Or may be 13/18ths.
Railway trophy today. Winners and runner ups from all Winter Stableford qualify for todays final. With people dropping out about 12 of us played.
Stuart Robinson was bouyant and confident. I was just happy to have qualified, perhaps that's why he's off 4 and I'm off 16.
Anyway, the weather was good, so.........
First decent weather....
First Trophy of the year to contest.....
First Sob story of the year!
So Jeff Dean, Chris Brayne and myself set off for the first tee. Bit of a nip in the air, but not a lot of wind and the sun is starting to break through.
Chris is the colourful one with bleached "punky" hair and colourful outfits, today is Lemon Zest yellow!
Three decent drives all in play. Mediocre second and 3rd for me, but a solid 2 putts for me and 2 points.
Nice Par for Mr Brayne.
Three awful teeshots on 2 especially mine. Back a bit stiff and don;t get through the ball, top it short of the water, but in the hazard area. Managed to move ball onto the green from within the straw, two putts for a point.
Hit the fairway on 3, long way back and a bit of a "stinger" through the back of the green, but a good lag putt and tap in for par! That's made up for the 2nd!
A decent bogey on 4 followed by a safe drive on 5 and I'm left with a tough shot, not sure whether I can carry the fairway bunker. Go for it and end on the bank in front of the green, two putts, Par. Thank you very much!!!
6th sees a safe bogey, could have been a bit braver with the putt, but 2 points is good.
Bogey on 7 sees another 2 points and then to the Nemesis hole (on the front nine anyway)
Hit best drive of the day and left with shot of about 120 or so, but with bunkers to carry and a tight pin. The safe shot is to play long, but I've started to strike the ball well, so it's a 9 iron that just clears the bunker and leaves me a 10 foot putt. Lip out, but a good par for another 3 points!
Steady bogey on 9 and it's 20 points. I've had the honour since the 4th and Jeff is not on his game today. He's on 12 points and Chris is slightly better on 16.
Chris tells me I have 20 points, I reply quietly, "I know".....He comments on how I should sound a bit more up beat.
I suggest that having played this course for so long, I don't count any chickens before the hatch! Many a time I've had a good front 9 and indifferent back 9. When I qualified for this competition, I scored 23 on the front, but only 16 on the back!
It sometimes works the other way though. I won the inuagrual Concorde Trophy with 13 on the front, including a 4 pointer on the 9th, and 25 points on the back!
Still back to today. I've been pulling my driver left into the pond for the past 3 or 4 rounds, but today, nice smooth swing, timing perfect and that extra snap sends the ball straight down the middle and leaving me about 130 to the pin.
Into the wind and the pin is tucked bhind the bunkers on the right.
Still , stick with the "keep it simple" game plan and aim to take the bunker out of the equation.
Block it a bit and it hits the bank on top of the bunker, kicks right and rolls into the bunker. A kinder bounce and it would have birdie time.
Hit a good bunker shot out and lip out for par, still a 5 and one point is sufficient. Keep the blobs off the card!!!
Simple par on 11, gives me 3 points, back on track!
Good drive on 12, block second and I'm left with a tricky shot. 150 yard carry into the wind, then another 30-40 yards to the pin. Trouble is I'm in the rough and there's a tree is in the way to get over as well!
LAy up would be sensible, but it's not a bad lie and I can probably crash something over.
I'm going for it. Needs to be a good connection and a solid hit!
Top it, under the tree, running towards the stream, pulls up, perfect lay up distance!!! Not quite what I meant!
Great chip past the pin, bit too tentative on the downhill putt, but another 2 points.
Drive safe on 13, on in 3, two putts for another solid 2 points. (Stop rehearsing your acceptance speech in your head!)
To the 14th. Since making this the Captains Charity hole, making all of the water hazards in play for a donation of 50p, I must have gone in nearly every round. Sometimes twice.
There is a lot of water on 14, but is should'nt be as tough as I make it.
Having pulled drives down the left the past few rounds, I go for the shorter carry on the right, but cut the tee shot slightly and.......................straight into the ditch.
Never lands short and bounces over, never hits the far bank and stays in play, straight in! Find the ball, so I may still be able to retire it by getting it all the way around the 18 holes, but it's unplayable, so take a drop.
Still got more water to get over, so play safe and get it over, but end up in bunker. Up and down for 2 points? Well I get the ball out well, but just lip out from about 10ft, still it's a points. Just getback in the groove on 15.
Poor drive and I'm in the hazard. I can play it, but it's plugged so hack it out. A good chip gives an outside chance of a bogie and 2 points. Hit a good putt, but just ends up bang online, but on the very edge of the hole. 1 point again!!!
Poor drive on 16 and trying to force the 2nd, I'm in the hazard to the left of the green. This time I can't play it, so have to drop under penalty. Playing my 4th I again give myself a chance of 2 points, but miss from about 12 feet!
Two pars and I can still play to handicap, but on 17, I hit a low tee shot and it just catches the fence protecting the swans nests in the pond and stays in the hazard......ball lost. Would have liked to retire that ball as well.
No points!
So to 18 godd drive, but hack my way up the course, end up in greenside bunker and manage a point....takes me to 32 points. Just 12 on the back 9.
Shake hands with the others, commiserate with Jeff who has had a nightmare, congratulate with Chris, who hung on for 31 points.
Suddenly remember, I've got bets on with Trevor Brennand and Bob Aston.
As I trudge up from the 18th, I can see Trevor outside the clubhouse.
He's got a fiver in his hand, which is a good sign, but he must havfe beaten 32! He's got 31!!!!! Result!!!!
At least I've got a fiver to pay Bob with!!!
Get in the clubhouse, leader with 43 points is Stuart Robinson. 2 under par gross. Good knock, too good for me even if I'd played better in back 9.
Quick pint and then back to see Cov on the Box against the Foxes (Leicester!)
Big derby game, with Leicester potentiallly in for the play offs, whilst we are flattering to deceive!
Saw us putting on a pitiful display in the first half at the "Walker" stadium. We were 2 down, but to be honest, it should have been 3 or 4. That said, their second was a bit iffy as the ball may not have crossed the line, but we were lucky to have scored nil!!!
Decided to go and walk the dog with Wife and Kids at half time and came back expecting us to be another few goals down, but lo and behold, Captain Mustard's (Chris Coleman, get it!), half time team talk must have made a difference as we had pulled a goal back and despite the 100 mile an hour pace of the Derby, we were playing some good stuff.
With 5 minutes to go we score, although it could have easily been disallowed for offside we got an equaliser! Perhaps the Lino was making up for his error with the second Leicester goal! Amazingly, we managed to hold on for a draw. We have lost so many games in added on time this year.
So it was definitley a day of "games of two halves!!!"
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Friday, 19 March 2010
What a load of Balls!!
The golf season proper is almost upon us!
The fairways are getting drier and firmer!
The greens are getting greener!
The rough will soon be getting lush!
Time to start using the decent golf balls that I've been keeping back from winter conditions!
I had an hour to kill today, so I thought I'd grab a sandwich and head off to the American Golf shop in Telford and see what they had on offer.
As I was perusing, I suddenly realised what a choice there was, compared to when I first started playing!
That was in the early to mid 80's and not only was there a lmited number of manufaturers, but a distinct lack of ball types. Although you could still buy the smaller British ball. 1 6/8" diameter?
Dunlop appeared to corner the market, with the Warwick, the 65, latterley the 65I. I believe that the name 65 came from Henry Cotton shooting a round of 65 in the Open and him, being quite shrewd, endorsing the ball!
I remember Maxfli, Ultra's and there may have been a Topflite or two.
There was also Penfold, who produced the Ace and the rock that was the commando.
Titleist were ever present, but they had maybe a couple of "models" based on compression and possibly cover.
Pinnacle suddenly appeared on the scene as well and they were the ball of choice for a number of my golfing buddies, especially as they did them in Yellow!
I recall a ball called Prince (which we dubbed Vince Prince after a comic alter ego of Russ Abbott), but it was an awful ball. (Much like the character itself)
Back in those days, the ball you chose appeared to be fairly insignificant as there was probably little difference unless you were comparing Penfold and Titleist or Pinnacle.
It was a matter of reaching into the bag, grabbing a ball and getting on with the game!
Fastforward to today and today's manufacturers are claiming everything.
We still have Titleist, with the Prov 1, Prov 1x, NXT Tour, NXT, PTS SoLo etc. etc.
Nike with distance balls, feel balls, soft balls, Hi spin, Lo Spin, Juice, One..........etc. etc.
Even Pinnacle have Gold, Long , Distance, Soft, Feel
Callaway bring you the Big Bertha, Warbird, HX Hot, HX Tour..........
Taylor Made, with the Burner, Tour, Noodle, Srixon long, soft, spin, AD333.......
The choice is endless and confusing.
What ball am I going to use today...............probably one I found on the course last week!!!
Obviously the price has changed as well. I used to baulk at the thought of paying over £1.50 for 3 pinnacle golf balls! I recall asking my foursomes partner to allow me to change to my cheaper ball when it was my turn to tee off the 6th tee at Wychwood Park. all I could think of was I was in danger of losing £3.75 worth of Titleist Prov 1!!!
Sure technology has changed and the balls are much better than they were and combined with the advance of Club Technology, the game is a lot easier, but now there is too much choice.......
Let's see how i get on this weekend with my New Srixon Distance balls that:
"has higher initial velocity and a penetrating ball flight for greater distance. A responsive light feel and exceptional durability make it ideal for those with a swing speed of 80mph or greater.
Highly resilient, larger Energetic Gradient Growth core with softer compression gives higher initial velocity and high launch angle with lower spin resulting in greater carry and distance together with a responsive light feel.
Highly resilient ionomer cover provides longer drives and exceptional cut proof durability. Aerodynamically superior 420 dimple configuration provides a true and penetrating trajectory."
All for the knock down price of £9.99 a dozen!!!! Now you're talking!!!
Ball Personalisation printing takes 5-10 working days to complete. This is in addition to the delivery option you decide to chose at the checkout. Please Note:
The print link is applied to the ball using a chemical process.The ball surface (Colour, texture and finish)has an affect on the finial print colour and the finish of the image.Therefore we cannot guarantee the printed colour or the image will be an exact match.
The fairways are getting drier and firmer!
The greens are getting greener!
The rough will soon be getting lush!
Time to start using the decent golf balls that I've been keeping back from winter conditions!
I had an hour to kill today, so I thought I'd grab a sandwich and head off to the American Golf shop in Telford and see what they had on offer.
As I was perusing, I suddenly realised what a choice there was, compared to when I first started playing!
That was in the early to mid 80's and not only was there a lmited number of manufaturers, but a distinct lack of ball types. Although you could still buy the smaller British ball. 1 6/8" diameter?
Dunlop appeared to corner the market, with the Warwick, the 65, latterley the 65I. I believe that the name 65 came from Henry Cotton shooting a round of 65 in the Open and him, being quite shrewd, endorsing the ball!
I remember Maxfli, Ultra's and there may have been a Topflite or two.
There was also Penfold, who produced the Ace and the rock that was the commando.
Titleist were ever present, but they had maybe a couple of "models" based on compression and possibly cover.
Pinnacle suddenly appeared on the scene as well and they were the ball of choice for a number of my golfing buddies, especially as they did them in Yellow!
I recall a ball called Prince (which we dubbed Vince Prince after a comic alter ego of Russ Abbott), but it was an awful ball. (Much like the character itself)
Back in those days, the ball you chose appeared to be fairly insignificant as there was probably little difference unless you were comparing Penfold and Titleist or Pinnacle.
It was a matter of reaching into the bag, grabbing a ball and getting on with the game!
Fastforward to today and today's manufacturers are claiming everything.
We still have Titleist, with the Prov 1, Prov 1x, NXT Tour, NXT, PTS SoLo etc. etc.
Nike with distance balls, feel balls, soft balls, Hi spin, Lo Spin, Juice, One..........etc. etc.
Even Pinnacle have Gold, Long , Distance, Soft, Feel
Callaway bring you the Big Bertha, Warbird, HX Hot, HX Tour..........
Taylor Made, with the Burner, Tour, Noodle, Srixon long, soft, spin, AD333.......
The choice is endless and confusing.
What ball am I going to use today...............probably one I found on the course last week!!!
Obviously the price has changed as well. I used to baulk at the thought of paying over £1.50 for 3 pinnacle golf balls! I recall asking my foursomes partner to allow me to change to my cheaper ball when it was my turn to tee off the 6th tee at Wychwood Park. all I could think of was I was in danger of losing £3.75 worth of Titleist Prov 1!!!
Sure technology has changed and the balls are much better than they were and combined with the advance of Club Technology, the game is a lot easier, but now there is too much choice.......
Let's see how i get on this weekend with my New Srixon Distance balls that:
"has higher initial velocity and a penetrating ball flight for greater distance. A responsive light feel and exceptional durability make it ideal for those with a swing speed of 80mph or greater.
Highly resilient, larger Energetic Gradient Growth core with softer compression gives higher initial velocity and high launch angle with lower spin resulting in greater carry and distance together with a responsive light feel.
Highly resilient ionomer cover provides longer drives and exceptional cut proof durability. Aerodynamically superior 420 dimple configuration provides a true and penetrating trajectory."
All for the knock down price of £9.99 a dozen!!!! Now you're talking!!!
Ball Personalisation printing takes 5-10 working days to complete. This is in addition to the delivery option you decide to chose at the checkout. Please Note:
The print link is applied to the ball using a chemical process.The ball surface (Colour, texture and finish)has an affect on the finial print colour and the finish of the image.Therefore we cannot guarantee the printed colour or the image will be an exact match.
Thursday, 18 March 2010
It's Health and Safety gone mad...............
There's a famous, well famous around the vicinity of Gloucester, annual event held every May Bank holiday at Coopers Hill, just outside Gloucester.
It's the annual Cheese Rolliing races, but actually it's not going to be annual this year!
The hill in question, is very, very, VERY, steep and access is via a hedgelined, narrow country lane that winds it's way to the base of the hill. There are ususally 4 or 5 ambulances waiting to cart the injured competitors away and they are kept very busy.
There are a number of "races" with competitors, with plenty of Cider on board, spread across the top of the hill, 15 to 20 at a time and the starter pushes a big circular Double Gloucester cheese over the edge and the runners charge then fall down the hill.
It is spectacular!
Members of local Rugby teams are at the bottom stopping some fo the competitors who are "out of control" from falling over the wall into the road at the bottom.
There are a number of broken limbs, unconcious and concussed competitors who are led off to the waiting amulances and it's a fantastic spectator sports.
But it's being banned this year.....by health and safety!!! But not because of the plethora of broken Tibia, Fibia, Collarbones and jaws, but because there are too many spectators and the roads nearby may get blocked! Ridculous! The world has gone mad!
It's the Cheltenham National Hunt Festival this week and anyone who has ever tried to travel around Cheltenham racecourse when the festival is on will wish that the festival was cancelled on the same grounds.
I've been tothe Cheese Rolling at Coopers hill, only to spectate and it was a hidden bank holiday secret, but now it's been shown on TV as the funny bit at the end of the News or when Paddy McGuinness and Rory McGrath had a go (ok it was on Channel 5), the coverage has meant a massive increase in spectators, but to ban it because of that is not on!
You can even pay £45 and join a "tour" of the event!
Give Coopers Hill back to the Cheese Rollers! What next, they'll be letting people surf the Severn Bore!!!
The hill in question, is very, very, VERY, steep and access is via a hedgelined, narrow country lane that winds it's way to the base of the hill. There are ususally 4 or 5 ambulances waiting to cart the injured competitors away and they are kept very busy.
There are a number of "races" with competitors, with plenty of Cider on board, spread across the top of the hill, 15 to 20 at a time and the starter pushes a big circular Double Gloucester cheese over the edge and the runners charge then fall down the hill.
There are a number of broken limbs, unconcious and concussed competitors who are led off to the waiting amulances and it's a fantastic spectator sports.
But it's being banned this year.....by health and safety!!! But not because of the plethora of broken Tibia, Fibia, Collarbones and jaws, but because there are too many spectators and the roads nearby may get blocked! Ridculous! The world has gone mad!
It's the Cheltenham National Hunt Festival this week and anyone who has ever tried to travel around Cheltenham racecourse when the festival is on will wish that the festival was cancelled on the same grounds.
I've been tothe Cheese Rolling at Coopers hill, only to spectate and it was a hidden bank holiday secret, but now it's been shown on TV as the funny bit at the end of the News or when Paddy McGuinness and Rory McGrath had a go (ok it was on Channel 5), the coverage has meant a massive increase in spectators, but to ban it because of that is not on!
You can even pay £45 and join a "tour" of the event!
Give Coopers Hill back to the Cheese Rollers! What next, they'll be letting people surf the Severn Bore!!!
Friday, 12 March 2010
Only in America........
An often used phrase when our colonial cousins come up with a seemingly hair brained scheme, but last night an item on the news had me dumbstruck! (Well as dumbstruck as I can get!)
I can't recall the exact detail, but the item followed a married couple, strolling around the supermarket in Milwaukee (in the state of Wisconsin), the Beer Capital of the US (so therefore in their eyes the World!)
Strapped to their belts were leather holsters, not containing mobile, sorry Cell Phones, but hand guns!
Real hand guns!!!
These were serious weapons, the Husband had Gloch Automatic 9mm, whilst his wife was packing a .38 calibre revolver, which was all white with a pink handle!
As they shopped, you could see other people openly carrying holstered handguns!
It appears that the gun laws in certain States, makes it illegal to carry concealed hand guns, so instead of making it illegal to carry a hand gun at all, they have decided to allow what they have termed, the "open carry" laws, which allows guns to be holstered, but on show!
As one of the carriers interviewed said, "look at the constitution, statute 1 is the freedom of speech and statute 2 is the right to bear arms!"
Chicago is just about to invoke a similar law and Starbucks have come out with a statement that allows "open carry" in their coffee shops!
They finally showed people in a family restaurant in Wisconsin, with nearly every adult in there carrying "a piece"
They are however, looking to change the law to stop an individual from buying more than one handgun per 24 hour period!
Sense prevails(????)
Only in America...........whatever next?
I can't recall the exact detail, but the item followed a married couple, strolling around the supermarket in Milwaukee (in the state of Wisconsin), the Beer Capital of the US (so therefore in their eyes the World!)
Strapped to their belts were leather holsters, not containing mobile, sorry Cell Phones, but hand guns!
Real hand guns!!!
These were serious weapons, the Husband had Gloch Automatic 9mm, whilst his wife was packing a .38 calibre revolver, which was all white with a pink handle!
As they shopped, you could see other people openly carrying holstered handguns!
It appears that the gun laws in certain States, makes it illegal to carry concealed hand guns, so instead of making it illegal to carry a hand gun at all, they have decided to allow what they have termed, the "open carry" laws, which allows guns to be holstered, but on show!
As one of the carriers interviewed said, "look at the constitution, statute 1 is the freedom of speech and statute 2 is the right to bear arms!"
Chicago is just about to invoke a similar law and Starbucks have come out with a statement that allows "open carry" in their coffee shops!
They finally showed people in a family restaurant in Wisconsin, with nearly every adult in there carrying "a piece"
They are however, looking to change the law to stop an individual from buying more than one handgun per 24 hour period!
Sense prevails(????)
Only in America...........whatever next?
Sunday, 7 March 2010
Guess we're off to York then......................
I knew after last weeks match that the next round of the Winter League KO today was going to be tough. Gary Leese beat Bob Aston last week and was a good 16 handicapper, so playing him off scratch was going to be a big ask!
Practiced on Friday with Rob Barrett and was striking the ball well and the putting was good. The greens here at Wychwood are in good nick for the time of year, in fact the whole of the course is in great condition considering the weather we've had.
Got a call from my parents on Saturday evening and they suggested that we go away with them for a long weekend to celebrate their wedding anniversary. What about York?
Only one problem, it;s the weekend of the Winter League Knockout competition! I know, it's only the quarter final, but you need to plan ahead! So additional incentive to win!
Woke up to frost! I know what this was going to mean.......temporary greens. Mixed blessing. Shorter course, but putting skills negated. Could be a bit of a lottery!
Still, if I could put Gary under pressure I'm sure he might crack!
Dr Pughe and Phil Robinson were making up the 4 ball, so it would be entertaining anyway.
Gary hit a long drive down the first and I hit a decent tee shot, bit longer than normal, but that might have been something to do with the frost!
After 3 shots there was nothing in it, but a chip to within a foot by Gary left me with a 10ft putt for a par and a halved hole. I missed. 1 down.
Second halved in 4 and a miracle 4 from me on 3 to snatch another half!
Then fairway bunkers on 4 and 5 cost me 2 holes. 3 down after 5!!! A par beat my bogie on 6 and I'm 6 down!
The 7th was a bit of a comedy of errors, with Gary in the hazard off tee and me in the staked trees. Free drop for me and penalty for Gary. I hit the fairy , but Gary hits another into the ditch. Another penalty.
Nothing can go wrong now!!!! Hit a 9 iron fat and I follow him in the ditch. Wedge and a putt for a 6 and a much needed win. If I can get it back to 2 at the turn I could still have a chance. What a comeback that would be!
Good par on 8 and it's back to 2!!! Are things starting to turn? Maybe have to give York a miss!!!!
Chance to get it down to 1 down on 10, but missed from 5 foot.
Scrambled a half on 11, but was looking good for a win on 12 with a 1 foot putt for par. Unfortunatley Gary, slammed in from 15 foot for Par. Still contemplating missed chances, I lost the 13th to go 3 down.
So to the 14th. Not the best of holes for me this year. Gary's stands on the tee holding his back. Perhaps he was in trouble. Dr Pughe offers his services and asks if it's ok to administer Ibruprofen. I say yes, hoping it's something strong enough to put Gary to sleep. But Dr P can't come up with the goods. Gary's Drive is probably his best of the day! With a drive tugged down the left I was left with a shot of about 160 yards, into the wind, across two lost of water to a temporary green, the pin 10ft past the ditch with the bunker 10 foot past! Easy!!! Gary was about 75 yards from the pin! Good strike, bit too good and into the bunker. But it must have put a bit of pressure on Gary as he duffed his shot, but ended up short of the water.
I got to the bunker and whilst I only had about 25 foot to the pin I was up against the back of the bunker on a down slope. Not good. Even worse, Garry chipped to about a foot! Hit and hope and I got to about 5 foot, but needed the putt for a half! Got it! But 3 down with 4 to go. Need to win all the holes.
Gary to drive and he topped it. Worst shot he has hit all day, bounced short of the ditch and looks like going in, but bounces over. No messing now! Hit a good drive into the fairway. Gary hits another bad shot and into the water hazard, but lands where the 3 foot high bullrushes have been cut back. He'll be able to play from there!!!! Still, 170 to go, good strike, but bit of a cut to it and a hard bounce and I'm into the ditch. No chance of playing out for me!
Gary hit out of the hazard and after chips we are roughly the same distance away. 15 foot putt and I lip out, Gary's putt races at the hole and drops in!
My face was a picture again!!!
Shake hands and move on. Dr Pughe beat Robbo and will do well to beat Mr Leese next week!
Played out the last holes and headed for the bar for a consoling libation!
Thanks to Rob and Lissa for cheering me up!
Hope the weather in York is nice!!!!
Practiced on Friday with Rob Barrett and was striking the ball well and the putting was good. The greens here at Wychwood are in good nick for the time of year, in fact the whole of the course is in great condition considering the weather we've had.
Got a call from my parents on Saturday evening and they suggested that we go away with them for a long weekend to celebrate their wedding anniversary. What about York?
Only one problem, it;s the weekend of the Winter League Knockout competition! I know, it's only the quarter final, but you need to plan ahead! So additional incentive to win!
Woke up to frost! I know what this was going to mean.......temporary greens. Mixed blessing. Shorter course, but putting skills negated. Could be a bit of a lottery!
Still, if I could put Gary under pressure I'm sure he might crack!
Dr Pughe and Phil Robinson were making up the 4 ball, so it would be entertaining anyway.
Gary hit a long drive down the first and I hit a decent tee shot, bit longer than normal, but that might have been something to do with the frost!
After 3 shots there was nothing in it, but a chip to within a foot by Gary left me with a 10ft putt for a par and a halved hole. I missed. 1 down.
Second halved in 4 and a miracle 4 from me on 3 to snatch another half!
Then fairway bunkers on 4 and 5 cost me 2 holes. 3 down after 5!!! A par beat my bogie on 6 and I'm 6 down!
The 7th was a bit of a comedy of errors, with Gary in the hazard off tee and me in the staked trees. Free drop for me and penalty for Gary. I hit the fairy , but Gary hits another into the ditch. Another penalty.
Nothing can go wrong now!!!! Hit a 9 iron fat and I follow him in the ditch. Wedge and a putt for a 6 and a much needed win. If I can get it back to 2 at the turn I could still have a chance. What a comeback that would be!
Good par on 8 and it's back to 2!!! Are things starting to turn? Maybe have to give York a miss!!!!
Chance to get it down to 1 down on 10, but missed from 5 foot.
Scrambled a half on 11, but was looking good for a win on 12 with a 1 foot putt for par. Unfortunatley Gary, slammed in from 15 foot for Par. Still contemplating missed chances, I lost the 13th to go 3 down.
So to the 14th. Not the best of holes for me this year. Gary's stands on the tee holding his back. Perhaps he was in trouble. Dr Pughe offers his services and asks if it's ok to administer Ibruprofen. I say yes, hoping it's something strong enough to put Gary to sleep. But Dr P can't come up with the goods. Gary's Drive is probably his best of the day! With a drive tugged down the left I was left with a shot of about 160 yards, into the wind, across two lost of water to a temporary green, the pin 10ft past the ditch with the bunker 10 foot past! Easy!!! Gary was about 75 yards from the pin! Good strike, bit too good and into the bunker. But it must have put a bit of pressure on Gary as he duffed his shot, but ended up short of the water.
I got to the bunker and whilst I only had about 25 foot to the pin I was up against the back of the bunker on a down slope. Not good. Even worse, Garry chipped to about a foot! Hit and hope and I got to about 5 foot, but needed the putt for a half! Got it! But 3 down with 4 to go. Need to win all the holes.
Gary to drive and he topped it. Worst shot he has hit all day, bounced short of the ditch and looks like going in, but bounces over. No messing now! Hit a good drive into the fairway. Gary hits another bad shot and into the water hazard, but lands where the 3 foot high bullrushes have been cut back. He'll be able to play from there!!!! Still, 170 to go, good strike, but bit of a cut to it and a hard bounce and I'm into the ditch. No chance of playing out for me!
Gary hit out of the hazard and after chips we are roughly the same distance away. 15 foot putt and I lip out, Gary's putt races at the hole and drops in!
My face was a picture again!!!
Shake hands and move on. Dr Pughe beat Robbo and will do well to beat Mr Leese next week!
Played out the last holes and headed for the bar for a consoling libation!
Thanks to Rob and Lissa for cheering me up!
Hope the weather in York is nice!!!!
Monday, 1 March 2010
You'll never go in the water again!
No, not talking about the Captain's Hazard on the 14th!
We decided to have a family film night on Saturday, so after I'd watched the Footy and the Rugby we finished our meal and sat down to watch something.
What to watch though..........Daughter of 13 going on 17, son of 7 and the good lady wife.....could be a tricky choice.
As they were arguning over what DVD to watch I flicked through the Sky planner and spotted Jaws!!!
Sophie, the daughter, had seen it a few years before and was keen to see it again, whilst Josh was easliy persuaded.
Would it be too scary for him? What about the skinny dipping at the beginning?
I remember in 1975, aged 14 going to the local cinema, a single theatre at the time, to see Jaws every night for a week! Me and a group of mates used to go to this cinema nearly every Sunday almost no matter what was on.
Bit 7 nights in a row. We only ever did that for one other film and that was Star Wars! It was a very old cinema, quite small, independent of the Rank, or Odeon chain;s it was not unheard of to cancel the showing if too few people came to see the film. It was easier to give us our money back!
Not for a blockbuster like Jaws and not when we would be going every night of the week.
Up on the big screen the action was vivid, load and frightening. Everyone jumped when the Shark struck, especially when the head pooped out of the hole in the bottom of the boat, with one eye missing and optic nerves hanging ou of the socket! Even when we knew it was coming we jumped! Even though the famous music warned that the Shark was coming.
For the time, the Shark was realistic.
Now, at home, on the TV, it looked awfull.
The kids loved it, but commented on how unrealistic the Shark looked. They've both been on the Jaws Ride at Universal Studios and to be honest, that was more realistic.
How far have come since then. We all went to see Avatar, in 3D, obviously and whilst the story was ok, the special effects were unbelievable. Probably won't bother to see the film again though.
Sophie made a comment about it not being very real and then I suddenly thought.
"Sophie, this film is 35 years old!" "I was your age when I saw this at the pictures"
It was of it's time! It did scare us, but now it was pretty tame.
Bit it did take me back to that grotty cinema, with the ripped seats, the gas lamps, me and me mates scared to death, or mesmerised by Star Wars, sneaking in under age to see Saturday Night Fever, or Roller Ball or the disaster movies like Earthquake, the Towering Inferno, the original Rocky film, scared shitless at the end of Carrie and the James Bond double bills they used to show!
That's what I remembered when I watched Jaws...........
We decided to have a family film night on Saturday, so after I'd watched the Footy and the Rugby we finished our meal and sat down to watch something.
What to watch though..........Daughter of 13 going on 17, son of 7 and the good lady wife.....could be a tricky choice.
As they were arguning over what DVD to watch I flicked through the Sky planner and spotted Jaws!!!
Sophie, the daughter, had seen it a few years before and was keen to see it again, whilst Josh was easliy persuaded.
Would it be too scary for him? What about the skinny dipping at the beginning?
I remember in 1975, aged 14 going to the local cinema, a single theatre at the time, to see Jaws every night for a week! Me and a group of mates used to go to this cinema nearly every Sunday almost no matter what was on.
Bit 7 nights in a row. We only ever did that for one other film and that was Star Wars! It was a very old cinema, quite small, independent of the Rank, or Odeon chain;s it was not unheard of to cancel the showing if too few people came to see the film. It was easier to give us our money back!
Not for a blockbuster like Jaws and not when we would be going every night of the week.
Up on the big screen the action was vivid, load and frightening. Everyone jumped when the Shark struck, especially when the head pooped out of the hole in the bottom of the boat, with one eye missing and optic nerves hanging ou of the socket! Even when we knew it was coming we jumped! Even though the famous music warned that the Shark was coming.
For the time, the Shark was realistic.
Now, at home, on the TV, it looked awfull.
The kids loved it, but commented on how unrealistic the Shark looked. They've both been on the Jaws Ride at Universal Studios and to be honest, that was more realistic.
How far have come since then. We all went to see Avatar, in 3D, obviously and whilst the story was ok, the special effects were unbelievable. Probably won't bother to see the film again though.
Sophie made a comment about it not being very real and then I suddenly thought.
"Sophie, this film is 35 years old!" "I was your age when I saw this at the pictures"
It was of it's time! It did scare us, but now it was pretty tame.
Bit it did take me back to that grotty cinema, with the ripped seats, the gas lamps, me and me mates scared to death, or mesmerised by Star Wars, sneaking in under age to see Saturday Night Fever, or Roller Ball or the disaster movies like Earthquake, the Towering Inferno, the original Rocky film, scared shitless at the end of Carrie and the James Bond double bills they used to show!
That's what I remembered when I watched Jaws...........
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