Footyheads review Carlton Def. Crows rd 5

Footyhead is enjoying season 2011 of course this is helped with the Blues geting wins on the board. Also having got a better understanding of how AFL is played now, compared to the past when Footyhead first began following the game.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Hitting Fairways helps...

Sunday 17th April
It was a pleasure to finally have a competition round on my home track for the first time in a 4 weeks. The fine weather was a bonus, the true enjoyment came from being able to put the practice for the past couple of weeks to the test. With enough breeze to be a moderate influence and not a matter of fighting to stand upright on the tee, the results were good. Hitting 7 fairways and 5 drives no more that 1-2 metres off. Finishing with 36 points and wiping one hole for 3rd place, behind 1st and 2nd (both on 37pts). It was the first time that I was not focussed on winning the competition. It was a definite goal of getting the tee shots on target and not having to start holes off with a recovery shot as the second, and establishing consistency.
The wipe was a result of that, I was feeling very satisfied with my performance and chose to challenge myself with a riskier drive on the 13th. Usual tee shot here is a #3 metal off the tee and reach the turn at around 200-220m of a dogleg right. This time I chose to chance my arm, hit the Driver and play a fade around the dogleg. Hit the ball too far right off the tee and it was lost, fading it into impenetrable scrub. It was well worth the change to play a riskier shot and deal with the failure. Should have played a provisional but the round was taking way too long, (5hrs plus) following Pennants comp. players and a lot of visitors on course. No matter the goal of better tee shots except on 13 was realised and I can now play with confidence off the tee and not suffer on away track matches in the rest of the Pennants Season and coming Club Opens.
Tommorrow is my Elimination matchplay round for the club handicap championship, feeling very satisfied with the preparation and my game at the minute. It will be an enetertaining match giving my opponent 4 strokes will add to the challenge.
Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em Straight all”
Geoff

Form on the course returns...

Thursday 14th April
Not been very satisfying performance wise on the courses for the past few weeks. A little mentally flat same as this time last season after Southern Ports, still put in some good rounds at the home track. Away from home though on different courses my play to say the least has been below average. It is still a novelty to look at my current handicap of 14 and picture this time last season when it was 19 or 20, 6 strokes higher!
Playing with the ability that has got scores in the low 80's has been a bit of a shock. Not that smart a golfer it is just practise that has got me there and a lot of luck on the putting green. Got away this week and did my now usual stop over on the way at the Mount Lofty Golf club for nine holes on Tuesday afternoon. The greens sorted me out being a lot faster than my home track. As a social hit though I had time to replay shots and get to understand how to play them. Simple enough really, putt so the the ball made it to a target chosen approx. half way to the hole, it just kept going and either went in the hole or within 15 cm. Still managed a 46 gross parring number 2,3 and 4 made that possible.
Got home around 1pm today and managed to get on the course around 2pm playing the front nine for a 41 off the stick. Pars on 4, 5, 6 and 8 and bogies on the rest was a good result with the Driver delivering the benefits after learning some very harsh lessons with my poor accuracy at Naracoorte off the tee. Same with the flat stick on the greens my technique improved and the rattle of the ball dropping was the payoff. Hitting greens in regulation helped as well.
Now to hold the concentration when playing for real on the weekend. That has been the main problem of late, unable to maintain the required attention on the ball especially when playing shots. Equipment wise the change to a smaller driver down from a 460cc Cobra S9.1, 9.5 degree to a HDD Tour 380cc. 8.5 degree has cost me perhaps 10-20m at times. Never been a big hitter of the ball and still manage to get the ball to travel 230-250m off the tee with the smaller driver and it feels a lot more comfortable and responsive when working the ball.

With my elimination final in the Handicap championships match play in the next week or so it is good to be finding some form again. My opponent is another of the golfers whom I have passed on my way down the handicap strokes in the past few years which does feel a little odd. Even so it will be a good game and I will have to give him a few strokes but not many I would guess. Thankyou for your time and attention, "Hit 'em Straight all." Geoff

Handicap Pennants Padtyhaway v Robe 10/4/11

Tuesday 12th April
Played Handicap Pennants on Sunday for a losing score (3/1) and putting the only blemish on the team score of 4 wins and 1 loss. It was great fun and damn it was good to drink beer and not have to drive. Even so the following is cut from another of my posts on here today

"Our club had a real battle getting a team in to play and to be honest even though it was fun we really are wasting our time fielding a team in my opinion. Three months of asking players to play got us a response as invigorating as a tepid cup of tea. Taking 5 players out of our Sunday competition field is anywhere from a third to a quarter of regular players. (Pennants is on Sundays here and most clubs play Saturday comps. except ours.) Personally the experience of match play is good and I do enjoy the challenge and playing that format of golf. On the other hand I am playing for “nothing” and have no motivation to want the win. Club glory ,adding a piece of material to the wall, in a team where it is a matter of cajoling players to play is “F@@ked” Would rather play at home and have a crack at winning a $50 voucher.

I will be travelling to play in 10 or more regional club opens this year and that is doing more for the club and my golfing enjoyment than playing pennants this season."

The big plus was the Driver is beginning to work again in my hands. The practise of the past week has paid off and Lucindale has the same gum tree lined fairways as Naracoorte, not as thick though. Even sop the driver was incredibly accurate. My game fell apart with my long irons and of all things pitching to the green. Two parts of my game that has been a strength since January.

It was mostly a fault caused by a lack of motivation. In all honesty I was not playing for anything with two holes to play I was 2 down and hit a great drive absolutely perfect and where I was aiming. Cut the corner of the dogleg to be 75-80 m from the green and 50 m closer than my opponent. two half arsed shots later I was still 15 m short of the green, put the next one on (half arsed shot again) and was 4 m short of the pin.

Not in the team this weekend, only because the need to get other players qualified for finals (play 2 rounds). I need to play my Handicap Championships elimination game also and this weekend is the time to get it done. Cannot do it earlier as I am off to Adelaide today, and getting another round in at Mt Lofty on the way of course lol.
Thankyou for your time and attention "Hit 'em straight all" Geoff

Carlton V Collingwood "Footyheads" film clip rd 3 2011 game review.

Third game of the season for the Blues against the reigning Premiers. Losing by 28 points. Collingwood scored 15.12 to 11.8, Carlton were not over run and kept in the game with the improvement over the past 2-3 years in experience showing through. Next week it is the Faaaarrrkkking Croooowwsss.
Go You Blues.
Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Silver and Bronze medalist Masters Games 2011

Silver and Bronze Medalist 2011 Naracoorte Masters Games

The two days golfing in the Naracoorte Masters Games was an effort well worth the time. Playing at a course which over the past month has simply taken my game and thrown it out into the street with the rubbish, did not get any easier during the competition. The positive at the end of the two days, was to see in the scores of the other competitors that it was not only me who the course bettered. In 2010 when I travelled and played other courses the change in my game for the better began in earnest. It was not easy, the lack of experience putting on different greens and especially playing on courses which had trees over 5m made me add a lot more diversity in shot making.



To share the experience with the other competitors was very different to any other golf competition I had been in. Not just an A, B, C Grade Open but split into the age groups it was a change of status, knowing the challenge to beat a single digit handicap player for me was the same as the 20 and 30 handicappers in my age group to beat me. I threw everything I had at the course and was definitely bloodied for the effort. To finish with a Bronze in my age group on the first day after scoring a nett 83 was a surprise. To come home on the final day from a 54 front nine and 44 back nine (nett 84) and be rewarded with the Silver medal for my age group gave me a reality check on how much I truly enjoy playing golf.



The playing partners both complimented me on my good nature and how I was smiling and laughing through the disaster of the front nine, and this did not change as i took the course on and won on the back nine. For me it would have been easy to throw the game, instead I persisted and finally began to come out on top of the challenge. It was flaming exhausting mentally, the front nine was nothing more than poor tee shots and taking two - three shots at the start of a hole before being where one shot would take me usually. The damn trees to the left were not leaping in front of my tee shots I was simply unable to play confident forward shots down the narrow necks to the fairway.



On the back nine I began to drive with the confident charge that previously was in a galaxy far far away. Dwelling on the problems will not be a feature of this post. Nor will how I overcame them. The social side of the Masters games far outweighed the importance of the result, if you are 35 years or older have a crack at the Masters games if you get a chance. To be in a clubrooms as the awards were handed out and hearing the clink of medals round necks in the room was culmination of one of the most satisfying golf experiences I will ever have.

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

Carlton def Gold Coast Suns - "Footyhead" rd 2 2011

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff