Tuesday 7/6/11 Wind, rain and the lazy cold that goes through you instead of around has settled in since Sundays cancelled round, pretty much confirming that winter has arrived. The inner golf nut is not distracted by these changes in weather conditions, in my case it has upped the ante in practise becoming even more important. Having already mapped out the increased commitment in preparation last week, for the start of the Various Regional Opens come July, there is no backing away now the weather has gone crap. Mind you sitting here at the minute I am realising that sometimes my golf obsession does border on the edge of stupid, stupid man behaviour.
The benefit of having made the commitment to get in form for July and onwards did deliver during the cancelled Sunday round. The score was on track for a a good one up until the cancellation of the round due to weather, hail, lightning, wind and big fat rain storms caused a rush for the clubhouse after 6-8 holes play. I was doing damn well with only one wipe and that was caused by the wind blowing the ball off the tee and a ball flying right across two fairways into lost ball oblivion. If it had not been for a playing partner telling me he saw the ball taking off sideways as I played the stroke I would still be wondering what the hell happened. The wind is a major influence here on the coast during winter and must be taken into all game day thinking.
Practise this week, yes out there in the crap weather started with getting the iron play adjusted to hitting into, accross and with the very strong winds. Coming in at 110kg myself it is a struggle to stay in place on the tee and on the fairway, let alone play good strokes.The adage “hit easy when it is breezy” works well with and into the wind. The lofted irons require the most concentration for my game, 20m to 80m out from the green with a howling wind is not easy from club choice to playing the shot. Did my prefered iron tune up exercise using blades and getting the swing down pat then pulling out the cavity irons and sure enough hitting the ball so much better. It does not take many mishits stinging the hands with the blades to stop me making lazy errors in set up and swing.
Even with my much improved swing over the past 3 seasons, my lofted iron shots are not powerful distance eaters. Even with the injury effects on my body that make me take it easy. The preference for me has always been consistent accurate strokes, being able to hit a wedge 100m has no appeal to me what so ever, which is a good thing as I average 80m with the pitching wedge. The 8 and 9 are my club choices for 100m distances, in the winter wind even the 7 iron gets a look in for the shot at times. It adds to my golfing enjoyment to have a lot of versatility with my irons ever since I returned to golf. With the latest leap in improvement off the tee with the driver my game now has a good foundation to be able to add a better short game.
Since the last week I have began to trawl the golf club market in earnest with the nearness of my 10 handicap goal. The time has come to prepare and get the set that will take the next step down to a single figure handicap. Still with 4 strokes to go to ten and having played to 11 and 12 in recent competitions the reason for starting to look seriously is because there are several sets that I have to whittle down. The Bridgestone J series appeal and I will be trialing a set of those in coming months, Titielist AP2’s, TalyorMade Burners, Wilson Ci/9’s, Callaway X series all have been given a run. Taylor made R9’s did not make the grade with me which I was bemused by. R9’s just did not feel good at all yet the cavity back Burners were a delight to hit. Mizuno fans do not feel slighted same as with the AP2’s it is a club choice that is out of my pockets reach for now. Together with the belief that my game is not at a level that warrants those at the minute. As confident as I am in my ability to improve and play a decent round of golf, a reality check that works for me is not to get capability and ambition confused.
After all of the experimenting with various clubs blades and cavity backs the sensation of a beautifully hit ball from either is delightful. The changes in my swing and improvement in my bodies flexibility have gone hand in hand since December 2010. It has not been easy or enjoyable at times as my previous posts reflect when expressing how pain is something to avoid. A game improvement iron is the best choice at this stage, something that will deliver feel and sensitivity to strokes played. Plus give a little tolerance to my shortcomings. Whilst I played well with the blades during the summer months the results fell away rapidly as I could not maintain performance and consistency. Two months of playing well with them was a great learning experience and I will return to them besides use as a practice tool.
Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all” Geoff
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Saturday, June 04, 2011
Now for the Open Tournaments
Saturday 4/6/11 Now that Pennants have finished I have got a copy of all the various Club Open Tournaments in the region yesterday and can start planning my next golfing challenge. The first Open hits off on the 24th of July at Lucindale, in 2010 I won the C Grade this season I am in the B grade and will need to get a bit of dedicated practise under the belt to repeat the performance. This tournament is also the 2nd round of the DK Edwards Trophy which started last season and requires playing in 5 of ten regional Open Tournaments to qualify for a ranking. Entered it last year and it was a good incentive to travel and play in the many regional tournaments. Not entering this year due to the underwhelming promotion and information available on the event circulated by the regions Golf Association. I thoroughly support the idea yet cannot participate in something that is so poorly administered. Given that this is a volunteer based association, it is just not a promising evolution to do things half arsed. Hoping that word of mouth and supplying no running tables/ranking etc is going to inspire golfers to enter.
My motivation is to use these Open Tournaments as the inspiration to get out in the winter weather and practise hard and try to knock off 3-4 strokes by October for the Club Championships. Because of the dearth of low handicappers at our club 13-14 will have me in A Grade and there is no way that I will be competitive against the single figure golfers on my existing number. I have managed to play to 11 and 12 in competition this year so perhaps I may even manage to get into single figures by October. Joined with a group coaching session this week on short game and putting, This has definitely helped in planning my next practise routines that are going to assist in getting 3-4 strokes off my scores. The Open Tournaments have the competitive edge that inspires me to play my best. This time I am aware of the various course layouts and that is going to be a benefit together with my improved game.
Mentally at last I have come to terms with playing off the lower handicap (down 4 strokes in 5 months) It was fun enjoying seeing the numbers and having a wallow in getting there, the need to have competative golf to play and beat others is vital to getting value for the effort put in so far. Yes, I enjoy playing at the home club, the need to play better is supplied by the Open Tournaments. The whole experience of playing with new people and enjoying the socialising is a big part of the anticipation. There are a few courses which “kicked my arse” in 2010 that I am looking forward to returning and having another crack at. Well the sun is now up and time to get out and start the next round of practising. Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all”. , Geoff
My motivation is to use these Open Tournaments as the inspiration to get out in the winter weather and practise hard and try to knock off 3-4 strokes by October for the Club Championships. Because of the dearth of low handicappers at our club 13-14 will have me in A Grade and there is no way that I will be competitive against the single figure golfers on my existing number. I have managed to play to 11 and 12 in competition this year so perhaps I may even manage to get into single figures by October. Joined with a group coaching session this week on short game and putting, This has definitely helped in planning my next practise routines that are going to assist in getting 3-4 strokes off my scores. The Open Tournaments have the competitive edge that inspires me to play my best. This time I am aware of the various course layouts and that is going to be a benefit together with my improved game.
Mentally at last I have come to terms with playing off the lower handicap (down 4 strokes in 5 months) It was fun enjoying seeing the numbers and having a wallow in getting there, the need to have competative golf to play and beat others is vital to getting value for the effort put in so far. Yes, I enjoy playing at the home club, the need to play better is supplied by the Open Tournaments. The whole experience of playing with new people and enjoying the socialising is a big part of the anticipation. There are a few courses which “kicked my arse” in 2010 that I am looking forward to returning and having another crack at. Well the sun is now up and time to get out and start the next round of practising. Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all”. , Geoff
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Back on target...
Three holes into the round on Sunday and one of my playing partners commented his mind was just not on the game and it was going to be a long day for him. I appreciate that honesty in golfers that often gets blurted out, it epitomises the unique bond this sport of individuals creates. To which my reply was I can relate to that attitude having had it myself, but could not care less how it is going to affect his day because I am a selfish b@st@rd. He cracked up and laughed and the round went on in a good nature.
Particularly enjoyable for me after the last 3 weeks of playing Pennants (as mentioned in the previous post) which was a pain in the @rse. To finish with an 82 off the stick with some good fortune that balanced out the bad shots second place on the day with 40 points, the missed birdie putt on the 16th and 18th cost me a win. This score is going to take me from 14 to 13 Hcp which is very satisfying. At the minute my mind is finally starting to come to terms with playing off this handicap level and no longer bemused at seeing my name next to that figure.
Booked in for a lesson this week with the club pro, this time a finessing treatment to establish the set up routine to avoid making the slight errors which are so damaging to playing to lower handicaps. All is well with my grip, swing and equipment. The Club Pro now has to set me up with the mental attitude/focus to reach that goal of a 10 Handicap. He said he could do it and after two years of following his advice I am in position to hit the target. For those that think this is an undue amount of time in development please take on that my body is to be blunt, damaged beyond repair and I have had at least 6 months of enforced recovery time.
From the start of yesterdays round to the end I was coping with soft tissue pain that was irritated with every full swing and follow through. Forcing myself to keep the front (left) foot planted on the ground and not lifting the heel to not have pain as my back twisted and hips turned with each swing. The benefit was accurate shots to the green and good distance, a good score came from not favouring relief to the discomfort. Why I believe that getting to 10 Hcp is possible is because of rounds like yesterday. To those who would throw in that adage, “No pain, No gain” Come a little closer so can kick you in the groin and help you improve. That is bullsh!t when it comes to my experience, fine if you are talking about gym exercise and the like. For a person dealing with injury and rehabilitation I do not enjoy pain one iota and would give anything to not have to endure it.
Getting the positives out of the negatives is why I am still breathing today and not stopping trying to achieve a little more satisfaction and enjoyment in life. The day I sit back and see that 10 in my handicap box is going to be a pleasure. Soon replaced by planning to get to a single figure handicap. Thankyou for your time and attention. “Hit ‘em straight all.”
Geoff
Particularly enjoyable for me after the last 3 weeks of playing Pennants (as mentioned in the previous post) which was a pain in the @rse. To finish with an 82 off the stick with some good fortune that balanced out the bad shots second place on the day with 40 points, the missed birdie putt on the 16th and 18th cost me a win. This score is going to take me from 14 to 13 Hcp which is very satisfying. At the minute my mind is finally starting to come to terms with playing off this handicap level and no longer bemused at seeing my name next to that figure.
Booked in for a lesson this week with the club pro, this time a finessing treatment to establish the set up routine to avoid making the slight errors which are so damaging to playing to lower handicaps. All is well with my grip, swing and equipment. The Club Pro now has to set me up with the mental attitude/focus to reach that goal of a 10 Handicap. He said he could do it and after two years of following his advice I am in position to hit the target. For those that think this is an undue amount of time in development please take on that my body is to be blunt, damaged beyond repair and I have had at least 6 months of enforced recovery time.
From the start of yesterdays round to the end I was coping with soft tissue pain that was irritated with every full swing and follow through. Forcing myself to keep the front (left) foot planted on the ground and not lifting the heel to not have pain as my back twisted and hips turned with each swing. The benefit was accurate shots to the green and good distance, a good score came from not favouring relief to the discomfort. Why I believe that getting to 10 Hcp is possible is because of rounds like yesterday. To those who would throw in that adage, “No pain, No gain” Come a little closer so can kick you in the groin and help you improve. That is bullsh!t when it comes to my experience, fine if you are talking about gym exercise and the like. For a person dealing with injury and rehabilitation I do not enjoy pain one iota and would give anything to not have to endure it.
Getting the positives out of the negatives is why I am still breathing today and not stopping trying to achieve a little more satisfaction and enjoyment in life. The day I sit back and see that 10 in my handicap box is going to be a pleasure. Soon replaced by planning to get to a single figure handicap. Thankyou for your time and attention. “Hit ‘em straight all.”
Geoff
Pennants Golf a slow death...
Good grief it is hard to admit that I have let work and responsibility get in the way of playing golf of late…it is times like this when reality makes me realise how much I miss the irresponsible 24hr a day party person days. Then again certain body parts, beginning with liver, kidneys, the mushy grey thing between my ears and eyes that earnt frequent flyer points for using eye drops would disagree with my fanciful recall of the “good Old days”
The health kick has dropped off 5 kg and that is a good thing in the past month, playing less golf has given the body which was labouring under niggling injuries and needed a break time to recover. The positives of playing less certainly outweigh the mental regret. The discomfort on the course was not improved with playing three pennant rounds and not the club competition rounds in the last month.
Having pushed at club and committee level since December last year that having a pennants team was a waste of time, further proven by the total lack of interest by club golfers who said no to playing, this was not enjoyable. That I work on Saturday and Sundays starting a 5 am the need to head off at 8 am for a minimum 50 km to 150km trip to play Pennants as an obligation not as golfing fun did not help. In fact I was lumped as acting Captain did have a bonus, I refused to cajole or beg to get players, I got 3 new golfers who have only just started to play this year and are on 27 plus handicaps into the team. They all lost every game, but they wanted to play and f@ck the club members who were concerned about the players knowledge and standard of golf. Two other golfers who played were former Pennants players and both played for the same reason as I. The club needed to have a team turn up. Both have since told me that next year they will not play as they would rather play in the club round.
During the competition one of the other teams did forfeit a round, and talking with other team players many were playing for the same reasons as me, due to a sense of club spirit and helping out. 15 years ago Pennants teams required 11 players per team, now it is 5, that shows how difficult maintaining the competition is at the minute. I have spoken to the club captain and let him know that I will be not endorsing entry into the Pennants for 2012.
Politicking is something that I really try to not do but I have noticed that my strong communication skill is the perfect way to do it in my time as secretary. I have no hesitation in asking questions and finding out what other committee members are thinking. This is a good thing and makes meetings where major decisions are being made much better. ie $600,000 being spent to buy the land to establish a full 18 hole course last month. Interacting here has been a great assistance in my year as secretary especially reading what is affecting other clubs and golfers activity and concerns.
It is much easier to have a large picture of golf to be able to interact with. I have used information from Iseekgolf at committee level every meeting this year! Golf clubs by nature are insular operations but today have to operate on a broader spectrum to remain active and continue into the future.
Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em Straight all” Geoff
The health kick has dropped off 5 kg and that is a good thing in the past month, playing less golf has given the body which was labouring under niggling injuries and needed a break time to recover. The positives of playing less certainly outweigh the mental regret. The discomfort on the course was not improved with playing three pennant rounds and not the club competition rounds in the last month.
Having pushed at club and committee level since December last year that having a pennants team was a waste of time, further proven by the total lack of interest by club golfers who said no to playing, this was not enjoyable. That I work on Saturday and Sundays starting a 5 am the need to head off at 8 am for a minimum 50 km to 150km trip to play Pennants as an obligation not as golfing fun did not help. In fact I was lumped as acting Captain did have a bonus, I refused to cajole or beg to get players, I got 3 new golfers who have only just started to play this year and are on 27 plus handicaps into the team. They all lost every game, but they wanted to play and f@ck the club members who were concerned about the players knowledge and standard of golf. Two other golfers who played were former Pennants players and both played for the same reason as I. The club needed to have a team turn up. Both have since told me that next year they will not play as they would rather play in the club round.
During the competition one of the other teams did forfeit a round, and talking with other team players many were playing for the same reasons as me, due to a sense of club spirit and helping out. 15 years ago Pennants teams required 11 players per team, now it is 5, that shows how difficult maintaining the competition is at the minute. I have spoken to the club captain and let him know that I will be not endorsing entry into the Pennants for 2012.
Politicking is something that I really try to not do but I have noticed that my strong communication skill is the perfect way to do it in my time as secretary. I have no hesitation in asking questions and finding out what other committee members are thinking. This is a good thing and makes meetings where major decisions are being made much better. ie $600,000 being spent to buy the land to establish a full 18 hole course last month. Interacting here has been a great assistance in my year as secretary especially reading what is affecting other clubs and golfers activity and concerns.
It is much easier to have a large picture of golf to be able to interact with. I have used information from Iseekgolf at committee level every meeting this year! Golf clubs by nature are insular operations but today have to operate on a broader spectrum to remain active and continue into the future.
Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em Straight all” Geoff
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