need_my_wedge
Has Now Found His Wedgie
I already lost this post once today, so am cutting it down, which is probably better for anyone that may care to read it.
21.5 is the best handicap I've had thus far, and that was given to me in the annual review last year based on general play. I then proceeded to climb backwards to the 22 I currently play at the moment. Despite coming close a couple of times, hitting the buffer due to CSS and such, I have never managed a cut in competition.
Yesterday was our May medal, I played with my best mate (off 18) and a third chap (off 12) that neither of us had met. Was a little nervous on the first as it was me to lead off. Managed to hit a lovely drive about 200 yds......straight up in the sky. Not sure what or where that came from, but it wound up about 120 yds up the middle. Deep breath and a couple of shots found me in a green side bunker, and on approach I find my ball fried egged in hard wet sand....lovely. Hit it hard but failed, nervy 5th strike and failed again, finally hacked out and 2 putts for an 8, great start.
Par 3 second, scuff my 7 iron 70 yds left into the trees. Punch it out, straight into the bunker in front of the green. Still nervous from the last bunker I catch the lip and the ball flies up over my head landing back in the bunker behind me....... Another nervy hack and I'm out but take 3 to get down for a 7.
Fantastic, 8 over after two holes, medal already blown.......
My playing partners walk to the 3rd offering consolation and words of encouragement before they both proceed to duff their tee shots. I insisted that they didn't need to play sympathy golf for my sake. A few chuckles before I tee off, and drive straight up the middle. I then proceeded to shoot.....
birdie, par, bogey, bogey, birdie, par, par. All of a sudden I'm 8 over for 9 holes...just struck the ball well and straight, some stone dead chipping and arrow putting helped me out in 44.
Pick up a pasty and a cuppa from the half way, usually my downfall as loss of concentration sets in, but no, despite a dodgy second on the 10th I scramble another par, so 8 over for 10.
11 sees more golfing gods helping me out as a pull into the trees drops and takes a wicked bounce off the path back towards the green where I try really hard to throw away a bogey.
Bogey 12 before hitting a mid round wobble, some really duff chipping, which had been great until then saw me triple bogey 13 and double bogey the par 3 14th. Minds starting to go again, nerves starting to creep in but a bogey at 15 and another par at 16 settle me down.
Big mistake, I glance at the card. A quick tally and if I can complete the last 2 holes (card killers at the best of times) in 10 shots, i 'll hit 97 and be quite happy with my round after the start I had.
17 is tight and tree lined with trouble down the left and OB all down the right. I hit a 7 to try and keep it in play, and just fade it back from a pull to hit the left side of the fairway......blocked out, being pushed towards OB or have to go over trees. Option 2 it is, but I don't hit it cleanly and leave the ball 15 foot up a bank in the trees. bit of scrambling and I'm down for a double bogey, but still thinking I can keep it under 100..... just.
18 is also a tough one, from the back its 130 yd tree lined shoot before you reach the fairway that dog legs right around the trees. Any kind of fade (slice) or pull will put you in the woods. I watch my mate "fade" two balls into woods and start to think about hitting a 7 iron just to put it straight without having a chance of over hitting into the woods......cue hybrid.....pull left, but I cut it and it starts to fade back from the tree line, clearing the shoot and dropping into the middle of the fairway.
Ugly downhill lie, fairway sloping off right, 2 tier raised green with bunker and large oak at the front. I aim left for the oak to compensate for the slope and lie........and hit the oak dropping to the bas below the green. need a good chip, which has been mixed over the holes thus far...."just watch the ball I say, hit it firm and don't look up". I do, and the ball dinks forward looking into the hole as it goes right over the cup and stops 7 foot past the hole.....uphill. If I miss the putt back it's off down to the first tier...... I'm thinking two putts at best, if I can just keep it on the top tier....I tap it an wait....the ball dribbles down the slope into the cup, another par.
Hats and handshakes before moving off to sign the cards. A quick check and .......89!! I do a double take, "are you sure?". yep, despite a couple of extremell bad holes I've carded an 89, for the first time I've broken 90 in a medal......woohoooo!!
I go into the clubhouse and enter my score in the Howdidido system and.........1st Place!! I'm the clubhouse leader by 2 shots and 90% of the field are finished......bloody hell, that's another first.
My card finished with 2 quad bogeys, 1 triple, 2 double, 2 bogeys, 6 pars and 2 birdies for a net 67, and CSS was up to 72.....
The Howdidido results are not in yet, I have no idea whether I finished first or was knocked back? I have no idea whether I will get cut (I think I will)? Nor by how many if I do?.....but I don't care. I've achieved the Play MY best 2012 target I set myself and I'm a happy man
.
And yes, this was the cut down version......
21.5 is the best handicap I've had thus far, and that was given to me in the annual review last year based on general play. I then proceeded to climb backwards to the 22 I currently play at the moment. Despite coming close a couple of times, hitting the buffer due to CSS and such, I have never managed a cut in competition.
Yesterday was our May medal, I played with my best mate (off 18) and a third chap (off 12) that neither of us had met. Was a little nervous on the first as it was me to lead off. Managed to hit a lovely drive about 200 yds......straight up in the sky. Not sure what or where that came from, but it wound up about 120 yds up the middle. Deep breath and a couple of shots found me in a green side bunker, and on approach I find my ball fried egged in hard wet sand....lovely. Hit it hard but failed, nervy 5th strike and failed again, finally hacked out and 2 putts for an 8, great start.
Par 3 second, scuff my 7 iron 70 yds left into the trees. Punch it out, straight into the bunker in front of the green. Still nervous from the last bunker I catch the lip and the ball flies up over my head landing back in the bunker behind me....... Another nervy hack and I'm out but take 3 to get down for a 7.
Fantastic, 8 over after two holes, medal already blown.......
My playing partners walk to the 3rd offering consolation and words of encouragement before they both proceed to duff their tee shots. I insisted that they didn't need to play sympathy golf for my sake. A few chuckles before I tee off, and drive straight up the middle. I then proceeded to shoot.....
birdie, par, bogey, bogey, birdie, par, par. All of a sudden I'm 8 over for 9 holes...just struck the ball well and straight, some stone dead chipping and arrow putting helped me out in 44.
Pick up a pasty and a cuppa from the half way, usually my downfall as loss of concentration sets in, but no, despite a dodgy second on the 10th I scramble another par, so 8 over for 10.
11 sees more golfing gods helping me out as a pull into the trees drops and takes a wicked bounce off the path back towards the green where I try really hard to throw away a bogey.
Bogey 12 before hitting a mid round wobble, some really duff chipping, which had been great until then saw me triple bogey 13 and double bogey the par 3 14th. Minds starting to go again, nerves starting to creep in but a bogey at 15 and another par at 16 settle me down.
Big mistake, I glance at the card. A quick tally and if I can complete the last 2 holes (card killers at the best of times) in 10 shots, i 'll hit 97 and be quite happy with my round after the start I had.
17 is tight and tree lined with trouble down the left and OB all down the right. I hit a 7 to try and keep it in play, and just fade it back from a pull to hit the left side of the fairway......blocked out, being pushed towards OB or have to go over trees. Option 2 it is, but I don't hit it cleanly and leave the ball 15 foot up a bank in the trees. bit of scrambling and I'm down for a double bogey, but still thinking I can keep it under 100..... just.
18 is also a tough one, from the back its 130 yd tree lined shoot before you reach the fairway that dog legs right around the trees. Any kind of fade (slice) or pull will put you in the woods. I watch my mate "fade" two balls into woods and start to think about hitting a 7 iron just to put it straight without having a chance of over hitting into the woods......cue hybrid.....pull left, but I cut it and it starts to fade back from the tree line, clearing the shoot and dropping into the middle of the fairway.
Ugly downhill lie, fairway sloping off right, 2 tier raised green with bunker and large oak at the front. I aim left for the oak to compensate for the slope and lie........and hit the oak dropping to the bas below the green. need a good chip, which has been mixed over the holes thus far...."just watch the ball I say, hit it firm and don't look up". I do, and the ball dinks forward looking into the hole as it goes right over the cup and stops 7 foot past the hole.....uphill. If I miss the putt back it's off down to the first tier...... I'm thinking two putts at best, if I can just keep it on the top tier....I tap it an wait....the ball dribbles down the slope into the cup, another par.
Hats and handshakes before moving off to sign the cards. A quick check and .......89!! I do a double take, "are you sure?". yep, despite a couple of extremell bad holes I've carded an 89, for the first time I've broken 90 in a medal......woohoooo!!
I go into the clubhouse and enter my score in the Howdidido system and.........1st Place!! I'm the clubhouse leader by 2 shots and 90% of the field are finished......bloody hell, that's another first.
My card finished with 2 quad bogeys, 1 triple, 2 double, 2 bogeys, 6 pars and 2 birdies for a net 67, and CSS was up to 72.....
The Howdidido results are not in yet, I have no idea whether I finished first or was knocked back? I have no idea whether I will get cut (I think I will)? Nor by how many if I do?.....but I don't care. I've achieved the Play MY best 2012 target I set myself and I'm a happy man
.And yes, this was the cut down version......
