Southern Ports Golf week 2014

Slow steady recovery day today after the week long tournament. Not good enough to get over the competition and finish a winner after the final round. The final 7 holes were my downfall and like all 54 hole competitions just like an 18 hole competition consistency is the key. On the 14th hole a double bogey and 17th a triple bogey and that was the end of my challenge. Too late in the round to be able to come back from that and the course conditions stymied any final charge attempt. The four of last five holes were played into the face of a 30-35 kph wind. I made too many mistakes at the wrong stage of the round that was all. Finished tied in ninth place on the day Nett 76. Total Nett for the competition 219. Winning A Grade nett score was 216, second place in the nett went to 218 score. Yes dear readers, one shot off a podium finish. BUGGA! Went to the presentation night to congratulate a home club mate who won the A Grade off the stick tournament. Got a surprise myself in winning the progressive nearest the pin, Sponsored by Youngs Menswear in Mount Gambier. In fact the home club had several tournament champions. Winning the C grade Men Championship and Veteran, Ladies C Grade Veteran, B Grade Gross R/U and the A Grade Gross Champion. Hit the ball, find the ball , hit the ball. Thankyou for your time and attention Winners are Grinners (Also picked up worst dressed golfers at presentation.) Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf Practise is what works not procrastination..

Friday afternoon joined in the 9 hole Chicken Run competition for the first time in a few weeks. Needed to have a social round as well as put the recent training and practise to the test in a competition. Had been a gradual loosening up since returning home on Wednesday using the DreamSwing to full effect and getting the swing consistency established. Soon had the irons on song in the first day, the driver was a two day process. The tightness from travelling and a little involuntary self protection was the fault. Had a slice/fade that was caused by swinging with the arms and not rotating the body at the hips during the swing. This is not a new thing for me it is caused by reaction to a long time injury. Sure enough once I had worked through the tune up and got to the Driver fix it took nothing more than making a conscious effort to stop the slice. Short game fault was also caused by the same problem and was fixed as well. End result was an easy 18 stableford point score in the Chicken Run. Today will put in a 30 min session in the morning and afternoon just to keep the golf tuned up. Playing 18 holes on Sunday at Robe before the first round of the Southern Port Golf tournament at Beachport on Monday. Did make one other game change using the Cobra S3 irons again. It was not planned more a whim to compare them with my reshafted Ap2 irons. Once again the Cobras feel much better balanced and with more 'touch'so it is likely they will be in the bag for Southern Ports Golf Week. Hit the ball, find the ball , hit the ball. Thankyou for your time and attention Geoff

2014 Masters Games at Naracoorte

2014 Masters Games at Naracoorte from the 3rd to the 7th of April. Will be registering for the event next week and looking forward to enjoying the golfing competition again. Hopefully will do a little batter than in 2011.

Sport Levy: $50pp Coordinator: Aaron Osman aaron.p.osman@gmail.com and Marlene Bull Email: bullfish1@bigpond.com 0428 622 181 Age Groups: Men's and Ladies: 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74 and 75+ Dates: Friday, April 4 - Shotgun Start - 2 person Nominated Ambrose (no fixed gender category) Combined Age: 70-99, 100-129, 130+ Saturday, April 5 - 18 of 36 Hole Championship Stroke Round - Men's and Ladies: 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74 and 75+ Sunday, April 6 - Second 18 of 36 Hole Championship Stroke Round - Men's and Ladies: 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74 and 75+ Social Activities: Dinner and Drinks Saturday Night at Naracoorte Golf Club Venue: Naracoorte Golf Club, Riddoch Hwy, Naracoorte Food & Refreshments available at venue http://www.naracoortemastersgames2014.com.au/sports.html Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

A win in more ways than one...

Tuesday 11th Feb. In the past three seasons by this time of he year I have been in dedicated training for the Southern Ports Golf Week which begins on the last Saturday of February (for the past 39 years.) If it was not for the shoulder injury that would have been exactly what would have n\been my golfing experience since December. Instead I have barely picked up a club and this weekend was my second competitive round for 2014. It is a new development that my attitude has been revamped and invigorated with the simple pleasure of being able to get out and just play golf again. The Ace last week has added an even stronger belief that I can do anything on a golf course and we all know how important confidence is for the game. This past weekend I went out and enjoyed the round and won the competition as well. Golf is not a game that requires superb fitness to play well. Thankfully, as athletic prowess is not something I have much of. Over the last three holes I was definitely flagging in strength and condition, much better stamina than last week though. While it is not a game requiring excellent fitness, I believe that 'match conditioning' is needed to play good golf and that is not about athleticism. As I once again am going through a period of physical rehabilitation and recovery, about the 60th time since 1982 it feels as good as can be expected. Definitely believe and feel this recovery is enhanced by the much improved fitness and condition from playing golf and associated exercise since 2009. The anger at having to do physical rehabilitation again is not diminished, let's not go there and risk collateral damage. I do channel the energy of anger into my motivation. It is very powerful and has to be tempered so it does not create one of those painful golfing dickhead personas on the course. I am a very happy person always. It is a lot more fun using anger for golfing motivation today than it was 20 years ago when using it as energy to be able to get out of bed or just walk along a street. Warning using the 'No Pain No Gain' adage at me will deliver a kick to your groin and a beaming smile from me, while saying "Pleased to be able to help you." Always good to get that darkness out of my system and get on to the next step forward. Today is the follow up chiropractic treatment and the improvement since last week have been excellent. so much so that I am know starting to plan the Golf Week strategy with a belief that winning is possible again. My major game concern is the start of a gay fade off the tee block has began to feature. That is caused by the physical shoulder damage and should not be a major problem to overcome in the next two weeks. That long running problem with poor green in regulation statistics has been improved since returning to play in the past two weeks. The limited practise I have done was with the 7-8 irons hitting 20 odd balls without any pressure. which has carried over to my competition play. Chipping is poor at the minute. Simply as I have not been able to endure the required amount of repetitive practise to get consistent of late. Yet with these failings my golfing is good enough to win as I am playing confidently and not trying to "play out of my skin". All I can rationalise it down to is the hiatus in playing has let my game settle down and be refreshed mentally. The improvements from using the Dreamswing in 2013 are now seen as my usual game and not the 'new' game that was always being mentally noted while playing last season. Hit the ball, find the ball , hit the ball. Thankyou for your time and attention Geoff