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.......