Tues 24th June 2014 - 18 Holes at Paultons

With R instead of watching the last of England's failed world cup campaign. We had a tee time of 5 ish. I had a couple of minutes putting which I soon regretted and we were off. It was 16 quid each.

No one around in front at first. I set off left and then went over the back of the green due to wind behind, I was right next to an old tree with no chance of a shot and a 3 put meant ending with a poor 7. Never mind plenty holes left. I 3 putt again on the 2nd otherwise I would have made a nice 6. By the time I had played through to the 8th I had warmed up with a par on the 8th. On the 9th I messed up into the ditch (grr). At the end of the front 9 we were all square. For a change I played the 10th and 11th ok. I got on the 12th green from the tee and then 3 putt. A shame about the 13th when I lost a ball near the green on my third shot. I managed to get over the lake to the right but only found it after taking a penalty. I made nice progress on the last 3 holes only spoiling it with a 4 putt on the 18th after getting on the green in 2. I should have let R play his putt or mark his ball as my stance for the 3rd putt was awkward (mental note to avoid this error in future!) In the end I won easily so thats nice.

We caught some golfers at the end of the front 9, they went into the bar and we carried on. We caught the next lot of golfers on the 18th as they lost balls.

My score is click here.

I was quite pleased as I almost got under 100 again. I only made 5 proper golf scores (4 bogeys and a par). I messed up 2. The 1st with bad luck by the tree and a 3 putt. I messed up the 9th with a bad tee shot. However my putting was very poor and owed me at least 3 shots. Also I had 3 penalties which should have been avoided.

Grat fun in the Summer with bouncing and rolling fairways...

Putting practice - a mistake for me!

Waiting on the 12th in the sun.

Sun 22nd June 2014 - Breakfast and 18 Holes at Chichester

With M on a Sunday with better halves for a great breakfast at the clubhouse. We had a tee time of 10:15 ish and it was something like 23 quid a head including a 6 quid discount each for being priv card members.

At 10:15 it was busy. A 4 ball were waiting for a 3 ball to finish before we could get started. The weather was very pleasant with sun and a light wind. I started with my usual 5i that just gets to the green and off it went over the back due to the wind. We both managed 5 each, could have been better but not a disaster. On the 2nd, the 4 ball in front were looking for balls and called us through. This has become a lot less stressful lately and M managed a 5 and I managed a 6 and we left the 4 ball behind for good. On the 3rd my 5i worked well again and I was on the green from the tee and down in 3. So it was all even after 3. For the next holes I played very steadily and M had a few problems from the tee (especially on the 4th where the driver with a new grip was used.. the bloke in the shop had promised 300 straight drives..). By the end of the front 9 I was 5 holes in front and was managing a run of 5's. At this point M went back to basics and started to hit irons with some great long shots. However to be 5 holes down was too much of a problem and I won 5 more holes on the back 9. I had to try not to panic as I realised that I was on for a good score by my standards. So the trophy stays here for another time but my handicap gets put down to 25 for next time. My score is click here.

Thats 2 in one week less that 100 so I was very pleased! For a change I did not mess up any holes (even though I had a penalty on the 4th from the tee and lost a ball on the 17th in the pond on my second shot). I managed 12 proper golf scores: 11 bogeys and 1 par. My putting was better than average so this helped! Part of the reason for a better score is the dry fairways giving a fair amount of roll but I like to think that I am getting a tiny bit better.

We played quite quickly and were called through by 2 lots of golfers without panic. We caught a 3rd lot at the 14th but they did not finish and finally we caught a 4 ball on the 18th.

Waiting at the 1st tee

In the distance there is a crowd waiting for the 3rd

The 17th Green

M waiting for the 18th green to clear

See the duck!

Wed 18th July 2014 - 18 Holes at Skylarks

With R after work. I had a play free voucher and we shared a 16 quid twilight at 5:16. There is a new clubhouse and it was busy (due to the free golf passes?).

The weather was very hot for after 5pm. We set off on time after a couple of lone golfers who we never saw again. We were followed by 2 golfers who we never held up.

I set off nicely with a par 4. (I have done this in 2 once before!). On the 2nd I duffed the tee shot and lost my ball but still managed a 7 as planned. On the 3rd I was short of the pond but put the ball in the water on the 2nd shot. Not going too well? On the 4th I went down the left hand side which worked OK. On the par 3 5th I managed a par. On the one across the valley outside the clubhouse I messed up and lost a ball from the tee. This sounds bad but R was not on best form as this turns out to his least favourite course and I was up by 3 holes after 9. My luck continued on the back 9 with a par on the 10th (after we were called through a 4 ball). I played over the water onto the green on the par 3 14th with a 5i. Also I managed a smple 5 on the long dog leg uphill 16th. Sadly I messed up the 18th with a lost ball from he tee and a penalty from an unplayable bunker.  So it was my turn to win.

My score is click here.

As usual I am always pleased to get under 100. I managed 8 proper golf scores (4 pars and 4 bogeys). I only messed up that last hole and my putting (or chipping) was better than usual. My round included  4 lost balls and an extra penalty in the bunker so perhaps I could have saved a few more shots.

Nice new clubhouse from 5th green (this long putt went in!)

The 15th

The 17th

Last rays of sun on the 18th Green

Wed 11th June 2014 - 18 Holes at Paultons

With R after work. The traffic was busy and I was a bit late getting there. R was all ready to go. The weather was ok: no rain, a few clouds and a bit of sun towards the end of the round. As usual it was 16 quid each.

We started off just in front of a 2 ball and we never really saw them again. We caught a 3 ball who tried to call us through on the 12th but we declined.

I had a nice 5 for starters and played to (my) par on the 2nd. R set of OK and got better, starting with a birdy on the par 5 2nd. By the end of the front 9, R had 4 more pars. However I played well enough so that we were level on holes. The worst hole for both of us was the easy par 3, 8th where we both went in the right hand bunker and struggled to get 5 each.

On the back 9 it was a different story. R started with 2 pars, a bogey a par, a double bogey and a birdy. I never won another hole even though I did not play too bad. Thats golf. One of the best for R though. My score is click here.

I managed 6 proper golf scores with just 1 par on the par 3 3rd. My putting was better than average on the first 9 and worse on the back. Making it more or less even. I messed up 3 holes. The 10th an 11th I never play well for some reason. On the 10th I had a duff from the tee and a 3 putt. On the 11th I had a nice tee shot and then ended up going over the back and 3 putting again. I messed up the last hole with a duff into the long grass from the tee, Hey ho ... great fun as usual and we finish well before dark as its nearly Summer.

Waiting for the 3 ball on the 12th

Same shot with focus on green

Sunshine on 13th green

Sat 8th June 2014 - 9+ 18 holes at Chichester

We were undecided on playing Saturday or Sunday to get the best from the weather. The forecast had been saying storms on Saturday clearing by 4pm and Sunday was to be good all day. However Saturday was best and the forecast improved as we got closer to Saturday. On the morning of Saturday there was a storm but it cleared quickly and when we met M at Chichester the weather was just like summer!

We had time to  zip round the par 3. I used my pw for a change and ended up with 7 4's a 3 and a 5. So thats 4's all round. This score goes some way to explaining my current 28+ handicap effectively throwing away a shot from 50-100 yds. On the other hand at least I beat M ;-)

We had a 3:30 tee time with a buggy for M. The cost was 24 quid each including the buggy. We were following a slow 2 ball and were followed by a 3 ball with 2 in a buggy and 1 walking. I set off with a duff.. oh no.. then my 2nd was into the bunker. However I recovered with a 1 put making a respectable 4. This was enough to beat M on the first hole. On the 2nd however M hit a great 3w and had chance of a par and easily beat me as I kept heading right. I was pleased to get over the pond on the 3rd and managed another 4. I started the 4th with a duff but M lost one from the tee.. On the tricky 5th I got over the pond and then hit a nice one onto the fairway with chance of the green on the 3rd shot. M lost a ball in the trees to the right and we made the mistake on calling the 3 behind through. At this point their golf collapsed and we resigned ourselves to be waiting behind them for the rest of the round. Hey ho... At the end of the front 9 I was up by 1 hole but it had been very even. On the 10th M made it all square and we drew the 11th. On the 12 and 13th I had a nice run and won both, M won the 14th so I was up by 1 after 14. With 2 to go I was 2 holes up an I managed to win the 17th and drew the 18th so the Geller Trophy comes back South (for the Summer?).

The round was slow but the fairways were good and the greens were in good condition. A couple of tricky pin positions with the flag on the edge of a hill. With the heavy rain in the morning the bunkers were a bit hard. My score is click here.

I am always pleased to get close to 100 so this was fine by my standards and a big improvement on my last game. I managed 9 proper golf scores (7 bogeys and 2 pars). I only messed up 1 hole and this was the 10th. Not sure why, I started with a nice fairway but went right and 3 putt.  I was 2 under on putts which always helps (5* 1 putts). I managed to get over the pond on the 16th for the first time in several rounds (must remember that 4i can do this!). I lost my only ball on the 17th after a good tee shot I put the next shot in the pond. My 4i was working ok from the tee and my 4r was working well(is) from the fairway.

M's 3W was not working quite as well as usual but he did some great shots especially on the long par 3 14th when he was on the green from the tee. The 18th tee shot was an easy chip away from the green too.

Waiting in the shade on the 2nd

Waiting on the 7th tee

Ball cam is back with a 3W

This one was my 3rd shot on the short par 4 13th
Get in the Hole!

Wed 4th June 2014 - 18 Holes at Paultons

Well what a difference a week can make (and not in a good way!).

As usual it was with R after work. The weather forecast had been poor all day, but in the afternoon is appeared to clear and we decided to risk it (even though R said .. It will be better tomorrow).

We arrived after 5 and paid the usual 16 quid. Not sure what has happened to twilight prices?

There was a 3 ball just finishing the 1st as we set off. I was first as I was last weeks winner. My first shot was a duff and I took a mulligan. My second was ok but went right. My 3rd and 4th were a bit duff but I managed a 6 which could have been worse. Luckily for me R did not play as well as usual and we drew. We continued in this manner dropping 1 shot each until the 5th where I managed to get a 5 and went 1 up. R got one back on the long par 5-7th and we were all even. On the 9th I got into trouble (in the ditch) from the tee and was lucky to make 9 giving R a one hole advantage after 9.

The weather was steadily awful and there was lots of thunder while we played the 2nd and 4th. The 15% chance of rain was looking more like 90%. (And it was windy!)

The 3 ahead turned into 2 at the half way point and they were never seen again. After the turn R got some form back and par'd the 11th and 12th. I made a bit of a come back on the 13th getting to the green in 4 and then 4 putting. Then on the 14th I had my worst golf hole for a long time, finishing with a 13. It all started in the ditch from the tee and went down hill from there. This did nothing for my confidence across the lake on the 14th. So I did a duff and took a second than somehow made it over although we both thought is was in the pond. I recovered a bit on the last 3 holes but as the rain set in for the night R won with ease.

My score is click here.

My 4i was not working very well off the tee and neither was my 4r on the fairway so that never helps!

Its very bad. I only managed 2 real golf scores (both bogeys) and I messed up on 5. The 7th after a good tee shot I went from right to left several times. On the 9th I lost a ball in the ditch. The 14th was just a mess and the last 2 holes were due to giving up?

Hey ho I never really felt like I had ever played golf before but thats how it is some days. I assume it was down to the poor weather and the very wet course.

Getting ready to rain on the 3rd

Bright on the 5th

Nice colour on the 6th