HickoryShaft
Tour Rookie
Thought I had better drop in a quick post about my day out at the Nottinghamshire for the Britains Best putter regional final and to say a big thank you to GM for a fantastic day.
Firstly - I cant believe its a week since the event - where has that gone!
It was as just about a perfect day as you could ask for.
On arrival at The Nottinghamshire we were greeted by Paul from GM and several people from Callaway / Odyssey for signing in and to be handed a goodie bag with a Cap, Hex black balls, copy of the current Magazine etc. Although I was in on a wildcard from the forum and felt a little like I was gate crashing the party, I was welcomed in and soon got chatting to the rest of the guys. I found and hooked up for the first round with another Forumer (Mick Morton) and later on another forumer (Rick) and someone who entered via facebook (Kev) . We were all wildcard entries and similar handicaps so it seemed perfect that we headed out together for the round later on.
First of all though it was a warm up and the chance to try out a number of different Odyssey putters - I settled for the 'Tank' which is similar to the fanged putters but a bit heavier - it complements my elephant like touch!!
The course was set out on the putting green in front of the clubhouse and consisted of nine holes with some interesting breaks on a very very fast surface.
I am please (and relieved) to say that I got through the first elimination round consisting of the lowest scorse over 18 holes putting (I managed a 34 with 2 x 3 putts) and into the matchplay so hopefully earnt my invite for the day in the end.
While I qualified fairly well the next guy (Keith) I played soon had the handle on me during the matchplay and when he went 1 up after 6 holes I started 'going for it' to get a hole back and effectively gave him the chance to consolidate the lead even further . At least I took it to the last few holes before going out so was not embarssed with my efforts- the best man definitely won on that match.
It was then a matter of standing back and watching some wonderful matches between some equally wonderful putters. The quarter finals came down to 4 older guys and 4 youngsters with the winners of each pairing being guarenteed a place in the final at the Belfry. All 4 of the young guns got through and Keith who beat me was also now out at the hands of one of them. I watched this match with some interest and was relived that Keith put me out as while he put up a good fight for me it could have been very embarrassing to go down 10 & 8 to someone half may age (Ok probalably nearer 1/3rd my age!!)
We then watched the semi finals and finals as a group and I have to say that the guys who got through were not only great putters but were fearless - halving very tricky holes in 1 putts on many occasions and in each case showing just how well deserved their places in the final were.
A chat with the winner afterwards revealed that he is playing off scratch and seeing him in action you can see why.
We decided that there should be 2 categories next time - under 20's and 'veterans' - take a look at the picture of the winners and you will see that their average age is less than 20!!
http://www.golf-monthly.co.uk/brita...ds-regional-final-at-the-nottinghamshire.html
After a superb buffet lunch that had been laid on we headed out onto one of the two courses (we played the course named the Open). The course was fairly brutal and I managed to loose several balls in the penal rough when taking on doglegs and dropping short or long or just even slightly off line. There was also a lot of water which meant as a group we will have contributed to the profits of any lake ball sellers in the area considerably.
However while the course managed to beat us up fairly well it was a pleasure to play and in fantastic condition. Its definietly one to play a second time once you know the layout and the hazards! The company was fantastic (both in the 4 ball I was in - thanks guys - and the rest of the people there on the day) the weather was just superb (thanks to GM for organising that also:lol
. Al in all just about as perfect a day out as you could possibly hope for.
I had better get out on the putting green to hone my skills for next year - gonna need it to challenge some of the people I met !!
Firstly - I cant believe its a week since the event - where has that gone!
It was as just about a perfect day as you could ask for.
On arrival at The Nottinghamshire we were greeted by Paul from GM and several people from Callaway / Odyssey for signing in and to be handed a goodie bag with a Cap, Hex black balls, copy of the current Magazine etc. Although I was in on a wildcard from the forum and felt a little like I was gate crashing the party, I was welcomed in and soon got chatting to the rest of the guys. I found and hooked up for the first round with another Forumer (Mick Morton) and later on another forumer (Rick) and someone who entered via facebook (Kev) . We were all wildcard entries and similar handicaps so it seemed perfect that we headed out together for the round later on.
First of all though it was a warm up and the chance to try out a number of different Odyssey putters - I settled for the 'Tank' which is similar to the fanged putters but a bit heavier - it complements my elephant like touch!!
The course was set out on the putting green in front of the clubhouse and consisted of nine holes with some interesting breaks on a very very fast surface.
I am please (and relieved) to say that I got through the first elimination round consisting of the lowest scorse over 18 holes putting (I managed a 34 with 2 x 3 putts) and into the matchplay so hopefully earnt my invite for the day in the end.
While I qualified fairly well the next guy (Keith) I played soon had the handle on me during the matchplay and when he went 1 up after 6 holes I started 'going for it' to get a hole back and effectively gave him the chance to consolidate the lead even further . At least I took it to the last few holes before going out so was not embarssed with my efforts- the best man definitely won on that match.
It was then a matter of standing back and watching some wonderful matches between some equally wonderful putters. The quarter finals came down to 4 older guys and 4 youngsters with the winners of each pairing being guarenteed a place in the final at the Belfry. All 4 of the young guns got through and Keith who beat me was also now out at the hands of one of them. I watched this match with some interest and was relived that Keith put me out as while he put up a good fight for me it could have been very embarrassing to go down 10 & 8 to someone half may age (Ok probalably nearer 1/3rd my age!!)
We then watched the semi finals and finals as a group and I have to say that the guys who got through were not only great putters but were fearless - halving very tricky holes in 1 putts on many occasions and in each case showing just how well deserved their places in the final were.
A chat with the winner afterwards revealed that he is playing off scratch and seeing him in action you can see why.
We decided that there should be 2 categories next time - under 20's and 'veterans' - take a look at the picture of the winners and you will see that their average age is less than 20!!
http://www.golf-monthly.co.uk/brita...ds-regional-final-at-the-nottinghamshire.html
After a superb buffet lunch that had been laid on we headed out onto one of the two courses (we played the course named the Open). The course was fairly brutal and I managed to loose several balls in the penal rough when taking on doglegs and dropping short or long or just even slightly off line. There was also a lot of water which meant as a group we will have contributed to the profits of any lake ball sellers in the area considerably.
However while the course managed to beat us up fairly well it was a pleasure to play and in fantastic condition. Its definietly one to play a second time once you know the layout and the hazards! The company was fantastic (both in the 4 ball I was in - thanks guys - and the rest of the people there on the day) the weather was just superb (thanks to GM for organising that also:lol
. Al in all just about as perfect a day out as you could possibly hope for.I had better get out on the putting green to hone my skills for next year - gonna need it to challenge some of the people I met !!
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