Played a nice friendly game today with HTL and ademac at the Downshire near Wokingham. The cpurse was fully open although every tee was off a mat. It was a bit boggy in places and the greens were horrendous. They were long and very very rutted so that putting was a bit of a lottery. I had a 4 foot putt that bobbled and missed the ghole by nearly 6 inches to the left.
I've played with HTL before but it was the first time I had met ademac. We all hit a few balls on the range and he declared an unofficial handicap of "around 22". Having been caught out too many times before we took his first answer and he and HTL played off 22 and I was off 14.
It was apparent early on that we may have been too generous with ademac's 22 as he rattled in several par (net birdies) in the first few holes. HTL was as steady as ever especially with his 3 wood off the tee and now he has got his new Wilson Spine driver working he will be a dark horse for the Ascot meet especially as his irons and putting are pretty decent too.
I have to say I had an exceptional ball striking day but couldn't score due to a ropey chipping game and not being able to putt on the poor greens. My personal highlight would have to be the approach from 113 on the 6th to a green sloping from back to front. I hit a stunning 9 iron which pitched 5 foot from the hole and then screwed back with professional like backspin. I didn't get up and down as the ball came right off the green but the spin proved the quality of strike was there.
I can't say what the others will think were there highlights but ademac hit a great chip on 7 to a foot from deep cabbage and HTL bombed several 250+ yard drives with his new big dog. It was nip and tuck all the way. Ademac went out in 20, HTL in 18 and I was out in 17 (blobbed the 2nd after hooking my drive). It remained tight on the back 9 although ademac did have 2 horror holes that cost him victory. In the end, I was left with a 5 footer on the last for a par net birdie and 3 points which would have won the game but it slid by and HTL and I both finished on 35 points.
It was a shame the course was so wet and the greens so bad but I think we'll be back in the summer to play it again. I'm just happy to be playing on a full 18 and on proper (ish) greens and well chuffed with my driving and especially my irons which were peppering the flags which is a highly unusual occurence for me. The boys tucked into a burger and chips and a beer and we had a great chat about GM and the forum. A good day all round.
I've played with HTL before but it was the first time I had met ademac. We all hit a few balls on the range and he declared an unofficial handicap of "around 22". Having been caught out too many times before we took his first answer and he and HTL played off 22 and I was off 14.
It was apparent early on that we may have been too generous with ademac's 22 as he rattled in several par (net birdies) in the first few holes. HTL was as steady as ever especially with his 3 wood off the tee and now he has got his new Wilson Spine driver working he will be a dark horse for the Ascot meet especially as his irons and putting are pretty decent too.
I have to say I had an exceptional ball striking day but couldn't score due to a ropey chipping game and not being able to putt on the poor greens. My personal highlight would have to be the approach from 113 on the 6th to a green sloping from back to front. I hit a stunning 9 iron which pitched 5 foot from the hole and then screwed back with professional like backspin. I didn't get up and down as the ball came right off the green but the spin proved the quality of strike was there.
I can't say what the others will think were there highlights but ademac hit a great chip on 7 to a foot from deep cabbage and HTL bombed several 250+ yard drives with his new big dog. It was nip and tuck all the way. Ademac went out in 20, HTL in 18 and I was out in 17 (blobbed the 2nd after hooking my drive). It remained tight on the back 9 although ademac did have 2 horror holes that cost him victory. In the end, I was left with a 5 footer on the last for a par net birdie and 3 points which would have won the game but it slid by and HTL and I both finished on 35 points.
It was a shame the course was so wet and the greens so bad but I think we'll be back in the summer to play it again. I'm just happy to be playing on a full 18 and on proper (ish) greens and well chuffed with my driving and especially my irons which were peppering the flags which is a highly unusual occurence for me. The boys tucked into a burger and chips and a beer and we had a great chat about GM and the forum. A good day all round.
