Redemption at Merrist!!!!!

Bonjour. Continued preparations have been all thats been happening really recently and things are beginning to come about. One day, It's great and i'm in control and the next things are very inconsistent (but nowhere near as much as last year!).

I played at Merrist Wood (where I went to college) on the thursday and shot a very comfortable 71 (-1) which is funny because in the whole two years I went there I never managed any better than 73. I think this is a very good sign of how my golf is shaping up plus it was nice to shoot under par for what I think is only the third time for me this year. This was the first real sign of the swing coming together and a demonstration of the golf I could play if on form which was great.
In the afternoon of the same day I went over to Clandon Regis for a practise round ahead of my playing test. The course was nowhere near as fiery as last year which was tricky to adjust to but also a very good sign for the test as it is much more playable in their current benign(er) conditions. I slumped to a 44 back 9 but shot 77. Two of those would see me through comfortably. I am very concerned about my putting however, as they have recently hollowtined the greens (punched holes in them to get air in which makes them very bumpy). My putting has suddenly taken a drastic turn for the worse and so I think that for the next two weeks I will make an attempt to spend at least an hour a day practising putting.

My swing is ok. I am struggling to stay down on my shots and with my driver this is causing a lot of misses to the right, which I dont need although fortunately most of them seem to be playable which is good. I know its a good focus of my swing but on some days I really struggle to get it right and my hands seem to have lost their ability to save me (which is also good as I have been working on eliminating the influence they have on my shots). If I can keep the ball in play off the tee at Clandon I will sail through (providing I keep my temporament together too - I am getting better at this).

Thats about all thats happened recently. I have played my first comp at Mid Sussex today but shot 76 and thus my handicap will go to 2.3. I take the positives though - two rounds of 76 would make it comfortably on May 11th.

Bye for now.......

It's up to me now........

Hello again. I've been to my final lesson before my test and am pleased to say it went very well and my mind has been put at ease. As it turns out, the swing key that has been working so well that I have been struggling with recently has 'done its job' and is now happening naturally so I dont need to focus on it anymore. This is great, as I can now swing freely because my focuses are elsewhere.

Basically, all I need to work on right now is maintaing my posture through my downswing to keep the club on the right path for me. This is a strange feeling which has produced some 'iffy' shots but when I get it right it feels great and the results are brilliant. Every single one of my clubs has a big mark right in the middle of the clubface, where I am striking it so well.

Perhaps the best outcome of this lesson is my now learned ability to hit a '9/11 emergency' shot. I mentioned in the lesson that there are a couple of holes at Clandon towards the end of the round in which you cannot go left! I asked for a drill/technique which could prevent me from hitting the ball left. It might go right, sure, but it certainly won't go left! I feel like have added a shot to my 'arsenal' which could prove crucial if I need something to depend on towards the end.
All these things have made me a lot more relaxed and I am looking forward to playing Clandon again next thursday and giving some of these things a try. I am also going back to Merrist Wood for a game with the college pro (my old coach) there and my old tutor. I am looking forward to this. It will be cool to get back there.

So, in conclusion I am feeling confident at this stage. One annoying and bizarre thing is that I keep having dreams about playing in the test and more importantly passing it! Its a nasty come down, however, to wake up excited only to realise it was all a dream and that the reality still lies ahead. I am relishing the chance to blitz this thing and have decided to set myself the goal of shooting under par for the day! This may seem a touch unrealistic (to some-not to me!), but if I am on my game then there is no reason why I can't do this as all facets of my game are really coming around. I feel I am a good enough golfer this year to handle the pressure of this and that all the knockbacks, heartache and misery of last years difficulties will make success taste that much sweeter this time. I've bloody well earned it and feel I deserve it. All my efforts are now going into making sure these last 3 weeks are not wasted.

The work continues.......

One month to go....... and the Open Mind Workshop

Hello again. Its exactly a month to go now to playing test and i'd like to say my preparations are going as well as i'd like but sadly they aren't quite. I've just gotten into a bit of confusion with my technique which many golfers would tell you makes the game very hard to play with any flow!
I'm not overly concerned at this stage - I have a lesson on Friday and have also had some very useful input from my boss which has helped. I have decided to write all thoughts on my swing down to ensure I come away from this lesson with a full understanding of what I should and shouldnt be doing. It's important as this will most likely be my last bit of tuition before ze big test.

All other areas are improving though, namely my short game and putting. I will be extremely interested to see how these hold up under the pressure as I have spend more time working on these than ever before and feel I have worked on some good stuff, particularly how various clubs perform in terms of carry and roll on the greens when chipping. I cant believe that for 10 years I had never focused on it and I have created a chart that when it's complete should give me not only the best idea of what shot to play but also which club is most suited to that shot (which should eliminate at least one variable).

In terms of the mental side of my golf, I attended the OpenMind Workshop at my workplace which is conducted by my boss Neil Plimmer and his colleague Steve Griffiths, a hypnotherapist/psychotherapist who is based in Hove (the guy who I visited last year who really helped me conquer my nerves). If anyone does stumble across the blog and is serious about their golf, please visit their website and maybe consider coming along as I can personally assure you, both guys are very passionate about this project and I have seen how much hard work has gone into the sessions.
To summarise what happened, this was only really an introductory session but it explored many important concepts such as 'The Zone of Awareness', Achieving Flow, Stress management, course management and many others.
The biggest things I personally took away from this were two-fold: One being that if I hit a bad shot, I must imagine a ring around me in which I can vent all my frustration as much as I like, but when I leave the ring, thats it and I must it behind me and focus on the next shot. The other was clearly an illlustration of how much pressure I put on myself. After I hit a tee shot, ask myself 'will I find it and can I play it?' Very often the answer is yes with me to both of these but I still tend to make it a negative because I focus on it maybe being a swing fault that has caused me to hit it somewhere different from my intended target.
One of the biggest things I have realised is that I set my sights too high and therefore find it very hard to find positives on the course. So, now I'm going to work on forgiving myself more and tryig to look at the positives of every shot I play because there always is one and if there isnt one, then I'll focus on next shot and make that the positive.

I dunno, food for thought I guess but well see what happens. Will write again soon....

Hello again.....

Its been a little while since my last entry. I will endeavour to update this weekly now so as to update my progress in my weeks leading upto my test.

Things have been going ok. The weather has improved slightly so I have been able to begin proper preparations. I have had 2 more lessons since my last post and I have a feeling my technique is set for a bit of an overhaul. It has caused a bit of a dilemma as I have now virtually eliminated all my previous swing faults (I know this from seeing it on camera). However, one quite serious problem has now arisen from the faults which needs working on quickly. I have 110% trust in the guy coaching me but I am almost being forced now to break completely out of my comfort zone and abandon all the swing-thoughts that have given me such good play in recent months.
Its very positive that I have eliminated previous faults and I guess everything now is in an attempt to improve my technique and not correct flaws.

I played 36 holes twice last week and am pleased to say that both scores would have passed the test by 9 shots! Thats quite reassuring altho I know it'll be different on the day itself.

Thats about all I have to report right now. The preparations continue and each day is counting down to my test......