35 points off 17 today. First decent round on my home course in months. The non full shots and putting killed me. I left myself 80-105m to the green on 7 occasions. 6 times to hit on and two putt for par, once for bogey. I hit zero greens out of 7. I'd guess a 17 handicapper should be averaging getting down in about 3.5 shots from that distance, so 24.5 shots. I took 31. I didn't get down in 3 from that distance once. Of my 18 dropped shots today I'd attribute 8 to catching those shots fat (and one thin). I also had 5 three putts. None of them from positions you'd think a three putt is likely.
My other 5 dropped shots were from deciding to play the index 1 as a par 5 (my only 0 pointer), and 4 decent iron shots that just didn't find the green and I didn't get up and down.
But to go from a series of mid 20 point rounds, I'm actually heartened from what should be an infuriating round. I'm stilll not convinced my putting is that bad, I just need to practice distance control. And even those cut down shots in trying to shift my weight on more to keep them down. I think I'll get them.
Shot my best ever score today. For the second week in a row I’ve shot my best round so I’m delighted to be striking the ball so well. I’ve only recently started to keep track of my putts and it’s only now that I’m starting to play better and my handicap is coming down that I’m paying more attention to each and every shot, particularly the putts. I had 34 putts in my round today and still broke 80. All my work for the next 3 or 4 weeks is on my short game. If I can shave a couple of putts off then I’ll really be in business.
Round of my life today in the Ladies Captains Prize to Men, last of our majors and as a new member I can't win it but that doesn't bother me. Shot 78 off 13 for 65 nett, score differential of 4 so my best round since I joined the club and got back playing regularly. Driver was on fire today and made my life easy, holed a couple of long putts and generally avoided any blow ups. Figured I had a round like that in me just needed things to click. My irons weren't especially good, particularly on the par 3s which I played +2 on the 4 so there was scope for an even better score. Had one bad 3 putt and one really bad 3 putt as well so could easily have been a 75 or 76 but I'm not complaining.
8 pars
2 birdies
6 bogeys
2 Doubles
two nice rounds in the last week
37 Points at Adare Manor. Really nice experience to play there. Once off splurge for myself and the missus to spend a few nights there after a tough year or so. They knocked off 40% off the cost due to the greens being forked a week before. Didn't mind it too much but i guess I am curious to see how the greens would have played had they been in prime condition. Felt I played well ish, my irons were rubbish but my short game was great. Felt good to play well around those greens also, the aprons on the green are probably the standout feature of the course. No 16 I have never seen a green complex like it. Putting was decent but not amazing.
Followed it up with a round in Ballybunion on Friday. Hands down the best I have played there. Had 37 points again with 2 scratches. Sloppy 3 putt on the first par 5 and then made a balls of the 18th with the light fading fast. Hit the ball really well off the tee but struggled with irons and the par 3s. The course is in prime condition, the greens are better than I have ever seen them. Real thick lush grass with the ball rolling beautifully on them.
Back to Corballis this week - can't wait
Shot 88 for net par off 16 in the last major of the year in strokeplay. Satisfied with the round overall and finished 10th.
Had one stray tee shot on a par 5 which dribbled past the red stakes. It's usually dry and playable but ended up buried under leaves and branches. Took a drop and had lost focus at that point. Chunked my way to an 8. Left a few putts behind but tee to green was in good shape.
7 pars
7 bogeys
3 doubles
1 triple
My HC has now squeezed down to 14.5 after finally recording 20 scores. Could get it under 14 by the end of the season and there's an outside chance of sub 13 if I get a couple of low 80s scores onto my best 8.
Qualified 11th of 21 with a nett 71 (off 16) for our Presidents Prize 9 hole play off. Dropped to 19th overall in the end. Had a great par on the 1st but an 8 on the 3rd put paid to my chances.
35 points in a scratch cup in baltray yesterday playing off 18. I felt I played really well, I certainly struck it well. Lost my first drive by pulling it badly left, but nailed it all day long after that. Lost another one on 10 which I thought was a little unlucky. I didn't realise hitting left was the right line so tried to keep it inside the bunker on the right. It just leaked to the right and it turns out the bushes were closer than they looked! But on both those holes I made a 6 hitting three from the tee.
Conditions couldn't have been easier. I felt there was minimal wind, but looking back at the stats my drives with the wind were about 50m longer than into it. Crazy that that was the effect of a gentle breeze.
I didn't score on three holes. Played safe on the 8th with a 3w and pulled it way left. Lie wasn't great and my 8i never really got airborne which set off a chain of events. On index 1 11 I absolutely nailed the driver 245m down the middle into a wind. Then hit a club too much on the approach and went over the green onto a path. I was in a bit of a hole with no line at the green and failed to get it airborne, so went into the thick rough.
And on 18 I just ran off the fairway with my drive. Hit a 9i as the lie was poor. Club turned going through few grass and it went into the rough. I played a provisional with the 3w and just went through the green. Foolishly I looked for the first and found it. Worse lie than the previous. Hit a sand wedge and didn't get out of the rough. I just had 50m left to the flag, another lie. I moved the ball about 6 inches with this attempt. Then I took an unplayable and hit a really good pitch and almost made the putt for a 7 and a point. The provisional was just off the green, I'd have had a great chance of an up and down for a 6!
It was a very enjoyable round though, I'd happily go back there. And it's a counting round for me, but it knocked a good one out, so i went .6 from it. I'm going to be a 36 handicapper by the end of the year if I keep going up!
90 for 29 points today off 12 in a club comp. Frustrating day, played Mount Juliet during the week and really thought I'd found something with the driver in terms of consistency only to block one left today on the first and scramble for a bogey, followed by some wildly inconsistent driving for the day. No blow ups front 9 but just not scoring enough with only 3 pars. Back 9 was more of the same with more double bogeys though which killed any hope of a score. Had a monster drive on the last to leave me with a 6 iron into a Par 5 with my second and pulled it way left into some thick stuff and couldn't find it. Summed up the day. Have realised I make a lot of mental errors by changing something or trying something that I shouldn't be doing. Teed the ball down a bit lower on a longer hole playing into a stiff wind and ended up slicing one out of bounds, normal setup and crushed one straight down the middle. Positives were my putting, 33 putts total and my short game was excellent. Driver was improved and hit some monster drives that were as long as I've hit all summer but mixed in with some loose ones. Back to the grind again next week.
Far better round today, an 81 gross but that included a quadruple and double bogey (oob and water on those 2 holes respectively). Only 1 over for front 9, 8 pars there. First cut under the whs, down from 9.6 to 9.3. Today was first time a counting score was falling out too
23 pts off 23 in Enniscrone🤦🏼♂️ I've never had so many 3 putts... 11 or 12.. frustration got into the rest of the game and come the 13/14 hole interest was gone, throw in the sea fog coming in for the last 3 holes🤷🏼♂️ more then my interest got lost.. yellow balls no better than white in the fog..😥
39 points off 19 in Powerscourt East this morning. Very happy with my round, hit some monster drives, iron play was hit and miss but putting was exceptional.
1 Birdie
6 Pars
5 Bogeys
4 Doubles
2 Scratches
Had a cracking opportunity to break 90, just needed bogey or better on the 18th and proceeded to hit my worst drive of the day into the water and make a double.
Had a calamity on Sunday, a 94 (gross). Par on first 3 holes, should've been a fourth consecutive but for a 3 putt. Then a bad hole (it happens), then a par, then it went downhill so fast starting with a 4 putt (approach from 115 to bout 12 feet). Complete god knows what round from there on in.
Had 8 or 9 birdie chances in the round, crazy amount. Missed all bar 1 (was an Eagle putt first) so for the most part the game was good but some terrible holes killed it off altogether
Scored 87 of 14 In a stroke competition in castleknock yesterday..51 on the front nine and was all over the shop. Got the head down and came home in 36 with 3 birdies, 3 pars, 3 bogies ... such a maddening game.
Same again tonight, 13 points from the front 9 and 24 on the back. Three rounds in a row!
No double bogies on the back 9. 1 birdie, 2 pars and 6 bogies to shoot 40. Best 9 I've ever played.
Let's see if I can start well on Sunday now...
Had 26 points on Powerscourt East on Monday. Driving was unreal, kept putting myself in great positions and then firing hosel rockets all over the shop.
Last night had 20 points for 9 holes in Old Conna. Driver went to dirt but everything else was great.
Some day I hope they will sync up on the same day.
Had a recent round where I had one single bogey over 18 holes... I play off 14. It is a very strange game alright.
Have struggled with a back injury all a year. Fine for about 10/11 holes but after that becomes weak and stiff meaning I can’t hit the ball. Crippled for a couple days then back out the next weekend to do it all again Handicap has spiralled and all sorts of soft caps & hard caps getting hit
seriously considering calling a halt to the game
Played yesterday morning and after 10 holes I started to get giddy. 10 straight pars with index 1, 3 , 5 and 6 out of the way I really thought I was on for a crack at breaking par. I finished up +6 after getting some bad breaks but still my best ever round by far. The funny thing is I was hitting the ball better than I’ve ever done in the last 2 to 3 weeks but my putting was letting me down. I went up on Thursday to play 9 holes and I literally couldn’t hit the ball. I rocked yo yesterday morning cold and didn’t even hit a putt on the practice green. Just walked on to the tee and got going. I won our Sunday singles competition doing handstands and while obviously I’m delighted with the score, I feel it could have been so much better.
I went back up this evening for a casual 4ball with some friends and had no par for 18 holes. Work that one out. I had 13 for 18 holes yesterday and none today. It’s a very strange game and I didn’t do anything different today that I did yesterday. It’s very hard to work the game of golf out.
Indeed. You have to have that optimism or else it's all for nothing!
I think having a terrible front 9 and excellent back 9 only adds to the optimism.
That's true golfer optimism right there. "Once I sort out the driving." "Had it sorted at the end of the round."
I'd be the same - if I'm honest with myself I always feel I'm on the cusp of playing like a low single digits golfer. It doesn't matter that I'm scoring like a mid-20s handicapper. It's what gets you excited about playing the next day.
Friday :
Front 9 - 8 Points
Back 9 - 20 Points
Sunday:
Front 9 - 11 Points
Back 9 - 22 Points
Playing off 23. It all hinges on my driving. In those two front 9s I must have lost five balls each round from awful sliced drives. As soon as I got the driver sorted I scored big, the rest of my game is pretty solid for my handicap. I think I found a fix for the drive in the last 6 holes yesterday so hopefully that continues in the future.
Im more consistent this year than ever. Consistently terrible. Handicap is ballooning, the days of junior cup long gone wouldn’t make the Purcell side now
Had my first ever hole in one on Saturday in weekend competition at Moate.
The 15th hole is a 150 metres (white) Par 3. The hardest of our 3 par 3's as there is a pond on the right and deep bunkers either side at thr front. Hit a 6 iron which I thought was very straight but a bit short. Went up to the green and when the ball wasnt at the front I started heading up the green to see if I had gone through and saw the ball was in the hole.
Captains Prize over the weekend. It could have been. Saturday shot 68 nett one of the lead. 4 Putted par 3 16th for a treble.
Sunday 18 73 nett for 7th overall. 3 wayward drives where punished severely. Had to take unplayable lies ended with 8-7-7 on par 4's
Extremely happy to have made the qualifier in my Second year golfing. Played with winner single figure who hit +2 gross. His tee to green was a thing of beauty
Good to see Kiith! As we said on Saturday, treat every ball as a provisional and that one goes straight! Best of luck with the golf.
Played two rounds at the weekend.
Friday night Quarter Final of Club Matchplay. Won 4&3. Was giving up 7 shots on my opponent which immediately gives you focus. It was terrifically windy, really thought I was in trouble with my opponent chipping two shots absolutely dead, shocker of a tee ball on 3rd hole index 1 but managed a great recovery to win the hole. Got to the turn 1 up and by then I was confident, opponent was short and the stretch of holes from 10 to 15 are all down wind. Won 4 in a row, lost 14 then won on 15.
Last night Uden Cup
Windy again, played as good as I can play. First team out at home and we had the game wrapped up on 13. We were -2 as a 2 ball which was great going. Both of us played really well, we were 6 holes up before we missed a green in reg. We lost the match overall though. Last match we were 1 down on 18. Their strong player drove into heavy rough, couldn't get out then when he did he shanked his approach so was out of the hole. Their second lad who was having a tough day by the look of it drove into rough on the lhs of the fairway. Up he steps and blades the ball completely, clips the top of the bunker ahead of him, keeps going along the ground on the unlikeliest journey this side of a disney movie to 6 feet from the hole. Pure sickener
Played the 2nd round of the main matchplay comp on Friday (bye in 1st round). Won by 1 after a par to halve the 18th. I didn't play amazing stuff tee to green but almost every putt rolled in when I needed it and made for a good round. Also had a chip-in from 30 yards for bogey and half on index 1 after fluffing my first one. Essentially had 9 bogeys on front 9. I probably would have shot my 2nd best round, an 88 or 89 if I had putted out the conceded holes. Satisfied with that.
Yesterday I entered the President's Prize - strokeplay from back tees. Got off to a flier with +5 for a PB front 9. Unfortunately, it all unravelled on the back 9 and finished up 92 or +20 for a net +4 off 16. Not good enough to make the final round.
Completely lost the ability to putt on the back 9 - a 4 putt for triple and numerous three stabs. 37 putts in total. I lost most strokes putting. Irons were decent-ish and the driver was flying for the most part.
Tee to green is going well and relatively consistent. Putting is erratic. Will have a lesson soon and practice like a lunatic. HC out to 14.8 from 14.5.
Another Major comp at home, this time presidents and another Major disappointment
Started well with par/par, should have been par/birdie. then lipped out for par on the next and left my par putt on the 4th one roll of a ball short. On the 5th I 3 putted from 8 feet for a double, left me +1 to my handicap after 5. And the round didn't get much better, short putts missed many times, fading everything which into the wind isn't ideal as you lose a lot of distance.
Finished with an 85(77nett) to finish way down the leaderboard and probably out of the running now for golfer of the year with the end of comps coming quick and I'm out of the Matchplay.
I played Balcarrick yesterday. Course handicap of 19 - 28 points. I must say, I'm enjoying these extra shots. I played rubbish, but it's nice to come in a bad score instead of absolutely dreadful.
Putting and wind were the big problems on the day. It was very windy. First hole is a driveable par 4. I took an iron because I didn't like the crosswind - I'm prone to a slice so a sniff of one would leave me in the water. Obviously 6 iron went into the water. so I took a three wood off the tee next and I had the distance. I saw it bounce. But I don't know where exactly it bounced to. So two shots in, two lost balls. Definitely a bad start.
But the drives with a left to right crosswind or into the wind were a problem for me all. I'm trying to keep it low on those ones, but the odd one will get away from me and turn into a huge slice. The downwind holes were nice though! 10th hole is another driveable par 4. I landed a three wood on the green and it left a creator and bounced backwards about a foot. I chipped it and left myself about 18 inches for birdie. missed it. Ended with a par. Two holes later I hit a monster drive - 298m according to garmin. I had about 20m to the front of the green. Scuffed the chip a bit. And three putted. I don't know how a bogey was possible from there! I reckon I had about 5 or 6 three putts in the round.
It was a nice course though. I'd like to go back on a calm day, I'd say it's a course you could score highly on. And I'd like a good score some day. I think I'm hitting it well enough for one again. But I'll need to putt better - too many three putts recently. And score better when I'm giving myself chances from the tee. Very frustrating when you leave yourself pitch and putt distances to get a par and end up with a bogey or worse. And if I could get rid of the occasional wild tee shot that would be great too. In short, if I play better golfer I'll take fewer shots and therefore score better.
After a shockingly bad 22 points in Castlecomer and a 4 hour drive home while questioning every shot i've ever played, i decided to go out this morning and bloody attack my course in our Captains Prize. None of this "slow it down" nonsense, no playing it safe etc...just stand up, and fupping smash the thing 🤣
Amazingly, it actually worked really well. Driving was excellent, bar 1 on the 17th that i pushed into some heavy rough (found it, but had to take a penalty and scratched the hole in the end). Irons were pretty good, but importantly straight. Wedges and putting were very solid too, though a few putts just wouldn't drop for me. 38 points, and finished 3rd overall. Won a pair of shoes, which i sorely needed as my current ones are in bits. Happy days.
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