A Small White Ball and Several Big Sticks: March 2014

Sun 30 Mar 2014 - 18 Holes at Rother Valley in the Fog

With B, an early Sunday morning start, confused by the fact that the clocks went forward. I was awake checking various clocks well before the allotted meeting time.

Rother Valley was new for both of us. We had a tee time of 8 but we set off behind a 4 ball at about 7:40. (This would have been 6:40 on the previous day). The visibility was fine but the fog never lifted properly but it was plenty warm enough. The 4 in front were good enough to keep ahead of us on all but a couple of par 3's. There was no one behind which is always good!

The course was fun to play and not too difficult. Some of the fairways were a bit boggy still, but the greens and tees were in great shape. The bunkers were not very sandy, more soil like. Luckily I managed to avoid most of them. There were one or two interesting holes, in particular the par 3, 7th, down between the trees to a green protected by a large moat and a few bunkers.

As usual we were pretty equal for most of the holes even if the score does not reflect this. It mainly came down to the putting (which is normlly a bit of a lottery anyway). In the end I think I won by a few points.

B played the best hole of the day managing a par on the downhill par 4, 6th.

My score is click here. Playing off a handicap of 28, I only really messed up the 17th which was caused by a duff off the tee and a duff near the green (both avoidable). This is unusual for me of late so perhaps my scores will improve with a bit more dry fairway. I made 1 par on the 7th which was nice! I hope for a few less duffs in the coming summer!

So in summary a great round of golf at a new course which I expect we shall return to in the near future!

B peers into the Mist

A nice downhill

Visibility a bit better

Waiting for the 4 ball in front

B in the rough

Swan

This was a tough one for me on the 18th

Sun 23 Mar 2014 - 18 Holes at Downshire with hail

With M. Afternoon tee time of 2pm. I think it was 16 quid. We paid for our own.

The weather was odd we had hail stones on the way but it was warm and sunny in between.

Just time for 20 balls each before the off. We arrived at the start a bit early and went straight off as no one else was in sight before or after.

The course was not too wet but the bunkers were a nightmare and I wish I had managed to avoid them completely. We have played this course enough times to know where the problems are but it made no difference we both got into a mess on several holes. On the other hand there were several holes were we looked like proper golfers. We were caught by a lone golfer at the 7th but he declined the option to be called through. We were following a 3 ball who kept a steady distance in front.

On the 9th we had a full blown hail storm with a white out on the greens. It didn't last long though! At the end of the first 9 I was up by 2. On the back 9 we both struggled. The course is hard with bunkers and ditches in awkward places. M finished with the best holes of the day with a par on the 17th (after thinking the ball was lost) and an unbelievable birdie on the par 5 18th. It was not enough to win by holes as I think I won by 1 (although he had a better score that I did). We let the lone golfer through on our most difficult hole the dog leg right across the brook (16th) as M's tee shot was nowhere to be found.

My score is click here. It is the worst score for a long time. However I have a number of good excuses. I made good scores on 7 holes. Sadly I messed up the same number (7). On the 4th I had an unlucky roll into a drain and failed to clear after a penalty. On the 9th I did a nice tee shot into the fairway bunker during the hail storm. On the 10th I lost my ball in the dyke. On the 14th easy par 3 I had my worst nightmare. I went into the right green bunker, failed to get out, took a penalty and failed to clear the bunker, then went over the green uugh. This will never happen again playing friendly rules. I will take a penalty and play a shot from somewhere on the way into the bunker. The last 4 holes were poor as they all took 3 puts. My putting was terrible I was 9 over on putting alone. Some of this was due to the ice on the green most just lack of concentration. If I had avoided the penalties then this would have saved at least 5 points. So 15 points from putting and penalties would be fine next time!

It was still fun! If not our most favourite course.

See the weather was great!

The white stuff is hail!

M ready to go!

Bit of Spring!

M lost a ball in the crocodile infested swamp.

Dark and Light

That sky looks mean!

A picture after the birdie on the 18th (Sorry for the quality)

Wed 19 Mar 2014 - 18 Holes at Paultons

Late afternoon round with R starting at 3. Bargain at 12 quid each.

Weather perfect. It has been dry for a couple of weeks since we last played here and the course has almost completely dried out. The fairways are nice but the greens are undergoing some extreme gardening and they were all covered in hundreds of holes. This made putting a bit of a joke but otherwise it was great.

We started off following a lone golfer but he had disappeared by half way and he never slowed us down. We were followed by 2 but we played well enough never to get caught. In consequence we finished each 9 in an hour and a half so it was easy to finish before dark.

I started off well getting to the first green in 2 but then struggled with the holy greens. We drew several holes on the first 9 and in the end R was up by 1 hole and I was 4 over my target. On the back 9 I managed to play above my usual game and with 2 to go I was on target for my handicap and in the lead by 3 holes. Up to this point I had not messed any holes up. On the 17th I almost got to the green in 4 which would have been fine, instead I rolled into the bunker and went over the green on exit, then 3 putt. On the 18th I hit a duff into the trees on the left and took an extra shot to get back on the fairway. In the end this was 5 over my target, but I won by 1 hole, so no complaints there. My score is click here.

One reason for my better play on the back 9 was my resolve to "hit down on the ball" which seemed to work quite well even with my 4i. Will have to try to remember this in games to come.

As usual .. great fun and nice to have the golf course to ourselves!

Before putting practice

On the way up the 9th

R in the 10th tee

Into the sun on the 14th

Sat 8 Mar 2014 - Par 3's Then 18 Holes at Chichester

First game with M after a long break. Looking forward to it. Boots and Sticks clean. The weather is even kind, warm and bright. Playing in the afternoon is 15 quid as its twilight. A bargin. For the record we paid for our own.

We started with a few holes on the par 3, we missed out several holes and repeated a few to avoid others enjoying the first decent weekend weather this year. I think I played the better shots but M won, thats golf.

We started on time with no one on first hole. I hit a nice shot onto the green, always a good start. M went left and we were off. We were followed by a 2 ball who played like good players (as we looked back they did some great shots). We were following a 3 ball, also good but there was a golf soc in front of them so it was slow.

The course was very wet and some fairways were very muddy but I think it will dry out quickly if the weather holds. There were no temporary greens or tees.

The first 9 went OK for me except for a few holes where the mud stopped the ball early and caused a few duffs. On the back 9 the mud also played a part but I had a real disaster on the 17th, losing a ball and getting stuck in a bunker. So on the back 9 M made a big come back and it was down to the last hole to decide the winner or force a draw. It was M's tee so he got out his "masher" and belted it into the sun and the trees. My 4i went 20 yds past the ladies tee (better than it sounds). M's second tee shot was a corker and landed 10 yds short and to the right of the green (best shot ever on this hole). I got to the green in 3 and down in 1 so that was that, I won by a single hole.

My score was pretty bad click here. I messed up 7 holes which is really crap, but I should be playing off 28 not 25 and I should never have got an 11 on the 17th. This was caused by being greedy at about 130 yds to the green when I used my 5W instead of my 5i. Still great fun and I am sure that I have learnt something!

2nd Tee Look at the weather

9th Tee

Fairway bunker - with mud in the distance

Long walk on 12th

Golf Soc with outrageous colour schemes

Now.. how far can I make this go?

Wed 5 Mar 2014 - 18 Holes at Paultons

With R. This is the first weekday game of golf in 2014. Its been a long time since we last played Paultons (Dec 2013).

It was 16 quid each, not a bad price. There were no temporary greens and mostly the tees were off grass. The course was boggy in places but not too bad considering the recent weather. The weather was kind, warm enough to avoid a coat at too hot for a hat when the sun came out.

We were following a good 3 ball 2 guys and a girl. The 2 guys took a bit of extra time as they seemed to be videoing each other on every shot. Apart from the videoing they easily kept ahead of us. We had no-one behind and it was a close call to see if we would finish before dark. In the end we got round in 3.5 hours, no trouble.

We had a minor rule change this year. Mulligan allowed off 1st tee, but after that there is a maximum of 3 off the tee. This should prevent panic after a lost tee shot. (Last year we had one mulligan to be used at any hole).

My score was less than 110 so I was reasonably pleased, especially because I had no recent practice. My score is click here.

I messed up 6 holes which is a lot for me. I also had 12 duff shots and one 4 putt. So my score could easily have been 6 less on another day. I messed up the long 2nd due to a duff left off the tee and then I hit a tree with my second shot. I messed up the long 7th with another duff off the tee and then a couple of duffs in the soggy ground. I messed up the long 9th with a poor 2nd shot. I messed up the downhill 11th with a duff off the tee and a duff near the green. I messed up the narrow 14th with a 4 putt after getting to the green in 3 (I was a long way from the hole). I messed up the long 17th with a duff near the green after 3 great 5w's.

On the plus side I think we drew on holes which shows the difference in out handicaps is still OK. Also I managed 2 pars 3's on on the long 6th and one over the pond on the 15th. I also managed a par on the narrow 13th.

Funny old game. Great fun though!