I played today and..(Rolling) -originally created by JohnnyDee

Had a practice in a client's back garden, a big garden that I'd just mowed.
For years my chipping and pitching has been absolutely woeful and extremely yippy.
I'm off to Spain soon and couldn't face going with my current issues.
Every time I'm near the green, but can't putt it, I start to panic and when it comes to the shot it's usually a fat followed by a thin ....................... I hate it and it's killing my game.
I generally burn at least six shots per round.
I spent two hours with a sand wedge and a handful of balls ....................... and I found a feel!!
Half a dozen fats/thins in a couple of hours, about 200 shots, is what I call a result.
Maybe it was because I didn't have any bare lies or maybe it was my old Ping Eye 2 sand wedge, i just don't know.
Hey, maybe it was because I found something in my swing, I'm playing on Thursday, I guess I'll find out then.

The acid test was today.
Three of us playing a scramble and I had plenty of chips/pitches to perform.
Fats .............. zero.
Thins ............ zero.
The first time in several years I didn't cock up a chip or a pitch and I'm buzzing!
I have to work on distance control but the technique was pretty much on point.
The confidence is flowing for the first time in, probably, decades!
 
played today, and had one of my better games in a long time, irons were working again well, as were my woods and hybrids.

and took the g430 sft driver out for its first outing. After a few driver holes, I turned down the loft by 1 degree. At 10.5, it was hanging a little too much in the air. After that, the magic started to happen.
still hitting it in the heel area or left of centre, but I hit one off the middle, and it was beautiful

I don't have a miraculous draw now by any means, just a softer fade i havnt hit one dead straight yet, but most importantly, No huge slices, shots that went right still landed in play mostly in the 2nd cut which is very playable, and I'm fine with that, managed to get on the green alot more from off the tee, 28% more which is 28% more than the last 4+ rounds, and the penatlty strokes went down alot from off the tee which means lower scores, first time a front or back 9 penatly free in as long as i can remember.
Very pleased with the G430 SFT and can't wait to get used to it even more, especially when I start hitting it in the middle.

Positives: driver and 4 hybrid; couldn't do no wrong, fairway finder, and green magnet

Negatives: my 5 wood, I don't think it's working at all off the tee or on the fairway, so I might add my 5 iron back in the bag and put my hybrids back to stock lofts, a 3 hybrid at 17*

Screenshot 2026-04-16 at 20.15.01.png
 
Managed 12 holes after work before the rain hit hard. Happy with my general play, 3 birdies, 6 pars and 3 bogeys (two lip outs to rub salt in those wounds).

Probably the best I’ve hit the ball all round for a while. Have to admit I’m struggling a wee bit with the soft insert of the Ping Tyne putter. Think I need to revert to a milled face.
 
we had a foursome today, a qualifier for a county event, my partner and I gelled well and despite me missing a couple of short putts, we came out on top. I hope my decent form continues until the weekend, I am playing in a singles open at Sillloth on Saturday, it is one of my favourite courses so I am looking forward to it.
 
Played Minchinhampton (Avening) yesterday with three mates of near 40 yrs…we meet up once or twice a year and Minchinhampton is equidistant for three of us (Newton Abbot, Kenilworth and Farnham) as our 4th is a member. Course in nice Spring condition and weather fair. Played well for front nine (inc back2back birdies) and less so for back nine. But most importantly it was great catching up.

Today it’s a scratch board comp singles KO match. Unusually I might have a chance as he’s off 5 to my 7 - but most likely only if I play my front nine golf of yesterday.
 
Had a game with my dad, uncle and cousin today. We went to Aldwickbury. I didn't love the course unfortunately, some of the holes could do with a windmill and a clown's mouth to hit through.

First hole I four-putted from the back of the green, so that was a reasonable sign of things to come. The greens were just daft, I couldn't read them at all, at times I was 6 feet right or left of the target! Missed a couple of two-footers on the front nine too. Luckily my dad was keeping us in the match with his 38 handicap and a few bogeys so we made the turn 2 up, despite having both blobbed the 9th. 11 points for me. 😒 I was driving superbly despite the wind, but my iron striking was shocking, even had a couple of not-quite-shanks-but-very-hosely ones.

I started the back nine with two pars, but then we moved on to the stupidest par 5 I've ever played that has a hedge running across the fairway at 210 yards. 🤨 Double-bogeyed that and the following hole which was equally stupid, then blobbed the par three with another awful hosely tee shot. I played the next three ok but blobbed the final hole as I hit the green going over the water, but it literally bounced 20 yards through the back towards the car park where it was out of bounds. Ridiculous.

Luckily my par on the 17th had sealed a 3 & 1 win (about the only contribution I made 🤣) against accusations of my dad being a bandit. Final total of 23 points for me. Utterly shocking.
 
Had a game with my dad, uncle and cousin today. We went to Aldwickbury. I didn't love the course unfortunately, some of the holes could do with a windmill and a clown's mouth to hit through.

First hole I four-putted from the back of the green, so that was a reasonable sign of things to come. The greens were just daft, I couldn't read them at all, at times I was 6 feet right or left of the target! Missed a couple of two-footers on the front nine too. Luckily my dad was keeping us in the match with his 38 handicap and a few bogeys so we made the turn 2 up, despite having both blobbed the 9th. 11 points for me. 😒 I was driving superbly despite the wind, but my iron striking was shocking, even had a couple of not-quite-shanks-but-very-hosely ones.

I started the back nine with two pars, but then we moved on to the stupidest par 5 I've ever played that has a hedge running across the fairway at 210 yards. 🤨 Double-bogeyed that and the following hole which was equally stupid, then blobbed the par three with another awful hosely tee shot. I played the next three ok but blobbed the final hole as I hit the green going over the water, but it literally bounced 20 yards through the back towards the car park where it was out of bounds. Ridiculous.

Luckily my par on the 17th had sealed a 3 & 1 win (about the only contribution I made 🤣) against accusations of my dad being a bandit. Final total of 23 points for me. Utterly shocking.
Sounds like shocking course design and will rule out most club golfers getting over it and into play off the tee despite everyone thinking they carry their drivers 250yds
 
Sounds like shocking course design and will rule out most club golfers getting over it and into play off the tee despite everyone thinking they carry their drivers 250yds
It's downhill so I tried to carry it, and technically I did get over but I went right from trying to smack the 💩 out of it, so I was in trees. Playing with two senior citizens though, they both had to just hit an iron down to lay up before the hedge (since it was steep down so you had to account for the extra roll). Bit silly.

I played here once a few years ago and this was one of the holes I remembered - last time I tried to lay up with a hybrid and it rolled all the way down the hill and ended up two yards before the hedge, so that was useless. That was why I thought sod it and hit driver this time.
 
It's downhill so I tried to carry it, and technically I did get over but I went right from trying to smack the 💩 out of it, so I was in trees. Playing with two senior citizens though, they both had to just hit an iron down to lay up before the hedge (since it was steep down so you had to account for the extra roll). Bit silly.

I played here once a few years ago and this was one of the holes I remembered - last time I tried to lay up with a hybrid and it rolled all the way down the hill and ended up two yards before the hedge, so that was useless. That was why I thought sod it and hit driver this time.
Just taken a look at it on my shot scope app. Depending which angle to try to carry it at it ranges from a 205-235yd carry..but if you lay up you play a blind(ish) 2nd shot off a downslope with a long iron or wood. Terrible course design.
 
On my 15th attempt (😖 ), I finally conquered the 3rd hole here, which I’d been dreading so much! (y)
What makes this hole so special - despite being quite short at just 85 meters - is the bunker that runs practically all the way around it, except for a narrow strip at the back that’s maybe 2.5 meters wide.
1st shot with a PW onto the green (Yeah ! :cool: ) plus 2 putts = par ! 🥳 🎉 👏 🍾 🥂
I'm soooo proud of myself ! 😊


Bahn_3.jpg
 
Bang average today, hit it decent enough off the tee but chunked a few approaches and even thinned one through the back. Thought my putting was decent as I hit most of my start lines but just a bit pacey and some over/under reads.

78 in the end but some promising signs I think. A lot of my drives were at my summer positions from 2 seasons ago even with it being wet at next to no run, managed to reach 2 of the par 5’s in two etc.
 
Monthly Stableford at ours.

Because it’s already firmed up my driver hasn’t been out of the bag for the last three rounds, and I’m hitting my 3-wood like a dream. Only missed one fairway this morning on my way to 38 points which would have been a lot better if not for a newly renovated bunker on one of our par 3’s. It was only after I had bladed my recovery into water behind the green that it became obvious that it has little more than a dusting of sand in places, and my ball was resting virtually on the lining.

Really pleased with my start to the season.
 
Had a few football team mates at my club today. Played shocking for the second day running. No idea where my game has been hiding this weekend.

Started off ok, 1 over after three, but then had another awful hosely iron on the 4th, over-corrected to miss well left of the green on the 6th. The last bit of my game that was going well, the driver, finally deserted me on the 7th and 8th. Par 5 9th was the saving grace, we were playing off yellows so I managed to give myself a 25 foot eagle putt, settled for birdie for 13 points on the front nine.

Had an absolute car crash on the 12th, managed to make a 7 despite being a foot off the green with my 3rd shot. Missed the 13th green from about 80 yards but made bogey and pretty much managed bogey golf for the rest of it, bar a decent par on the 16th. Three-putted the 18th just for old time's sake.

86 gross and 25 points (I only get 7 shots off the yellows to be fair). I still managed to win the day as it was something of a tallest dwarf contest.

I don't know what happened to my game this weekend but I don't like it.
 
Another round in the early 80s. Cant seem to string a score together. Hit a par 5 in 2 with a pure 4i, then miss a green from 50 yards with a massive fat pitch shot.
 
I played today and it was a fairly consistent day with my latest form, some good stuff, some bad and some mediocre. 34 points 2nd place.

Playing front of us today were two teens looking lads, one of them was trying to thrash the living daylights out of the ball and I never saw him hit one decent drive, we all have to start sometime though.

The nicety of the day was it was just a 3.5 hour round.
 
Today I made the long drive up to Silloth and back for their ladies singles open, it was quite blowy and showery when we started and I started well although I missed a short putt on the first, I parred the 2nd and 3rd, then the waiting started, it was painful, we were waiting on nearly every shot and sadly it go to my game and it just fell apart. I had 3 successive 7s after finishing the front 9 in 2 and a quarter hours I had basically given up, I must had 3 putted nearly ever green on the back 9, also took 3 in a bunker. It was such a shame as I love the course and had been looking forward to playing it.
 
Top