Tell us about your game today...

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McLaren wrote:Ben

I am not doubting jas and believe him that the guy handed in a score for 51 points. I am just astonished by 51 points, as I said this is a score that I have never seen before. This is more about acknowledging the rarity of this event.

We are talking rarer than a hole in one, this guy has shot a nett score that only a handful people will ever have shot.

It just seems like others on here are not as blown away by a 20 handicapper shooting +5 as I am.

As a junior in the early 80s, I shot a nett 56 (a +4 or 5 round I think) and a 58 in the same Summer. I didn't cheat, but I did get cut a lot that year.

I'm never wrong wrote:36 points for the competition, 37 for handicap. Might drop 0.1 on my index, which won't affect my playing handicap.

Well, it seems I WAS wrong. There was a Playing Conditions Calculation of two strokes. Cut 0.4 which moves me into the next lower band, so I lose a stroke. HI is now 16.2 which means 17 off yellows, 18 off whites.

Who decides how and when a Playing Conditions Calculation comes into effect? And what criteria is used to decide the make up of that calculation?

Do you know INW, or does anyone else?

BlueCoverman wrote:Who decides how and when a Playing Conditions Calculation comes into effect? And what criteria is used to decide the make up of that calculation?

Do you know INW, or does anyone else?  

...and in what way does it differ from the old CSS? My understanding is that the old CSS looked at the scores of the whole field relative to SSS but there was some weird calculation ascribing a heavier weighting %age to the Cat 1 scores followed by Cat 2 then 3 (something like 60%, 30%, 10%). For the new PCC calculation I just know it's a weird & secret calculation possibly after a conversion with Carole Kirkwood from the Met Office :-p

It's automatic. It comes into play if the scores are not as "expected". It ranges from -1 when everyone has a good round, to +3 when they have a bad round. In yesterdays case I came fourth with 36 points, so the vast majority of players were worse than that and so PCC kicked in.

Found the official bit from the R and A https://www.randa.org/en/roh/interpretations/rule-5#5_6

So just to clarify, a scorecard created by a player on the MyEG app will never have a PCC adjustment?

BlueCoverman wrote:So just to clarify, a scorecard created by a player on the MyEG app will never have a PCC adjustment?

If you mean an individual who submits a general play card, I think there needs to be a minimum number of players who do this, so that the calculation can be made. Obviously a competition covers this.

JAS wrote:

McLaren wrote:

JAS wrote:It’s been pretty hideous Blue, my old course has barely been open and mostly carry only when it has been, my new one (on fast draining hill overlooking Bath)

Please tell me you joined Painswick?

Eh? Painswick is nowhere near overlooking Bath, it’s somewhere between Stroud & Gloucester

My English geography isn't great. Just remember playing Painswick once when staying in bath. Didn't seem like that far away. A very nice little course.

87 for me today. My member course is par 69. I have two targets currently, both around aiming to minimise big blow ups. No balls OOB. Nothing above double. I achieved the first but had one treble from an incredibly annoying 4 putt. In my defence it was on a notoriously sloped winter green that's taken a bit of a battering with recent weather. I had about 10 feet up hill for par that I put 4 feet past. Slippery downhill 2nd lipped out and just kept running. 3rd lipped out to a few inches. Tapped in and walked off with my tail between my legs. That aside it felt like a solid round.

For context, I'm just getting started playing properly. I hit a decent number of balls at the range as a kid and played par 3s a bit with the family but never had a handicap, not sure if I'd played a full 18 hole course even. If we ever did as younger kids then I can't remember. I could strike a long ball fairly naturally though to my advantage. I then averaged maybe a round of pitch and putt every few years until November when I picked up the game again and caught the bug. Shooting mostly high 80s at the minute and fully addicted. My best was an 82, with a lot of putts dropping and a chip in being pretty much the differential there. That's a 4 shot outlier from the next best at the moment though.

Due to personal circumstances, I've had plenty of time spare recently and the course my dad helps run is only a few minutes walk away. It's also quiet over the winter which has been ideal for hitting lots of balls. Dropping three or four balls near the green to get reps in chipping for instance. It's been a welcome distraction that started as a reason to just get outside and is turning into a new passion.

I shouldn't really post only when I get a good score - so todays stableford qualifier was a poor one. 24 points with one hole out of paly for maintenance. So I should get and extra two points for the hole out of play, and might get some more for the PCC as scores were again low, due to the conditions. Rough was a quagmire in some places - course shouldn't have been open really, but greenkeeper (read management) wants people to play because it brings money in through the clubhouse. But my 20th score is also a poor one, so I don't think my handicap will change. Next qualifier in April. Oh for dry weather.

A practice round for me alongside my parents today, entirely on winter greens after some horrendous rain yesterday, so we didn't bother scoring. It was fairly wild off the tee from myself though. Frustratingly, it started with my 3 wood which is usually my fairway finder. After a good start with my driver, I took the 3 wood on a par 4 with tight OOB and immediately sliced one wildly towards a different county. Preceded to throw in another slice, a hook and top off the tee over the back 9. My worst striking for a good while.

Approach and chipping were largely pretty good on the upside. Plus it didn't rain. Take what we can get with this sort of weather!

So, early season Links swing has been "testing" to say the least. Just over a week ago I had the Atlantic pairs at Trevose & St Enodoc. Great event, better ball stableford and a good fairly unpressured competitive start to the season. Four of us (2 pairs) have done it for the last 3 years, as well as the comp itself the added spice is that the lower scoring pair clean the clubs and shoes of the better pair...nice to come home with well cleaned clubs :-p. Conditions this year were "challenging " to say the least. Good 4+ club wind on the 2nd day. On both courses the rough was well ahead of schedule in terms of growth for the time of year. Yesterday was the 3 ball team event (2 to count) at Saunton. Unfortunately there had been an overnight deluge and so most (not all) of the bunkers were out of play. Again rough was pretty dense and the fairways had standing water in many places (at least at the start of the round).
Initial assessment of where my game is at with the season about to start in earnest? There or there abouts would be my assessment. All aspects are there, just not at the same time. In Cornwall 5 reloads off the tee required over the 36 holes...in Devon 13/15 fairways hit. In Cornwall 2 three putts over 36 holes despite the mental conditions...in Devon 3 three putts on the front 9 (4 overall). IF the stars align (and I'm sure they will at some point) I'm going low. I dare say I will also have days where driving and putting are both off but.

First Medal of the season is this coming weekend at my old course with another one next weekend followed by the Easter 36 hole open at Saunton. Those are going to be the first 4 counters and I have 4 free hits to alter my handicap downwards without any chance of it going up. Starting at 7.2 this season, feel like I should lower it this season but we'll see.

As it is maintenance week at my course when we play on temporary greens, I thought I would try an experiment today. I played with a set of Ping Zing 2 irons that I bought in the mid 90's. They have graphite shafts. (Tried to sell them to Golfbidder some time ago, but they wouldn't have them). It was interesting. The first thing was that the grips were very shiny and occasionally my hands slipped whilst playing a shot. Secondly, they felt very heavy in comparison to my current set of Callaway Mavrik irons. But when I connected properly - which wasn't often - they were fine. They are still legal for amateurs unless a local rule is imposed, but it is expected that it might change sometime this year.

86 for me today. I felt like I hit it really well overall.

Same two aims at the moment. No balls OOB and nothing over a double bogey. I achieved the second, although it required a hole out chip from about 20 yards on the 18th to scramble a double. Two balls OOB though. Annoyingly, both were approach rather tee shots. It's usually off the tee that I'm fairly wild. I skulled a pitch straight through the green after my best tee shot of the day - very frustrating. Then on the 18th, I hit a horrible snap hook OOB and into the practice putting green. Fortunately no one was there!

Got my 4th and final lesson of a winter bundle tomorrow.

The weather where we are has been absolutely brutal for course conditions though. I really have to feel for the groundsmen with club opening day next Sunday. There's just been so much rain that they haven't been able to get much equipment out on the course. It dried up a bit today and the amount of mowing alone they must have got done was pretty nuts. Basically out from first light to last by the looks of things. The greens were looking close to ready, then a fair few had standing water on them for days straight. It's been a rank winter at times.

Haven't picked up a club since mid January owing to a side strain picked up at cricket winter nets, but feeling ok enough to get back out on the course tomorrow.

Going down to Felixstowe to play Felixstowe Ferry Golf Club for the first time (me and my brother purchased a round plus lunch for my grandfather for his 80th birthday for the three of us, it's his favourite course in the area!). Only real true links around Norfolk/Suffolk, very excited to get out and play it...albeit the forecast is certainly indicating we'll be getting the full challenging wind/rain experience!

https://www.felixstowegolf.co.uk/

My home club, have a good day. Enjoy the view on the 13th tee.

BlueCoverman wrote:My home club, have a good day. Enjoy the view on the 13th tee.

That's quite a home course to have! Wow - what a great round and course, had an absolute blast despite the links definitely getting the better of this golfer. Would highly recommend a trip to anybody, the golf and views are magnificent.

Thanks for your generous comments and I'm pleased to hear that you enjoyed your day. It is a great course and club, I live in Essex so its a bit of a drive up the A12 and along the A14 but its always worth the journey and a fantastic place to play. A new £4 million project to build a new clubhouse commences later this year which will further enhance the facilities and the attraction.

84 for me today, which I was over the moon with given my putting was utter toilet. Two missed tap ins from within 2 feet. One of them being the 3rd of a 4 putt. The other resulting in a three putt. No balls OOB or lost? Tick. Nothing over a double? Nope. Both triples coming from the failed tap in holes. Which is frustrating but my own fault. At least I know which club I need to practice with more!

I picked up Dan Grieve's short game book and it's been a terrific help with pitching in particular. Chipping was already the best part of my game, what I enjoy most, therefore practice most. Anything under a full PW but longer than a chip felt like guess work though. Grieve's system of using the setup of your feet to dictate how long your swing is has been great for distance control. I am so much more comfortable on the fuller wedge swings since putting in some dedicated practice with that system. On top of that, I can easily use the exact same setup with my short irons to flight it lower on windier days now. Whereas before there was a lot of, "hopefully this is the right number and doesn't just stop in the wind".

Monday and Wednesday's qualifying rounds were forgettable. 21 and 23 points. Total change in weather conditions today, all the ropes delineating where you can take trollies now removed and the fairways mowed to a decent height. Greens much faster. Result: 34 points with a nett 3 over handicap. Very enjoyable.

A fortnight of contrasts for me.

I shot a PB 80 last week. We got a few days of dry but windy weather, it dried out the course beautifully and the groundsmen got through a ton of work. Nice fluffy lies, greens rolling well, everything just fell together nicely. Lots of fairways and greens in reg. I was actually on course to break 80 with 2 left. I had two par threes to finish, 8 shots in hand to make 71. Bogey, bogey would've done it. I missed both greens though and hit a dismal lag putt on the 17th, ended up with a double there and bogey on 18. It was a cracking day out.

Then I shot a 94 yesterday. The wet weather had been back, I dealt awfully with the wind, put a fair few tee shots OOB, chunked a pathetic number of approach and chips with the soft ground, then topped it off by putting like a moron.

king_carlos wrote:A fortnight of contrasts for me.

I shot a PB 80 last week. We got a few days of dry but windy weather, it dried out the course beautifully and the groundsmen got through a ton of work. Nice fluffy lies, greens rolling well, everything just fell together nicely. Lots of fairways and greens in reg. I was actually on course to break 80 with 2 left. I had two par threes to finish, 8 shots in hand to make 71. Bogey, bogey would've done it. I missed both greens though and hit a dismal lag putt on the 17th, ended up with a double there and bogey on 18. It was a cracking day out.

Then I shot a 94 yesterday. The wet weather had been back, I dealt awfully with the wind, put a fair few tee shots OOB, chunked a pathetic number of approach and chips with the soft ground, then topped it off by putting like a moron.

Slings and arrows...

Good golf in the wind is an art form as well.
Doesn't matter how you are, or how well you're playing at one point, you never master it. Makes you want to try again, though....most of the time!

First comp for me this year is a Medal on the 20th, so have got some practice in over the last couple of weeks. Last week was pretty abysmal (and I felt it the day after), but today was a lot better - ball striking a lot more solid, and mostly going in about the right direction. Have to see whether that holds for next weekend...

First round of golf for me since September! I don’t do winter golf any more due to arthritis and my advancing years and it’s been so wet and windy in my corner of Fife it hasn’t been conducive to playing - course has been fully or partially shut for months, too. Anyway, without any practice at all, I managed to score a respectable 14 points over 9 holes and ended up 4th. I only played because we now have to submit 3 cards in order to be able to play in the following year’s competitions and I wanted to get a banker in. Handicap Index has gone up by 0.2 but I’m not that bothered as it doesn’t affect my course handicap on my course. It was my short game that let me down otherwise I might have scored even better. Let’s see how I do next time out!

First outing of the year for me last Saturday in the opening Medal at our place. Mixed bag in the end and too many shots frittered away due to lack of practice. Not too bad all things considered, though - ended up in the middle of the pack w/ 79, nett 76. Handicap up a bit more, but mine hasn't been realistic since the WHS came in!

Plus points: driving (shockingly!) was generally pretty good. Bunker shots very good, too. Weather was great, if a little chilly.
Negatives: radar with irons was way off at times, as was their ball striking. Putter never felt comfortable all day.