driver club heads.

Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em Straight all” Geoff