Won through to the championship final...

12/10/11 Wednesday. Played the Semi Final matchplay round to decide the final pairing for the club championship this afternoon and came out with a victory 3up with 2 to play. Can say that all the goals for the season were reached and given a dedicated and serious attempt on my part. A very satisfying season and with one more game to go feel humble in the achievements. It is not going to be a very humble series of practise sessions from now until Sunday’s 36 hole crack at the title.

It was not luck on my part or my opponent that got the victory it was the regular practise routines which were followed through the season. In fact my opponent commented on this towards the end of the match. It is and has been the key to the improvement and results since 2009 when beginning to play. Specifically was the observation that I do not go out and hit buckets of balls, instead practise has a set series of targets and quality of the practise strokes is more important than quantity.

The extra three days before playing the matchplay did give my elbow injury time to recover a little more. Off the tee and fairway play is acceptable. the short game is not quite fluid and comfortable. From now until Sunday tee off, putting especially will be a focus in practise. The opponent is last seasons club champion currently a 6 handicapper to my 12. After the victory in the 2009 Club Handicap Championship against the same opponent he has dropped 6 strokes to a single figure and I have dropped 13-15 strokes. This time the match will be off the stick, looking forward to the challenge and the competition on the day.

Took a little while to hit my straps today all square after the front nine (44 off the stick each), the back nine got the game attitude into top gear. Had 5 pars to shut out the game in the seven played, winning hole numbers 10, 11 and 12 to have the opponent chasing wins. It was an effort to get into the matchplay frame of mind. Even though I was confident all match and never headed, two missed puts in the first 3 holes had me 1 up when it could easily have been 3 up. First time I have played 18 holes for a while and the injury was only a small inconvenience.

Game on time until Sunday and excited to have made the final match relishingthe coming challenge. Thankyou for your time and attention all. “Hit ‘em straight” Geoff

Love it when a plan works...

21/9/2011 In the aftermath of the success in qualifying for the club championships it would be remiss of me to not backtrack to the Junior Coaching clinic on Friday just gone at the club. With a group of 18 year 6-7 students from the Primary School, the regional coach and three volunteers the couple of hours went along really well. The interest by the students and the fun they had with golf shows what can be achieved and the real future of golf that is there to be developed. Of course there are hurdles, getting volunteers on a regular basis is not that difficult. The government need for training, police checks etc and all that entails is a pain in the neck. Make no doubt I and the rest of the members are fully aware of why this must be done. The commitment to having a successful club far outweighs the imposition of time spend in doing administrative duties. The plans for regular junior clinic over the school holiday period are certain to be developed and acted upon after this recent example of junior interest.
Do not be misdirected that this is all too much, instead it is an example of why many golf clubs are struggling. Volunteers are in the main happy to do the work but having to become pseudo employees is an anathema to many. I have lasted one year as secretary not because I do not want to be involved in the club. It is because if I wanted to be an administration officer then my career would still be that and not my current profession. The amount of tasks which involve supplying information to public operations for statistical purposes is not balanced out with the same bodies returning the effort in assisting the smooth operation of golf clubs.
Now to the reason of why I am a golfer, playing the game. The satisfaction of qualifying has proven every effort to get out and practise in 2011 was worthwhile. Out in the rain and wind of storms on the practise range, without hesitation all because I wanted to give myself the best possible chance. Having to come in with a spot on score to set myself with the best possible matchplay pairings did come off. All season I have wrote about my game strategy working towards setting particular goals that if reached in a round enabled specific targets to be set over 18 holes of golf. One was to always aim at being set up after the 12th-13th holes to be able to be aggressive and not playing to minimise damage.

On Sunday even after a pair of 7’s on theses two par four holes, I could go hard on the closing five holes and it was by millimetres that I missed out on getting all 5 in regulation par scores. This left me in limbo as to what the matchplay pairings would be having tied with another golfer in qualifying. By good the good fortune of my scores I won out in the pairings and miss playing both the defending champion and one of the club’s (with 15 “A” grade championships) best golfers in the semi and qualifying finals. It is still going to be a hard road through the matchplay finals, it is realistic in dreaming of making the final. Luck has had and will have no bearing on the outcome, making it happen is up to me and not changing what has been in place all season. All the aches pains and crunchy bits that I feel now because of the seasons’ effort are not pleasant, but having succeeded and made it this far were well worth inflicting upon myself. Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em Straight all” 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

Masters Games weekend is here....

Thursday 31st March 2011


Returned home today after a very satisfying trip to Adelaide. Most important was the very positive reception the Golf Documentary in production received during the meeting at SA Film Corp. As an independent film maker with my background in live performance getting a response in a comedy gig obviously laughs means that the job is being done right. Making a movie is a long drawn out process and honestly the mechanics of it are bloody boring to the onlooker. This meeting where I did a lot of answering questions, ended up with me being told that I was doing the mechanics of film production very well. It was a great motivating boost and will inspire me on when buried in the long tedious editing process in coming months.



On the way to town I called in and played the front 9 at Mount Lofty, great fun and will be a regular stopover on my regular visits to Adelaide. Next trip will play the back 9 with much gusto. Was fortunate the unseasonal rains have greened up the hills already in the year and that is much better than playing in dusty conditions. It was particularly beneficial for my preparation to the Masters games having a hitout at a new course and exercise my ‘game’ brain.



The rehab. exercise routine has done the job on the groin and hamstring strains carried over from Sundays round. This has been a weakness in my body that as been affecting my golf as well as daily life since the beginning of March. Not even a twinge while traipsing up and down the hills at Mt Lofty. Hit 90 balls at the Drummonds driving range on Wednesday and again no twinges and a very good workout on my irons and drivers for the Masters this weekend as well.



Friday will be tune up the pitching, chipping and putting and that will be all in the final preparations. My hit off time is 12.30pm on the 10th tee, seeing that I have played the back nine better in both my previous rounds at Naracoorte that is a little positive boost before hitting a ball.
Naracoorte Golf Club


10th Hole – Par 4 – Mens 363m Ladies 346m

Ranked the toughest hole on the course. Tricks players into attacking off the tee, but best to hit your most trusted club from the tee and onto the fairway. The further you drive the more difficult it is to keep your ball on the fairway due to a narrowing, doglegging fairway with the trees impeding the further you hit. The most difficult task on this hole is sticking your approach on the tiny green which slopes deceptively from right to left. Any approach landing short will stay there and any ball landing past the middle of the green will be out the back door with a devilish shot back.

11th Hole – Par 4 – Mens 323m Ladies 301m

An interesting hole calling for position off the tee at about 220m avoiding the gums on the left hand corner and avoiding running through the fairway. The 2nd shot calls for precision to a two tiered green which doesn’t see much daylight due to the magnificent array of trees aligning both sides of the hole. Some long hitters have been known to nearly drive the green, but it requires a perfect shot with zero margin of error. Good luck to those who try.

12th Hole – Par 3 – Mens 154m Ladies 145m

A simple par three played slightly uphill to a generous green protected on the left by a small bunker and on the right by a thick grass bunker. Putting can be a challenge here as your ball will always move as it loses pace. Take your par gladly and move on to the next.

13th Hole – Par 4 – Mens 346m Ladies 343m

An interesting hole which doglegs right, challenging the player to bite off as much as they can. A real risk and reward hole coming at a pivotal time in the round. Best to once again hit the fairway with your most trusted club as the 2nd shot doesn’t throw up to many tricks as the only protection around the green is a bunker located well short and to the right. Green slopes back to front and left to right.

14th Hole – Par 5 – Mens 477m Ladies 435m

A hole which throws up more eagles and birdies than any other on the course but beware as it also has more double figure scores than all the others combined. Big hitters can carry the corner shortening the hole but the scrub on the left can often lead to lost balls. Whilst talking of lost balls avoid the right hand rough and trees as this is the most punishing around. Once on the fairway the only concern is avoiding a fairway bunker located 100 metres from the green and the deep greenside traps on a generous green which slopes back to front.

15th Hole – Par 4 – Mens 334m Ladies 327m

A difficult par 4 played uphill requiring a pinpoint drive which will be thrown to the right with the slope whilst the hole slides around a gentle left dogleg adding to the difficulty. Once on the fairway your problems have only started as the approach needs to be struck with pinpoint distance control as this green is a monster if you find the wrong portion. Two small bunkers left and one on the right protect the green but it is the green that throws up the biggest threats, leave yourself an uphill putt if possible. This is one hole that you can’t escape with an ordinary shot.

16th Hole – Par 3 – Mens 157m Ladies 140m

A tricky downhill par 3 made so by the exposure to whatever wind is around and a two tiered green which sits unusually across you. The green is protected left and right front by 2 bunkers. There is a steep fall away off the back of the green filled with thick grass, best to miss this green short as it requires a first class pitch from behind the green to secure par.

17th Hole – Par 4 – Mens 376m Ladies 311m

Our longest par 4 requires a drive to be shaped left to right around the dogleg as a straight shot will run through the fairway. Once on the fairway a middle iron to a smallish green protected on the right by a bunker is all that is needed. A flattish green holds no fears as it is the drive which holds the key to this hole.

18th Hole – Par 5 – Mens 438m Ladies 382m

A chance to finish in glory on this relative easy par 5. The drive must skirt the right hand side of a narrow shute. Ideally the drive needs to move left to right for the second hole in a row to avoid running through the fairway and if you avoid the blind fairway bunker on the right you then have a good line into the green surrounded by bunkers short left and on the right. The green doesn’t throw up to many challenges so tap in for birdie and enjoy a celebration in the clubhouse.




Thankyou for your time and attention, "Hit 'em Straight all."Geoff

Southern Ports Tournament preparations on target..

Thursday 27/1/11 Almost into the last 30 days before the first round of the Southern Ports Tournament. Preparations are still on track even with the injury disruption from the 9th of January, finally got into the Bowen Therapist on Tuesday and repaired the remaining damage still lingering. With a follow up next Friday to complete the treatment my physical condition will be tuned and in sync with my golf form again. Whilst recuperating the training was still maintained, increasing short game practise and physical training to accommodate the injury restriction.




The same as last season physical training for me is not too strenuous or complicated. Sticking with the low impact conditioning routines with a Chest Expander and set of Hand Grips has been especially effective again. I am not after building up strength of bulk these days, what I want is to develop stamina through excercise to avoid technique errors through tiredness. In this instance while carrying the back injury still during the 18 holes on Sunday my stamina did falter, due to not having my drinks bottle and ignoring the need for water in the heat. My pyhsical strength and condition was fine and the next day I put in a good practise session without any problem. After the Bowen treatment on Tuesday I managed a comfortable 9 holes and yesterday played 9 holes returning 6 pars, 2x bogies and 1x double bogie for a 40 off the stick.



Back to using the Cobra Driver and the lessons gained from causing the injury and only using the regular flex 3 Wood since off the tee delivered improved accuracy and distance with the return. I have also returned to using a set of irons with a firm flex instead of stiff and this was effective and less strenuous. I am still exploring this direction as an added equipment option and will have a Regular flex Driver to use in the near future. I do not spend a lot on golf equipment, Ebay is a particular golfing boon for me.

My decision was to look at getting a measured and matched set when reaching 15hcp. Currently the figure is 17 and I am most likely going to put off the purchase of the new set after I reach 12 hcp.



At the minute I have 3 iron sets, Wilson 1200 blades, Presto cavity backs and Ping Karsten look alike all 3 have been used in competition and have specific purposes in my golfing. The blades are specifically used to tune my game up, being a little too short for me I use them to test my technique in playing shots. I cannot hit my full distances with them without disastrous errors happening if I deviate from hitting the ball correctly. Cost of these delivered off Ebay $35, I do not agree 100% with the statement that only very good golfers can use blades. There was a time when this was all that was available and hackers had to use blades too so it is one of my ‘back to the future’ experiments which delivers good results for some facets of my golf. The Ping Karsten look alike irons are approx 25 years old are reshafted to suit me and again cost $35 with a bag included off Ebay. These were a particular set I looked for as they are the same as the set I used in the 1980’s, in 2009 I purchased a set of Shark cavity backs ($185) which were good until I reached 20hcp and the O/S clubhead and game improvement facets began to be a detriment to my game development. The Shark Stiff shafts are on the Karsten irons and the club heads were sold on Ebay. The Presto irons cost $99 and were bought just for the shafts yet I found that they were a good iron to use and I alternate between these and the “Karsten” copies in competition depending on the conditions.



It is a comment of non golfers that the game is too expensive to play, I disagree when comparing it to the cost of playing football (any code) and even being an active spectator. If your sports involvement is as a passive spectator and watching on tv and not going to games then golf is expensive. I see an annual membership cheaper than a gym membership and playing golf much more fun to do as excercise. Not to forget the thrill of competition. Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em Straight all” Geoff

Camilo Villegas improved my game...

Monday 24/1/11 Got myself around the course yesterday for the first 18 hole round since injuring myself 2 weeks ago. 91 off the stick and 34 Stableford point was the result, with a wipe on the last hole a par 4 with 7 strokes. The new putter a Wilson 100 with a longer 37 inch shaft has been a major benefit to my game. Not at all disapointed with the result was flagging rapidly on the last two holes and simply ran out of energy. again my own fault, no prizes for guessing who forgot to take his water bottle with him on a hot day and was stupid enough to not have a drink while playing. Getting a drink did cross my mind during the round but one of my other faults when golfing interfered, I get so single minded I consciously don’t break out of the routine of playing to my detriment.




Made one particular change to my game since the injury, stopped using the Cobra Driver to enforce some much needed discipline on the tee. Used the No 3 Shark Metal off the tee and also on the fairway to good effect considering it has only recently been put back in the bag. Quite a confidence boost to be able to hit this club so well either straight or with a slight draw. This was one of my weaknesses when beginning, consistently slicing shots with most clubs, with disastrous results from the Driver/Fairway metals. In 2010 I watched an interview with Camilo Villegas and he was asked what his favourite golf club was? "I'd better love all 14. I eventually have to hit them all, and if I dislike one, I'll just get over the ball with a bad attitude, and the outcome won’t be great." I have adopted his reply and to good effect in my own game since then. Making a specific effort to have no preference and this has developed a greater confidence and wider spectrum of shots to choose from in a round.



The other point that has been raised from using the #3 Metal has been whether I should continue using Stiff shafts on my clubs. The #3 is a regular flex and with the effects of the back injury caused by playing too much and having one too many ‘Blood Rushes’ to the brain with a tee shot. I used it to enforce taking easy technically correct swings and not falling in to the “belt the cover off” fault. Being a little tentative top start the rythym soon came into my game again and an improved consistency and accuracy with the #3 metal off the tee and fairway.



I have since been to the pro shop and taken out a selection of regular flex irons for some comparison testing and there is a definite appeal to changing to regular flex irons. The first thing though is to get the driver choice sorted and I am going to stick with my irons as is while experimenting with Regular flex Drivers for a couple of weeks and see what eventuates. As regular readers from my 2010 post would recall I played with irons in 2009 choosing accuraccy over distance with great success in my first season of golfing again. That is still an underlying focus for my game development, yes I can hit 220 - 250m drives now. I would rather hit the fairways though and if using a regular flex driver shaft increases the % of this that is the deciding factor. Thankyou for your time and attention all, Hit ‘em Straight. Geoff

Standing tall again...

Wednesday 19/1/11 A little surprising to see a fortnight has passed between posts, even though the golfing has not stopped. There was a week long hiatus due to an injury sustained on the 9th of January while playing golf, of course.Following the same pre-Tournament Conditioning routine as last year for Southern Ports has been very effective. I am particularly chuffed with having scored the following 88,87,94,83,86 over the past 5 competition rounds. In general the practise and competition golf played by myself is spaced out to feather the various weaknesses from injury my body has sustained over the past 20 odd years. In preparing for the Southern Ports tournament and having to play 3 x 18 hole rounds in 5 days I make a specific effort to do this twice (December and January) before the actual tournament in the first week of March. Not usually a problem, this past month though I played several extra social rounds with visitors which unfortunately resulted in not giving my body enough time to recover.




As much as my current physical fitness is a huge improvement on 12 months ago, the chronic torn muscle injuries in my back cannot be repaired. To cover that I have strengthened the associated areas and still make a particular effort to “give it a rest” to take away the strain of repetitive use, which acerbates the injury. Unfortunately by being a “dickhead” and on the 2nd last hole of the day deciding to give the Tee shot a little more power, I over reached my capability and strained the old injury. So bloody stupid, was having a good round and swinging well, still managed to finish with an 86 yet the injury that I did to myself took me out of a 1st place finish. Ended up 3rd on a countback, no regrets but a well earned lesson to maintain concentration all the way through a round.



The benefits after this have been substantial, I have a very optimistic approach to life that’s got me this far, “taking the positives from any negative event affecting me.” In this case after 3 days of discomfort, there has been times much worse in the past, the ice, rest, heat treatment followed by a massage on Wednesday had the healing process almost complete. Only practised pitching and putting to Saturday and have played 3 x 9 hole rounds and back to 41-42 off the stick at the minute and no golf today. Can just feel a few tight spots and twinges in the injured area so time for some common sense rest.



The BIG bonus has been from “taking away a toy” in punishment for the stupidity that caused the injury. Not using the Cobra Driver off the tee since then, the 15 degree Shark XLT No. 3 metal needed some serious use as well and the loss of 20-40 m off the tee has been replaced by accuracy and consistent distance. Not to forget a much better swing tempo using a smooth easy golf technique not “seal clubbing” tendencies. The injury has stuffed up my long iron-mid iron progress yet with 6 weeks to go I should be able to get back on track with the plan to improve accurate approach shots and hit greens in regulation. Cannot see me going out of the “B” grade for the tournament now with the past 4 sub 90- results and can only practise more to be able to put in 3 x low 80 rounds in the tournament, if not break 80 to have a crack at winning the grade. Thankyou for your time and attention. “Hit ‘em Straight all”, Geoff

KINGSTON Summer Open

19.12.10


It is with a sense of self satisfaction that I can say my year of golf in 2010 has been a success. Yesterday was the Summer Open at Kingston and my score of 88 Gross (69 nett) was good enough to win my first Div 2 (B Grade 14-20 hcp) competition. It has been a good year as always on and off the course and the result yesterday was the culmination of the past 2-3 months of practise and persistence coming to fruition. Avoiding the time honoured golfers cliche “I could have played better” is easy in this “warm fuzzy” moment. There was no moment of ‘Zen’ consciousness when scoring a good result was in my minds eye vision of the achievable. The final score was a result of playing within my limits, not trying to push my limits. When the conservative safer option existed that had a higher percentage of success associated with the effort, I took it yesterday.



A return to the way I played last season has been on the cards all season. To do that had to include the additions to the way I play now; A) Using a Driver off the Tee and not Irons on all holes. B) Using #2 Hybrid on fairways and tees. C) Being able to hit the ball with more consistency and accuracy with all clubs. The difficulty came with being able to accept being a better golfer able to play shots that previously were ‘too risky’ and could now be played with a much higher success rate. This was not easy to adjust to. My confidence was shattered a few times when I played a shot that failed in the main because I was breaking the “what is possible” template from 2009.



The conditions yesterday were not perfect either, with a consistent wind that threw in some very strong gusts out of the blue and an occasional shower. In retrospect today is a crap day, very strong wind plenty of rain overnight and showers predicted for the day. Whereas yesterdays conditions had a beneficial affect in contention on the game, today it is a challenge to be able to lift myself and go out and play in much more adverse condition. I will accept the challenge and that is not because of ego but the desire to enjoy being able to have a crack and push my limit. Winning is a definite bonus that gives a lift in it’s reward for the effort put in over a season. Even though the 88 gross was not my best score off the stick, it is playing to a 16 handicap on one of the 2011 Southern Ports Tournament courses. There is a day between rounds during the actual tournament, today I will be going out and playing 18 holes on another Southern Ports course, in more trying conditions as part of my conditioning program.



Time to start getting ready for the days competition, Thankyou for your time and attention all, Hit ‘em Straight all”
Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff