Things are improving...

...95 in the first qualifying round of the club championship, with a third placed finish. It would have been 1st had I not played the wrong ball on the 14th for a two-stroke penalty. Vexing, but it's the type of mistake you make once. We'd been off searching for one of my playing partner's ball, we had a very impatient group behind us (they'd been a bit naughty, they'd squeezed in between times) I rushed up to where I thought my ball was (it was actually about 5 yards away, I hadn't realised group behind had played so hit one of their balls. Heart sank as I realised what I'd done, but thankfully when I went back, I just slid into that trance-like state and when I came too I'd hit an absolute screamer onto the green and got down in two.

Scorecard and details can be found here

I'm encouraged by this round, for a number of reasons. I had no idea what I'd shot, but was aware it was pretty good, and managed to bring myself back to the present after I'd started to wander off into the future. I don't remember bits of the round as I seem to have drifted off into a wee trance at points. This seems to be seen as a pretty good thing, provided the intentions sit well with your core values; think that this is the case for me.

It was a howling gale for the front 9, and I started quite well on the first hole. On the second, I was on the edge of the green in 3 (not bad into a very strong wind on the 2nd hardest hole) but proceeded to 4-putt. One of my playing partners helpfully pointed out it was a poor hole, but managed not to let it get to me. I struggled with my swing at first, but then slowed it down, concentrating on playing and swinging smoothly and that really helped. After a couple of slightly disappointing course management decisions I made the decision to just try to get the ball to a point just beyond where a good shot from the previous shot would have landed (I'm reading Dave Pelz' damage control, which I'll post my thoughts on later, but apparently if you do that you lose less than a stroke a hole on average). I managed yet another chip-in with my hybrid putt-chip on the 8th (I actually thought it was for an eagle when I hit it, so I'm really pleased I got it thinking that.

I'm pleased with my back 9..2 doubles, the rest bogeys if you discount the two stroke penalty on the 14th. I brought it home, kept it steady and didn't let the silly penalty get to me. Without it, it would've been my first win, and a 93. That's great, as I could easily play that round four strokes better without major work. My stretching has also paid off as I've never been so relaxed and comfy finishing 18.

More and more I feel that I've got the game to break 90 without having to go through significant work on my swing. It's more a case of making more of my swings good swings, making my poor swings better and making better decisions when I'm in trouble. Crucially, I need to make more putts, and get the ball up & down more often. The goal has to be 3 shots at most from 100 yards and in. I'm going to try more bump & runs (might use the hybrid for that too) as that's classically the answer for links golf.

My Putter's been a bit of a struggle getting it to sit right and knowing it's square; my playing partner (the one who helpfully pointed out that 4 putting wasn't very good ;-) made some comment about it not sitting flat. It's got a curved bottom, and is meant to sit square on that; I showed him and he mumbled something about modern equipment- his putter cost 50 shillings, the second one he's ever owned- and clearly suits him. There's a lesson there. My putter (an Odyssey 2-ball SRT) is a good putter, but doesn't totally fit my eye. I was out getting Miss Geek a putter & 7iron from US kids, and she insisted I try a putter on the shop's green. I picked up a 2nd hand "Heavy Putter" the L-3 Medium Weight with a 34 inch shaft, and it just fit. A colleague, teasing me, likened it to Harry Potter with his wand. I laughed, but actually it's not that far off. After sleeping on it for a couple of days, I bought it today. It sits square with no effort, I've always like the half-mallet design, the alignment aides are excellent and suit me, it puts my hands in an excellent position and the weighting in the head and butt of the shaft not only stop me taking it back too far and stop deceleration but also seem to help me weighting long putts appropriately. In short, it's great. A good purchase!

Another thing that was good about this round is that it's thee first time I've encountered a negative playing partner- the one I've alluded to above. He had comments on everything from my putting to my trolley! It amused me rather than upset me, and I just played my game and ignored his tips or at least the ones I didn't agree with. I don't think either of us will seek the other out to play together, but equally neither of us will mind if we get paired together again. Another rite of passage into the golfing world negotiated!

Unfortunately I'm on call this weekend, so if Saturday's the 2nd qualifying round for the club championship I won't be progressing, but good to get up the leaderboard. My handicap's down to 26.4; I feel like I'm starting to get on my way. This seems to be helping, so more blogging to follow