Last weekend Captain Terry and I took on 2 more daring opponents in the form of Bob Dench & Nick Gray, a match that could prove to be a banana skin as they know every inch of the course like the back of their hand… especially the rough!
Terry and I came out the traps flying, Terry rolled in a monster put on the 3rd for a 5 nett 4 putting a whole lot more pressure on Nick's 3 footer for the halve…the pressure was too much for Nick as he missed it.
Terry and I just kept going through the gears and applying the pressure until we found ourselves 4 up through 10 holes; surely it wouldn't be long before we closed out the match? Bob & Nick had different ideas as they rallied all their skills to reduce the deficit to just 1 down with 3 holes to play, was my 3 year undefeated record about to come to an end?
We managed to find another gear to close the match out on the 17th for a 3 & 1 victory and the undefeated record was still intact. With this fourball, there was no surprise that the game was played in a jovial spirit with lots of friendly ribbing thrown in.
How to Play the 3rd Hole
The 3rd hole, albeit a fantastic opportunity to make a birdie, can be a card wrecker with long rough lining either side of the fairway, numerous strategically placed bunkers and an undulating tricky green.
A vast majority of golfers hit driver from the tee which brings the fairway bunkers into play and trying to hit the ball to a gap 20 yards wide from 250 yards away, the narrowest part of the fairway, can be a tough ask. Instead, why not hit a club that will finish short of the bunkers and also into a wide part of the fairway, a club that will go 200 yards is perfect.
Now we are safely in the short stuff while you're playing partners are shaking hands with Tarzan in the jungle off the fairway. You have 2 options for your next shot. You can hit a club that will go 160 yards and lay up short of the next fairway bunker which should leave approximately 150 yards to the centre of the green. Alternatively you can hit a club that will go 190 yards and get past that bunker leaving you once again in a wide part of the fairway and just a flick onto the green. The choice is yours…
Pros Tip… my selection of club would very much depend on the way I'd played the opening 2 holes for example if my swing, strike, direction was slightly off I would most definitely play the safe route and lay up. It's much easier to keep a shorter club in play and during any round my goal is always to gain momentum and to get control of my game. I never force a birdie or a par. Alternatively if I'm playing nicely through the early holes then I take a much more aggressive approach and aim to set up a birdie.
You're 75% of the way to a safe par all you need to do now is hit the green which is tougher than it sounds because you could be hitting any 1 of 3 clubs depending where the flag is situated. With a very undulating green picking out the correct distance is going to be pivotal which is why knowing your yardages is important.
With the GC2 Launch Monitor on site it's very quick and easy to find out your exact distances, removing all doubt when you're standing over your shots. If you are interested in finding out pop into the Pro-Shop and we can book you in for a slot.
Monthly Medal & Burden Trophy
On Saturday we had the Monthly Medal & Burden Trophy with 121 members all trying to take the title away from 2015 winner Peter Hynes on a day where scoring conditions were very tough.
Winning Division 1 was Ian Burrows with a fantastic score of nett 68, gross 74 a score which was looking like a winner for a very long time, that is until late starter Steve Lane came in with a nett 67 to snatch victory right at the death.
Well Done Steve!
