Season 2013 started with the Blockbuster against Richmond on a Thursday night. Richmond held off a fast-finishing Carlton to break a nine-game hoodoo against the Blues and hand Mick Malthouse a five-point loss in his return to coaching. However, the Tigers made hard work of it after leading by 42 points midway though the third term before a Carlton onslaught almost stole the show. The Tigers scraped to victory. But only just. In front of a huge crowd at the MCG on Thursday night, Carlton kicked the last five goals of the game and might well have won if either of Chris Yarran's two shots in the dying stages went straight. A winning start to the season is always the goal and this time the Blues were 5 points short. It was close run at the end and both teams dominated the game convincingly at various times. The final result is all that counts and there can be no recriminations that will change this. The coach and players all did what they could to win and failed. Not by much though and the come back from a 40 + point deficit by Carlton was a good thing and almost a perfect thing. The season has began now it is time to unite and follow the unknown path towards a finals appearance as the first goal of season 2013. Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Longer and just as accurate wins me over..

Wednesday 27/3/13 Yesterday afternoon I managed to get out and play a casual 7 holes to test out a club in my unused collection. With the definitive proof that my accuracy off the tee with the smaller 400cc clubs in the results of fairways hit at 60-75%. Together with the ease of using regular flex shafts I grabbed the 400cc Dunlop Fastrax offset Anti-slice driver for a hit yesterday. This club had been reshafted with a Fuji. 25 stiff flex shaft from a Taylor Made 580 driver. The Toski driver has been very effective of late so it was just done for the sake of trialing something else to see what else may be changed. The Dunlop delivers a solid thunk and feels ‘meaty’ when hitting the ball, it is slightly shorter 3-4cm in length. Delivers a less lofted ball flight 10 degree the same in the Toski. Flat sole on the Dunlop more bulbous on the Toski Club face proflie lower on the Dunlop while the Toski stays true to the rounded driver shape. Twin scallops on the top of the Dunlop heighten the lower profile in the design. As I went around the difference in the swing and impact while hitting the ball was a slight distraction. It became apparent that there was a greater distance off the tee from the Dunlop Driver. This was a vital discovery as I have lost 10-30m plus in the change from the stiff flex 440cc Cleveland launcher driver. On the last hole I got the definitive result. two shots from each driver and a 15m difference in length with the Dunlop travelling longer in the air. Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

First Qualifying Round 2013 championship

Sunday's stroke round was to begin the qualifying rounds for the Club Championships. It was also a Monthly Medal round and first round of the three round Gallerie Trophy event. The westerly wind did make it a different playing experience and with the relatively mild conditions the scores were good in the main. Following on from my round at Kingston on Saturday with a 33 Stableford points result I improved with a gross 86 Nett 74 on the Sunday. With an easy putt missed on the first hole and a lost ball on the 7th hole I was travelling well enough with one hole to play. A double bogie 6 on the last cost me a place in the count back for a third place finish. The double bogie was caused by a poor second shot with a finished under a tree from a centre of the fairway drive. Left with a very restricted shot to go for the green. A chip shot that went short and on for 4, missed the first putt to score a 6. This error was again a result of a poor second shot while going for the green off the tee. Whilst this was the poorest of them all on the day there were 3 other approach shots which were compounded with below average chip shots. Putts having to be played from long distances are harder to get in the hole than those inside one or two metres. The statistics for me were 30 putts on the day and 12 fairways were hit off the tee. As has been noted over the past weeks all of the practise since December 2012 and fitness training has been a major assist. Now it is time to build upon this and the improved technique. Dedicated shot practise to get the ball on the green from 150 into 50 metres is the crucial development that must be achieved. The tee shot with the smaller driver and regular flex shaft is proving its validity. The need is for a larger driver though with a regular flex as I cannot go for the club championship success with the 10 to 20 metre distance loss off the tee. This coming Easter Weekend is a very busy one for the club in green fees. The competition on Easter Sunday is the club Guest Day a 2 person aggregate Stableford starting at 12pm. A fun social day for golfers and friends to enjoy a walk around the course having a hit. Beer o'clock in the clubhouse The following Sunday on the 7th of April is the second Qualifying round of the Club Championships, Gallerie Trophy and the April Monthly medal. A great combination of events all on the same round for golfers to have a game in. Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

A weekend of vastly different results for me with a bad score on Saturday at Kingston SE. The weather was not the reason for my poor result I have played in worse and had better scores. The winds were 40 to 60 km/hr gusts up from the forecast 35 km winds. It did make playing hard work and in honest appraisal broke my game apart from the ninth hole onwards. With an Out of Bounds on the 9th hole I finished the front nine with a gross 50 when I was looking at a 44-45. It had been a struggle all the way yet I had kept on attacking. The back nine ended with a gross 51 on my scorecard and all day I attacked the greens after my drives. It was just a series of repeated mistakes hitting the ball fat and finishing short too often that was exacerbated with triple of three putt holes. I was not disheartened or beaten by the result and looking forward to the next day of competition at Robe. With much milder conditions cool temperature and a 15-19 km/hr wind it was a doddle compared to the previous day. If it was not for again a couple of fat approach shots and several missed putts the score would have been even better. The competition round on Sunday was in a field of twenty golfers included visitors from Cohuna GC (Victoria) as well as Kingston and Beachport golf Clubs. It was a dual competition with a Stableford and Irish Stableford event played concurrently. With a three way tie at the end of the day between 1st. Ben Semple, 2nd Keith Couzner and myself in 3rd all on 35 points and a count back decided the finishing order. The Bendigo Bank Nearest the Pin was won by one of the visiting golfers Bruce Bird from Cohuna GC. The Most Fairways prize went to Ian Regnier with 13 and the Accuracy Drive won by Scott Fennell. Ryan's Run on the day was for the best Front Nine score and Sean Emery claimed that with 21 points. The Irish Stableford team event was won by Ian Regnier, Sean Emery and Tim Mort whose 74 points earnt them a bottle of shiraz each. I had 8 fairway drives and the rest were not too bad considering that I am using the 400cc Toski regular flex driver again. This is whilst waiting for a replacement driver shaft in regular flex for my larger Cleveland. This is proving the point from my coach that the regular flex is better suited to my now established swing.The loss of distance is still in the 10-20m bracket and I really do need that as part of taking my game to a better level. Three of my greens in regulation were courtesy of the 3 metal off the fairway from 180m plus out. This recentky established facet to my game has cracked open a major barrier in my game that had been stopping my improvement. Next Sunday is a stroke event for the 1st Qualifying Round for the Club Championships, Monthly Medal and 1st Round of the Gallerie Trophy a great day for golfers to get into the mix of the club golfing season. The St Patrick's Day golf round at the Robe was sponsored by Anro Signs who have supplied the effective tee block sponsor displays on the Robe Golf Course. Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

My golf is getting better...

Friday 15/3/13 Having been practising and establishing a new swing and getting comfortable with the changes myself for the past two months the results are becoming established. Importantly it is an improvement and because of the training and practise method used after the first week or so the transition was in place. The most difficult part of the experience is getting used to the changed accuracy, distance with the ball in all facets of the game. Learning and adjusting to the changes all comes from repetition in practise and undoing 4 years plus of what has been the standard is not easy. Yesterday I went out and played 9 holes with a very different set of clubs and finished with 41 off the stick. This was done for several reasons. One of which to prove that the equipment is not the most important factor it is how it is used. I could be raving on about how poor the improvements have been because I played badly in the Southern Ports Tournament. That my handicap has not dropped more than 1 stroke since making the changes could also be a complaint. Fact is there are other improvements to be made yet in my golf and I am not expecting or trying to drop 2-3 strokes in a hurry at the minute. The putting practise is coming into its position as first priority. Followed with a change in the driver to a regular flex shaft from the stiff. At the same time a 3 wood is back in my bag after finally getting it right with the new swing and at last there is a reliable option for 190m to 210m shots in my bag. It is an odd experience on my part it is still new to know exactly what has been done wrong when I do not play the correct new stroke and have a poor result. The correction is so simple and easy to do but until playing the shot correctly in the first instance becomes the way I play golf it is still enthralling to be going through this transition period. Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all” Geoff

Day one I was ragged on the front nine and scored a 50 with a 41 on the back nine with 30 putts on the day. It was a few bad shots out of bunkers that cost me on that day and I had no idea the putting would collapse on day two. The driver was a major improvement, changed to the 400 cc regular flex shaft in reaction to some advice from my coaching professional. He is correct the stiff flex shafts are not suited to my swing with the driver either. The change to the smaller driver did limit my distance. The 230m + drives were non existent yet all day 220m off the tee and on the fairway was excellent results. Left to Right Ben Semple, Myself, Fabian Bigmore Willy Hyslop (eventual winner of the Naracoorte Open Nett competition) One of those strange days in the second days' play. Putting was the problem. No excuses from the 5.30 am start to travel being any more than a footnote in my opinion. Off the tee went very well, fairway and chipping was great but I am certain that 38 putts sank my second days play with a 95 off the stick. With 30 putts the day before this was not expected as the greens changed pace in the two days slowing down and I had 6 putts at least stop short of the hole in the round. In truth I am not even bothered by this as I saw the results of all the practise done to improve my tee shots and fairway and short game all come to fruition. Putting can now become the training focus to be brought up to the same level as the rest of my game. Gotta love the game that throws up so many challenges. In the market for a new shaft on the Cleveland now, I will not sacrifice the distance of the tee for too long. Getting the best suited shaft is going to take time yet the hot weather is not going to limit my game for the next month or so at all with using the Toskii Driver. Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

2013 Southern Ports Golf Week final result...

Saturday 2/3/13 Spent the day resting up after finishing at 11pm running the bar for the Southern Ports Presentations. Dear readers Talart was totally stuffed yesterday. In fact one of the conversations I was in and also heard others having after the last day was a compliment to the Professionals who play 4 day tournaments. As well as the pro am before and for some there is also the qualifying round. Southern Ports Golf Week Now is the time to like the tournament and start planning for coming along in 2014. A week of golf is a big effort and the winners thoroughly deserve the reward. $200-$300 vouchers go a long way to covering the accommodation and travelling expenses. Not to neglect the daily prizes for each round that reward the golfers who play well. This is the first time in four years I have not been in the winners lists at all. Yet I was in the hunt every round and the benefits will be delivered for me in coming weeks. I am thoroughly prepared and in my best condition ever for the coming Golf Open days in the region through March and April just to begin with. Third and final round of Southern Ports tournament on Friday and while I managed a 9th place on the day once again a lost ball shot my challenge down in flames on the day. Golfers luck ,it was just not possible to find the object buried in a small patch of thick grass at the base of a tree. The Beachport course was a tough task for all bar one golfer on the day with a strong ocean wind making every shot hard work. The one golfer who had a good day scored one over par and leapt from 5 strokes behind the leaders to win the A Grade competition. That is one of the great things about playing this competition. You never feel out of the running until the final card is in the scorers hands. The camaraderie among the players is the most enjoyable part of the week. With the competitive nature obviously there for al,l the social aspect of playing with people you have never met and enjoying the common passion of golf is sensational. As disappointed as I am with my scores and results on the last day. It was a miss by very little to have made the winners list in the final round. Yet my congratulations for the winner and all others was sincere and genuine.. The sacrifice and effort to get away to play golf for a week is no small thing. Then you have to get up and play on a new course every second day for a week as well as enjoy the many social events that occur. 350 plus golfers do find a lot of time to socialise off course and that can be very tiring. That is the subtle way to describe the party atmosphere which does take a toll on some golfers stamina. For me it was all done with ease and only 51 weeks to go before I tee up again in 2014 for another crack at the title. Today is a joint competition day with Kingston and Beachport golfers coming to play at Robe. There is going to be a lot of recounting of the week experiences as golfers love to do when they have shared the experience and are all looking for a little more that may make next year a better one. Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all” Final results - A Grade winner Men - Graham Rentsch [Hamilton] 226, R/up- Ben Slack [Echunga] 229 Nett winner - Greg Holcombe [Heywood] 216, R/up - Mark Davies [Naracoorte ] 218 Veteran Kevin Etherton [Casterton] 220 B Grade Men- Peter Wells [Blackwood] 265, R/Up - Graham Young [Flagstaff Hill] 272 Nett winner - Bill Quinlan-Watson [Robe 218, R/up - Ben Schaefer [Kingston] 220 Veteran - Bill Quinlan Watson C Grade Men - Jim Pegler [Beachport] 112 st.pts, 2nd - Allan Webster [Beachport] 102 c/b 3rd - Tim Mort [Robe] 102, 4th - Scott Fennell [Robe] 101 Veteran - Allan Webster [Beachport] c/b Tim Mort A Grade Ladies Winner - Elizabeth Saint [ Millicent - Play-off with Lyn Pascoe] 245, R/Up Juliet Hugo [RAGC} 248 Nett Winner - Lyn Pascoe [Thaxted Park] 215, R/up - Robyn Walters [Beachport] 225 Veteran - Kay Rasheed [Kingston] 227 B Grade Ladies winner - Mayette Briggs [Naracoorte] 282, R/up - Sandra Munn [Naracoorte] 291 Nett Winner - Robin DeClifford [Kew] 227, R/up -Pam Symonds [Kingston] 228 Veteran - Lyn Kiddey [Thaxted Park] 229 C Grade Ladies Div.1 Winner - Jan Green [Beachport] 108 pts , 2nd - Felicity Miles [Naracoorte] 103 Div.2 Winner - Jenni Brown {RAGC] 96 pts, 2nd - Susan Hunt [RAGC] 94 Veteran - Jan Green Geoff