Single digit at last...

The past weekend was tiring on the track, busy with work and not in the best condition at the end of the weekends two rounds. Frustration in the first day 32 points and had the game by the scruff of the neck. Made the same mistake four times hitting 100 metre shots to the green fat and short. on Saturday. Sunday the same erratic shots to the greens killed the challenge to break the handicap and finished with 31 points. Made a decision to revert to the Cobra Fly Z irons simply because of the variety of wedges this set has and the results were immediate. Two days of playing six holes in the afternoon had my pars and birdie scores racking up. Thursday afternoon headed to Kingston and played 18 holes and finished with 79 off the stick, 39 points and a net 69. Woo Hoo played to 8 hcp and slope of 7.7, what ever that means. With four three putts the room for improvement is there still. This score got me to 9.1 GA handicap. With a 10.1 dropping off on the next round will be out to consolidate the handicap this weekend. Saturday was back at Kingston and an all or nothing round with a 10 hcp round dropping off. Was highlighted with playing partner scoring an ace on the 17th hole. Struggled my way around the front nine playing cautious and hesitant too often with glimpses of perfect form. With 44 and 15 points the back nine was all or nothing and it took nothing much more to do hat was needed. Finished with 39 and 21 points for gross 83 Nett 73 and 36 points. The crunch was this round had a flagged 10 hcp score dropping off and it has been replaced with one the same. With six rounds to play before another flagged round is up I am on 9.2 at least for a while. The practise of past weeks has been short game and putting and has paid off. These two game facets saved par several times and are backed up with improving greens in regulation and driving stats. Fitness is still the key pushing myself is out of the question, the crest of the initial effort has been crossed. I must admit that I have established a very aggressive game compared to the one I was playing 12 months ago. Whilst the mental decision was made then it has taken some time to be physically capable in playing the game I want. It is great fun and that is without doubt the best thing about playing golf at this ability level. Would like to get out again tomorrow and will make the final call mid morning. May be better off going to the gym, but would rather play golf. Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

BAck on the winners list...

Last weekend was the first serious golf round I have played since starting the gym training and I won the Stroke round competition on the day with a nett 66 (78 0ff the stick) It was a very trying day on the course with a strong wind. It has been a period of moderation for my golfing since playing the championship series. Not through lack of desire, more so using the knowledge of the past five seasons. Knowing that my body needs a rest from the effort put into competition since February, it was time to play and practise less. The new Championship Trophy has joined the family, 2009 and back to back 2014 and 2015.

There has not been a lessening of effort, with now having spent four week in the gym beginning a specific golf orientated training routine for the next 12 months.This has been a gradual realisation of being able to do this. The past two years especially have had more fitness activity included as part of my golf practise. Remarkable to feel the effects of four weeks of light gym work influence my game so effectively. The wind is a major aspect of my home track. The training over the past seasons has not been about increasing strength, it has been to improve my stamina to be able to hit the ball consistently and not play bad strokes through tiredness. In two weeks is our club open and I am looking forward to one more hurrah for the year of golfing. Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Winning score and long drives at last...

The recent break has refreshed my golf on both physical and mental levels. The improved weather has been a major assistance in playing better also. the last weeks I played it was a battle against the elements, then the effort needed to hit the ball being added.

The weekend past almost by accident without any dedicated decision to make it happen another improvement settled into my game. Every now and then I would take a full back-swing in practise and never in any serious mind set to add to my golf. This was a definite no go area for me mentally and physically to ensure no more damage or pain added to long term injury. My ongoing conversation about training and improving fitness revolves around improving my health from an accident many years ago. The golf is an added bonus which benefits from the effort and is also a sensational benchmark. It has been obvious for some time that my flexibility, movement and strength in all the right places has been improved. During Saturday's round I was hitting the ball well, having fun and enjoying the fine weather. As the day progressed it became obvious that my drives were only 2-3 metres behind one of the big hitting playing partners. Whilst it was noticed my mind was on the game being played and not one aspect. Until the last hole a par 5 and we were desperate for units. I deliberately got up to hit a bomb on the tee. Which I did, still not good enough to win the unit, the big hitting was noticed by the rest of the group and that was the reason I took particular note of it. Sunday's round I did set out with the full knowledge that on the tee I was going to be taking the bigger back swing all day. Even now it is a surprise that is sinking in that I did it all day with accuracy and consistent long distance. What really hit home was how easy it felt, effortless in fact. The ball just flew so much further with out any noticeable addition on my behalf. To be able to espouse satisfaction and enjoyment at the observation of a game improvement is one thing. To have played and won on the day is what give it credence.I relied upon my ability on the day to play consistent and winning golf. Thank you for your time and attention Geoff

Good scores and good fitness go hand in hand

Have been off the golf course for the past few weeks and refreshing my fitness in fact. I believe that golf is a game that does suit people who are not athletes 100%. In my own situation every time I improve my fitness my golf improves s well. Since returning to the game in 2009 my fitness has probably improved 100% plus. I still have limitations from injuries and that is part of the motivation to improve physically. Without doubt that has happened because of golf that is from my GP and the physical therapists I use to keep in tune. Footy fitness would be terrific in my case to achieve but I could not do that level of training without various part breaking down. At the minute I am in reasonable condition. Played the first 18 hole comp. round in a fortnight and finished with 80 gross and square in a par round. Physically I was tiring towards the end though and that cost me a better score. A few weeks ago I realised that it was time to stop. Was loving playing golf bu could not maintain the effort consistently. Surprisingly after a few Chiro and Bowen treatments the cause was one that had been a goal for some years. I have improved myself physically in movement and flexibility to the stage that I am now able to move and use bits that have been stagnant for 20 odd years. In the competition round Sunday my drives were all on the 220 metre mark and yes there were a couple even longer. That 220m is usually my maximum, not my average and was done effortlessly. The freedom of being able to swing and my hips move through the shot has added the distance to all clubs, WOW is still the reaction to the drives. Now that I am back playing it is the less is more program again. Play a couple of 9 hole rounds and one 18 hole round each week will be the plan or this settling in period. Back on the diet plan as well with 1.5kg dropped in the past 2 weeks so far. Walking 40 minutes every morning except golf days. At this stage last season, I was barely functioning with so many sore bits. This year even though I needed to have a two week break I am travelling 80% better. Working on my fitness is the key combined with the weight loss is the foundation for season 2016 already begun. In 2014 I was so broken down that I could not pick up a golf club from November to February. That will not be the case this year and I am going to be very cautious and stick to my tried and proven plan that has developed in the past six years. Reason is that I have crept out to 10,9 hcp in the past two months after getting to 9.8. The only ambition for the rest of the season is to consolidate the single digit handicap. Thankyou for your time and attention Geoff

Attacking golf, a change in play...

The changes to my golfing are still in motion and getting nearer to settled. It has been a good weekend of rounds following the unsettled frustration on the previous fortnight. Briefly as reader of my posts are aware my game has been based on playing to handicap for the first 15 holes and depending on my game state at that point either go for a sub par round or play to par at best. Long established and effective in scoring well for several seasons this has now been targeted for change. One of my golfing foundations is that the game pays for itself, either through winning vouchers or balls etc. in competitions or major club trophy events. This has been lessening over the past two seasons, still wining major club seasonal trophies, which are good for a couple of hundred dollars in vouchers. The weekly voucher wins though have significantly reduced. Winning more second and third placing than firsts now, simply because I do not get those massive 4 to 5 under handicap scores as my playing handicap has lowered. Whilst this has not been a big influence on my game and enjoyment of golf there is an awareness of the scarcity of wins. With the current availability of amateur golf , 'back yourself to win' options I have decided to add this to my golf spend. This is no spur of the moment decision, already well aware of how much in front I would be if this had been started in March 2015. It has taken until now to get more important golf aspects settled without adding a distraction. Instead I can now incorporate this to my game as a reward for the effort put in. Simply every competition I play is now valued added for myself. There is another more active reasoning behind this also. I need to have an incentive to make me follow the new game that is settling into place. Fact is my golf has never been particularly attacking ectept for putting. Generally it is hit the ball forward sometimes get a green in regulation, My GIR 28.36% B Grade 31.37% PGA 64.70% Mostly chip then try for 1 putt up and down pars. Hence my daily 50 chip 50 putt practise session. The past fortnight has seen the addition to this of 100 (minimum) long iron shots #5,6,7,8,9,PW each day to targets fro 100 to 150 metres to the range. I am never going to get the goal and hold it unless I add a minimum of 20% more to my Greens in Regulation average. Adding $20 per round to my weekly competition spend which gives a minimum of $80 in vouchers if playing less than my handicap is well worth the price. The prize is the bonus which makes putting n all the effort worthwhile. It is an incentive to play my best golf all the time and make changes to improve performance. Thankyou for your time and attention Geoff

Under double digit handicap again...

The past fortnight has been a disjointed golfing period. Winning the first matchplay on the Saturday then losing the next day to be out of the club championships. Not too perturbed played well enough and enjoyed the games. Was always a month underdone to play my best and no excuse except not good enough. Last weekend managed to get out on the Saturday and play comp and with 28 points the lowest score in more than six months. Still not bothered it was all about getting on a golf course and having a social hit and explore my golf game limits. Today after working on some physical problems with Bowen and clearing the head of baggage went out and played very well. Getting 40 points, 79 off the stick and now with a GA of 9.9. Almost back to the 9.8 GA of last September before the shoulder collapsed. On target for the goal of the season and all from never wavering and working consistently on my golf game. Thank you for your time and attention Geoff

Qualified for Club Championships

The final qualifying round for club championships yesterday and the club captain put together a very interesting group that I played in. Including the reigning club champion, the current highest qualifier myself and a visiting 9 handicap golfer. The round was played in perfect weather and make no mistake the game was played in the best of sporting spirit. Best summed up by the vising golfer at presentations when he complimented us on or golfing etiquette and ability. It was perhaps the most I have ever been in the zone while playing a club competition. The results had the qualifying leader post a 75 gross, club champion a 76 and myself a 77 off the stick. I was keeping the champs card and our round within a round soon became an unofficial match play game. Considering he is a 3 handicap and myself 10.7 on the day the end result was gold for me. After 18 holes we were all square, this was the best possible boost that could be in my corner with the first playoff rounds starting next week.The draw has been made and I will not meet the current champion until the final if I win through. Besides the mental confidence booster there has been another major improvement for me course wise. Due to the new development and selling off some current golf land, a par 5 and par four have been taken out of play. Replaced with two par three holes this has been a significant aid to my golf capability. In the 24 hours between rounds Saturday and Sunday, the tee shots and approach shots all settled as desired. The putting even improved with one practise session prior to Sundays round. The foundation has been laid for a red hot tilt at the club championship this season. Thankyou for your time and attention , Geoff

Winner Penola Autumn Open 2015

Sticking with the training program of "less is more" is returning results. As much as I would like to increase the tempo and try to hurry the golfing progress, the smart choice is to stay with the current intensity. Success today at the Penola Autumn Open winning the A Grade Nett with 73 (84 Gross).

Errors were made that more practise will improve. Specifically the 100-150 metre greens in regulation shots. Putting, Driving, Chipping were all good enough. A few drives went wide and that was the failing, having to recover from among trees. All good in the main and looking forward to tomorrow and the home club Monthly Medal. Keeping the current rythym does not seem to be a problem. The essence of my practise at the minute is to refine the execution. In particular, chipping and putting for finishing holes in as few strokes possible.The Driver, has been performing well enough and this week the 3 Wood #5 iron and 3 Hybrid were given more range time. Not a lot only adding a slight improvement in todays' round and that was value enough. Tomorrow morning will be another light practise session as with today and the inclusion of the Wood, Hybrid and long irons wil be the close for the warm-up again Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Second round and third place...

Third place behind 40 points and 37 points with 85 gross, 35 points at Robe to finish my weekend comps. Dropped .2 for a GA Handicap of 11.1. This round was not bad with two lost balls on front nine (15 points) and coming home with a 39 gross and 20 points. Was not rattled by the day at all, played golf and attacked all day, keeping the game brain engaged in the round. Sitting here showered refreshed and digesting the possibility from today and yesterday that I play to my handicap or close to it when playing slightly below average. This is not only the musings of a satisfied golfer, there has been some analysis of recent scores back to February to check the feasibility of the claim. Firstly this is all from a golfer who is very confident at the minute and that state of gaming has taken three months of dedicated effort. The results are the measure of capability and that is supportive of my assertion. Lastly is the sense of Golf that is the combination of all of the facets in my game. I am not looking for a pseudo crutch to support my game approach. Today when down in the round after a lost ball on fourth and then seventh hole, the game brain did not falter. I knew it was from lax tee shots nothing more, I was working on an attacking game. This delivered without any change in tempo on the back nine. What has been realised once home and looking at the statistics is that I have the game to do better. Fact is I have to work on the long irons more, with the 100 m training plan appealing at the minute. The big fails were the hybrid and #3 wood I am erratic with them accuracy wise, even though I rarely use them in a round the failures are not acceptable. range work is the only fix and that will not take long. Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Sun Fun and Golf...

Sensational day weather wise. No reasons for not golfing can possibly come up so it is an afternoon of wak fuk for me. Had a fun hit in the Friday Chicken run playing off 5 hcp after winning the chicken last week. Not at all disappointed to have reached that level over nine hols in 2014, half what my GA Handicap is. It changes back to the GA Handicap next week and sadly I did not manage to play to it on Friday. Yes dear readers I went hell for leather to try and do it though. The driver was off target too often on three holes with lost balls and that was no major problem. Simply a little stiff after the week of treatments. Did not hold back and apart from three wipes, still scored a credible 11 points. Got out yesterday and did some range hitting working on the irons, which are going well. The driver still a little crap with a tendency to hit across the ball too often and slice. Not that bad of a slice in essence except my game is badly affected by inaccurate drives, would be fine if playing off 16-18 handicap. A warm up session this morning should sort it out though and then it is all down to if I can last 18 holes yet. Have also been working on my chipping a lot lately. Practicing hitting the ball so it has back spin and stops on the green near the pin instead of running past too far. Which is why today will be Wak Fuk golf, my game is being redone and the transition period is now. Great fun to play as long as I do not expect to win. Thankyou for your time and attention , Geoff

Hit the ball, work the ball, hit another ball

Enough of the sitting around and not having any golfing. The tolerance limit was reached, with some sensible rules nailed in place the practice net is getting used to soothe my golf addiction. Nothing special, day one yesterday 20 balls with the 6 iron, today 30 balls. No chipping into the target buckets, this irritates the injury more than hitting full tilt irons or drivers. As does putting. My thoughts did go to hitting more balls today, it felt great with balls flying off the club face with so little effort. Importantly was the focus on the set up and follow through to fine tune the swing technique. So hit another ten to satisfy my curiosity. Whilst it was great fun to work on tuning the ball striking and technique for the future, there was the beginning of an ache in the shoulder with the last couple of swings. All good though the rest is working and the Xrays are next Monday until then it is up to me to not waver from the No Competition Golfing decision. Certainly not easy to do for me either, relying upon the practise net to counter the desire to play this weekend. Considering how yesterday I said no to the enquiry about playing in the two person Ambrose at Penola this Sunday. Yet this morning I was musing over playing 18 holes at Kingston Saturday. Writing these posts is cathartic in a major way. Making me look at what I am thinking about and reminding myself at the same time as to why I must not play. At the minute I can recall several golfers I play with, all who have came back too soon from injury. Their regrets were all the same, having to accept the frustration as well as in a couple of cases re-injuring themselves. My approach is to begin tuning my game now within strict guide lines. I have already noticed how much better my swing and ball striking is in the short abeyance so far. Once the injury is identified and treated, I know that my game is going to realise major improvements. DON'T Hit the ball, No need to find the ball, DON'T hit the ball Thankyou for your time and attention. Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

A winning round...At Last!

Surprised a little that it has been a month since posting yet that has been my level a capability of late. Once again my body has faltered under the the strain of the competitive golf this season. No where near as bad as 2013 or 2012 for that matter. Whilst the pain etc sucks it is much better, helps that I am being a lot smarter and the application of my "less is more" approach is working. Friday chicken run and I was stuffed at the beginning, and knew it. So I ambled around enjoying the social side of the game, whilst gently testing the limits of the capability. During the week I had maintained the light range sessions as well as putting and chipping practise. Once again the most affected part of my golf is the short game and putting. This freaking shoulder injury is still crippling the parts of the game which need some finesse. It is fine in practise sessions, the problems are only when playing competition. I can hit drives great with accuracy (also significant distance added at the minute) same with approach shots from 150-100 metres in. Chips from 30 metres in the touch is not there and I can feel the restriction after playing the long shots from the start. Putting is flaming unpredictable at first i thought it was a technique error. Friday's chicken run changed that assertion and yesterday's matchplay round confirmed it, I get an occasional muscle stiffness when putting and that causes a pull to the left. Fortunately having identified it Friday this only stuffed one putt for me all day. Luckily the one hole when I butchered the chipping my opponent was worse. The first hurdle over come, identified the problem exactly now. Winning the Elimination final match play round for Club Handicap Championships, convincingly. Was 6 up and opponent conceded with seven to play. It took a huge effort on my part and I know now what is needed. The oddest thing was I had a Bowen Therapy treatment mid week and it failed. This has thrown me a little as it has been a very successful treatment for over a decade now. Fortunately the Acupuncture/chiropractic treatment is booked for this week and that has been excellent since starting it this year. hit the ball, find the ball, hit the ball Thankyou for your time and attention. Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

Steady progress and much better game play...

Yesterday the practise was in a different set of routines. Chipping into a bucket from 10 m and 5 m get twice as many balls in from 5 m compared to 10 m. Good fun though and enjoyed the session. Then setting up the Dreamswing and hitting 50 foam balls into the driving net at home as well. Will be practising putting in the house passage tonight as well. A physically lighter load than the rest of the week to give the shoulder a bit of a rest. Then played nine holes with two balls to get some walking into my legs and see what the game is like after the weeks practise so far. Very happy again with the accuraccy off the tee and hitting greens. Chipping also showed the benefit of practise and the putting was acceptable either two or one putt per hole. All will be improved more with continuing the practise regime. There was one unexpected result that has given me a major confidence lift. As regular readers are aware distance is not a facet of my game nor is it a particular goal with my practise either. I have been happy with the consistency in my game and that is much more valued than adding 10-20m to tee shots or other clubs. It has been apparent that there has been some slight distance gains already with various clubs thanks to the better technique. Today though I decided on the last three holes to really let the tee shot have everything in the tank, continuing to play two balls off the tee as well. First hole good distance and 1st ball 210m 2nd ball 220 m and two pars GIR. Second hole a par five 464 m 220 and a 230m drive off the tee. Hitting one second shot ten metres short of the green was excellent. Was not trying to smack the ball just lined up and hit it straight and true with the #3 wood. That this was into the wind and done without labouring to hit a 100/1 chance shot was the bonus. I now have more proof hat the game that was my standard as little as a month ago is still improving. Two pars were the result on the hole. The third and final hole I let the driver fly again and both drives were within 20 metres of each other on the same line with the best only 100 m from the green a massive, for me, 235 metre drive. A par and a bogie followed. All in all a very relaxing and satisfying trial of the weeks practise done. With more to come before the first match play round next week. With the playoff schedule now settled I have this weekend free to play club golf and the first match play the following week. This is very satisfactory for my 5 iron to PW workouts to improve the Greens in Regulation statistic. It also has made it possible to maintain the physical demands at an acceptable level. Not 100% in the shoulder just yet, the groin injury is a big winner though. Up until Sunday I was still concerned it may relapse. After the weekend rounds though all was good. Some tenderness as to be expected but the strengthening and stretching exercises have done the job. Will continue being sensible with the effort,, it's not just about hitting golf balls it is about being able to hit them well. This afternoons casual 7 hole hit out showed the improvement coming from the practise. The driver was given a searching review and making one standard action when teeing off had the balls all on target. It is a concentration lapse where instead of taking the club head back low and slow and then unleashing and hitting low and through the ball, I had been swinging high and loose. The mid irons where a step closer to the accuracy wanted again. Still a way to go but not as far as there was on Monday. Every day is a little closer to getting the standard I want. The related benefit for all my golf strokes from the practise routine is the establishing of a confident rhythm when I set up to play all shots. Thankyou for your time and attention. "hit the ball, find the ball, hit the ball" Geoff

New Clubs Callaway Optiforce and Powerbilt

Friday 4/4/14 The practise routine was given a bit of a ramp up yesterday. The new irons arrived in the post and I have adjusted my bag to a Driver, 3 w, 2,3,4, Hybrids and 5-PW, 56* Wedge and Putter. The new irons are Powerbilt Airforce one's with regular flex shafts. Tried them out at Drummond Golf a few weeks back as I have the AF1 Driver and was interested. Liked the feel and they are light and give me a little more touch than the stiff flex Cobra S3 irons. Since my 8 week lay off in January and February due to injury. I purchased a new Driver last weekend Callaway Optiforce 10.5* reg flex (5.5)

Also a new set of Powerbilt Airforce One irons #3 and #4 are the Nitrogen filled version and I have retained my Burner TM clones in their place for theminute.

Previously I have been using #5 AND #6 Hybrid as well in the bag but I do find the irons wit ha regular flex are a little more versatile. Hence I will play this weekend with then instead of the hybrids. It will be a slight distance loss using irons but that is not a major problem. The New driver was a revelation, was simply warming up at Bordertown and our club prow as there doing a demo and he came over an offered me this club to try. Given he has been a great coach for my golfing and knows my golfing style well enough he has dialed this stick in perfectly. Ten hits and ten straight easy shots later I have a new driver. Lost some distance from the previous Powerbilt Airforce one driver but that is well worth the sacrifice for accuracy. This driver feels sensational and is a delight to hold and swing. This week I have been working with it and there is some extra distance in the club for me as well. That is secondary at the minute and can be developed la er in the month. Thankyou for your time and attention. Hit the ball Find the Ball, Hit the Ball Again , Geoff

Bordertown Open 2014...

Been a few days since returning from playing the Bordertown Open and happy with the recovery and the experience. Much better start than the first two attempts there. The first day was satisfying with an 83 Gross and 70 nett. Day two was good from the start, was in a new group and one of my playing partners from the first day was in it also. At the end of the day he noted that my short game was the biggest difference from day one. Apart from that I played well and up to the point when I had 6 holes left to play was battling along well enough. Took 3 shots to get out of a bunker and a six on a par three resulted even then was not too bothered, still only two over my handicap for the nine at that stage. An 11 on the next killed me off, Brain fade on the tee, ball in the bush then four to get back on the fairway of a 500 metre par 5 with 300 metres still to go I was finished. Not disappointing to hit the wall overly much it was trying in the heat for me at least. Yet that was not the reason for falling out of contention. The fault was all mine poor chipping to the pin and once again mental lapses in concentration. This is not a game breaker, more so another exciting part of why I relish playing golf so much. This facet of golf is something I have been aware of yet was secondary in these past five years. Learning to hit the ball to start then become consistent as well as get the right equipment, followed with improving physical fitness had the priority. Mental focus and concentration is now able to come to the forefront of my golfing practise. The coming weekend I am sure to be better prepared for the Masters Game two day event after the experience at Bordertown. Thankyou for your time and attention. Hit the ball Find the Ball, Hit the Ball Again. Geoff

Good Form, Average Form, Winning Form...

Finally some golftime, thought it would never happen the way this week has panned out. Sunday's competition was a stroke round and I finished with a Nett 74 not a great round and not a disaster at all. three x triple putts and a couple of other misses from 1 to 1.5 metres added 5 strokes to the round. I would like to say I was disapointed yet that is a lie, it was an enjoyable hit out. Except for an out of bounds on the 15th hole no penalty errors affected the score card. I was more focussed on how the shoulder and hamstring stood up to the 18 holes of golf. Which accounts for some of the poor putting. The driver and fairway shots werre acceptable and the tee shots with the driver were given a bit of a distance boost compared to my usual standard, 220m plus was the accepted reach all day. This was worked on today at the Drummond Golf Mile End range. Head down and mind focussed on taking the mishits and short drives out of my game play. It was a gradual progression through the practise with 60 balls finishing with the final 10 all straight and true soaring over or just to the left or right the 200 m marker landing 15-20 m past it. As regular readers of my annual game threads since 2009 will know long off the tee and in general has not been a feature of my game. Since returning from the shoulder injury it is begining to be a consistent driver aspect on the course for my golfing. Finally have some metres in the tank to use in competition. GIR once again, third competition round in succession = 16.7%. Mind you there were 4-5 shots that were sitting on the fringe of the green. This is not a failing in total still a work in progress. The putting on the other hand was a fail. Ended up buying a new putter today a Dynacast Force II with the larger Kraytal grip after a long work out on the putting area. It is a lighter and better balanced putter than the older 1 and a 1/2 ball Dynacast used on Sunday. Have put the Odessy away for a few week whle I regain some form on the greens using the 2 ball mallet style. Do this a few times each season so nothing unusual about the change in stick. Did have a few hits on the range with the PowerBilt Airforce 1 irons. That was a fun trial as I carry the Airforce 1 Driver and it is working well. The irons had very good (longer) distance and good accuracy and feel also. Regular flex I noted as well compared to the stiff flex Cobra S3 in the bag at the minute. So it was a full golfing fix for me and making sure that I get a good range work out on returning to Robe tomorrow is a must for the coming weekend rounds. All of this is preparation for the Masters Games at Naracoorte commencing 4th April and tuning for the coming Club Championships. Thanbkyou for yourtime and attention, Hit the ball, find the ball, Hit it again. Geoff

Shaky Putter fun...

Monday 3/3/14 Feeling remarkably spritely this morning, perhaps all of this exercise on the golf tracks has helped. After a lay day on Saturday the twitching started as the day drew on and ended up having to go and do some chipping practise to scratch the itch. Felt much better afterwards and was in no doubt that golf would be Sunday afternoons occupation. Joined the crew and it was great to be back in the club fold again with the banter and familiarity. If anything was obvious it was the calmer everyday mood before tee off for me. This is one of the great things about having a home club for me at least. Travelling to play Club Opens and other events like Southern Ports and the "Race to" series are 100% competition challenges. My home club competition rounds are the comfort zone where I hone my golf competition skills and social skills. Make no doubt about, it the competition is just as fierce. Perhaps even more so as mates are people who you can add more banter, sledging and golfing aggression towards than with strangers. As the various threads here in the forums show golfing mates can push the boundaries and take it as a personal camaraderie. As two Americans once asked me about a group of people I was with, 'Why do you curse at each other?" My reply, after some thought about it was, "We are mates it does not offend us" We dont do it to strangers though, not in the first five minute at least until we get to know them. Sundays round was n\my 5th x 18 hole competition round in 8 days. Managed a 3rd place and it was tough work in the last 5 holes the wind did not abate and was 20 kph into the face at times. Once again the most obvious fail was putting, at the beginning was smacking the ball 2m past the hole and 3 putting twice. Same thing happened at Kingston and Beachport in the first couple of holes as well. Yet after that I get on target but have to recoup a couple of extra shots. Still played well enough to finish third after a countback and pick up a bottle of Cabernet Shiraz. Interesting I am having an alcohol free March, so far have won two bottles of wine golfing. Being a golfaholic is full of temptations, I feel sorry for Tiger Woods. Naracoorte Summer Open this weekend but cannot make it with guests booked in. Will concentrate on getting the GIR improved and putting of course, in readiness for the Masters Games Golf in April. Hit the ball, find the ball , hit the ball. Thankyou for your time and attention Geoff

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

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

Hole in one today!!!

Sunday 2nd February. Hole in One Day! Yes dear readers today I achieved one of golfs holy grail's for players. Surprised of course, watched the ball fly towards the hole hit the edge of the green pop up into the air and bounce on the full into the hole. A #4 Hybrid on the fourth hole a 165 metre par three.

I think this was my first 18 hole competition outing in 6 to 8 weeks at least. Resting up recovering from injuries and busy with work as well has curtailed even practice sessions of late. Today a mild 34 degrees and free from work commitments so I bit the bullet and decided to get out and enjoy a social competition round. You know that you are respected when the captain comes up introduces himself and proceeds to tell you that golf requires holding the rubber handle bit and hit the ball with the club shaped bit. The greens keeper asks if you have paid your green fees as that is required by visitors when playing on the course. Put the pressure on for the rest of the round, after scoring the trick shot. I had a sudden ramping up of pride in not wanting to get the ace and then score 30 points. It was flaming hard work the injuries were tender and had a decent limp with the right groin and hamstring at the limit by the 18th. The dodgy shoulder was totalled after the 16th. Yet the never give up attitude had me throw everything into the last hole, best drive of the day 250m +, green in regulation almost a birdie and finished with a 3 point par and 37 points.

Once again failure to get greens in regulation was the weakness in my game. Struggled with chipping and still not disappointed considering the lack of recent practise. Sitting here well fueled with cider, ice packs on shoulder and proud that I rose to the occasion, hurting or not to play as well as i did. Pride may be something others frown upon I do not. Today I aced a hole and tried my best to score well to do this justice. Thankyou for your time and attention. Hit the ball, find the ball, get it out of the hole and do a happy dance. Thankyou for your time and attention , Geoff