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Posts
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hope you are back on course soon as it looks like we might be locked up again with bans on everything being imposed
Xman got flooded down there today.
I hope you are safe & dry X.Yes it felt like a tropical down pour roughly mid 30’s mm in a few hours. I left my ute window open too!
The course has dried out fairly quickly though this morning when we played 9 holes for the Mumbannar Masters comp. I dosed up on Panadol and cough mixture and wore a mask all game. The weather? Light wind from the south and light drizzle/ heavy air. Soft underfoot. I took the Nike Vapor Driver with A-flex shaft for a play today, just for a change.It is a fairway finder at 44.5 inch shaft, but just a tad short to use for competition.
I started out on hole one laying up for a bogie result,but I thinned a LW shot through the green. I haven’t done that for ages, so I will blame my wonky viral balance. A double on hole one isn’t quite the ideal start, however hole 2 my Drive was on the fairway, my 4H shot was a GIR and two putts for a par. I hit a 212 m Drive on three, another crisp 4H Hybrid shot closer to 160 m and bunted a 3H 25% swing under the pine trees that hit something in the grass and stopped short of the green. Chip and a putt for another par. Te tee shoy with Driver on 4 didn’t draw back at all, so I had a tricky fade around the tree with my 5H ( 140m distance) that ended up on the green. Great! Not so great the three putts I took to sink it. The greens are slow again and a bit rough. Still a boget 5 isn’t my worst ever score on hole #4. I put the Drive on the green with the Nike, and two putts for par. My approach shot into hole 6 was hit fat with the 8 iron, so I scrambled for a bogey. Hole & tee shot wasn’t hit crisply, but the 4H shot was. I should have measured the flag distance and hit my 7i , not my 8i . Poor decision making = another double. I hit pars on 8 &9 making a score of 42.
Two steps
1) I hit 5 pars, 2 bogeys, 2 doubles. Hit more GIR and up and downs than usual.
2) I hit the single length hybrids much better today. Ball back a bit in the stance and hit down like an iron shot works with these 7 iron length shafts. Hit them like a normal hybrid and they are thinny low in the flight ( horrible)One Step
1) Short game errors cost me doubles. Wrong choice for club for a downhill chip on on #1 resulted in a thin shot that cost me two more . A bump and run was less risky. Not taking enough time to make sure a tap in putt went in , cost me another double. The pace of the greens was erratic for sure, but my three putt on 5 and 7 were more my fault.I am bored. Recuperation from this croup causing virus ( well the grand kids all developed croup) is taking too long.
I went out for a hit at the practice fairway to work on strike with my irons, mainly because I was getting weird carry distances with my 6,7 & 8 irons. Using my PRGR launch monitor I hit balls noting swing speed, smash factor and distances. Not surprisingly if I hit the ball well and with a decent speed and some ball compression the distances started to sort in groups. Human error = weird distances.
I took the Nike driver with me to test the effect of closing the face angle at the hosel. The best way to test whether it would work was to play a few holes. The result was an improvement with increased distance up to 200m, possibly getting the face more closed at impact. I tried a few low fades into the wind, but it didn’t fade much. I tried hitting up on the ball for draw shaped shots , but it was sending them too high. The Vapor Speed is known for giving a high flight .
I played my usual 5 hole circuit ; 3 par 4, a par 5 and one par 3. I was about to go home when I saw Adriano on the first tee. I replayed holes one and two with him, then as it began to get colder I started to cough again. Home to a warmer house and a nice glass of red! I played some good golf, with pars and bogeys, very few misses off the tee and good approach shots. Best of all, no doubles! I am hoping I can repeat this on Friday in the 4BBB comp.
What a great day for golfing. Sun and a light wind. Day one of the South West Classic 4 day event at Portland and Heywood clubs.
It was a 4BBB event and my team mate ( handicap 19) and I played well as a team, alternating in scoring all but two holes. Score 42 points.
My personal stroke score was 87, I birdie, 5 pares, 8 bogeys, but 4 doubles ( mostly 3 putting)
3 up and downs
4 GIR
35 putts.My tee shots were good today. Approach shots from 150- 100m were a bit off target today.
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Keep the good form going!
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I spent most of yesterday cooking BBQ food for our Rotary club at our local Drag Race meeting. Man those vehicles and noisy and scary fast! I can’t wait until the electric drag racers outperform the piston engine fuel burners.
After 3.30 I snuck out the course and noticed Adriano on the course at hole four. He has my permission to use my golf cart, when I am not playing. I joined him on hole 5 and we did the front 9 holes in what was perfect conditions. The greens are starting to recover after the core/ sanding treatment debacle.
Just mucking around I scored a 41 ( 4 pars/ 5 bogeys). I hit all the fairways and got slightly more distance. I was trying to swing a little faster and strangely the balls stayed on fairway. I even got my drive on hole 4 over the hill, then put shot 2 into the bunker ( hit it fat) . I also hit the bunker on hole 8 when I went pin hunting, rather than my usual safe route to the right of the bunker. The ball embedded itself into the wall of the bunker on the green side of the bunker. I tried a method I had seen on You Tube where you point the tow of the wedge at the wall and whack it. I was surprised that the ball lifted out and onto the green!
Two steps forward
1) Hit the fairway on all but #5 hole and even then it wasn’t punishing.
2) More distance off the tee.
One step back
1) I seem to have issues with my second shot on hoe 4 if I make it over the hill with my tee shot. Do I get over excited/ PSR ignored? Do I fail to compensate for the slight side hill lie ( ball above feet) and hit it fat? Just not used to hitting from there?I am embarrassed by my typing skills. I need to double check my messages before posting! Sorry. My excuse is that in my day we had typists , usually women very skilled at deciphering illegible long hand writing and touch typing.
I always think it is a good idea that it is good to have something to look forward to. I like to keep busy, if possible.
My membership of Rotary International keeps me pretty busy. Playing golf with fellow Rotary club members got me started in competition golf in the Mumbannar Masters, a great low stress way to get the confidence to enter golf club competitions. I noted there is a golfing fellowship group in Rotary as well. I hope to join that group soon.Things to look forward to in golf for me:
1) Another trip to Adelaide to pick up my late father -in-law’s work bench to go into my son-in-law’s new shed on the farm.
2) Pick up my $90 set of clubs I scored on Face Book in Adelaide. (Tour Edge hybrid-irons).
3) Playing a few games with my mate Geoff, who hopefully will be using his new to him golf clubs from Sydney ( Hunter Express willing). He has been trying to learn using player’s irons without much success. The new clubs should be more forgiving.
4) I have a game planned for the Warrnambool course ( in top 100) with Mr. Relatable Aus. (a You Tuber) next month
5) I want to work on a method of getting my carry distances of my irons in the 6-8 area sorted with good gapping distances. Arccos is telling me that the ” smart ” distance ( distance I hit 70% of the time) in games of the 7 &8 is almost the same, and the 6 iron is closer to where the 7 iron should be. I know with good strike I can get the desired 10 m or so gap, but not in game situations. My thoughts are I can just work on strike or try a different 6&7 iron to see if that makes any difference. Hence my picking up some hybrid- irons to try them out.1 user liked this post.
I am embarrassed by my typing skills. I need to double check my messages before posting! Sorry. My excuse is that in my day we had typists , usually women very skilled at deciphering illegible long hand writing and touch typing.
I always think it is a good idea that it is good to have something to look forward to. I like to keep busy, if possible.
My membership of Rotary International keeps me pretty busy. Playing golf with fellow Rotary club members got me started in competition golf in the Mumbannar Masters, a great low stress way to get the confidence to enter golf club competitions. I noted there is a golfing fellowship group in Rotary as well. I hope to join that group soon.Things to look forward to in golf for me:
1) Another trip to Adelaide to pick up my late father -in-law’s work bench to go into my son-in-law’s new shed on the farm.
2) Pick up my $90 set of clubs I scored on Face Book in Adelaide. (Tour Edge hybrid-irons).
3) Playing a few games with my mate Geoff, who hopefully will be using his new to him golf clubs from Sydney ( Hunter Express willing). He has been trying to learn using player’s irons without much success. The new clubs should be more forgiving.
4) I have a game planned for the Warrnambool course ( in top 100) with Mr. Relatable Aus. (a You Tuber) next month
5) I want to work on a method of getting my carry distances of my irons in the 6-8 area sorted with good gapping distances. Arccos is telling me that the ” smart ” distance ( distance I hit 70% of the time) in games of the 7 &8 is almost the same, and the 6 iron is closer to where the 7 iron should be. I know with good strike I can get the desired 10 m or so gap, but not in game situations. My thoughts are I can just work on strike or try a different 6&7 iron to see if that makes any difference. Hence my picking up some hybrid- irons to try them out.check loft angle of 6, 7 & 8 irons.
I am embarrassed by my typing skills. I need to double check my messages before posting! Sorry. My excuse is that in my day we had typists , usually women very skilled at deciphering illegible long hand writing and touch typing.
I always think it is a good idea that it is good to have something to look forward to. I like to keep busy, if possible.
My membership of Rotary International keeps me pretty busy. Playing golf with fellow Rotary club members got me started in competition golf in the Mumbannar Masters, a great low stress way to get the confidence to enter golf club competitions. I noted there is a golfing fellowship group in Rotary as well. I hope to join that group soon.Things to look forward to in golf for me:
1) Another trip to Adelaide to pick up my late father -in-law’s work bench to go into my son-in-law’s new shed on the farm.
2) Pick up my $90 set of clubs I scored on Face Book in Adelaide. (Tour Edge hybrid-irons).
3) Playing a few games with my mate Geoff, who hopefully will be using his new to him golf clubs from Sydney ( Hunter Express willing). He has been trying to learn using player’s irons without much success. The new clubs should be more forgiving.
4) I have a game planned for the Warrnambool course ( in top 100) with Mr. Relatable Aus. (a You Tuber) next month
5) I want to work on a method of getting my carry distances of my irons in the 6-8 area sorted with good gapping distances. Arccos is telling me that the ” smart ” distance ( distance I hit 70% of the time) in games of the 7 &8 is almost the same, and the 6 iron is closer to where the 7 iron should be. I know with good strike I can get the desired 10 m or so gap, but not in game situations. My thoughts are I can just work on strike or try a different 6&7 iron to see if that makes any difference. Hence my picking up some hybrid- irons to try them out.check loft angle of 6, 7 & 8 irons.
Unfortunately my irons are cast heads, so even if they are out/ need adjustment I can’t change them.
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I played at Heywood with my son-in-law and his parents yesterday. It was a warm day with little wind on the front 9 and a building wind later in the afternoon. I can’t remember this course being in better condition. I play the course every few months and enjoy the challenge of the rolling hills and off camber lies. It was ladies day at my home course, so I took the opportunity to play the Stableford comp.
I had a ripper day, scoring 79 in a proper comp day for the first time ( breaking 80).TSIP 12/14
GIR 8
Up and downs 3
Putts 32 including ( 5 one putts! 2 at 5 m, 1 at 4m, 2 at 2m)My approach shots from outside 100m were a lot more accurate. I hit the 3,4,5 hybrids quite well plus I got good carry with the 7 iron.
3 birdies, 7 pars, 6 bogeys and 2 doubles.Two steps forward
1) 79 and 42 points! handicap down to 13.4 , so I will be playing off 12 now.
2) tee shots were accurate ( still not all > 200m, but the 3H saved my bacon on shot #2). Instead of hitting my 4W on all second shots on the longer holes, I calculated which hybrid to use to lead a 90-110 m approach shot to the green. It was a successful strategy.One step back
1) Doubles were caused by poor choice of pitch shot clubs; one I used SW and it ran off a down hill green and I 3 putted getting back up the hill, the other I used the LW full swing and should have been the SW. It was 10 m short.6 iron is still not performing during games carry distance wise. I have a 6 hybrid-iron to try to see if I can get it at 135m consistently.
1 user liked this post.
I am embarrassed by my typing skills. I need to double check my messages before posting! Sorry. My excuse is that in my day we had typists , usually women very skilled at deciphering illegible long hand writing and touch typing.
I always think it is a good idea that it is good to have something to look forward to. I like to keep busy, if possible.
My membership of Rotary International keeps me pretty busy. Playing golf with fellow Rotary club members got me started in competition golf in the Mumbannar Masters, a great low stress way to get the confidence to enter golf club competitions. I noted there is a golfing fellowship group in Rotary as well. I hope to join that group soon.Things to look forward to in golf for me:
1) Another trip to Adelaide to pick up my late father -in-law’s work bench to go into my son-in-law’s new shed on the farm.
2) Pick up my $90 set of clubs I scored on Face Book in Adelaide. (Tour Edge hybrid-irons).
3) Playing a few games with my mate Geoff, who hopefully will be using his new to him golf clubs from Sydney ( Hunter Express willing). He has been trying to learn using player’s irons without much success. The new clubs should be more forgiving.
4) I have a game planned for the Warrnambool course ( in top 100) with Mr. Relatable Aus. (a You Tuber) next month
5) I want to work on a method of getting my carry distances of my irons in the 6-8 area sorted with good gapping distances. Arccos is telling me that the ” smart ” distance ( distance I hit 70% of the time) in games of the 7 &8 is almost the same, and the 6 iron is closer to where the 7 iron should be. I know with good strike I can get the desired 10 m or so gap, but not in game situations. My thoughts are I can just work on strike or try a different 6&7 iron to see if that makes any difference. Hence my picking up some hybrid- irons to try them out.check loft angle of 6, 7 & 8 irons.
Unfortunately my irons are cast heads, so even if they are out/ need adjustment I can’t change them.
I think I have solved the 6 -7 iron gap distance issue.
During my last game I hit the 7 iron 125m a couple of times, but the 6 iron struggled to get much past 130 m.
One solution I thought of was to drop the 7 iron from my bag and fade a 6 iron if I wanted a mid 120’s shot. I know I can hit the 6 iron 135m if I strike it well..Today I went to our practice range and warmed up using a Tour Edge iron-hybrid PW. Like the Cleveland HB Launcher irons it was so easy to hit well and even miss hits were not that bad. Then I struck a dozen 6 iron shots with my Milford SL-7 club. I got onto about 4 of them, and they landed at 135m. The rest trailed back to my 7 iron length in the mid 120m range, as I have noticed during games, and as Arccos data has been telling me. Then I tried the Tour Edge 6 iron-hybrid that arrived today from USA. I chocked down just about 1/2 inch on the grip. to make it the same as the SL-7 shaft length and hit 5 lovely shaped tight draws to 135m . The loft is the same at 29 degrees.
I think I will game the Tour Edge club for a while and see how it goes.
I am a sucker for a good deal. I noticed on FB Market Place a half set of Tour Edge iron -hybrid clubs ( 3,5,7,9,SW) plus a TE 5 wood and a putter being sold for $90 total. I bought them, really possibly only wanting to try the 7 iron. I might end up gaming the 7 TE iorn – hybrid ( 33 degree) too and then using the SL-7 8 iron up. I watched a TXG channel You Tube video where Matt the bionic tester tried a 6 Hybrid in comparison to his 6 iron and thought he should switch.It got me thinking about the idea having merit.
Honestly for senior players who no long have swing speeds in excess of low 80s with their irons, these iron-hybrid style clubs are a no brainer. Sure they look ugly-ish, but look at the ball flight!
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Two years ago if someone had told me that we would be keeping bees, I would have told them they were dreaming.
My daughter started keeping bees out on her farm, then my wife purchased a Flow hive that she wanted to put in out back yard. I won that argument and it was put out at the farm. Then I received a bee suit for X-mas. “What would I need a suit for”?, I thought? It seems there are times when there is a bit of physical work needed, and I was ” it” Long story short, the hive at the farm did not thrive and so when another swarm was located the hive was put in our back yard. It went gang busters! I found out that as long as you didn’t stand in the bee’s flight path, they left you alone. Two nights ago ( after breaking 80 game) I was enlisted to shift shift three more hives and 6 blocks of limestone to sit the hive upon to the block next to our house ( it is a huge deserted block= 8 house blocks) The drill was to duct tape the entrances to the hives on dusk, then strap them the hive up and slide it into the Ute. Easy! Sliding the blocks of limestone, not so much. That must have been when I strained my neck muscles.That is the point of my narrative today. Have you ever tried to play golf with a stiff neck? It isn’t easy. Today after we manned the BBQ van at the Surf Life saving carnival at Bridgewater Bay, Adriano and I braved the crap weather to hit 9 holes.
Two steps forward
1) It only took 4 holes to work out how to compensate for a stiff neck induced pull shot.
2) the 6 hybrid gave me 136m, 135m and 133m shot distance ( excellent)One step back
Can’t think of any today, I scored 45 despite the neck issue.I played a social 9 holes this morning with fellow Rotarians. My neck was slightly better, but I still tended to pull my tee shots into the left rough on the first 5 holes. Oh well, a bit of recovery practice never goes astray.
I spent some time prior to the game to work on distances for my 5H ( 140m), 6 H ( 133m/ I need to choke down 1/2 inch to get closer to 130 m ) and 7 iron 120m with good contacts. My mind wasn’t on the job today. Hopefully I will fell better and be able to swing a bit more easily in the Vets 4BBB event tomorrow.The 4BBB event was a success. We attracted a good field to Portland, despite the threatening weather. I think players are happy to get out and travel after 2020.
My game was the same as the last two 9 hole games would suggested ( 45+46) which is the same as the 91 I posted yesterday.
Tee shots mainly missed left, except for the ones that I aimed right hoping for a draw that didn’t eventuate. Too many recovery shots that resulted in 6 doubles or was it 7? 91 OTS/ 28 pointsTwo steps forward
1) my putting was good at 34; 4 pars and one birdie.
2) I am visiting the chiropractor this arvo to see if she can’t alleviate my stiff neck. Then a trip to Adelaide to play golf with my mate while he tries out his new Tour Edge golf clubs. I also picked up a half set of Tour Edge clubs with iron -hybrid style clubs (5W, 3,5,7,9,SW and putter) for $90. I am wondering if they are old and worn, or whether the widow sold her late golfer husband’s clubs for what he told her they cost him?One step back
1) I can’t think of any. I had low expectations yesterday and the score wasn’t a disappointment.1 user liked this post.
The Chiropractor and a change to warm dry climate has done me the world of good. I feel a lot better.
Today Geoff and I played the Echunga golf course in the Adelaide hills, teeing off at 8 a.m.
It was quite busy , even that early on a week day. The group in front of us was late teeing off, and the group following us didn’t wait until their allotted time to start. Geoff being a beginner, is a bit erratic, but the two guys in front were more so. The 4 old guys behind were putting a bit of pressure on us, but this stopped after one of them lobbed the ball onto the green as we were putting. My death stare did the trick!Geoff was using his TE set of clubs for the first time. . He has good off the tee skills, but not so good off the deck. He tends to hit everything a bit fat. He knows he needs lessons,but has deferred that until he retires next week.
I was having fun with my TE half set of Bazooka iron-hybrids ( IH) (3,5,7,9,PW, SW) and a 5W. I wasn’t keen on the putter that came with the set at first.The only shots I left out right side were tee shots with the Nike Driver, when the push draw shots didn’t draw much.We started to score, but it got a bit embarrassing. It was a fun morning. We liked the course. It had a bit of everything, with good lush fairways and fast greens.
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I stayed in Adelaide a bit longer than first expected. I amused myself by playing the Marion golf park 9 hole course and and West Ward Ho 15 hole Executive course near the airport. Both of these courses have their own challenges. The hilly Marion course has fairly chopped up fairways, but required thought in ball placement to avoid tee shots rolling off the fairway. The greens were good. I had a lot of time to practice side hill lies, which I found strange using long irons instead of my 7 iron length clubs. The Executive course doesn’t require bookings and can be quite deserted mid -week. It is flat, but the greens are protected by dense bush close to the verges of some holes. I Bazooka-ed a ball into the bush on one hole with an over drawn 5 iron shot. I came out with 5 balls in hand.
Yesterday I played Vets at Hamilton. The weather was mild and the course in good condition. After the rush of doing my duties as Treasurer I rarely play well at Vets events. My neck still isn’t 100% yet. Perhaps I could best describe my game as one where I missed the fairways and found the bunkers. I scored 92/ 26 points playing off 11 for the first time.
Two steps
1) I got a lot of bunker shot practice and was 100% successful getting out of the bunker/ onto the green
2) My 6 iron-hybrid worked well with consistent shots in the 130-140 m range, except for one flyer in the high 150m.One step back
1) My tee shots lacked accuracy , but gained distance. My 3H got a work out with punch shots.2 users liked this post.
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