The Belfry "PGA" Today

[Fish]

Played the PGA course at the Belfry for the first time today as a guest of DaveBoy and his mate Mark.

The weather was kind as far as it staying dry but, it was pretty cold at times and with a stiff facing Baltic wind on mainly the holes which you really needed to get right and carry some serious water.

Really enjoyed the course which had some very testing drives to blind landing area's and carries over water and scruff to blind fairways. We played mainly off the yellows but some of the yellow blocks were back with the whites! The greens had been heavily sanded and were a bit bobbly in places but still quite fast.

I was driving well but only averaging 200/220 with my 3w (Mizuno ball) so I was catching the bunkers a lot which cost me shots but, I still only had a single blob I'm confident I wouldn't have caught as many with my Hex Tour Blacks

DaveBoy and I had a £10.00 bet based on who would go further with his new Mizuno MP Balls courtesy of Golf Monthly, the loser, who lost their ball first, would contribute £10 to Help for Heroes.

Here's a picture after the 18th with me and Dave and MY ball which I took all the way around, nuff said :thup:



I found the ball a bit too soft, especially off the tee and was short with some of my chips but overall, its a nice ball but I won't be moving to it from my Hex Tour Blacks, sorry. As has been muted in some reviews of the ball already, its quite scuffed up after a single round but, all the way around the PGA for the first time with 1 ball will do for me .

Thanks for your company and invite Dave and thanks to Mark also who can drive a ball a country mile.

 

[Naybrains]

Nice little write up Fish, interesting about the mizzy balls. Who the hell are those too in the Pic.... Scary :lol:

 

[glynntaylor]

Drive past earlier this afternoon (1 ish) and the snow was heading towards the belfry as we headed from their into lich.

Im playing the Brabazon on the 12th cannot wait... Hope the bunkers have been cleared as when we drove past some looked full of snow!

 

[Fish]

Drive past earlier this afternoon (1 ish) and the snow was heading towards the belfry as we headed from their into lich.

Im playing the Brabazon on the 12th cannot wait... Hope the bunkers have been cleared as when we drove past some looked full of snow!

DaveBoy on the left, yours truly on the right holding my 18 hole ball

It came over very dark a couple of times and tried to snow but thankfully blew away. I drove through a real snow storm as I was leaving Cov for the Belfry and was thinking the worse but, other than a cutting wind, we stayed dry

Some of the bunkers were GUR but those that weren't were a pig as the sand was very hard so you had to try to pick the ball off, you couldn't take any sand before the ball, you'd break your wrist!

 

[DAVEYBOY]

Glad you enjoyed it mate :thup:

Congratulations go to Robin for keeping his ball for 18 holes which is a great achievement around the PGA and I'm sure others who have played it will agree. I managed to keep hold of mine through all of the dangerous holes and then lost it on a very low risk hole after my lay up out of a fairway bunker strayed into the rough down the right hand side of the fairway and that was that. I reckon fish has it in his pocket as we speak

Overall a decent round and it was finally good to get out after 2 weeks away from the course due to the crap weather.

Cheers Robbin and we will have to do it again in the summer:thup:

P.S thank god the bunkers didn't have quick sand in them ay Robbin ha ha

 

[DAVEYBOY]

We look a bit cold on the mug shot don't we ❄ ⛄ ❄ ⛄

 

[Captainron]

I think the PGA is a better course than the Brabazon. Glad you had a good time.

 

[Crow]

Come on then, what were the scores?

(And well done Fish, I've played the PGA a few times and I don't think I've ever finshied with the ball I started with)

 

[Fish]

I think the PGA is a better course than the Brabazon. Glad you had a good time.

Its a good test for anyone and in these cold windy conditions, an even bigger test IMO. Really enjoyed it.

Come on then, what were the scores?

(And well done Fish, I've played the PGA a few times and I don't think I've ever finshied with the ball I started with)

I came close a couple of times but didn't go that wide it couldn't be found, just a push/block a couple of times. The bunkers were like magnets though which is were I lost most my shots but I scrambled well when I had to

 

[Captainron]

Fish, you getting your finger out for Pannal!? Let the missus move house while you play golf.

 

[DAVEYBOY]

We both scored 31 points, I played off my Golfshake HCP of 20 and Fish his 23. Mark stopped scoring after the 2nd lol

I had a good front 9 after a par on the first and a few other holes for 19 points then had a crap back 9 with 3 Blobs and finished with 12 points. Short game was the horror story and felt very rusty after 2 weeks away from the course.

We where both good off the tee but as I say short game cost me and I think Rob will agree that the Bunkers cost him.

 

[DAVEYBOY]

Story of the day... A lot of shots where left out there from the 3 of us

 

[Lump]

I played the PGA on friday. It's an easy course when the rough is laid down (due to snow and lack of growth in winter) but in summer that course is a brute with knee high rough and very quick greens.

I have to say that even though the greens had been holed tined and sanded they still played very true and had a decent pace. They will be rapid in a few weeks once the sand has settled.

 

[Fish]

I played the PGA on friday. It's an easy course when the rough is laid down

:rofl:

It might be easy for a 8 handicapper but rough is still rough, flat-ish or not.

As Dave said, the bunkers cost me. 17 points with 1 blob on the front and too many bunkers on the back contributing to a few too many bogies but no blobs.

 

[DAVEYBOY]

I would take parkland rough over the PGA rough any day... Lay down or not it still eats your ball and makes getting any sort of contact a hard task. It was playing long aswell with the wind and cold and some tees off the whites.

Still had a laugh though.

 

[Fish]

It was playing very long, that first par 3 over water, I hit my new 5w and it was only 168yds into the wind and I made the green, although a little to the back but I think it was at least 1.5 clubs up today, it felt like every hole was into the wind!

After playing Formby & Hoylake and West Lancs just before that over the last month, its definitely got a links feel to it and will be tough in the summer, you can see and visualise that.

 

[DAVEYBOY]

Got a feeling ill be getting through the balls when that rough is knee height as any stray tee shot or approach shot will be punished with a lost ball more than likely.

 

[jammag]

Played the PGA course today and it was a tough test. The sand was still very prominent on the greens and when they have wanted a bit of rain to wash it in it hasnt come. Greens were slower than the Brabazon from the day before so took a little getting used to but I ended up with 34 points playing off yellow tees, with a couple of blobs in there too so was reasonably happy.

Rough did look very thick but fortunately I managed to find fairway most of the time, how ever as it is thick it can easily bury under it whether its flat or not. Was also very windy today which provided a good challenge.

I am very jealous of you members having access to this complex on your door stops.

 

[Fish]

Nice little write up Fish, interesting about the mizzy balls. Who the hell are those too in the Pic.... Scary :lol:

You'd never think there was 30 years between us would you

 

[Fish]

Played the PGA course today and it was a tough test. The sand was still very prominent on the greens and when they have wanted a bit of rain to wash it in it hasnt come. Greens were slower than the Brabazon from the day before so took a little getting used to but I ended up with 34 points playing off yellow tees, with a couple of blobs in there too so was reasonably happy.

Rough did look very thick but fortunately I managed to find fairway most of the time, how ever as it is thick it can easily bury under it whether its flat or not. Was also very windy today which provided a good challenge.

I am very jealous of you members having access to this complex on your door stops.

Did you attempt to cut the scrub corner on the back 9 aiming at those 3 mounds on the right dogleg just before the par 3? I made it to the middle of the fairway around the turn with only 100 yards in, but the two 24 year olds with me didn't