Tell us about your game today...

First topic message reminder :

As one of the more popular threads on the dark side, a place to tell us about your latest game

Society day at Stisted, Braintree for me yesterday. Didn't really fancy it that much when I looked out the window first thing and it was tipping it down with rain, especially as my last visit to the golf course had yielded a miserly 25 points and it had rained continuously all the way round.
 
However, fortified by coffee and a bacon roll and a catch-up gossip as to which of the boys that I hadn't seen lately were now separated from their wives and living with hot new girlfriends, I wandered to the first tee feeling a little more enthusiastic particularly as it had stopped raining.
 
Cue my best round of the year. 3 chip-ins from the fringe, 5 birdies and 23 putts (don't think I have ever had that few!) for a 1 over 71 and 41 points. Didn't win obviously, nudged into the runners-up spot by an 18 handicapper with 42 points!

Well done sir  Anyone able to get it around in these miserable conditions deserves my admiration. Frankly, I just cannot be arsed to spend the entire winter .1'ing......

maybe one game left this year for me. I'm fucking off to Frankfurt until the end of december.

We had last medal of the year on Wednesday and I had mt worst round of the year. A friendly bounce game yesterday though and played much better. End of season trophy tomorrow for all winners and runners up of th years' medals .. hopefully play more like Friday than Wednesday but that wind is going to BLOW!

Frost delays have started, it's the beginning of the end of our golfing season

And wow it DID blow! Actually not too disheartened though - a net 79 with an 8 and a 10 on the card. After Stableford reduction came just inside the buffer zone so no change to handicap. And I picked up a few quid for a 2 on 17 though

Par 70, CSS 71 and after stableford reductions, a 75 for me so just squeaked in to the buffer. Winner was 69 so not a terrible day and just makes me regret the 2 bad holes

Sneaked away to play in the monthly stableford today and what a beautiful morning it was. Lovely golden yellow leaves on the trees as they change colour in the autumn warmth, not a breath of wind just blue skies and sunshine, swans gliding effortlessly on the lakes, saw a kestrel swoop down and take a vole for an early lunch whilst we teed off on the 13th...sorry nearly getting all poetical there for a moment, but it was a perfect November morning and a real pleasure to be out there.
 
As for the golf an interesting start...birdie, blob, birdie! Finished with a gross 79 for 35 points and made the buffer zone so I was happy with that. Now the question is can I keep the diary free and sneak out of the office again next Wednesday?...

Part timer

A few weeks left in our season, hopefully, had the first snow flurries and the faintest of dustings yesterday morning. With the weather being colder than most people will play in it's been like our own private golf course recently with a hardcore group continuing to play. I've had the usual mixture of the sublime and the ridiculous in the last few weeks but I keep hoping I can keep it all together for one round before the clubs get put away for the winter.

So what do you do with your spare time when the clubs get put away for the winter Grumps...do the ski's and sticks come out to play?

I'm surprised you still hope for a few more weeks Grumps. Would have thought you'd be done for the year now - fingers crossed you get some more games - the winter can be long and painful! (tup)

BlueCoverman wrote:So what do you do with your spare time when the clubs get put away for the winter Grumps...do the ski's and sticks come out to play?

We have a few ski slopes within 10-15 miles of us but I haven't skied for a long time so unfortunately it's chores that have been piling up since the start of golfing season. Mrs Grumps has been making a list and checking it twice  

Davie wrote:I'm surprised you still hope for a few more weeks Grumps. Would have thought you'd be done for the year now - fingers crossed you get some more games - the winter can be long and painful! (tup)

Each year we hope for Thanksgiving weekend which is mid to late November. This year it crosses over into the beginning of December as the Thanksgiving holiday is always the fourth Thursday in November. Last winter was very mild and we could probably have played through only missing a couple of weeks over the entire winter. I think there were places still open but Mrs Grumps would probably have killed me if I had attempted to get a game somewhere. I know someone who uses a simulator so I might try to join up with him on the odd occasion. Other than that I get to enjoy golf vicariously through you guys and gals until March when it's time to hope for an early Spring and for the snow to feck off

Good luck with that Grumps...as Davie said the winter can be long and painful, just chores and no golf doesn't sound like much fun to me!

Thanks Blue, I meant to add to my last post that winter this year is expected to be something brutal; I hope it's not as bad as forecast

The annual turkey trot today .. and another day of "coulda, shoulda"

Betterball (3/4 handicap) stableford in pairs (random draw) and me and my partner who I'd never played with before gelled really well ... extremely good front nine and we turned with 23 pts. Neither of us could do much wrong and putts dropped nicely

An unlikely nett birdie for me on 10 after a chunked 2nd shot and all looked good .. and then I'm not sure what happened ... both still played well but the putts just stopped dropping and bad bounces replaced good ones.

Two lapses of concentration from me cost me a really good personal score ... and badly mishit tee shot on par3 12 that vanished into a bush - and when I thought I'd hit a great "3 off the tee" it came up 20 yards short only to find I'd pulled a 7 iron out of my bag instead of the intended 5 iron!

Lost ball off the 18th tee with probably worst drive of the day was the other lapse of concentration - we ended up with a team score of 41pts (and my personal score worked out off full handicap) was 39 pts with two blobs!

So happy with the game but just a little disappointed we couldn't hold it together - though the eventual winning score was 46 points!

No game for me today but played yesterday in the monthly stableford qualifier off the yellow tees.

A steady if unspectacular round of 10 pars and 8 bogeys yielded 34 points and enough to get me in the buffer zone. A decent morning for weather and enjoyed the walk in the late autumn sunshine.

Played yesterday. First full 18 holes of December. No wind, No rain.

Striking the ball very well apart from 3 daft shots. Still round in 78, hopeful signs.

Nice going Setup. Everytime I think I might be able to sneak somewhere for a round more snow arrives. Still looking on the bright side opening day is about 90 days away....

You've been that close to getting a game though 1GG? I thought it would be totally off the menu at this time of year!

Still playing weekly here .. but TBH been very lucky by choosing days (by chance) that are in between wet or stormy weather. Next game Sunday weather permitting

There are some places about an hour South of us that stay open throughout the Winter however getting away from her indoors will be the tricky part.

Come on Grumps shape up...what are you man or mouse?   

Having spent 8 months telling her that she can have her chores done during the off season I think eek is the appropriate response

I'm playing in the monthly stableford tomorrow, society day at Great Waldringfield on Monday, Hangover Cup on New Years Day, the Presidents New Year Cup on the following Sunday and the Winter Fourballs at Felixstowe the following Tuesday. What's an off season?  

Hangover cup on New Year's Day sounds dangerous   

Very true Davie, legend has it that in days gone by you had to fail a breathalyser on the 1st tee before you were eligible to compete!

Is that why you took out your pro in the pro-am?

I was merely trying to encourage him to play a bit better  

Were you playing foursomes? That'll teach him

After my 78 on Boxing Day, followed it up with a 75 on Saturday & hold the presses, yesterday went round in 72. And only managed to win our little match on the last.

Yesterday started 6 straight pars, bogeyed 7, and parred 8 & 9. So 1 over after 9. Was playing  a little bet with 4 other (though 1 walked in after 7) so playing for £20. Thought I was comfortably in the lead until I heard the scores at the turn, Stevie Irons off 23 was out in 42 to my 36. So we were level. Missed 3 makeable putts on 10/11 & 12. So now need to make up 6 shots for a half over the last six holes.

Parred 13 to get back 1, birdied 14 to get back 2,birdied 15 to get back 1, parred 16 with a great ricochet off a large tree, stopping my ball going out of bounds, and back to the middle of the fairway. Then had the audacity to chip to 6 inches to secure an unlikely par.

Onto 17, only one more to get to halve. I played some utter twaddle to run up a 6, to Stevie 5, so now 3 behind standing on the 18th tee.

18th long par 3 over 200 yds all uphill. Stevie with the honour sticks on the fairway just to the left. I strike my 5 wood onto the green. Pressure now on. Steve with a 20 yd pitch somehow thins it over the OOB wall, hits the clubhouse but luckily does not rebound back over the wall. So drops, another ball playing 4, chips & misses the green this time. His 5th goes 6 feet passed the hole.
My turn, I roll it to 2 inches & taps in for 3. Stevie now has putt to halve the match, misses. And unbelievably I've won the cash.    

Actually played yesterday for the first time since March! It was a beautiful day - crystal clear blue sky, not a cloud in sight, warm sunshine and hardly a breath of wind (how can two days be so different?) and despite all the recent rain, the course was remarkably playable. And to cap it all, it was the local municipal 9-hole course where LordPutt plays twice a week and we got on for nothing using vouchers he was given at the start of the year.

It all went really well to start with and I was 4 over after 5 holes - then I started thinking about what I was doing and the wheels came off! Still, I'm pleased that I've not forgotten how to play and maybe will get to play a bit more in 2014.

Hats off to anyone who is even contemplating playing at the moment.. might visit the driving range but that will be about it for the next month or so........

Hoping for first game in three weeks tomorrow! Course still quite wet and a couple of temps left but should be starting to get a little drier now. It's been tee up everywhere and all bunkers GUR for a couple of weeks (when it's been open at all) but with a little luck we may be back to just normal "winter rules" tomorrow .. but even if not it will still be nice to get out there again!

Good luck with that Davie. I went into my local Dick's Sporting Goods store, insert rude joke here Blue, and found that they rent out their fitting bay with tracker etc. for about a tenner. So I think I will be paying them a few visits to get rid of some rust before the season opens.

As if I'd say anything rude Grumps   

First round of the Mail on Sunday for us today. Teams of 5 battling out singles matchplay for the right to progress into round 2. I got picked for the side and so had to forgo a trip to see Col U v Preston but seeing as we missed a penalty and lost 2-1 that was probably just as well.

We had home advantage but with no trolleys due to the course conditions I was very grateful to have my 17 year old son on the bag. Off the back tees with obviously no run on the ball and a stiff breeze blowing in from the river estuary, conditions were very tough to say the least. Playing a 6 handicapper the same as me, I was delighted to play really well. Struck the ball sweet and putted great and was only 4 over when I closed it out on the 13th green with a comfortable 6 & 5 win and that after being 1 down after 4.

Team won 3 1/2 to 1 1/2 and so looking forward to the second round draw and hopefully another home tie.

Well got the 18 holes in today and as I thought on;y 2 temps and back to "normal" winter rules .. though all the bunkers were still declared GUR due to flooding (they actually didn't look that bad)

3 weeks off and an absolutely BRUTAL 3-4 club wind made it very tough though .. I looked at my score afterwards and that was actually my worst round gross of this membership year (May-Apr) .. yet I'm sure I've played worse than that and scored better!

Faded badly on the last 3 holes (lost the friendly match on the 17th) but wasn't TOO disappointed with the way I hit the ball .. just the conditions (and fatigue) were my undoing.

My club is relatively short and flat .. but tonight I feel like I've played 35 holes, not 18 .. roll on the calmer warmer weather!

Course is open but still extremely wet and mucky. Carry bags only and the tees are on the ladies (much to their displeasure!). Played yesterday morning and managed 4 birdies on the shortened course and scored 38 points which was enough to pick up a few quid in the swindle. Enjoyed being out there but felt a bit sorry for the greenkeepers who have got a big job on their hands to get the course in reasonable shape before the new season starts in earnest.
 
Playing at Felixstowe, Suffolk tomorrow where it is sand based and will be nice and dry underfoot!.

First qualie of the year yesterday .. and a timely reminder why a lot of members refuse to play winter qualifiers ... after weeks of the course closed completely, or on shortened temporaries and tees pushed right forward as BCM says above, suddenly we were back to only one temporary and tees pushed back almost to the stones. Cold damp air and  no roll made a relatively average course in length suddenly seem like a monster!

Didn't play especially well but also one of those days when didn't seem to get a lucky break at all and putts just weren't dropping

End result a +0.1 but nice to be out there, though another very windy day made it even tougher!

Another chance on Wednesday with a midweek Stableford

Played 4 holes yesterday - was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the course, apparently it's dried out a lot in the last few days. I was grateful for the return of roll-on on the fairways. Beautiful afternoon, but we were restricted to 4 holes due to impending darkness!   

Not sure if I will ever get back into it, as I've totally lost confidence in being with people, due to something that happened a couple of years ago. The forum + fantasy league have helped to bring a bit of levity to my life!   

Really sorry to hear that Mary but glad we can be of some help   

I've not really played since I had a double hip replacement (nine months apart, I hasten to add) in 2010 and had to stop playing for a while. I've rather got out of the habit and find I prefer doing other things at weekends. LordPutt plays a couple of times a week at a local 9-hole course with some friends and I've played a couple of times with him but strangely I don't actually miss it. Maybe once I've retired from full-time work and we can play together I'll get the bug again.

 

Glad to know the levity has helped Mary .. even if it IS sometimes at my expense!  

Very sorry to hear that Mary but glad we're able to raise a smile  
 
My golf, since the end of November, has consisted of two sessions in the simulator; there was a lot of rust to start with last week but I seemed to be hitting some good shots by the end of the second session.  They had club face impact tape, that I helped myself to, and there were several center hits by the end of it but the best bit was not having to pay due to their ineptitude
 
Hopefully I will be able to find somewhere to actually play this weekend I know I'll have to travel a fair distance but with the missus away what sounds better: chores or a day out for golf?  Tricky one... I might have to phone a friend.

You'll have to find one first...   

First game in months for me this weekend. About a 100 mile round trip but who cares, golf is back, woo-hoo!

Good luck grumps .. first board comp of the year for us tomorrow! Known as the only winter board comp, this one is already rescheduled from last month when it had to be postponed. Forecast looks good apart from perhaps a delayed start for fog . .last few mornings have been pretty foggy until after 9am

Have a good one Grumps, where are you playing?

I'm playing Heron Glen, it's about 50 miles south of me. I was busy doing research this morning on where I could get a game when a friend of mine sent me an email he got saying they were opening on the 15th. From what I can see online and the course planner it looks to be quite interesting and it's supposedly fun. It's probably going to be very wet and so will play quite long. They've said it's cart path only and they have a temp green in on the third. I don't think that will spoil my enjoyment but I'll be happy to blame them if it doesn't go well.

How did it go then Grumps?

Pretty well, Blue.  It was more open and exposed to the wind than I was expecting having looked at the hole descriptions and images online.  The sun was shining, the temperature was quite good at around 12-15C, but the wind was pretty strong.  I had a light thermal, thin long sleeve polo, and a fleece pullover on and that ensemble kept me pretty warm all the way round.  The course was quite hilly and had lots of mounding which I think would have prevented you from seeing other holes if the vegetation was out in full.  The course was wet, not much bounce and run, and in some instances the ball would plug.  The greens weren't too bad, rolled pretty well, and had some subtle breaks that I didn't always spot.  Some of the bunkers still had snow in them and the green complex on the third was snow and ice covered hence the temporary green.
 
I was joined with three other guys who were all low handicap, one of them used to be off scratch a few years back and he said he was about a 2 or a 3 now.  They pummeled the ball and listening to them debate club selection on the par 3s was quite interesting; I basically added about 2 to what they said  We played off of the second longest set of tees and I tricked them into thinking I could play by hitting the best tee shot out of us on one.  Unfortunately I had a touch like Carlton Palmer and that didn't help too much but I putted reasonably well and holed a few long ones.  I did however, play some good bunker shots both greenside and out of the fairways.  
 
I had a 4, 4, 4 finish on the front which included birdie on the 8th and I was really pleased to make par on the 9th as it was long and played into the wind.  I lost two balls, both on the back nine, by hitting into some wetland areas.  The first I should have layed up on but the wind was behind us and bravado made me take it on, the second time I didn't realise I was so close to it.  I only had three doubles on the card and only one came by hitting into the wetlands.  I had a great two putt par on 17 from miles away and had my par putt on 18 just finish a fraction short on pace but after the drive and second shot on 18 I was very happy to have had a chance at par.  
 
I hit the ball quite nicely, lots of solid shots with my irons, but with the wind making it very difficult to judge yardages the end result wasn't always as good as the shot.  I wasn't as good with the driver, lots of lowish fades, but I had 87 when all was said and done.  I half walked and half rode in the cart and all was going swimmingly until going past the range on the way to the 10th the driver went a bit wide and my trolley clipped a curb tipping it over; luckily no damage to my clubs and a bit of embarrassment all round.  All in all, I'm pretty pleased with my play and score based on the conditions, rustiness, not knowing the course, and being a little out of my comfort zone.

Thanks for the report Grumps, that was a good read. Glad you enjoyed it and sounds like you played pretty well after a long lay-off and on an unfamiliar course. I don't think that everyone would relish the prospect of rocking up and being paired with an ex-scratch golfer after not having been on a golf course in months!

The wind must have been pretty cold though! 12-15C I'd be in short sleeves! ;-)