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Geoff and I teed off at 7:40 a.m. with two other players at Rich River East course. I was feeling quite bright after a cold shower and a light breakfast. We were camped on the banks of the River Murray a few kilometres out of Echuca. My caravan water heater was on the blink.
After a bit of a wobbly first hole tee shot, I composed myself and put in a solid performance hitting 40 shots for the nine holes. I think I was channeling Matt from the You Tube channel ” Golf Sidekick”, using his course management concepts. My tee shots hit the fairway after hole #1, my chipping with the PW went well giving me shorter than usual first putts and I dropped most putts inside 5′. I hit to “good miss” locations when I missed the centre of the greens, I avoided trouble ( lakes) and went long if there were bunkers short and vice versa.
Geoff benefited from having others playing with us. He observed the required etiquette and learned to play under time pressure. He did really well, despite finding the bunkers and racking up a few blowup holes.
Two Steps Forwards
1) I relaxed and let the Driver swing freely rather than try to control the shots.
2) PW chipping closer to the pins took the pressure off my putting.One step backwards
I am struggling to find much about today’s game to be unhappy with. I got put of jail a few times when my hits were not perfect, but my game plan generally worked. On one occasion I thought that I was about to end up in a sand trap ( again) my 5 iron shot draw rolled toward the front left bunker and stopped 30 cm short.So I had a SW shot over the bunker , not a PW shot between the bunkers.So in summary the Moama East course was well presented, nice greens, lots of sand traps and water to avoid. It lacked big trees lining the fairway to make it really challenging in a wind ( none today)
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Phase one of our trip starts to wind down tomorrow. Geoff and I will play nine holes at Rich River in the morning, then we head home to Portland for the Easter break, via St. Arnaud to visit relatives.
We have toured SW, Central and a bit of NE of Victoria, showing our S.A. guests the sights. After Easter it will be their turn to be guides as we tour the Eyre Peninsula area of S.A. It will be interesting to see what the golf courses are like over there.
What have I learned from playing with the half set of SGI hybrid irons? Well they are better suited to softer courses with grass. They are draw biased and I never thought that I would turn down any help from a tool that helped me hit right to left. shaped shots. It is possibly too much of a good thing for me now that I have a more in to out swing path than I did when I started 4 years ago. Anyway i seem to be aiming well enough to avoid the hooks now! Am I getting good at partial swings to make up for the missing
3H,4,6,8,AW,LW? Sometimes yes and sometimes not so well.Geoff has improved a lot. His natural talent from hockey has helped . His tee shots are a nice draw and his chipping and putting has improved over the last 3 weeks. My wife’s golf clubs stayed in the car. Actually they were placed in and out of the car more times than I can recall. I can understand that she is reluctant to play with the pressures of the busy courses, as a beginner.
What I did work out is that her Cleveland SGi irons are stronger lofted that the Tour Edge SGi iron-hybrids I have been using. On part 2 of the trip I will pack her 5,7,9, AW ( plus her 7W, chipper and putter in a pencil travel case) and just take one cart bag.
The lofts of her irons are really 4,6,8 equivalents and the AW will fit nicely between the PW ( 44) and SW ( 54) in the TE set.I am excited to play the Rich River course again. Last time I played the west course and hit my longest drive ever ( 241m)
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We played at the “Back 9” course in Echuca this morning.
It is an economy course, with sparse fairways and greens that a slow and bouncy. I was trying my fairway finder straight shot and found that I was getting a bit more fade. Once I aimed left enough, I started to get the ball in play more often. These hybrid-irons I am using are not as good on rough lies as I am used to wit my Cobra hybrids with the baffler rails.
It was fun and better than trailing behind our wives bored to death in the elusive bargain hunt that seems to enthrall women for hours.
Two steps
1) I got some fade spin on some of my tee shots
2) I adapted to bump and run chip shots well after a couple of lousy strikes with the SW on the hard thin grass. PW was my friend.One Step back.
1) I started a few tee shots too far right of centre ( found the trees). Once I placed the ball a little further forward on my stance , they started left of centre and faded back.1 user liked this post.
Today we played 9 holes at the Back 9 Course in Echuca. It is a cheap and cheerful style course, with fairways that are sparse in some areas. They have had recent rains so it was better than when I past played there about 16 months ago. The rough fairways caught me out a few times when I hit the ground after the ball and the club stopped dead. The ball shot out right of target and finished short. I don’t know whether it was pilot error or the hybrid-irons style clubs I am playing with are not suited to the conditions.
The greens needed a darn good close cut and rolling. They were slow and bumpy, making putting a bit erratic. In the end we resorted to the sand scrape method of banging the ball at the hole with more speed than usual to keep them on track and hoping they died near the hole. It worked; mostly.A good way to kill 2 hours while the women folk searched the shops for an elusive bargain.
Tomorrow at 7:40 we got a tee off time on the east course at Rich River resort in Moama (across the border in N.S.W.)
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I played at Corowa on the River Murray this morning.
Geoff and I hit off at 7:30 a.m. starting on hole 10 then proceeding through to hole 27. The weather has been a bit wet for the last few days, making the course a bit on the soaked side. Bunkers were firm, mud like , with little lakes in some. Still the course was fun to play. Luckily they gave us a map to find our way around the course. The sun did come out in the mid section of our round, but it wasn’t cold even when it became overcast.How did I play? Seeing that it was a new course to me, and I am using my SGI iron-wood 1/2 set with variable length shafts, the answer was not too bad. I scored 92 OTS.
Two steps forward.
1) I found the fairway often with the Nike 44.5 ” shafted A flex Driver
2) I hit some good approach shots onto the green once I compensated for the draw shape.One step back
Easy . Putting speed was a bit off. The dew/ rain on the greens lead to me hitting the lag putts too far on the first 9, leaving me with awkward return putts. I left 4 putts teetering on the lip of the hole in total. 6 double bogies in total ( 4 due to these near misses) Other than that I hit 10 Bogeys and 2 birdies.1 user liked this post.
The opportunity arose yesterday to play at the Albury Commercial course.
It was a very attractive course, with undulating hills, well grassed fairways and smooth greens. Like everywhere else, it has been wet for the last few days. The occasional shot went wrong when the expected ground resistance was absent, sending mud flying.
For 9 holes ( 2 payers) and a motorized cart $75. Value.Today we played 18 holes on the 27 hole course at Corowa.. Corowa is west of Albury-Wodonga on the river Murray.
The course was adjacent the river and very pretty. Cost was around $90 ( 2 players + cart) . We hit off around 7:30 a.m. and the surfaces were still wet from rain overnight and possibly some dew too. The course conditions were very good. It is an interesting layout , with some big bunkers. i found two of them. Being saturated it was a matter of chipping out with a square blade, just like at home.Both courses are worth visiting. Some dry sunny weather would have made them a bit more predictable perhaps.
Today we played at Bright , near Mt. Hotham ski area in NE Victoria.
The course was in great condition. It looked pretty, as did the scenic view of the mountains.My tee shots got better as the game progressed. I pushed one into the right rough early on, into bushy tree while it was rolling. Because the course is so manicured it went through the tree and I had an easy left hand putter chip back out into the fairway. he benefits of having a long shafted double sided putter ( Arc Master) and resort styles rough ( read short) . Then I managed to hook my 5 iron shot, but again I had a shot. Darn those SGI hybrid-irons are so easy to get to go left if you are not careful.
My luck didn’t hold on the putting surface, where I lipped out 4 putts that almost went in the hole. The upside was that I hit a few GIR with good 9i and PW shots, some of them partial swings (unlike last game). The best one was shot #3 onto the 9th green over a water hazard, which brought cheers from the members lounge verandah. I was about 2 m from the pin and it lipped out.
I scored a birdie on a par 4 ( another good 9i shot for GIR), a couple of pars and a string of bogeys. The 2 double bogies early on put paid to any chance of making <40. I hit 43 OTS.Two Steps
1) I took time to enjoy the game and surroundings today and didn’t pay much attention to the score. I was trying to teach Geoff the procedures of competition golf, the do’s and don’ts. He is doing quite well with his natural talents at the tee shot and putting.
Low spot control and lack of extension are hampering his fairway and approach shots. He hit a lot of shots thin today. He only needs 1.5 games more to get his handicap now.
2) I did better at planning back from the green. The occasions I had a partial shot with PW and 9i I managed to hit the green this time, rather than being short/ or long. I am hoping this skill will transfer to my game wen I am using a full set of clubs.One step back?
Well, I guess putting speed control on the 2-3 m putts. I hit the rim of the hole on 4 shots today,none of them went in. That and the occasional hook shot with the very off set irons. I need to concentrate on not letting the face close too much, which is not my usual miss.1 user liked this post.
Bright green fee for 9 holes $25, but it might be a flat fee per day. I forgot to ask. Great course was worth it.
Touring Mt. Buffalo took a bit longer than expected. We arrived at Bright golf course at 2 p.m. and signed up for 9 holes. The course was in great condition in every respect. They must have had good summer rains. The front 9 was a joy to play. The scenery is hard to beat either with towering mountains in all directions. Unlike most of the courses I play, an errant tee shot isn’t punished with wide tree groves on either side of the fairway, or deep rough. The greens wee fast and true and the in placements were challenging. I hit a great approach shot into the green on 9, which received applause from the peanut gallery on the cub house verandah. I missed the par put. It lipped out again ( 4th time)
It was humid after the overnight rain. The pint of Porter beer at the local brewery was refreshing after the game.
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I played at the Myrtleford course in NE Victoria today. My playing partner does not have a handicap as yet, so we scored today so that he can use the round to submit for handicap assessment. I used the system of giving him two shots on index 1-9 holes and one shot on oles 10-18 index. Geoff can hit is Driver quite well and putts very well. The shots in between need work. He started well and played to the 28 handicap, but had a lapse on the back nine holes.
My game wasn’t bad, considering I had not played the course before. I was using the half set of SGI hybrid-irons, which are draw biased. I hit my tee shots well enough to keep them in play, but a few I left out right where it was hard to get the Tour Edge Bazookas to fade with any accuracy when needed. Next game I will aim less right off the tee and leave the ball more on the centre left, which will suit the draw bias better. I did hit the three iron-hybrid a lot better today, even getting a couple of GIR with it.
I scored 3 pars, 11 bogeys, 3 doubles and one triple bogey for a 93 OTS. I missed a couple of easy putts by not taking enough time to aim them .
Two steps forward
1) The Nike driver is performing well on draw shape tee shots.
2) approach shots were good from 140-160 mOne Step back
I was trying to plan from green back to the tee, but today I seemed to leave my self awkward distances between SW and PW distance . I needed a GW, but didn’t have one! I need to perfect my partial PW shots. That, plus playing to the left side of the fairway to suit draw shaped iron shots would have helped reduce bogey rate. Next time? Perhaps I need to stop trying to over ride the draw bias and accept that I need to aim left of the green and ch, rather than try to fade a shot onto the green.1 user liked this post.
We played at Beaufort again ( 50 km west of Ballarat). In mid -summer the fairways are very dry, but the greens have been watered. It is an interesting layout, with some challenges.
Our next game was at Avoca. Too dry to be much fun.
Next we moved to Bendigo. I was hoping to get a game mid-week at one of the three courses, however it proved difficult. We ended up playing on a scrapes course about 15 km west at Marong. The first 6 holes were a challenge, but the remainder on the other side of the road were not that interesting. At $10 fee it is value.
Today we had a game at Myrtleford (a ski town in winter) and I really enjoyed the conditions. The layout was interesting, good fairways and greens. $30 green fees was value for money. The scenery is stunning. It was a pity that the smoke form burn offs is hanging about in the hills.
On Sunday we will be playing at Bright.
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This week I have played at Peterborough on the Otways coast, Beaufort just west of Ballarat and a few holes at Avoca on a scrapes course. It was 33 degrees at Avoca, when I left there yesterday to drive three hours back to Portland for dental treatment. Adriano ( the dentist) invited me to join him for a game after work.
I hit some pretty good shots at Peterborough with the half set, finally getting used to the draw biased clubs. I was a bit erratic off the tee at Beaufort and my putting went a bit off. The irons were performing quite well, other than a few duffed 3 iron shots. Avoca was very dry on the fairways, but the scrapes were pretty well presented. I would like to play the course in winter time.
The cross training must be working, because I played a good game at my home course. It was a balmy 24 degrees and very pleasant after the heat of the morning game. I seem to have improved my Driver efficiency with the shorter Nike.driver.The tee shot on hole #7 reached the bunkers. I hit most of the fairways. The 5W approach shots only just missed the greens on 7,10,12.15 and 1 from 170-180 m out. I was having fun just letting it rip with a guaranteed draw shape.
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I am on holiday for few weeks, touring with my recently retired mate from Adelaide and our wives. The plan is to do a loop of Victoria, avoiding Gippsland and Melbourne. Then a loop in S.A., looking at the Eyre Peninsula, playing golf where we can.
So far we have played the 9 hole course at Peterborough, on the Otways coast. We lucked in with a pleasant day on Sunday arvo, with little wind. There were some very nice views of the coast from the elevated tee positions. The fairways needed a good water, but were still fine to play on. The greens were excellent. Luckily the score card has a map of the layout, which helped us find our way around. Several of the fairways are shared, so with safety in mind we waited for other groups to play through in the opposite direction. My mate is still learning, but being an ex-hockey player he can hit a ball well when he gets on to it. Direction is a bit variable still. The run was variable. On some holes the ball pulled up quickly, while on another my high 5W shot off the tee went across the road and 30 m further OB. I have ridden past this course a number of times, noting that several holes go over the ocean. This challenge was part of the attraction for me to drive the 60 Km from our campsite in Princetown. Well they didn’t disappoint. Both were par 3,holes. My mate donated two balls to the ocean, which was a cause for a laugh. The other quirky feature was the two roads that bisect the 5th and 8th fairways. You have to wait for a break in the traffic to play, with your marker acting as lookout in case a car comes into range while you are doing your PSR.
I hit a 40 for 9 holes. It is so much easier to play golf when you don’t have towering groves of trees lining the fairways! I almost drove a par 4 hole from an elevated tee. It was only 205m though. Pin high just off the green! Happy with that one.
I gave my mate the 3 CD set of golf instruction from Adam Bazeljet ( ? spelling) as his retirement present.
Green fees $15. Value= good. The course was busy on the long weekend. It has rained on and off most on yesterday and last night, so the fairways would have had a good water. We went touring along the Great Ocean road and in the ranges above it in the temperate rain forest areas. Great scenery when we were out of the pea soup fog. Lots of eye candy too, motorcycle wise!
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played in south gippsland open mixed day at Lang Lang (the new home of golf today). (course was in terrific condition and greens just a little slower than “normal Lang lang speed) (those readers who have played course will know what I mean)
been baby sitting grand kids all week so was nice an relaxed with low expectations on out come.
good process from start and didn’t want to let partner down.I played well to game plan and had 80 OTS= 35 points. Lady partner of 14 had 32 so we combined well and had 67 points for a win. (she is also coached by the super coach, so that was a nice connection for us.)
wife is happy with the nice voucher I won, as will give her more things to buy for new house.
good part about game was that I didnt have an out on card and even better was very consistent as didnt score worse than 5 on any hole, this is second time this year I have done this in a round and 2 out of last 4 rounds where haven’t had an out, so getting some degree of consistency back in my game.
travelling this week to country, and back on Friday just in time for club championships next Saturday.Soon you will need a name change to ” Do break 80″. Well done that golfer!
What caused the DB’s CB80?
I hit 4 DB today too. ( just to make you feel better) Mine were caused by 3 putts and one muck up tee shot and poor second shot trying to make up for the tee shot. The greens at Heywood have more slope and I didn’t do well at short putts ( speed control) , So near, yet so far. How can a ball bend at 90 degrees over less than a metre?
4 DB were caused by 3 poor tee shots and 1 x3 putt.. All caused by not committing to the shots. What made it worse was that it was on my home course, where should know not to have DB.
lesson with coach next Friday will focus me againI don’t know which is worse; a poor tee shot putting you under pressure or perfect tee shots and getting a GIR, then 3 putting after a good lag putt and missing the second shot by a fraction!
