Thebigyip's Blog

I’m in!!!!!!!!!

thebigyip — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:37:54 +0000

just got a call from the POGT organiser, David, to say that he can offer me a place in the final at Turnberry!!!!!!!!!

How good is that!!

What a day!!

thebigyip — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:10:34 +0000

So i played in the POGT at Hampton Court Palace. Really enjoyed it. Fairly laid back feeling to the whole day. I arrived in good time and had something to eat, hit a few balls on the short game practise area and then practised a bit of putting. Met my playing partners on the tee, nice guys actually. Started with a par which was good and limped round a little bit through 9-holes. I had a couple of blobs but I also had a birde and a few pars, ending up with 17 points after nine. Steady start to the back nine with a couple of two pointers then a one but then birdied the par 5 for four points which got me interested again. Nothing special after that, got 19 points on the back nine so ended up with 36 points (not bad off 3/4 handicap). Innit marvellous!! Three players qualify for the final and I came fourth!! Gutted…. I think I might theoretically be able to scrape in if someone withdraws or maybe even highest scoring fourth place. That would be fantastic!!

Playing in the William Hunt Trilby Tour(http://www.williamhunttrilbytour.com/) on the 13th at The London Golf Club. Will be great!!

Four days to go

thebigyip — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:41:19 +0000

So, when I started this blog, I intended, in preparation for the POGT qualifier, to establish a structured programme of practise, to develop a golf fitness program to strengthen all the right bits of my body and to develop mental strength, enough to move physical objects. With four days to go, none of this has happened.

I played in the June medal today. It was aspur-of-the-moment thing, it being a nice day and being keen to practise. Fairly bad first nine (the back nine) with double bogeys predominating. Second nine (the front nine) was better, all pars and bogeys apart from an eight on the ninth!! If I was to score my perfomrance today:

driving 8/10
putting 8/10 (what about that!!)
iron play 7/10
chipping 5/10
bunker play (and there was a lot of it) 3/10

Ended up with a net 74 (3 over) which is usally acceptable but given the course was perfect, the weather beautiful, I am surprised I didn’t do a lot better. Putting was a joy with the new Mizuno putter. It’s a
Mizuno Mens Bettinardi C Series Putter which I bought for an amazing £68.50 (they retail at £169) at www.onlinegolf.co.uk. Brilliant.

Got to learn how to get out of bunkers. I have gone back to using a sand wedge rather than the lob wedge because I think that there is too much (or too little?) bounce on the lob wedge for sand work. Pathetic really that after playing for approximately 8 years I still can’t do the basics (of which getting out of bunkers is one).

So this week I will practise only chipping, sub_150 yard approach shots, putting and especially bunker shots. I probably lost six shots today from bunkers.

I have read many articles on getting out of bunkers so obviously reading what I should do is not working. I’m going to take a different approach to learning this technique. I am going to watch videos of pros playing bunker shots until I can see it in my head. I will then visulalise me doing it and then practise doing just the action before taking it into the bunker.

Will it work?? Of course not!!

Set-up

thebigyip — Sun, 24 May 2009 08:14:37 +0000

Played in swindle yesterday – 27 points, about 5 blobs. Beautiful day, course immaculate (if you haven’t played Mill Hill, you really should, it’s in great shape). Hit some great shots, a few poor shots but made some bad decisions when I got into trouble. My mate reckons it’s my setup. Twice he and another said the ball went where I aimed it – out to the right. All the pro’s and coaches say how important it is – really must sort it out. Haven’t really got a pre-shot routine – must get one.

POGT Re-arranged

thebigyip — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:31:58 +0000

I had registered to play in the POGT on the 20th May at Tudor Park. While my p[ractise schedule had been disrupted recently to such an extent that I didn’t actually have a schedule, I had invested in a weekend break at Tudor Park to get to know the course a bit. I hadn’t heard from the organisers re: a tee time on the 20th so I emailed them. I have now been told that the Marriott venues have been cancelled (wonder what that’s all about) and that I have been allocated a spot on the Hampton Court Palace course on the 20th June.

Innit Marvellous….. What a waste of time (and money) my weekend away was. Now got to try and sneak over there for some practise before the 20th. Not sure how likely that is to happen..

Another break from swine flu.

thebigyip — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:23:49 +0000

I didn’t have a single opportunity to hit a ball last week again – very unusual for me, so it was with slight trepidation that I joined the 8 a.m. ‘swindle’ on Saturday. I didn’t play too badly, got 34 points and, to be honest, was dissapointed as I left quite a few out there. Comparing this performance with the terrible swindle performance leads to me to ask certain questions:

Is the lack of practise at the range in the week helping? Do ranges damage swings rather than develop them?

Is it the low expectancy of a good performance helping? I am unburdened of the usual self- expectation that I am going to ‘play like a god’ so I just enjoy the golf and then play ok? I read somewhere that whilst we might think that playing well makes us enjoy a round, it is usually the other way round. If we just enjoy the golf, we are more likelyto play well (then enjoy it more etc). Golf is a game of opposites.

I certainly enjoyed it on Saturday despite a slight sense of anti-climax. The company was good, we didn’t get wet and I enjoyed swinging at the ball. Putting was a bit mixed but I am used to that.

I picked up a set of Mizuno MP60s on Ebay. Got the Ultralite stiff shafts that I really like (got them in my MX25s). Love the MP60s. Always liked forged clubs and like small-headed irons which just gives the MP60s the edge over the MX25s for me (at the moment). They are very forgiving for a muscle-back, I have to say. And such a sweet contact when you hit the ball well. Lovely…..

A break from Swine Flu

thebigyip — Mon, 11 May 2009 07:26:14 +0000

Working in Health Protection means that, with the current Swine Influenza situation, opportunities for golf, even practising, have been very limited recently(as have the opportunities to post on the blog). However, I did sneak out on Staurday morning with the 8a.m. ‘swindle’. Thought I would be too weary after the previous week but ended up in a great little four-ball, conditions were terrific and I played half-decent golf. I scored thirty eight points with 22 on the back nine including a blob so several pars, a birdie. If I could just get away from the blobs (off the tee mainly)……

May Medal Blow-out!!

thebigyip — Sun, 03 May 2009 09:35:00 +0000

Terrible, terrible!! Near perfect conditions, beautiful day, course fantastic, golf completely hopeless! Opted for an NR after only seven holes. I am now an 18-handicapper. I will be back in the high-handicappers at this rate

40 points!!

thebigyip — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 19:42:50 +0000

Amazing innit. Played Elstree yesterday in a works ‘Hacker’s Day’ and scored 40 points witha couple of blobs. new irons, Mizuno MP60′s are great, swapped from Cleveland to Mizuno 560 driver and didn’t hit it as far but stayed straight. Putted well. Is this the future or a fluke – who knows?????

St George’s day competition

thebigyip — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:23:13 +0000

Four-ball competition in which best two of four scores on each hole count. Also an individual competition plus longest drive and Nearest the pin. We had a strong fourball but we all played pretty bad. I had the best of the four scorees with 30 points – how bad is that! One guy had 18 points on the front and six on the back -tragic. I just struggled off the tee, sending drives off to the right. My mate who played tells me it’s because I’m not rolling the hands over and I am sure that he is correct. Must get in the net and get it engrained. Always slightly worried that consciously rolling the hands over will lead to a snap-hook Anyway, need to work through it.

BTW, one guy who played with us has the most complicated swing path you probably ever seen. You can catch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJvLZmjj49I. Seems o work for him though amazingly which just shows that we don’t all have to have perfect swings (?).