Southern Ports Golf Tourney begins..

Sunday 24th February. The practise and training period has passed, Monday is the first round of the Southern Ports Golf Week 54 hole championship. The past weeks have been all directed to being in the best form possible for this my 4th crack at the title. With two 2nd placings in C Grade 2010, B Grade 2011, 2013 again has me in A grade and up against the gun golfers. The gross championship is well out of my reach my 12 handicap is far behind the scratch and single digit scoring potential. My goal is the Nett Championship and with 54 holes in three days, consistency is the goal. The first round on Monday is played at my home track this year so I will have a local knowledge advantage. Unfortunately unlike other years I have not managed to get to Wednesdays venue, Beachport, for a few rounds prior to the tournament. The plus side is that I have the course on video and these reviews in past seasons will be enough to give me some playing advantage. The final days play on the Friday is at Kingston where I have been playing weekly in my preparation. :Last Saturday I had a Gross 84/Nett 72 in the competition and am well versed in the nuances of this course. It all comes down to golfing ability of course and this event is great fun as well with golfers from intra and interstate all vieing for the various titles.This year my biggest change has been increased fitness that has been worked on since November 2012.The weather is sensational here at the minute as February and March usually is on the Limestone Coast. Significantly warmer than usual in fact which is great for swimming and this is also very draining on the golf course so my fitness training is already giving me an advantage. Yesterday was the LOOM WINES Mens Pinehurst Comp. played at Robe best described as Sun, Fun and Golf. A great day had by all as the pictures in the link to the Southern Ports Facebook page show. For some it is a fun way to get form on one of the courses. For others who cannot play in the weeks competition for various reasons as they have in the past it is a day to at least be part of the event. It is a very sociable week and I had a great time catching up with faces that I had not seen for a year. Of course a bit of good natured 'sledging' was part of the catching up. Make no mistake this is a competitive event at heart and every golfer is having a crack at winning something. Even in 2012 I managed to get a second place at one event and that was a big effort. Moving into A Grade is a major step up, The lower grades are as competitive but the ability is at a lower standard. Today is a swim in the morning and depending on the weather I may or may not play in the 18 hole competition at Robe. As I discovered last weekend two hot days in a row take a bit more out of me. This 54 hole tournament is about staying power not an 18 hole sprint. Thankyou for your time and attention “Hit ‘em straight all” Geoff

A hot training session...

Thursday 14/2/13 Travelled to Adelaide yesterday night this gave me time to get to the Drummond Golf Driving range at West Beach this morning. Wanted to put in a session with the golf swing tool that has ben a vital part of my practise the past month. Hit 60 balls and the results were again exactly what is wanted. Easy swing staying to the corrects path and the ball going straight to the target. Was flaming hot work and that took a toll on my desire to do more than 60 balls. Summer heat wave settling in for the next few days and looking forward to returning to Robe and the coole climate by the ocean Friday. This has been my quota in the past week per session and I am not going to increase it either. Keeping in mind that my fitness needs to be maintained not harmed in the next 2 weeks. What is important to note is that I have put the hybrids away except for the 3 and 4 which are remaining in my bag. The rest are all Titliest AP2 irons which I have not used for 6 months. The improved fitness as well as recovery from injury has been hinting that this was a possibility for a coupke of weeks. This week I have played 3 9 hole rounds and used the irons to very good effect. This is definitely a result of using the training tool as well. The better 'feel' with the irons is what I need to increase green in regulation. This in tandem with my fitness has enabled a more aggressive approach to my game that is much needed. Thankyou for your time and attention, Geoff

A great golf course to play, Heywood, Victoria

10/2/13 Sunday. Returned form playing Heywood, Victoria last night was a great day and well worth the 2 1/2 hour drive over to play. Fronting up again to play at home this afternoon as well. The training and fitness program of the past two months is delivering the result planned. Missed getting the week before game report on line as well. The usual Kingston then Robe competitions were played on Saturday and Sunday. The first day I really let loose off the tee and pushed my limits with hitting the ball as hard as possible. The previous weeks exercise routine had been a bit more than was comfortable and was a little drained to tell the truth. The poor score did not bother me again. I have been using this round to develop a course strategy at Kingston as well as test the limits of my improvement. As usual after the Kingston round I get on the Robe track and reap the rewards of the day before practise session done in a competition round. Some may find this a little confusing to be playing in a competition round and deliberately adopt a mind set of 'this is practise'. I am not interested in protecting my handicap my goal is to get it lower and this requires a major change in my game play in tandem with the skill improvements. So far every week it has worked, a poor score on day one is countered by a good score the next day using the knowledge gained from taking the path less travelled. This weekend I stepped up another level in going to Heywood. This round included pride in playing well besides enjoying the atmosphere and catching up with mates at their home club. A gross 86 with 33 Stableford points and beating most of the field for a 5th place not a bad result. First time on the track and that made the result even better. Today I am backing up at Robe and going hard for another par or better round. Thankyou for your time and attention “Hit ‘em straight all” Geoff

Handicap breaking form continues...

28/1/13 Monday. Another weekend of playing two competition rounds, Kingston on Saturday and Robe on the Sunday. This weekend was significantly different in golfing approach on the Saturday. Choosing to experiment in a competition round with using the 56 degree wedge in my approach shots from 70-100 metres out from the green. This was brought about with a combination of harder greens and the need to drop and stop the ball as well as the recent distance improvement I am getting off the tee as well as with all clubs. I had practised during the week with the 56 degree wedge, which I carry for use in sand bunkers and for shots 25 to 30 m out from the green when not suitable for the pitching wedge. Was never comfortable with this club and duffed most of the long shots. Reverted to playing it as before from 30 metres in to the green for the time being. It is going to be a matter of practise to improve results with this wedge. It is possible to not practise with it of course. My choice though is to improve with it and have an extra selection available in my clubs. Day two was a head down and serious golf day as far as is acceptable for my summer rounds. The focus was still on having fun and that perhaps showed in the two double bogies during the last four holes. A few concentration lapses from being relaxed prevented a sub 80 score finished with a gross 82 and nett 69 to break my handicap easily enough. Several birdie putts just lipped out as did 3-4 par putts. None of which mattered, close enough is good enough when gauging the improvement at this early stage of pre season preparation. On the other side of the coin is that I hit the ball 240 metres plus on eight the par four and two of the par five holes and these shots were on the fairway. As well as green in regulation on the three par three holes. Accuracy is always the goal but now the distance is beginning to become regular change in my game. Hitting approach shots to the green from 125 metres or less on ten of the eighteen holes played was a significant advantage. I will add that I played in below avareage physical condition on both days as another guide to the significant improvement in my golfing capability of late. The improvement has been excerbated by an addition to my golf practise regime. The next month will be a defining period in the effectiveness of this recommended tool. Thankyou for your time and attention “Hit ‘em straight all” Geoff