22nd March 2010 Lazy start to the day, had a bit of extended R and R this morning. Could be that the post match beer plus staying up to midnight having to finish off some work on Sunday made the sleeping easier.
Okay the result was almost what I wanted in Sunday’s comp, came in second with a net 69 after 18 holes. Sunday Stroke Round – Front nine 43, Back nine 48, total 91. Nett 69. 29 putts. Played a good consistent game and it was fun with the other players, one a single figure handicapper and the other 2 are in the mid twenties and at that stage where their game is beginning to improve and drop strokes. The 3 of them are big hitters of the ball from the tee, between 250-270 m drives, where as I am in the 220-230m distance with my drive off the tee. Now as serious as I am about my game I do enjoy the fun of mucking around and for the last couple of holes we decided to ‘Not hold back’ off the tee. There was no way I was going to hit the ball as far yet I got a lot of value from this on the last two holes.. Of course I was at least 20 m behind the shortest of other three but my shots were all on the fairway and only 110-120 m from the green with a clear shot at the target with no trees or rough impeding my effort. Accuracy is a much greater asset than being able to drive a bomb into the stratosphere. Mind you watching a player launch a 270 m drive off a tee is well worth it. My interest in this player is more than novelty, he has returned to the game after a ten year break and is already back down close to his previous handicap. It is quite possible that he will be a definite contender in the Handicap Championships, qualifying rounds start next week and I am pleased to have seen his game now. If I manage to qualify, there is a good chance he will be a qualifier as well.
As mentioned in a previous post response, I have replaced the #3 and #5 fairway woods with a #2 hybrid in my bag and that has been the correct move. I only use the two fairway woods rarely in a round perhaps 6-7 times. Never been accurate enough with these two clubs for my own satisfaction and the #2 Hybrid has already given me improved accuracy plus 200 m distance in a club for the second shot on par fives, into the wind on par fours and off the tee on the particularly tight par fours that dogleg left or right and are too short for the No #1 driver.
Most importantly, I had less than 30 putts yesterday and began to get the feel of the improvements the putting lesson from the club pro in late February. I combined a lesson on two parts of my game I was not satisfied with at that time and knew needed some coaching. Pitching and Chipping + Putting. Being a low twenties handicapper I hit greens in regulation on occasion, for me I need to be no more than 110-100 metres out for my ability to be accurate enough to hit greens now and then. Even with the extra distance of my Cobra driver and run from the summer fairways I am too far out usually to be accurate enough, so the pitch from 5-10m is vital part of my game in finishing holes. My low putting score was the result of being able to pitch the ball close to the hole consistently around 1 to 2 m distance and the improved putting accuracy combined with this to save me 3-5 strokes off my score. To highlight how good my round was, I only had one bad hole a 10 and still came in with a gross 91 and nett 69. The ten was a result of my other fault that is being worked on, the ‘brain fade’. I am still having concentration lapses on a hole towards the end of a round. This one was particularly bad (at the 15th) as it included a bit of over confident arrogance which had me play two strokes without due care in club selection, hitting my drive a fraction too hard had me slice out of bounds and following my set up routine that worked so well on the other 17 holes. The benefit is that I did it this week and have learnt a lesson before the qualifying round to come that I will have to tune up.
Thankyou for your time and attention , it is coffee o’clock for me now and back to doing some real work. Hit ‘em straight and accurate all.
Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff
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