A Small White Ball and Several Big Sticks: Sun 6 Oct 2013 18 Holes at glorious Sleaford Golf Course

On trip up North.

Sorry for long blog but its first time at Sleaford!

Early breakfast for Me and M then got lift from A for 9 o'clock tee time. Car park was full with people already playing.. popular. I am not surprised the weather was great. We started with jumpers but by end of 6th hole we were down to tee shirts.

It was quite pricey at 36 quid each but it was probably the best kept course we have played to date. For the record I paid for both. The greens were amazing but very large (par 3 greens I would call them). The fairways were immaculate. The bunkers were a bit disappointing being more mud than sand.

You were supposed to put your ball in a contraption and wait till you were next. There was a ball already there but no one around so we started anyway. M had handicap cut by 1 as he had won the last 2 games. M's first ball was lost right in the trees, as was his second. I started left and then messed up a bit leaving M to beat me with a mulligan and a lost ball. Not the best start but the course was great.

We were following a 2 ball and had a 3 ball behind. The 2 ball were just a bit faster than us but they were held back by a 4 ball in front of them so all was fine.

On the 2nd I realised that I needed to hit a decent shot off the tee, (which M was managing quite well), so I attempted a 3W and was forced to use my mulligan. I did not feel confident hitting off the tee until later in the round. (My excuse is not much golf in the last month).

On the 3rd I settled down a bit and got my first half decent score 6 for a par 4. (Ok not great I know) but I did win the hole.

It all went wrong on the 4th where M almost got a birdy on the most difficult hole on the course. It was a left dog-leg my worst kind of hole.

The next (5th) was a par 3 and should have been a piece of cake but I duffed it into the fence and then had trouble getting to the green.

On the 6th I hit my first decent tee shot to get a good approach to the green and managed to win another hole. At the start of the 7th one guy from the following group had complained that it was slow.

I played the 7th ok, reverting to my 4i from the tee. Not good enough to win the hole.

We waited for the 3 ball to finish the 7th and then called them through... they declined... not in a rush after all?

So we played onto the 8th. M hit one sky high but made the fairway, I went left but was ok despite the audience. This par 5 would have been ok except I hit a fairway bunker. We had the wind behind so M went over the hole onto the road and I went over the back of the green.

The 9th was across the road and across a bridge. I set off ok but landed in the ditch, at least it was dry so I could hit out (just). At the end of the first 9 I was down by 4 holes.

The 10th was towards a hut where coffee and bacon butties were for sale. next time we should take advantage of this. This was a draw won by M due to handicap. Here the 2 ball jumped in front of the 4 ball and we were left following a much slower group. Before we started the 11th we had to wait for the 15th green to clear so more waiting. This did neither of us any good as we both ended up in a hillock. For me this was my second 9 as I also got in a bunker that I had to play out sideways.

The 12th is a par 3 over the trees. I failed with a 7i must try a 6i next time. M failed but managed a 4 anyway. I was now 7 down with 6 to play. Just pride now.

The 13th was an easyish par 4 and I managed 5 so thats ok. I pulled one hole back.

The 14th is the longest par 5 and I was pleased with 7 and pulled another hole back.

The 15th is a par 3. I did not get very far on my first shot so only managed the edge of the green on my 2nd. Pity this could have been another hole back.

The 16th was a disaster with 3 off he tee for me, otherwise it would have been ok.

The 17th was a good tee shot for me. We didn't know that you had to wait for the guys in front to ring the bell and M's tee shot almost hit one of the players in front.

On the 18th M lost his ball in the rough on the right. I hi the fairway with a confident 4i. We called the 2 experts through while we had a quick look for Ms ball. In the end this was my best hole getting onto the green in 3 and 1 putting for par.

My score is here.

Great fun as usual. Amazing weather, amazing course. We even managed a pint after!