Club Championships

First topic message reminder :

Advice needed!

My Club Championship is this weekend and i'm playing in it for the first time. I'm off 17 and have been grouped with a 5 handicapper and a 9 handicapper

I'm not a nervous person but i've no doubt that i will have a few butterflies come the first tee (or the 10th in this instance!). I'm aware that the course will be set up at it's most difficult and that i probably shouldn't pick up any gimmies

Other than that, is there any good advice that anyone can give to ensure beyond any doubt that the trophy is in my grasp at the end of Sunday??

Good luck to you both guys, and like you SR i enjoy a bit of bad weather, because you totally forget about whats going on an focus only on each shot as in between it's about keeping warm and dry.

I've just been reminded to get an all weather glove for additional grip, nothing worse than when your hands get like you've been in the bath for a week. No chance in holding a club properly in those conditions.

Spare towel also a pre-requisite as heavy wind AND 20mph winds forcast. Nightmare conditions but you have to embrace them.

super

what about a right hand AW glove as well? Glove on both hands works better for me in the wet

cheers guys.

good tip drive. if i've not got time i'll usually swap for at least a clean shirt and socks.

mpb, its not so much putting a good round out of my mind as getting over the hurdle of the first poor shot of the second round. when i was younger i used to get quite frustrated starting the second round poorly after a good first round. i've grown up a wee bit since then and mentally have a bit more perspective on the golf course so hopefully shouldn't be a problem anymore.

sr, i'm also hoping for a bit of wind as i usually play quite well in tougher conditions, though it negatively affects a good percentage of the field. its also better than knowing that conditions are perfect and you've got to go out and destroy the course to be in with half a shout. not sure about wind 'and' rain though! with potentially two 5hr rounds in prospect i'd like to stay dry if possible!

I thought about that too, if I do go for that I'll be looking like the Milk Tray man or a ninja as my shoes, 'proofs, hat and all weather gloves will all be black.

Oh fair enough BanBam, i see what you mean

I always forget to take a spare towel on rainy days! The usual towel doesn't take long to get soaked and it ends up being the same as wiping your hands, grips etc on the grass!!

super_realist wrote:I thought about that too, if I do go for that I'll be looking like the Milk Tray man or a ninja as my shoes, 'proofs, hat and all weather gloves will all be black.

No problem, makes it easy to assisinate everyone that shoots a better score than you

MustPuttBetter wrote:Oh fair enough BanBam, i see what you mean

I always forget to take a spare towel on rainy days! The usual towel doesn't take long to get soaked and it ends up being the same as wiping your hands, grips etc on the grass!!

My towel is always draped over a couple of the the spokes of my open umbrella so it doesn't get too wet when it's raining, i stick my glove on a spoke and SkyCaddy on another, so as much as possible stays dry, Whilst i'm waiting to play I put the grip of my club up my sleeve or front of waterproofs so it isn't getting wind blown rain or drips off my proofs onto them. With all that's going on you barely think about the shot.

i usually carry 3 or 4 tea towels for drying grips, myself, etc and 2 golf towels. one for removing large chunks of sod and the other for cleaning up, keeping the second tucked in one of the large pockets. tea towels are good because they don't take up much room but are pretty absorbent.

Graeme, it's easy to tell where we come from when you have to be so prepared for dreary weather.

super_realist wrote:Graeme, it's easy to tell where we come from when you have to be so prepared for dreary weather.

ain't it the truth?! i am after a big souwester with a chin strap to keep it on in the wind! we sell children's ones in the shop and i'm quite taken with them.

SR - it's pretty dreadful down here at the moment so getting tips on preparation from you Scots is useful!!

MPB, the annoying this is that our wee corner of Scotland is actually one of the driest places in the UK, however whilst it is often sunny during office hours, you tend to get kicked in the testicles come saturday morning with wind, rain , sleet and whatever else it feels like throwing in, usually around big competition times. Curses
Fortunately it looks like it will be the same for everyone tomorrow with neither early or late starters getting any benefit or respite.

Ha, i believe that's called sod's law

It's the same law that leads to me giving my Geordie friend stick about Kevin Nolan leaving them for the Championship right before my club appoints Alex Mcleish as manager!!

MPB

Are you tempted by the North Weald open on 21st July? Not too far round the M25 for you.

D4S

I might be but i believe i agreed with LJ that i would never play that course due to it's lack of areas for me to hit it wonky into and still find my ball!!

Is there a handicap limit?

Yeah, limit is 18...do you make that?

Good value, 36 holes + food for 25 notes. Scratch and handicap prizes!

MustPuttBetter wrote:D4S

I might be but i believe i agreed with LJ that i would never play that course due to it's lack of areas for me to hit it wonky into and still find my ball!!

Is there a handicap limit?

It's a limit of 18 MPB. And I believe that was just the par 3's wasn't it? I'll arrange for you to take 6 on each of them and just walk the next hole. Sound good?

You'll be OK MPB - I have been known to hit the occasional 'wonky' shot and didn't have too many problems when I played there.

<OS still considering his options>

oldshanker wrote:You'll be OK MPB - I have been known to hit the occasional 'wonky' shot and didn't have too many problems when I played there.

<OS still considering his options>

Don't make us come up there with the pointy stick. Get the form in!

At 16.7 i do just about make that!

Does sound good value. 18 in the morning, 18 in the afternoon, or spread over 2 days?

I might well be tempted actually

LJ - to be honest i can probably manage the 6s anyway! but if they're hilly i'll take the walk to the next hole option

Ha ha thanks OS, although i very much doubt your level of wonky compares to mine!!

Could combine this event with an evening curry and beer? Or whatever else awaits in North Weald!

There is only one curry house which should be visited in the area MPB. And it's in Theydon Bois. It is of course mandatory to try the Jonnys Special Menu when visiting this establishment.

The menu comes highly recommended although I do state that the aftereffects are the responsibility of the idiot who let me order for them.

LondonJonnyO wrote:

oldshanker wrote:You'll be OK MPB - I have been known to hit the occasional 'wonky' shot and didn't have too many problems when I played there.

<OS still considering his options>

Don't make us come up there with the pointy stick. Get the form in!

You are such a sweet talking smoothie LJ - OK, I've booked the day off from work, it does make sense, as it is very easy to get to.

Precarious!
Is it a bad idea to ask what the JSM consists of??

You can enter over the phone to make it easier OS. 01992 522 118. State you're entering the Open and ask for Tim as he's managing it.

Mention my name for an increase in the price of the day.

LondonJonnyO wrote:

The menu comes highly recommended although I do state that the aftereffects are the responsibility of the idiot who let me order for them.

There are also scratch and handicap prizes for sharting

a JSM consists of:

1 portion Jonnys Special Samosas. Half meat, half raw chilli with a hot sauce at times depending on how spicy the chillies are.

1 portion Jonnys Special Sausage. A sheek kebab mixed with green chilli then cooked and raw chillies stuffed down the hole left by the skewer

1 Jonnys special Vindaloo or a Vindaloo hot Chicken Jalfrezi, with extra chilli

1 Garlic Chilli Naan or 1 Keema Chilli Naan

Lots of Cobra.

Oh. And if you're really lucky some Daves Ultimate Insanity Hot sauce or some of my home made Internal Terrorism Sauce.

Will not be letting you order for me LJ.....it would just be a waste. I'd only end up spilling it down my shirt as normal.

Is that the Super Hot Internal Terrorism Sauce? Abbreviated to........

I'm not sure about Jonnys Special Sausage

To be fair it has caused havoc at times. One particular individual attempted the JSM and before even getting the main course skipped all the way to dessert which consisted of all the ice cream in the place plus drinking mint yogurt and cucumber raita.

MustPuttBetter wrote:Is that the Super Hot Internal Terrorism Sauce? Abbreviated to........

I'm not sure about Jonnys Special Sausage

White trousers are optional the following day yes.

I have a wedding to attend on the first day of our club champs... so I just called up and ensured that I have an early tee time. I might miss the ceremony but I'll be there for the beer!

To be fair LJ, that's the only part of a wedding worth attending. The ceremony is always drearier than a Tiger Woods interview.

super_realist wrote:To be fair LJ, that's the only part of a wedding worth attending. The ceremony is always drearier than a Tiger Woods interview.

Not true SR. The stag do is also worth attending. Although I'm not sure that's part of the wedding itself... more of a preliminary

I'm gutted can't make any of the opens due to this leg! The JSM sounds cracking my sort of spice indeed.

You could always travel up for the evening and the JSM Mav

The JSM can be upgraded further if required....

although golf the next day can then be a rather painful affair.

I can only fit one toilet roll in my bag so i think best leave it as it is!

As it happens I'm running low on Internal Terrorism sauce... time to get an order in to my mate as my chilli farm is still in the growth stages.

well, saturday certainly wasn't my day! good fun was had though, and it was great to see some young members make an impact, with 5 of the top 8 scratch qualifiers aged 25 or younger, and 3 of them making it to the semis.

how'd you fare s_r, through to the knockouts comfortably?

Ban Bam, put in a great round on saturday, qualified easily as a result (I was prepared for the weather and embraced the conditions, as discussed last week)
Sneaked through my 1st Round matchplay last night, now in the last 8, tough match next on Wednesday night, but if you are going to win it............

well done s_r! good luck in your quarterfinal. as you say you've got to win the tough ones to go anywhere.

no excuses for me. i didn't bring my swing and was never mentally in the zone. got a couple of weeks to re-group before the next club comp, then black isle 36 open and alyth 36 open the following weekends.

Going to try and make it to Alyth Ban as it's a great course usually in first class conditions.

Good luck in the Black Isle Open, which course is that on?

Well done SR and good luck for tomorrow night

Cheers MPB,

fortrose & rosemarkie - my away course

That's a tough course Ban, played it two years ago and played great on front nine, wind got up on back nine though and taught us all a lesson.

its a classic example of a course where you can look at the scorecard and think its going to be a walkover, but it really isn't. last comp i played before this weekends champs i was one under after 13 and finished 6 over. dropping 5 shots on holes 14-16 was especially disapointing given their birdieable nature. 18th is a real beast of a finisher too, 212 yard par 3 into the wind, with whin bushes up both sides, a real death or glory hole and serious squeaky bum time if you're on a score.

super

nice work, good luck for your match on Wed