Feels
I have had a very positive week despite playing in and losing the first round of the Winter League 3/2.
Drawn against a scratch player and his 6 handicap partner was a great experience and provided me with a lens in which I can reflect!
Play And Reflections
Playing with a scratch golfer for the first time in a long time was interesting. I know it is only one round and a small sample size but I was interested to see how ‘proximity’ was into the flags/greens, pre shot routines, putting and short game style and qualities, length off the tee etc! I wasn’t disappointed!
Length was a little further than mine but not by too much, however, the consistency and average length was much further. I had 2 poor drives, both a tad heely and fading to the right at 229y and 231y. My best drive was 259y which was all carry, given the nature of the surface following the storm. He drove it in between an estimated 250y and 270y and also had a very reliable 2nd tee club that was around 230y and accurate. My average driving over the round was 241y. This is an area I can focus on over the winter months. A return to max swings and tracking my speed on a PRGR.
He finished with 5 birdies and 4 of those came after shots into the green that left around 8-15ft. One of them was a longer putt of around 20ft. I was impressed with full iron shots but 2 of the birdies came from short wedge shots on par 5’s. They were straight down the flag and great for length both times. He hit one ‘poor’ shot all round that clipped a tree and dropped down, misjudged it as a guess and cost him a bogey.
His style of play and qualities were in hitting shots that covered the yardage, even when the line wasn’t ideal, the ball often finished pin high or beyond. I’d describe it as solid rather than spectacular (a couple were very impressive!). Every shot was a fade!
2 things occurred to me following the round. The first being that playing with good players could be a big part of my development and doing it more can only be helpful! Secondly, every part of my game can obviously be improved and tightened up but my short game really needs some practice time and attention. I not the type of golfer that is wild off the tee or losing several shots per round in penalty strokes so spending time on some solid short game shots including a specific ‘go to’ shot then maybe work on a higher one and bump and run can definitely shave some strokes off for me.
As for my game, I finished with 8 pars and 5 bogies then I didn’t compete 3 holes where my partner had pars or I could only equal. Generally, solid but missing my birdie putt opportunities and bogies coming from 0 up and downs when greens were missed, left me a tad disappointed overall!
What’s next?
I have another match against 2 more excellent golfers, another scratch and a 1hc, on Sunday! I’m going to practice my short game and do a Stack putting practice on Thursday and Friday, details in next week’s blog!
Reflective questions
Has playing with better players impacted your own game?
Do you compare yourself to others or to your best?
How do you practice your short game?
Do you rely on a go-to short in your short game?
excellent blog - really good insight into how important 2 things are. 1) Short game - it’s my biggest weakness at the moment. something that is getting a lot of practice in the off season. 2) playing with better players - as you say, you can learn so much. i take every opportunity to play with better players.
keep up the great content
Always looks sunny at Durham GC!
I love playing with good players. I feel no pressure whatsoever to compare myself to them. I love soaking up the energy from their craft and experiencing how effortless they can make it seem. Whereas I feel like I’m clinging on by my fingertips the whole round!