Today was golf day. Ross and I set off for the club about midday, the intention being to do some practice on the driving range and having a bacon buttie before starting our round. We figured that, due to the beautiful weather we have been enjoying the last few days, the course would be fully booked and we wouldn't get to go out until 3 o'clock. As we pulled off the main road and headed for the club we could see the car park was jammed full as we had feared. Resigned to waiting to get on the course we parked in the overflow car park.
We headed for the club house and found that all the cars were due to a private function in the club. Checking the tee time booking sheet confirmed that there were very few people playing we could go out any time we wanted. The good weather must have meant that many golfists had been forced to go to the garden centre by their wives. Ours had gone there together, thus freeing us to bat some balls.
The first two holes had mixed outcomes, I was awful scoring 9 & 10, Ross managed to par both holes. The third was eminently forgettable but the fourth was magnificent. This hole is interesting. The green is actually about 15-20 feet below the fairway and to the right. We decided to drive for the green. Ross went first, the shot flew towards the green but we were unable to see where it landed. I took my shot, it started off left and then went right, again we couldn't see where it landed. We walked down the path towards the green to see one ball just off the edge of the green about 40 feet from the flag. The other ball was on the green about 30 feet from the flag. I went to the first ball preparing to take a shot when Ross suggested I check the ball, it was his. I had actually driven the green! Ross took his shot and got close to the hole. I now had an eagle putt, yes an eagle putt! Unfortunately the eagle swooped down, shit on me, snatched the birdie and was last seen heading over the trees. Yes, I completely blew my putt, missed the next and finished with a par. I would have been happy with a par, now it felt like a bogey.
The next hole is a par 3. My tee shot stayed low, skimming the top of the gorse, or whin as it's called in Scotland according to Ross. It then scootered along the floor and rolled into a bunker. I finished with a 6. The first 9 holes ended with me scoring 62. I needed to improve to get below 120.
The 10th was atrocious, the 11th was much improved, a 1 over par 5. We now had the most difficult hole on the course. Ross said he was going to hit the ball to the left as his tee shots had been going to the right. The problem was if he hit it straight he said it would go into the gorse. I remarked that would be a whin win situation!
The rest of the round was better and I finished with 119, the same as last time. At least I'm not getting worse.
The only bad thing was Pompey losing to Coventry, still we've got Hull at home Tuesday and Burnley at home next Saturday.
The weather this week is supposed to be good, so I think another trip to the club is in order. I wonder if I'll see that eagle.
Monday 26 March 2012
Friday 23 March 2012
It's been a while since my last post, I've been in Dundee again and there hasn't been much golf. Actually I have now been home for three weeks as the next phase doesn't start until next month, but there has still been very little golf; well one round,a week ago.
I felt that I didn't play very well; but, considering my lack of practice, I didn't do too badly at all. I managed to get round in 119; which, all things considered, was pretty good actually. This has spurred me on and I went down to the driving range for some practice. There are 50 balls in a bucket, and so armed with a driver, a 5 iron, a 7 iron and a pitching wedge, I proceeded to try and knock all of them as far as I could for the respective club. First up was the driver and I loaded 10 balls into the automatic hopper. It took a few before I was hitting the ball anywhere near straight, or indeed any distance. After the remaining balls, I set about using the 5 iron, hitting the ball from the mat just behind the tee. The jolt of the club on the mat caused the automatic tee to retract and try and reload. To my surprise another ball appeared, which I placed on the mat. Thinking I must have miscalculated, I hit this ball. Again, another ball appeared on the tee. Time after time a ball reloaded after I made my shot. I couldn't have miscalculated that much; load 10 balls, hit 25! Eventually my apparently everlasting supply ran out and I had to resort to using the balls I had paid for. I can only assume some elderly golfer with Alzheimer's had forgotten what he had done and indeed why he was there and wandered off. Still, I had a good time and managed to hit the last few balls straighter than normal, but still not very far. Fired up by this I arranged to play on Sunday with Ross
Since I've been home Michelle has had various jobs lined up for me to do. Amongst them was to replace all the electrical sockets and switches in the kitchen. These were fitted during the house extension and were merely temporary white plastic ones, the idea being to fit screwless metal flat ones. Fast forward 4 years and I took them out of the garage and fitted them, annoying Matt a couple of times as I managed to short the neutral to earth and trip the RCD, thus ruining his gaming activities. The garage has also been cleared, with the help of James & Matt, leaving a lot more space.
The grass has been cut a couple of times, and tomorrow it's the turn of the loft to be cleared out. I've also been running Mum around to the doctor's a lot as she's got a heart problem, seemingly started by an infection. I certainly haven't been bored whilst at home.
It also looks like the date has been set for my trip to Finland, the first three full weeks of May. This will give me a chance to see some old friends from working there before and I'm really looking forward to it, especially as Michelle is coming with me for a while and also the Ice Hockey World Cup is taking place in Finland while we're there.
This weekend is also very crucial to Pompey. After Tuesday's brilliant win(well the second half)we have a must win game against Coventry who are only 2 points ahead of us. This is followed by 2 home games next week against Hull and Burnley. It's going to be an interesting run in, unfortunately I'll be in Dundee for our last 3 home games, but hopefully I'll be back for the away game against Nottingham Forest on the last day of the season. By then I hope that we have not only avoided relegation but liquidation too.
I shall continue blogging after Sunday; when, hopefully,I'll be talking about a magnificent win at Coventry and a sub 110 round of golf.
I felt that I didn't play very well; but, considering my lack of practice, I didn't do too badly at all. I managed to get round in 119; which, all things considered, was pretty good actually. This has spurred me on and I went down to the driving range for some practice. There are 50 balls in a bucket, and so armed with a driver, a 5 iron, a 7 iron and a pitching wedge, I proceeded to try and knock all of them as far as I could for the respective club. First up was the driver and I loaded 10 balls into the automatic hopper. It took a few before I was hitting the ball anywhere near straight, or indeed any distance. After the remaining balls, I set about using the 5 iron, hitting the ball from the mat just behind the tee. The jolt of the club on the mat caused the automatic tee to retract and try and reload. To my surprise another ball appeared, which I placed on the mat. Thinking I must have miscalculated, I hit this ball. Again, another ball appeared on the tee. Time after time a ball reloaded after I made my shot. I couldn't have miscalculated that much; load 10 balls, hit 25! Eventually my apparently everlasting supply ran out and I had to resort to using the balls I had paid for. I can only assume some elderly golfer with Alzheimer's had forgotten what he had done and indeed why he was there and wandered off. Still, I had a good time and managed to hit the last few balls straighter than normal, but still not very far. Fired up by this I arranged to play on Sunday with Ross
Since I've been home Michelle has had various jobs lined up for me to do. Amongst them was to replace all the electrical sockets and switches in the kitchen. These were fitted during the house extension and were merely temporary white plastic ones, the idea being to fit screwless metal flat ones. Fast forward 4 years and I took them out of the garage and fitted them, annoying Matt a couple of times as I managed to short the neutral to earth and trip the RCD, thus ruining his gaming activities. The garage has also been cleared, with the help of James & Matt, leaving a lot more space.
The grass has been cut a couple of times, and tomorrow it's the turn of the loft to be cleared out. I've also been running Mum around to the doctor's a lot as she's got a heart problem, seemingly started by an infection. I certainly haven't been bored whilst at home.
It also looks like the date has been set for my trip to Finland, the first three full weeks of May. This will give me a chance to see some old friends from working there before and I'm really looking forward to it, especially as Michelle is coming with me for a while and also the Ice Hockey World Cup is taking place in Finland while we're there.
This weekend is also very crucial to Pompey. After Tuesday's brilliant win(well the second half)we have a must win game against Coventry who are only 2 points ahead of us. This is followed by 2 home games next week against Hull and Burnley. It's going to be an interesting run in, unfortunately I'll be in Dundee for our last 3 home games, but hopefully I'll be back for the away game against Nottingham Forest on the last day of the season. By then I hope that we have not only avoided relegation but liquidation too.
I shall continue blogging after Sunday; when, hopefully,I'll be talking about a magnificent win at Coventry and a sub 110 round of golf.
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