Sun 15 Sep 2013 7 Holes before breakfast.. then 18 more at Chichester

Early start so that we could get in some of the par 3 to make the most of our privilege cards. The weather was well nice, sunshine and everything. There was a bit of morning mist and we were first on the par 3. We arrived at the same time as the groundsman who was doing a great job on the greens. (First time I have seen a green lawnmower in action.. impressive). The greens were full of dew which gave us some interesting putting tracks!

The plan was to get breakfast at the clubhouse. I can recommend this as a great way to start the day. In the end we had time for some putting practice before the main 18 hole game. As it happens M won the par 3 and the putting. Not the best start for me!

The round was great fun as usual although we were both knackered as it took us 4.5 hours, much longer than usual. The main cause of the slow round was the 2 young lads who were off just before us. I think they were both good .. only... one of them took an age to hit the ball, (more than a minute...). I have never seen this before and found it frustrating, so much so that when we were caught by 2 in a buggy we let them through so that we did not have to watch. Never mind it did not spoil the fun and every one has the right to enjoy it in their own way.

We started off looking like experts as we both pared the first. With M's handicap he was well up on holes at the end of the first 9 and was hitting his 3w like an expert. As usual he did spend at least 3 holes on the wrong fairway but he scrambles well. I got into the bunker at the 4th which cost a shot or two. I was a bit disappointed as I got over the water ok at the 5th and then hit into the fairway bunker for no good reason. At the end of the first 9 I had dropped 5 from my handicap and I did the same on the back 9, I didn't play or score terrible but my putting was slightly worse than average and I ended up short and did not chip well enough. We both made a mess of the 16th losing balls (and finding some of them with the help of intrepid ball retriever: A). We also both lost balls on the 17th but scrambled to get 7's (we have done much worse in the past). So in the end M won by loads of holes and beat me on a straight scoring match, and, as a reward, I deduct 1 handicap point to 31. My score is here.

Mist on the par 3

Off to breakfast.

Waiting on the 4th

Looking back to the 3rd green 

Waiting at the dreaded 5th

Looking back at the 4th green

The 6th fairway

Waiting to tee off on the 7th.