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Another D grade game in the wind and slop at Portland.
I started poorly with a triple bogey and really struggled until hole 16 when I finally hit a par on the par five. I used my 3 Hybrid 12 times, ten of them punch shots out of trouble I mishit SW shots three times inside 70 m. Full shots just seem to be not working when I hit the soft ground. I missed three very short putts. I was too timid and the slope took control and they rolled past the rim of the hole. Then my cart battery was too low, so I walked the last 9 holes with tight golf shoes on. Sore toes now!
Two steps
Holes 16 worked; nice draw shape off the tee, good 4W second shot, 6 H just missed the green, chip and putt for a par.One Step back
Holes 1-15, 17-18 were not pretty1 user liked this post.
I am channeling CB80 and asking, ” What caused your 4 double bogeys?’
I am curious namely because I hit 3 doubles today and in my case it was a combo. My tee shot was not ideally placed, then I tried to get back into play I managed to find the muddy slop on the fairways. Hitting from mud is an art that I seem to lack. Is there a tip that will solve my problem? Hang on, I am asking a Queenslander about playing in mud! Silly me.
Adriano and I decided to re – kindle the Mummbannar Masters this morning at 9 a.m. but extended the comp to 18 holes. The was a break in the weather and we got to play in still conditions, not a bit of wind.
I didn’t start out that well, pulling my tee shot into the weeds left side. I punched out with my SL 19 Hybrid, then put a LW onto the green+ 2 putts for a bogey. A bogey start isn’t all that bad. Hole two was one of those holes where nothing was terrible , but the score keeps going up. The drive start line was too far right , so I was blocked out from a straight shot at the green. I mishit the 4Hybrid fade attempt, but it was O.K. position wise. I tried a SW shot at the green, but chunked it short. Chipped it on and 2 putted for 6. I hit a par on the par 5 third. The rest was bogey golf, except the 8th where I three putted for a second double bogey. I finished the front 9 with a par.
The back none had two more double bogeys and 3 pars. Both the doubles were the result of poor iron shots in the mud. I am thinking that I should go up and club and swing easy to see if that works any better. I am hitting the dirt and the club goes too deep into the soft ground.
90 OTS : 5/18 GIR, 2 up and downs, 35 putts. 11/18 tee shots in play.
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6 Bogeys not 4.
5/7 tsip. I missed the fades ( too fad left; didn’t come back)
5 GIR
one /four up and downs.
in comparison to an 8 handicapper: I was half a stroke worse off the tee, approach shots 0.8 better, short game 0.2 better, putting 2.2 strokes worse.
The greens were wet and slow, so I crept up to the hole a few times.Two steps forward.
1) Reliable draw off the tee. Distance wasn’t all that bad on average ( 182m)
2) approach shots were pin high a few times, but a bit wide.One step back
I didn’t goldilocks the putt strength well enough on the first few holes for the wet conditions.There was a break in the weather this afternoon at 3, so I braved the light wind and drizzle for a 9 hole hit out.
It is no secret that my long game is my weak link of my game. My results and Arccos tell me this often. Accuracy is O.K. but distance isn’t as good as it can be. Today that changed. I have been watching Golf with Marcus Egblad, an ex long driver champ of Sweden , on YouTube lately. Using his advice today I was getting a nice draw shape off the tee and I was confident it would work, so I aimed right of centre and let it go. Darn it was pretty! even in today’s heavy air and wet ground I hit a 209 m drive on hole 7. I let it go out towards my usual right side pine tree and waited as it turned back into the fairway. Wow, it worked every time I tried it.I hit a 42 OTS; 3 pars and 4 bogeys. Now can I do this in a game?
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I pulled the pin on my 8:20 tee time this morning. Cold, wet and windy again. The low cloud / sea mist would have made following the balls in flight difficult. The soft soggy ground makes finding the balls difficult , even on the fairway. Maybe next week! On reflection, we will be locked down again for sure by then. 17 cases in Warrnambool today I heard. I was over there Monday and Tuesday this week for medical visits.
I played 12 holes in the sunshine. My back is a little touchy today, so I tend to swing around my body a bit and get the hooks. At least I get to practice my recovery shots! Putting and short game OK. Approach shots short and left.
I was told that I had to wear a mask while chipping on the practice area ( solo) . The Police had called in twice in the morning in response to calls from the public seeing golfers not wearing masks on the course. It looks as if we must have some Dan fans ( wankers) left out here after all. Really it is virtue signalling at its worst and there is no evidence that wearing a mask outside is effective in reducing virus transmission. In fact, wearing a mask full time leads to the mask becoming saturated with water vapor and makes it less effective. Common sense would indicate that you would carry a mask for when you are not able to socially distance.
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I went out for the back 9 holes with my brother in law acting a my caddy. I scored a 39 ( par 71) , so combining the two 9 hole games I scored 8 over. I was surprised how wider harder fairways, and lack of tall trees made golf so much easier. I almost got on one par 5 in two shots! I birdied that hole. The scrapes had a bitumen base with an adequate thickness of fine gravel over the top. I made a mistake on one dog leg right hole, leaving my tee shot on the right side short of the corner. I used the chipper to run the ball under the overhanging tree branches on the corner and then again to get it on the green. I like the chipper now!
I worked out that approach shots needed to land one club short of the scrape and allow for run. The only bunker on the course ( it was a beauty) behind the 12th? My ball rolled up to the back of the scrape and stopped before it went over the lip. I am sure I could hear the crowd cheering!
Yes it was fun for $10 green fee.
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Thursday was sunny once we headed past Dunkeld , heading to St Arnaud to visit my sister-in-law. Friday morning is cool and over cast with a medium westerly wind. It supposed to be blowing hard today on the coast. To keep chairman Dan happy I towed the van up there.
Anyway I brought my wife’s clubs with us , thinking that we might have a hit at the St. Arnaud Country Club course. With the cool conditions ” She” decided to go shopping in Donald, just a bit further North. I thought, ” Shopping or Golf’? I don’t like shopping much.
I drove out to the Country Club ( sounds rather grand/ they have a sense of humour) and paid my $5 fee for 9 holes. I had the to myself, except for a bloke with a tractor and slasher mowing the course. I had a few things I wanted to try out today. I recently purchased some Inesis gear from Decathlon; gloves and balls. I wanted to try the wet weather gloves ( L&R) to keep my hands warm ( yes they worked) and their Distance balls. The balls are an opaque covered Surlyn ( compression 77) so similar to Srixon Soft Feel, I think, and cost $17 dozen. I would love to say that they are long, but it was impossible for me to gauge accurately because the firm fairways were giving me a lot of run. I would say they felt a bit better than the Top Flite ball I found and maybe a bit longer. Another thing I was trying was two strips of painters blue tape 1 inch apart on top of the driver head/ defining the centre of the Driver face., as an alignment aid. I saw the idea on a Shawn Clement’s video,so I thought , why not. I think it helps! I kept the tee shots on the fairway.
The clubs I was using were; Driver Nike Vapor Speed 11.5 degree 45 inch/ R flex, Adams 5W ( square head design) L flex, TM 7 wood Burner L flex( didn’t hit it today) , then Cleveland HB Launcher irons 5-GW A flex, then a WIlson Harmonized chipper, a C3i 65 LW ( didn’t use it) and my Arc Master putter. I took out my wife’s 14 degree GX7 mini Driver and her mallet putter..
Off the tee I hit 7/7 Driver tee shots onto the fairway (TSIP 100 %) so maybe there is something with the blue tape? I hit the 5W quite well both ways. I recall last time I used it I was not impressed. I used the 8,9, PW, GW of the Cleveland HB Launchers and continue to be impressed by their performance. They launch high early, spin well and I get a tight draw shape reliably each time. I think these ought to be used by more beginner golfers. The chipper and I have a love hate relationship. I find it difficult to judge how hard to hit it. Most of my shots either were short or ran through the scrapes. I eventually started to use the putter if I was close to keep the ball on the scrape. I had to chose one club less than I thought for the par 3 holes , because the fairways were so hard the ball bounced through on the first par 3 hole and kept going about 20 m past the hole.
I hit 5 pars and 4 bogeys; Golf is a lot easier with wide fairways, smaller trees and hard ground that adds 30 m to my driving distance!
Two Steps
1) Tee shots in play. I take some of the credit for that.
2) Putting on the scraps was better than on Monday. I de-lofted the putter more to make the ball run on line.One step back
That chipper is frustrating. I guess I would have to use it more often to get the feel for swing strength. Possibly make a distance chart ( 25% swing= X metres)2 users liked this post.
Oh, how things are conspiring to keep us at home. I travelled to Hamilton on Monday and now Covid cases have been found on building sites there. Today we were going to visit relatives in St. Arnaud and ditto, Covid is there too.
Such is life (now). I think I need a dose of Vitamin D, not from a bottle.1 user liked this post.
Happy to share the poor weather. It almost snowed in Hamilton yesterday. I am getting used to playing golf in the slop. Getting used to it, isn’t saying I enjoy it.
I played a non- comp game with cards being handicapped (a Claytons game) this morning. It has been a long time since I played a competitive round. Conditions were cool and wet under foot and a moderate breeze from the west.
I scored a 27 pointer/ 89 OTS. I hit 7/14 fairways, 6/18 gir, 3/12 up and downs, 34 putts. Flashes of brilliance, interspersed with long periods of mediocrity.My first drive was the best of the day 208m past the dog leg left and put me within 7 i distance of the green. I missed! I was doing OK until hole 3 when my tee shot pushed out right and I attempted a punch shot out, but clipped a tree. Then my chip onto the green ran off= 8 strokes result ( 3 over) . Then on hole 5 I aimed a fade at the pin thinking the wind would straighten the fade. it didn’t and I took two shots to get out of the long grass. 2 over par ( 5) . On #8 I mishit my 7i tee shot and ended up under a tree and the bunker between my ball and the pin. I used two PW shots to go around the bunker and back on the green. ( 2 over) On hole 10 I mishit a 4W and had to chop out of the long grass with no shot at the green. I mishit a 4W approach shot on 15 & 17, possibly trying to hit them too hard into the wind. On the par 5 16th I did the same mistake that I have been doing for a while, leaving the ball too far left. I had to pitch out around the Cypress tree and thought I would use a PW. It went 2 m too far into the rough right side ( army golf) for a three over result
Two Steps forward
1) Hybrid approach shots into the greens worked well ( 130-150 range)
2) Putting worked well , after a slow startOne step
1) 4 tee shots ended up in poor positions and I over used the 4W . I was trying for 170m approaches and about 1/5 actually landed on the green. I would have bee smarter to use the 7W and lay up.1 user liked this post.
