Hozzle rocket horrors and end of season reflections

Last night, 4bbb final, final hole, all square, my partner oob off the tee, great tee shot from me leaving just a 75 yard flick with opponents both (on the temporary green) inside 20 feet in two....you know what happened...handshake quickly followed.
Anyone top that for a worse way to finish a match?

Especially galling having pulled off numerous pressure drives, long irons, pitches and clutch putts throughout the game when my partner was out of the hole (he did play pretty well on the whole). Wish we'd been hitting to the main green - I didn't fancy the pitch at all lieing on a very soft down slope... would have preferred to have been a little farther out with a fuller shot - in fact it would have been just perfect distance for my 9 iron into the main green. 2 holes on temporary greens... lost them both, 1 up for the other 16 'proper' holes They did play some great stuff, it was really one of those matches where either team could have won deservingly - really good standard.

Looking back at the positives for me. Scoring wise 14 pars but just 1 birdie, 2 bogeys, and the last hole. A couple more birdies would have helped a lot and been the difference in the end.

Driving in the last couple of rounds has greatly improved. Long irons are solid, mid irons are solid. Wedges have been ok - regularly getting to around 5-15ft - but not much closer. Putting has been Poopie hot - a little below average yesterday - only holed 3 over 10 feet, but all but 1 inside that. Chipping is still hit and miss, either respectable or pish.

Anyway - its been a good end to the year - first and foremost 2nd in Grumps eclectic , 2nd in the 4bbb yesterday, 2nd in the open scramble a couple of weeks ago, 2nd in the last medal, 2nd in the club championship qualyfying (hcp), 2nd in round 2 of the club championship qualifying (lost out on countback), and 5th best 36hole gross qualyfying score before getting dumped out of the knockout stages at my first attempt. A theme of 2nd places there... close but no cigar.

Well done B, looks like you have this first loser thing sussed out

Sounds like a good year all in all. What about handicap; did that meet expectations?

Started at 5.9. Poor start to the year (no doubt my mind was elsewhere with baby boy arriving in March, and washing cars to keep the pennies coming in while out of work since the previous september). Went up to 6.6. Then got a job back in my profession in july, and golf picked up - finished 5.2. Not bad considering i've not done any practice this year. My pre round routine has gone from 1hr+ warmup on range and practice green to just a few balls in the net and a quick putt. Guess taking golf slightly less seriously hasn't been too bad a thing. Next season, definitely target getting down to 4, but happy enough to be hanging around 5 tbh.

Ban

If it makes you feel any better, any hope I had of a decent junior golf career was finished by an 18th hole shank. It was the final of relatively big competition (well for me anyway) and I was one down on the 18th tee. I hit a great drive leaving no more than flick with a wedge, and my opponent had missed the green in two, with a tricky little chip left.

I go for the pin, but sadly the ball comes out about head high and fast going right all the way into the car park and OOB. I just headed straight to the locker room.

My season never really got started to be honest. Decided to commit to an intensive programme of lessons (range and on course) at the beginning of April ... from which point it basically rained for 3 months. Meant I was trying to work on various things, but never getting enough playing/practice time in between the lessons due to the weather. Ended up as a really fragmented and frustrating season, which had started full of enthusiasm! Haven't hit a ball in 2 months now for holiday/work/weather reasons, and struggling to get back into it.

I have suffered bouts of the shanks for the last few years. Never so it's debilitating, just the occasional one. Went on tour this year to Southport and had a shank a day. The last day was at Southport & Ainesdale. Was going along quite nicely in a stiff breeze when at the 15th, I had my shank. Having not lost a ball up to that point, I then proceeded to lose one on each of the last 3 holes and finished with 4 scrubs. TBH I started making mental errors as much as anything else. Think I started to get tired, battling the wind. Another one down to experience. I'll be better at next year's tour in Nottingham.

On the plus side I did win a board comp this year though.

amazing how few are willing to share their hozzle rocket horrors
you'll all be SHANKING it all over the place this weekend

Purest shaft striker in our club.

Including a couple of years ago...

4 back to back on a par 3. Literally circled three quarters of the green.

Tee shot, Clank, huge right onto adjacent fairway.
Clank (quite pure strike so mostly forward), short right of green.
Clank, rough at back of green (as if I'd gone through off the tee),
Clank, rough left of green (as in left looking from from tee)

Chip, 3 jack, 8.

Still get the odd one, usually caused by catastrophic knee dip when trying to flick a wedge instead of a full shot.

Mine are nearly always full swings, but I can do it with every iron from 3 to pitching wedge. And they come without warning!

Had a major dose of the S H A N K S last year, and touch wood seem to have got lot better with it. Always the same, the little half SW 75 yards or so..

Last year on a golf holiday in Spain, layed up too close at a par 5 with water short and all round the green. Circa 60 yards or so, shank, drop again, Shank, actually thought about sitting in the buggy and not playing the rest of the way in , then managed to get on the green with the 3rd attempt although never been so nervous over a shot in my life!!

Anyway, good season for me this year. Lowest score ever had at my course, level par 72 and 3 birdies in 4 holes to finish it, down to 3 for a few weeks but finished season at 3.6 after starting season at 5, won a 3 round trophy at my club, lost in a final of another competition (although it was a pretty big hiding to a mate ), and 2nd in a few open competitions at other clubs. So all in all, delighted with my season. Oh almost forgot, won grumps electric too

why are people so sensitive about shanks?

There are so many other shots that are worse to hit than a shank.

Depends who you hit with them Mac.

Playing in a Pro-am at the Belfry on the PGA National course a few years ago. I shanked one out of a greenside bunker and looked up in horror just in time to see it fly at right angles and strike our Pro ever so sweetly just above his left eye.

We had to let two groups behind through whilst he mopped up the blood. Now that was embarrassing...

For some reason all my shanks come on par 3s. Have no idea why. Had an expensive one this year. Was +2 thru 17 on back stakes in scratch cup and Shanked OB with a 9 iron. Finished +5 when +2 won overall.

A bit of a disappointing season for me, started at 6.3 now 7.1 over about 30 qualifiers, only the 1 small cut (-.4) in April. That's therefore 12 0.1s which is considerably less than last year. So a lot more buffers which suggests that there's a semblance of steadiness coming back post swing changes. I do feel I'm striking the ball better than I've ever done and with more control, it's therefore a bit of a mystery why I've crept up. My pro agrees and is also scratching his head. Having said that I do think its been a difficult scoring year due to wet (non running fairways) on home courses, making them play longer. I think I've also been unlucky in encountering some horrific conditions in away Opens (Saunton at Easter springs to mind). Also changed clubs back in April so there was a bit of searching to be done to dial in my distances again. Still hoping for a cut as i know form is there, shot 3 under handicap round St Pierre last weekend in a bounce game with mates. Got 2 qualifiers left on my home course 3rd and 17th then the Woodhall Spa Xmas meeting on 30th. After that, no more medals until March.

Loads of range work punctuated by the usual exotic Xmas trip for 2 and a half weeks. Next year will be the breakthrough year!!

barragan wrote:amazing how few are willing to share their hozzle rocket horrors
you'll all be SHANKING it all over the place this weekend

I'm not going to say what happened to me (repeatedly) earlier this morning, but will just comment that you are not on my Christmas list or my will. A plague on you!

I can only ever remember shanking once during a round in a Society event about 6 years ago. Had just secured the longest drive on the Par 4 18th and left myself a 3/4 ish wedge in from the middle of the fairway....kazonk!! Straight right under a tree and in full view of the clubhouse patio area where all the others had gathered to watch the last groups come in. I then tried to punch my 3rd under the tree but caught an arm numbing thin into the hedge protecting the carpark oob!! Blob and missed winning by 2 points aaarrrgghh!!

Didn't bother trying to find ball in hedge but as I went to load clubs back into car, there it was, sitting literally underneath the driver side door, it must have just trickled out the hedge.

I shanked twice on one hole in a scratch match. Still managed a half though on that hole.

A friend of mine can hit intentional shanks. Why would anyone want that? Well he can extricate himself out of trees when he doesn't have a swing on the right line by shanking it. He did it on the 18th at Wentworth West a few years ago. He was in the trees on the right about 80 yards from the green, no swing towards the green, so he aimed about 40 yards left, shanked it, and it flew out of the trees, over one bunker, bounced over another, rolled up to the back of the green and then turned left down towards the hole.