Championship qualifying time....

18/4/12 Wednesday. Had to change the travelling plan for the weekend to play at the Heywood Open Tournament. Work commitment on the Sunday made it too difficult to be able to guarantee getting there in time to play, being a 27 hole competition it meant leaving at 6.30am to get there by 8.30am Tee off. Was looking forward to the challenge as I had not played the course, my body is happy it is a no show as it was a real struggle to complete the 18 holes on Sunday just gone. Working on the rehabilitation this week since Monday and it is gradually improving. With the Sunday competition at the Home club a combination of events, 1st Qualifying Round Club Handicap Championships, Monthly Medal and 1st Round of the Caledonian Inn Trophy.

Have won the Caledonian Inn Trophy the past two seasons, so will be putting in a good effort to defend the title. The Handicap Championship was mine in 2009 and this season my game is a lot more consistent and I should be in the mix to make the matchplay finals at least. The past few weeks of practice have been good for establishing the consistency with my swing and general stroke play to an acceptable level for my handicap. I had been drifting out each week and was on 14 handicap for Sundays round just gone. The result on the day has me back to a playing handicap of 13 again.

The change to the new Bridgestone J36 clubs had been a little unsettling in my rythym and tempo. That combined with having pushed myself too the physical limits since January resulting in a golf game that was erratic. The coaching changes worked from day one in that time but it was a longer adjustment than expected. It was very hard to stop falling back on old habits that destroy the effectiveness of improvements in recent months while physically struggling. This is an example that the mental aspect of golfing saves strokes as much as having a good swing. It is imperative that a golfer concentrates on ‘doing the right thing’. It can seem pedantic as an amateur golfer out having fun that it is just as important to have your mind disciplined just as the professionals do.

Part of the refreshing my mental golfing attitude has been the past two weeks of experimenting with driver shaft changes. At the same time the regular practice was maintained on the range hitting balls with 6 and 9 irons with chipping and putting practice on the greens. In refreshing the mind practice, I was out on the range belting balls with reshafted drivers. Enjoying the gradual realisation that each one now has the same consistency in distance, regardless of the flight pattern. Previously they were so different it was impossible to compare if the various head sizes did make much difference. In this week the practice with the drivers has been more controlled going for accurate ball placement on fairways now that the distance issue has been evaluated. I am currently favouring the 400cc Fastrax 10 degree offset Driver this week alongside the MDD Tour 380cc Driver with 8.5 degrees loft. My reason for this is that as winter sets in the run on fairways is going to decline and the run from the MDD Tour driver will be negated.

I am still considering getting a new shaft for the 400cc (and 420cc driver) as it has a short used shaft from a Taylor Made 370cc in at present. Having reached this stage and getting good results is satisfying, the next step will be getting a professional opinion on a shaft upgrade and if it is worth it. Another option being considered is purchasing an Exotics Tour CB3 430cc driver. I have read some reviews that given it is a relatively newer model especially that may be a better choice. I am getting the 220 m distance off the tee with ease at the minute. Adding another consistent 10m would be a major improvement off the tee and at the minute I can only see that as possible with improved technology.

Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em straight all.”

 Geoff

Naracoorte Open 2nd round...

12/3/12 Monday. It is great to be this early in the golf season to come and be already able to review the results of the coaching and practice since January with optimism. This seasons coming experience, even with the knowledge picked up in the past three years, is going to test my ability to the limit. Now in the “A” Grade, at the back end of the handicaps there is no room to put faith into luck getting me to a competitive standard. My initial target of having a crack at the Nett Handicap sections of the various open events that will be played in during 2012 is going to take every bit of knowledge picked up in the past three seasons.

This weekends Naracoorte Open has been particularly beneficial, following on from the recent Southern Ports Tournament. This time two consecutive days of competition golf at a course which when played last year exposed all of the shortcomings of my golf at that stage. The inconsistent driving off the tee, fairway shots that were erratic and poorly thought out strategically, short game chipping that was woefully under prepared and putting that was in the same condition. These faults previously were not major concerns when playing through the handicaps on the way down to my current level. Once the handicap is 15 or less the consistency of a golfers game is vital to improving. Whilst I could play myself into a state of good form and get a score comparable to a 10-11 handicap, the following week that could blow out to a 20 handicap level.

It may seem odd to readers that for me it has been a matter of not knowing what was my golfing capability, whilst playing for 3 years. This was never possible until recently when during the last three months coaching sessions established a setup, swing and stance that is reliable and effective with all clubs. The result is that no longer creating different circumstances with irregular stance and setup positions, every shot now has the same swing and power/energy delivered to the ball. All that is different is the club used and that is what creates the desired effect to get the ball to the target.

Following the round on Saturday, it was a golfer with a purpose and confidence that returned the following day. With a front nine score of 43 with 16 putts it was the best round I have had at Naracoorte. The second nine was a failure, not getting a par until the 18th hole finishing with 47 strokes and 18 putts. That was the final confirmation that the flat stick is a major failing in my hands. This was realised early in the round and after that I just played on enjoying the good shots played off the tee, from fairways and chipping to the pin. That I could not get the putts into the hole with consistency did not affect the round. I just kept on playing as well as possible satisfied in the knowledge that after the round I knew what was needed to improve.

There was no despair and nothing but happiness through out the round on my part, the group all enjoyed the company and the banter. Golf is fun, I did not even consider trying to change anything during the round to improve putting results. That is what practise and coaching sessions are for. That the issue is in part to do with confidence and needing to improve my chipping as well as putting practise, playing the round still gave me my best return on the course. A year after the first destructive experience on the Naracoorte course, my game is much improved because of that. That I was up at 5am each morning and worked until 6.30am before leaving on the 120km drive to Naracoorte perhaps added a little to the result. Nothing of consequence in my opinion though, if anything this added mental motivation that countered the physical effect.

Hence I am really looking forward to the coming season and the practise on the putting green while tuning up my mind to be a confident putter. Thankyou for your time and attention. “Hit ‘em straight all”  

 Geoff

Golf - concentrate on the setup to win

Play Your Best Golf - Break 90 Vol 1

6/6/2010 The past week of practise paid off on the course in todays competition.best round for a while admittedly only by one stroke and managed to drop from 21.4 to 21.3. The last 8 rounds I have played to the following handicaps starting on 21/3/10 – 21hcp, next 28hcp, 30 hcp, 34 hcp, 27 hcp, 24 hcp, 24 hcp and 23 hcp. on today 6/6/2010.


Today was a particularly enjoyable day as can happen on the golf course with good company. Which is an unspoken attribute to playing well at times, with the right playing partners a very comfortable attitude can establish itself that is a benefit to playing your game. The three of us are all around the same handicap and intent on improving them. This created a pleasant group attitude with a smattering of very good humour and support. In fact there was not one eruption of the F@#k volcano for any of the bad shots played by any of us. I did have a fair few “Bugger” moments though.

Came out of the blocks well, pars on the first two holes and a bogey on the third, with a start like that already two strokes under my handicap it was always going to be a reasonable round. The weather was superb, just enough breeze to be noticeable and refreshing in the sunny early afternoon. Made several very costly mistakes that affected my round. Two bad drives, one a hook off a par 3 out of bounds! This is not a major concern as it is a result of a grip change by me back to how I should hold the stick again. Amazing that the grip which we all know is the constant cause of problems, can be correct and then gradually a player starts to make subtle changes and have to go back to correcting it. In my case I have noticed the change happening and it is nothing but laziness that caused the problem. I made a change to my pitching and used the 7 iron for most holes and this was very effective in getting the ball inside the 2m circle around the hole on most holes. The greenkeeper has lowered the blades on the mower and the greens are a little faster than usual and this adds a challenging intrigue to putting. Especially how hard to hit the ball, they are so smooth the ball just keeps rolling and a lag put can very easily end up 2m past the target if struck a touch too hard. I did miss two very easy close putts through hurrying the shot. Also had two putts which literally stopped just short of the lip of the hole. Once again though it was not bad action but the mental actions that cost me dearly. The bad tee shots and the two missed putts all came from not setting up properly and causing the errors. How often is this important fact described in coaching and so easily overlooked and forgotten in the focus on swinging clubs and hitting the ball. Good thing I don’t play golf for a living, be eating a lot of 2 minute noodles for 3 meals a day if that was the case.

At the end of the day I came in tied 3RD place, two players tied for first six positions 2 on nett 70, 2 on second nett 71 and 2 (including me) In third nett 72.

=1 100 5101300219 N N 94 70 24.4 24 24 24.0 O

=1 100 5101300231 N N 80 70 10.0 10 10 9.7

=2 88 5101300211 N N 82 71 10.9 11 12 10.8 O

=2 88 5101300249 N N 96 71 25.0 25 26 24.9 O

=3 75 Geoff D. N N 93 72 21.3 21 23 21.2 O

=3 75 5101300264 N N 92 72 19.6 20 22 19.6 O

Two strokes too many at the end of the day that could have been saved with a little more mental concentration.

A lot more practise this week to do happy with my progress of late and this coming week is the Monthly Medal and it would be nice to win my first for the season. Main goal is to be in best form for the 27th of June, the next round of the DK Edwards trophy at the Keith Golf course. Best 6 rounds out of 10 competition played at different courses in the region. Thankyou for your time and attention, Hit ‘em straight all.Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Results make it worth the effort

Play Your Best Golf - Break 90 Vol 1
May 27 2010 Practising what you preach is a must with golf, words are not going to improve technique and skills, hitting balls correctly is. Got out early to have an 18 hole practise round to see if my deductions were correct in the improvements that would be worked on in coming months. Used the short shaft, Keith Knox blades and finished the front nine with 48 strokes (21 putts). Came home in the back nine with 43 strokes (15 putts). Total 91 strokes and 36 putts for 18 holes, deduct my handicap (21) for a nett 70. There was four 3 putts and a couple of duffed short pitches in the 18 holes. Did not have any warm up hits the first five holes were where most of the putting errors and duffed pitches were made. Before a round, having 20-30 practise hits plus putting warm up is my usual routine. Not to be taken as an excuse, this is the reality of my ability and 21 Hcp.

Moving the ball back in my stance definitely had the effect that was deduced yesterday and is an adjustment to compensate for the short shafts on the Keith Knox irons. A little wallow in the pleasure of using these sticks, delightful and easy in the hands to swing and strike the ball. The shorter shafts will have to be replaced eventually. Today my mind was on the task did hit a couple of fat and thin shots but once the front nine was finished as the score showed came home very well. Hitting greens in regulation and on the last hole was 2cm off getting a birdie to finish. Also left the big driver at home again and used the #3 metal off the tee and fairway again and well to. A great improvement on the disastrous efforts that were why it was taken out of my bag. Very satisfying to play to my handicap today and only taking four days to get some good insight into the practise routine and game plan changes needed to go down in handicap again. Putting and pitching will be concentrated on in the build up to Sundays round and see if I can come in among the winners.



Tomorrow morning I am caddying and walking the course with two of the finalists in the club Handicap matchplay comp. In a testament to the recently introduced handicap system one of the players who has a degenerative eye disease is in with a good chance. He is going blind slowly and has virtually no peripheral vision, under the previous handicap system he was on 11-12 now out to 17-18. He requires his playing partners to watch his ball when it is hit as he cannot see it’s flight in the narrow tunnel his eyesight is reduced to. I am going to do a bit of caddying and mostly be watching the balls for both players. His opponent is a player who is beginning to get consistent with his game. Hits a very long ball and never holds back, in March he won the first round of the Southern Ports Tournament C grade on a day where the wind was a gale blowing balls backwards, sideways and into orbit. Was the second best qualifier in this championship, the number one qualifier was knocked out today 4 and 3, beaten by the player who wiped me off the course. Have a great coming weekend and Hit ‘em straight all.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - New clubs, Blades or Cavity backs?

Play Your Best Golf - Break 90 Vol 1
15th May 2010

From Left (low) to Right (highest) in the pic are my irons from;


2010 – Ben Hogan 1960’s Blade, 2010 Unknown Circa 1980’s cavity back, 2009 Shark XLT Cavity back, 1986 YGF Cavity back



“Come to the Dark Side, Luke”… Use Blades.

In my time of playing golf one phrase has been regularly given to me as a comment and advice. “Don’t use blades!” Being one of those fortunate people who became serious about golf in the 1980’s the club choices available have grown markedly. It’s worth remembering, however, that until Ping made a huge impact on the golf equipment scene ALL irons were “blades”. The greats of yesteryear all improved and perfected their game on thin, small sweet spot irons that offered feel yet little forgiveness.

It’s only in relatively recent years that the industry as a whole has poured money into research and marketing to establish cavity back or improvement irons as “the” clubs for anyone who isn’t approaching a scratch score sheet. Being told; “I cannot….” plants a seed in my mind to one day have a go at something I can’t do. To make a short story long (again!) when I became a casual golfer during the 90’s the playing evolution of my golf stopped. In the build up to this my thoughts were becoming serious about trying blades. This time in the space of less than a year at the minute I have gone back to the future. First step was buying a set of new cavity backs, because the club style I wanted were no longer available. The Shark XLT’s were a bit better than the Dunlop Pro Tour set I used for the first month of playing. No great difference in effect, a little more “forgiving” definitely. This became a problem in the end, all to often I would mishit an approach shot from 130-150 m and out with 7 to 4 irons and the ‘forgiving’ aspect of the club would correct the error to carry the ball the distance but the accuracy was anywhere from 20 to 40 m left or right of the target. In my estimation ten of the holes at my club course with that error margin on long iron approaches end up with lost balls or unplayable lies. Not blaming the tools totally, the fella hitting the ball is the person who caused the mishit to happen.

Having gone from a 32 Hcp to 21 Hcp with the Shark XLT’s the frustration was that some of my developing shot playing skill was affected by the ‘forgiveness’ of the club interfering. It is now a week since the second set of clubs I purchased arrived and I have already broken 90 with them, and played myself into some good touch. Seeing as they are 3 cm shorter and 20 + years older than the Shark clubs that was an impressive result. It has proved that the less forgiving club, which when mishit, jars my hands and shoulders still sends the ball forward but not flying into trouble. Going a step further with the revamping of my clubs, an old set of blades near 40 years old off ebay has now joined the mix in my bag.

Just as some manufacturers, Titelist is one that has produced composite sets where the cavity back long irons have gradual progress to ‘muscle back’ (blades) with the short irons. I am certain that the cavity back iron has taken my game to the level it has reached and been a great benefit. I am just as certain that in the near future I will be playing with 100% of my irons being ‘blades’ or musclebacks as the term is applied. all of the nay saying about blades has been a total furphy, and in some cases been based upon arrogance not real appraisal of my ability. I do not feel as though the Dark side has lured me into the Star War of Golf Technology. yet It has been apparent through personal experience and research that the battle of the iron’s does exist among golfers.

The following is from “Blade Irons Vs Cavity Back Or Improvement Irons” @  Blade-Irons-Vs-Cavity-Back-Irons

“The crux of the debate lies in the following:

Cavity backs offer a large sweet spot which makes contact will the ball easier and as a consequence will “correct” slightly misaligned shots. This is called “forgiveness” and it is what these clubs are famous for and have been marketed as providing. The bottom line is that they make it easier for you to hit the ball straighter and with distance more consistently – they are assistive.

In contrast, blade irons provide a much truer reflection of your actual swing on any one shot. For example, if the club face is slightly misaligned on impact then this misalignment will be apparent in the trajectory, distance and direction of the golf ball after contact.

So – cavity backs are the obvious winner you might say as they will enable me to hit the ball straighter and further more consistently?

This is both true and not true.

While cavity backs are easier to hit and will result in a quicker level of consistency they do encompass two flaws which depending on your own aims for your golf game and your playing habits you may or may not want to have to accomodate.

The first of these is that because they are corrective in nature faults in your swing can be masked (ie hidden from you). Therefore, while you may make faster progress in the short term you are also likely to plateau more quickly as unlike blades they don’t force you to make a rigourous inspection and analysis of your swing. Many players consequently find that when they then decide to switch to blades after using improvement clubs for a lengthy period that there game falls to pieces as swing faults that were once hidden become instantly magnified. The consequence – a loss of confidence and an increase in scores. This experience by golfers is often the source of most negative comments about blades. “It’s the clubs they say”, when in fact it is very much their own swing.

The second and critical flaw if your making real in-roads into the game is that the short cavity back irons which are critical in your approach to the green are lacking in feel and shot-making capabilities. It’s your short game where the nuances of golf really come to life. A little more here, a little less there – that’s what your looking to perfect on your way into the green and the clunky nature of the over-sized improvement iron club heads make such control difficult.”

Thankyou for your time and attention, hit ‘em straight all.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Putting practise tool

Play Your Best Golf - Break 90 Vol 1
Can’t go past a few days away from home to refresh the mind and body, first break in a couple of weeks from working and did the world of good. Looked forward to getting back on the course and hitting a few balls around as well. The final 16 has been split into two groups of 8 for the Handicap matchplay elimination rounds. My group is headed by the best qualifier and apart from two players on 10 and 11 the other six are on 20-25 hcps. So far two of the matches have been decided the player on 10 hcp lost to a 21 handicapper 4/3 and the top qualifier (25hcp) won his first match 2/1 against a 20 Hcp player.




Playing my match tomorrow or the day after, drawn against a guy I have played with the past two weeks and giving him a stroke on 3 holes our respective handicaps are 21 (mine) and 24 (his). Will be an interesting match as there has not been much between us although I have been better over 18 holes in the final scoring of the past rounds. The match play index is different to the weekly competition playing index but not too much difference Number 1 M/play is the No. 2 Stroke play indexed hole, Number 2 M/play is No. 9 S/play and Number 3 M/play is the No. 4 Stroke play indexed hole. Must admit that I am fairly indifferent to the possible if any effect this can have on the outcome. Confident that I can win and have been fine tuning my putting and pitching that past week. My pitching has been a positive in my game of late getting within one put range. My putting has been in the doldrums though, not devastating in effect on my usual game but not at the level required to win matchplay and put pressure on opponents.



I had some putting coaching in February which improved my technique and accuracy. The club professional used this tool that is simply a metal tube which has two 20 cm pins at each end that stick into the green. Then it is a matter of putting balls with the club shaft running back and forth along the tube. It makes is easy to concentrate on the movement technique without concern about the club movement. During my trip away a visit to a hardware store ended up with me getting some towel railing and a couple of long tent pegs that have since been put together and I have my own putting tool for practise with now. This has been put to good use and the benefits are very noticeable already.



Have been concentrating on using the Driver to better effect in practise and that has made me reconsider the decision to use it less often. It has taken a bit of work to improve but again it was simply a matter of technique on the tee. Not being the best of golfers and only enthusiastic about improving my game, it takes me a while to identify my various faults and correct them one at a time. Presumably you have heard the words “see a professional” often enough when asking for assistance with your own game. That is not always possible, in fact we have only had a resident club pro for the past two years. In my own example though I have had coaching on three parts of my game, Driver, pitching and putting. Without doubt this has been well worth it and together with my filming of my stroke play keeps my game consistent and is money well worth spending. Thankyou for your time and attention. “Hit ‘em straight all”.

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Handicap Championships

Play Your Best Golf - Break 90 Vol 1
1st May 2010 Arrived back home late last night after a 3 day break in Adelaide. Headed out early this morning top have a swing and played 9 holes a little ragged on the pitching and putting touch as was expected the driver and fairway shots were okay. Headed in to see the finals draw for the Handicap Championships ended up in 8th position out of 16 and playing the same guy I have played the last two rounds at the club with! Will be a great game of match play, I will be giving him a stroke on 3 holes as I am on a 21 hcp and he is on 24. Happy with the group of 8 I am in as well, it includes the 3 guys I beat in last years Hcp Championship and the other 4 are all on 20-25 hcps. Will be putting in some fine tuning for the rest of today on my game in case my opponent wants to play the elimination match tomorrow, get my putter and picthing wedge sharpened up as I will need to be at my best possible to win the match. Hit ‘em straight all
Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Golf - Championship qualifying rounds

First qualifying round for the Club Handicap Championship was played this weekend. With a solid rain falling overnight softening up the course and more rain and 30 knot winds forecast for the day there is no way to predict how many golfers the field would be. Let alone the playing conditions, general consensus for most players was that “rain is not a problem, and the wind isn’t here yet so I will play.” As it turned out the forecast wind did not come with the force predicted and after the first nine the rain had stopped. Even so it was an entertaining day on the course, after summer the season has well and truly broken and it is goodye to those drives that run 50+ metres after hitting the fairway.




Playing in groups of 3 it was interesting at the end to see that ours with two nett 76’s and a 77 had qualified 6,7 and 8. I have been told that it is going to be the Best 16 qualify for the finals, still want to confirm that again to be certain as there is a number of players who did not play that are good chances to qualify in the next round. Given the conditions I was willing to accept anything from a nett 72-76, so I scraped in. With a scrappy 46 on the front nine, I was confident that making a charge to get a 72 or less was possible. It is still a little surprising to be sitting here, not having been back playing for 12 months yet and admitting that my confidence is such that I think like that during a round. Even more so is the realisation that in the past 3-4 months, playing aggressive golf, attacking greens from 150m in, pitching and putting to get the ball in the hole every time (hahah not succeeding of course) is now my standard game. It has been so subtle and again seems to have came from the two coaching lessons in January and February, one on driving and the other pitching and putting. With regard to the round just played dropping two 5 metre plus putts for a birdie and par and pitching well enough to not even have to bother about the fear of three putting is what kept my scrappy front nine on track. Getting a 52 on the back nine was the result of three bad drives and three bad fairway shots, which included with the three bad drives on the front nine which all required a chip out of trees to play the third shows where my score was affected worst.



Not the slightest bit disheartened though, I am a 22 handicapper trying to get to 18 and with a very slight chance for 16-15 at the end of the year. Absolutely no fantasies about my ability be sure of that, reality suits me well enough and keeps me happy on the golf course. Sometimes to much reality, if that is possible. The past couple of weeks I have really been putting in an effort to sharpen up my fairway shots, hitting more greens in regulation is a must do to get the goals set. Not accurate enough yet, getting very close to the greens though and the improved pitching especially, plus more consistent putting has been valuable of late. In fact being so satisfied with this I have neglected my driving practise. What a bloody dickhead! Figured out my last rounds stats this morning and a 66% success rate for my drives. That 33% failure was balls in trees/rough and requiring chips to the fairway for second shots plus penalties in some cases. When I average a 75% to 80% driving success rate I play to my Handicap, 80-90% I break it. Yet here I’ve been off in lala land, so pleased that I can finally pitch and putt decently and trying to improve ‘shots at the green’, while neglecting bloody driver practise which sets up the way to play a hole in the first place.



Next qualifying round is the 25th of April so 3 weeks to tune my game up and try to improve the ranking for play-offs. The top three qualifiers at the minute is made up of a 28,19 and 26 handicap players, and having played with them all deserve serious consideration as the potential champion. The 28 handicapper is at that tipping off point where he is going to score nett 65’s. A few club members have not given him any credence as his playing method is committed to hitting hard and long. Drives of 260+ m and 8 iron to Sand Wedge from 150 m in. In 12 months I have played several rounds with him and seen his consistency improve, a golfer who never holds back, always entertaining and now getting less erratic is well suited for the Club Handicap Championship. The 19 handicapper is consistent and has a great match play attitude, powerful off the tee with a good approach and short game, only his putting lets him down at times. The the guy on 26, returning to the game after 14 years and in less that three months down to 26. His qualifying round of nett 72 included 5 Out of Bounds penalties! His biggest strength is his weakness, hits a long ball 270m to 300m, thankfully the shots stray off the course because he comes in with mid to low twenties putts and has a good short game. The rest of the field includes past Champions, a smattering of single figure handicappers and a couple more consistent 27+ golfers. The first and third placed though are of particular interest to me as they are players I would have to give strokes to in match play and have a game that can definitely beat me.



Planning a trip to the Blue Lake course on Sunday 4th April to play in the DK Edwards trophy, best 6 of 10 rounds on regional courses. I find that a good way to tune my game is to get off the home patch and have to play a different game on another course so this is a great way to do so. Thankyou for your time and attention.

“Hit ‘em straight all”

Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff