Handicap and Rain Falling

RELENTLESS, is this best word to describe the rain here in England over the past weeks. The undercover driving ranges have been loaded with frustrated golfers (me being one of them) who just want to get back out and and into their club competitions. My last Medal was another good step in the right direction, although my driving wasn't as accurate as it has been and a really nasty double on 18 after playing a safe 5 iron to the middle of the fairway, did leave me with food for thought. I have been sticking to my routines diligently and it's really starting to pay off, but I know there is a fine line between good fundamentals and complacency.

My first two medals of the season have been such a confidence boost with my lowest round ever, a 77 and a 1st place, also a 79 and a 4th place, both combined reduced my handicap to 10.8 (playing 11) which I feel I can improve on using my many forms of instruction, ( Revolution Golf, Golf State Of Mind,PGA Tour.com, 4golfonline, various books) and practise routines. 

When the weather improves I'm hoping to video some of my practise sessions to give me a better understanding of how my swing, setup, posture etc look from different angles and hopefully get the footage posted in various places to attract some comments/critique which may help me on my quest.

My Golf games looking and feeling brighter......just need the weather to catch up.                                                             

The Masters Good Friday Feeling

It's been a while, but during the time between posts I have got in plenty of good positive practise. Unfortunately I couldn't make the first Medal at my club,(maybe a good thing as from all accounts the weather was terrible and scores were high) but with Masters week and the Easter holiday approaching there was alot of great golf ahead. Watching the Pros on Thursday was very inspiring and left me feeling really positive and focused for what would be my first official comp of the season, The Good Friday medal. There was a field of 30+ guys and the conditions were good with a bit of wind. The afternoon previous I managed to play 9 holes of practise and dropped an eagle on the par5 3rd so confidence was high. Using my GPS device to record my round stats I know that If I hit fairways I tend to score well so my driving was of real importance, I found this added a slight over thinking on the tee rather than just going through my usual routine. Through the first 9 I hit only 3 fairways, but hit 7 greens in regulation and 3 putted once for a 2 over 38, a great start with good birdie opportunities coming up. The back 9 starts with 2 really tough holes with water all down the left and OB down the right. I usually focus really well and hit these fairways but again with over thinking I put my drive on the 10th OB and my 3rd from the tee hit the fairway bunker and I managed to escape with a double bogey 7. On 11 I didn't hit a great drive but it was straight and in play although the connection sounded really strange. After another green in reg I marked my ball and gave it it's usual inspection and clean. I noticed just above the titliest badge there was an inch slice in the cover, that explained the strange sound off the tee,(still managed a green in reg and after changing balls, made par). Again my fairways hit wasn't great, although I managed 1 more than the previous 9 and sadly 3 putted 3 times, I did hit 8 out of 9 greens in reg and made a birdie on the short par 3 15th. I came home in a 4 over 39 which totalled up as my lowest round to date, and what a great time to do it. With a 77 I won The Good Friday medal by roughly 10 strokes and lowered my handicap by at least 1 so down to 11 I go. I took alot of positives from my round and highlighted the areas where I need to spend more practise, all in all a good weekend topped off by a great Masters win by Bubba Watson, that guy is brilliant to watch.

Scorecard and Round stats :  Golfshot GPS
Next competition : 14/04/12 Medal