First singles game in League to Dubai. 23/06/2013

The Bristol golf club was the venue for me to take on Neil Luczynski in my first game in the singles for the league to Dubai. A 50 minute drive down the M4 and M5 had me arrive with plenty of time to take advantage of the great practise facilities on offer. It was nice being able to step onto the first tee knowing that I had a swing that would keep the first shot in play. A driving range is something we don’t have at Coed-y-Mwstwr and would be a great addition if we could afford it and fit it on the site one day.

I bumped into Neil at the driving range and discovered that he is a really nice bloke, was a pleasure to play with and a credit to the Bristol as one of their members.

I’m trying to write this while Bubba Watson is having a meltdown on his 16^th hole and I’m struggling to concentrate! I think Bubba is about to fire his caddy.

Anyway…… our game.

The wind was UP! Not as bad as the previous day, but still 20 mph, which is enough to be a concern. The first hole really gets your attention. It is a reasonably straight par5 with out of bounds all the way down the left and a big drop off (visually, not practically, unless you really slice it hard) on the right. The wind was rocketing up the slope and hurting and I watched Neil hit his ball left and get thrown back into the clear by a very helpful tree. Nice. My drive was a good one and made it almost exactly half way leaving 250 to go. My brain was working today and I managed to talk myself out of going for the green (250 into the wind with the 3wood) and laid up to 80 yards short leading to a par to start and my first 3 pointer.

This was my first singles game that I have ever played with ¾ handicap and would be playing off 12 instead of 16. I was a little bit concerned, the consolation was that Neil went from 21 to 16. I found the first few competitions without a shot on a couple of holes very difficult to get used to.

Par on the 1^st had my confidence up and the last thing I saw myself doing on the short par3 2^nd was pull-hooking left and nearly out of bounds! I wasn’t impressed especially as it was just a pitching wedge. Back to reality with a thud and one point (they are all valuable!) matched by Neil after he went right with his first. Neil had the first of many very close putts on the second, could they prove costly? We headed downhill next…. Massively downhill, dogleg right. I got my first taste of how hard the greens were with my approach shot. The bounce was incredible! At least 20 feet in the air and through the green. Neil copped the same treatment from the green and another close putt left him trailing further behind.

I found my ball under a tree on the 4^th and took a penalty drop instead of a blind stab. That turned out to be a great decision as I still got up and down for par from 120 yards! I was feeling pretty buoyant about my golf by this stage and was building a bit of a lead (9 points to 5 after 4 holes). The Bristol requires some thought and good decision making..... just blazing away with your driver on each tee would lead to some serious trouble.

The par5 7^th hole at the Bristol wasn't one of those holes and a good belt with the Titleist 910D3 left me with 200 yards to the pin from an uphill lie landing on a downslope with water through the green. After a bit of risk verses reward argument in my head I decided that a good smack with the 4 iron shouldn't be able to go through the green into the water. It turned out perfectly and I just missed my eagle attempt and settled for a birdie for 4 points. Happy days! 8 and 9 were both very tricky holes where the driver stayed in the bag and I still ended up with only 1 (still valuable) point from each hole. Neil made a bit of a surge over the last few holes on the front nine to make the turn with 14 points compared to my 17.

I started the back nine with a par for 3 points and was feeling great walking to the 11^th tee to be greeted by two groups waiting to tee off. We sat around feeling all momentum dispersing for about 20 minutes and promptly scored 1 point for the next 2 holes.

After the blob (0 points) on the 12^th hole I managed to get my head back on my shoulders correctly and finished the round par, bogey, par, par, par and double bogey. One very memorable hole was the 16^th hole. 

Lumberjacks walk is a very daunting par3. Standing on the tee looking between two very stern trees at a tiny green perched on railway sleepers ten feet above a beautiful water feature, all downhill and into the wind off the right with the pin 178 yards away on the back right with 155 to carry the water. Not an easy hole and I had the honour. I was toying with having a crack with my 5iron and finally decided to hit my 4iron instead as I would rather be long than short. I hit a fantastic shot, straight at the pin which pitched right on the edge of the green and stayed almost exactly where it landed. The wind had more effect than I had given it credit for and I was feeling pretty lucky by now although a small kick onto the green towards the pin would have been nice. Two putts for a par and a very welcome 3 points for the tally.

Neil knew it was time to start making a move over the last few holes and he started taking a few risks and the lag putt was no more. 

On the 18^th hole I hit my first duff of the day and scooted my 5 iron (I was being very conservative) about 130 yards along the ground to around 210 yards from the hole. Neil needed to finish with a bang and went with his driver on a more direct route cutting the corner and found trouble needing a penalty drop to have a swing leading to his second blob of the round. I managed to put my approach shot into the pond guarding the front of the 18^th green and scraped through with 1 point after a pitch and two putts. Our game ended in a reasonably comfy victory for me on 33 points to Neil’s 27 points. 

Neil was great company and a fantastic host and those edge-burning misses did prove costly in the end. The Bristol was very well looked after and the views over the Severn estuary and the Bristol Channel were outstanding. The photos aren’t the best, but they are better than none!

Looking forward to my next game. Away again and this time at Oake Manor in Summerset against Peter Jeanes.

Cheers

Clayt