HomerJSimpson
Hall of Famer
Not sure what time he will get back to deepest Cambridgeshire but just a post to say I had another great game with a fellow form member. I played with Viscount17 otherwise known as Steve. He had spent the morning and early afternoon at Wentworth and slipped into Royal Ascot for a round before heading home.
He told me he had only been playing for about 18 months and having got the pleasantries out of the way I took him onto the course. I decided to give him the full Ascot experience so we pegged it up off the white.
I hit a dodgy low running hooky 3 wood of the first which kept out of the traps left and rolled to the back of the green. Steve hit a solid driver for his first shot of the day having driven to the course, had no warm up and had been on his feet for several hours. When he chipped to about 15 foot and holed the putt for a par I thought it was going to be one of those days.
The course was in great knick. THe fairways and greens had been cut and the rough is now mown so there is a line of light rough (still difficult to hit out of) and then the thicker stuff. It has added a lot more contour to each hole and makes it visually pleasing.
The round continued with some good shots from both of us. Steve made a great par 5 at the 5th having hit his approach to about 7 feet and leaving it short (DOH). He hit a great shot into 8 (short par 3) to about 10 feet and missed the birdie.
On the back nine his driving picked up especially down 15 where he unleashed a great drive. On the long par 3 17th he was pin high and although we both struggled up the last (I played it badly and he just ran out of energy) it was a very enjoyable round. We didn't keep a running scorecard but I think I shot around the 31 point mark (too many unforced errors and poor tee shots).
For someone who has only been playing a relatively short time Steve has the makings of a good mid-teen handicapper. His driving generally was good (maybe four bad shots - all tops) and his chipping, bunker shots and putting were very steady (he does tend to swing too far back on putts and de-accelerate which causes porblems with consistency). However he does need to improve his iron play (as he agreed after a much needed post match drink) but is working hard to rectify this with his pro.
He was great company all the way round as we discussed the golf at Wentworth, the forum and its members, his course and the 36 hole society day he played yesterday. If any of you are in the Cambridge area and need a partner give him a shout.
He told me he had only been playing for about 18 months and having got the pleasantries out of the way I took him onto the course. I decided to give him the full Ascot experience so we pegged it up off the white.
I hit a dodgy low running hooky 3 wood of the first which kept out of the traps left and rolled to the back of the green. Steve hit a solid driver for his first shot of the day having driven to the course, had no warm up and had been on his feet for several hours. When he chipped to about 15 foot and holed the putt for a par I thought it was going to be one of those days.
The course was in great knick. THe fairways and greens had been cut and the rough is now mown so there is a line of light rough (still difficult to hit out of) and then the thicker stuff. It has added a lot more contour to each hole and makes it visually pleasing.
The round continued with some good shots from both of us. Steve made a great par 5 at the 5th having hit his approach to about 7 feet and leaving it short (DOH). He hit a great shot into 8 (short par 3) to about 10 feet and missed the birdie.
On the back nine his driving picked up especially down 15 where he unleashed a great drive. On the long par 3 17th he was pin high and although we both struggled up the last (I played it badly and he just ran out of energy) it was a very enjoyable round. We didn't keep a running scorecard but I think I shot around the 31 point mark (too many unforced errors and poor tee shots).
For someone who has only been playing a relatively short time Steve has the makings of a good mid-teen handicapper. His driving generally was good (maybe four bad shots - all tops) and his chipping, bunker shots and putting were very steady (he does tend to swing too far back on putts and de-accelerate which causes porblems with consistency). However he does need to improve his iron play (as he agreed after a much needed post match drink) but is working hard to rectify this with his pro.
He was great company all the way round as we discussed the golf at Wentworth, the forum and its members, his course and the 36 hole society day he played yesterday. If any of you are in the Cambridge area and need a partner give him a shout.
