Yeah, more than easy it's to be expected. Unless you are booking out a 4 ball time for a group obv. I have been doing this quite a few times now just myself and also a Week with my brother in law and we were nearly always paired up into a full 4 ball. sometimes you are joining a 3 ball sometimes a pair and another random. Language can sometimes be a problem but they get used to the swearing after a while   Seriously though even when they haven't got much English which is rare I have enjoyed all the company of people I've met. Its generally a lot of retired couples predominantly from Northern Europe and met some really interesting people and often stopped after the round for a few beers together.

Good to see you're back at it Kev and Tony is still a bandit..

Tiny trip report for anyone wanting to golf on holiday. Went to Gran Canaria for a fortnight. Stayed at a Lopesan hotel and played their 3 courses. Never been there before and although I booked a lot of golf wasn't expecting great things.

I've Played in Portugal, Spain and Tenerife lately and prices were more than Spain which I found great value in June but less than the the courses I played in Tenerife (which were probably the poorer ones on the island) and way behind Portugal.

These 3 courses were in fantastic condition. Yes they could do a better job making it a better experience, 8 minute gaps between 4 balls of retired couples makes for a slow round but hey your on holiday and a beer cart turns up. 3 different courses

Maspolamas everyone will love, totally flat has its traps but as a par 73 if you are going to get one this is it (here we go chirp - 79  ) .


Anfi Tauro is some kind of Disneyland of golf. feels like you are playing in the red rock desert, have a google quite nuts. Not sure if I love it or hate it, played with a couple of English guys and after 5 holes I think I was now called Rocky as that was all I hit . Second time we finished in near darkness and about 12 beers deep...

Meloneras, Standard first 9 like a lot of holiday courses but decently challenging lot more up and down and shape of holes. Then you hit the back 9 playing along the side of a cliff looking down on local ports hitting over huge drops into oblivion (if you can't hit it 150 then do what my partners didn't every time and move up a tee ffs).

All stunnning courses and the greens are as good as I have played on. Hardly used a pitch mark repairer, they were incredible. I've found a lot on holiday are really sandy and your ball makes a big hole but these took a ball, didn't run out like a links. Guys working like hell on every course and all the kit they were driving look out the box these are looked after so well, Seemingly Mr Lopesan loves golf.

Think I'll be back but think 12 games in a fortnight was maybe a couple too many, not that Mrs E ever showed signs of missing me

Sorry for the long post but these days the most fun I have is getting in a golf cart in a pair of ridiculous pair of shorts.

Thanks for posting that.

I was blissfully unaware of how the system has been so underfunded which is surprising as my wife is an NHS budget holder. I read the secret barristers book a couple of years ago and one of the things that jumped out was how the advice will be go to trial. Reason being that the system is so broken there's a good chance the prosecutor might not turn up given the mess of legal aid etc.

That looks cracking Boo! Nice job.

If I was to bring the clubs to Nottingham next week, would anyone fancy a round on Sunday morning? Happy to go out early, as planning on making day 2 at 3pm!

I don't play golf at weekends, only Monday to Friday. Weekends are poker. 

Life remains challenging.

It does sound it! I can’t really comment either. Have to try organise something soon?

I’ve just booked 3 days in Scotland for next June

Trump old
Trump new course
Royal Aberdeen
Cruden bay

Could be some trip !

Please tell me you have got a good deal somehow. That must be at least £1500. Could do about 3 weeks of good golf in that region for that amount

Nice going Ralph crazy how it goes from bad to good or vice versa.

Had a similar feeling this week played a bounce game on Thursday at Alloa and needed a par on the last for a 75 would have been my best score there by 2. Obviously blew the tee shot into no mans land and made a 6 (triple bogey) for a 78. Drove it great all day and somehow managed my big leak on the longer irons which is a turning it over to the left well to keep it on line. Chuffed with the round but that 18th is beginning to annoy me, an incredibly tough par 3.

So was looking forward to stableford on Saturday. Needed to play early so was out at 8am with a couple of guys I hadn't played with before and both were quite a bit lower handicaps to me. For some reason felt nervous on the tee as if I had something to prove, I dunno. Anyway sprayed it all over the place off the tee scrambled ok and played some decent short stuff but quite a few really bad ones for an 89. Still made 30 points as there was a few big numbers on that card .

Played a 3 man scramble today at Pitreavie just next to my old workplace at Sky in Dunfermline. Strangely had never played there before we had a couple of works outings back in the day but they were at another local course. Started off well birdieing the first 2 which were par 5's and turned 4 under. Back 9 it went cold and we came in at 3 under with 7 strokes a net 61 and at least 6 off the lead when we left with a lot to come in. Course was really good maybe a bit too many blind tee shots for my liking but the greens were great. So many tiered greens it was no surprise that it was designed by the same guy who did Augusta (Alister MacKenzie). Again another gem up here if people are looking for a trip and don't want to pay ridiculous fees for a game.

Crikey, hope your healing well Kev.

Steady stuff Ralph. Just did a flyover of Wollaton, looks lovely, I really like when the tree lined holes have the grass cut short it gives me a chance of doing something stupid when i find them . Reminds me a bit of Ladybank up here great course maybe about half an hour from St Andrews and if anyone is doing a trip that way its a must imo (not cheap prob about £100 but compared to the prices of the surrounding popular destinations a snip).

What was the strategy of the tee today Tom did we go with the tailed back drive, how did it go?

We played a 4 man scramble at Muckhart, which is just on the south side of the Ochil hills from Gleneagles. Keep forgetting to get some photos some cracking views. We played ok started with a birdie but couldn't get enough good looks but was a really windy day. Don't recall hitting so many 4 irons into par 4's for a while. We had a couple of guys that don't hit it long and we obv had to get our required drives in but I'm sure a couple of them were of some of my tee shots. Finished one under gross for a net 60 and mid table anonymity, lots of 59/60's.

Now here comes the rub. We were off 10 shots I think I'd get 10 couple of guys who would be about 14/15 and one guy about 22/23. As you know 4 man scrambles are generally 25/20/15/10% of the handicaps as they go up. The team that win got 17 shots now I'm sure the limit was 28. I haven't done all the permutations but they would have to average about 24+ and if they had a low handicapper he only gets 6 drives at most. They must have had the round of their life in that wind to come in with a net 55. Yes its only one over gross but Someone must have chipped or putted like a god 

Looks like you are generally hitting a baby fade their Tom which is nice. Would suggest your swinging it slightly from out to in across the plane but nothing crazy (obv a guess as I'm only looking at your trackman pics). The misses to the left your launch direction is negative (left) so with a slight out to in shape thats gonna result in a pull. Your big block to the right the face is wide open to the right. The majority look great you want it +/- 2 degrees ideally.

Again total guesses but for me when the driver goes off I am rushing it from the downswing and not hitting through the ball properly. My thought is effectively I am trying to throw the driver through the line (that make sense? If you were to actually try to throw it you would kinda whip your hands at release?). If that was a set of drives in a round you would be fine no-one stripes the fairway every hole.

Your launch angle is a bit low which would suggest you are hitting down on the driver which may be due to having too far back in your stance? again just a guess.

I am very similar Tom always tinkering, I watch a lot of golf and regularly get myself into bother when I notice something that I feel I'm not doing and try to change stuff. The set up stuff is incredibly familiar to me and I suspect the majority of us. Can't tell how many times after a poor drive I or a partner will say that didn't feel right from the start and I should have stood away. Hard skill to master but would be a good one.

Kev the driving and irons will improve with perseverance and yeah get a session with your club pro. I had a couple with our young assistant which if nothing else was great to clear my head of a lot of nonsense and focus on a few simple things. The putting thing - I would just make sure you are taking practice swings on each put but not just a waft with the putter actually swing it as you would do for the shot you are facing.

Ladies and gentlemen I have done it. I started out this year about 12 and went up to nearly 14 on WHS. Played a lot and truly wasn't inspiring but was getting a bit better, driving got better and I now am under double figures for the first time ever.

Sorry if this seems like I am always chirping but it has been coincident with my best run at golf and i'm playing so much more, probably about 3 times a week now when before when it was maybe once or twice a week.

Anyways i did it, Chuffed to fuck.





Should get someone to video my swing and Tom can take it apart like he did with my fry up....

Tom, couple of questions on your driving.

What's your normal shot shape and what are your bad misses and do they tend to come at the same holes? How many 'bad' drives do you hit a round ( bad = OOB or lost?).

I understand the logic of wanting to get it into play more but I see guys who are trying to manage the ball of the tee still hit it way of line too and now they are 40/50 yards further away too. Length is a massive advantage, I had been driving really bad the beginning of the year and like you the wild drives were costing me loads. I just really worked on the dispersion and what was causing the bad ones. I hit a draw (or try to ) and worked on getting my swing more on a better plane as I was obviously swinging too far off plane from in to out. My misses would be a massive block to the right when I've left the face too open or a big duck hook when I've overdone the in to out. I worked on getting my right elbow tighter to get the club going more up than around and my dispersion is far better. There are plenty misses still but a lot of the bad swings are still well in play. That is me though and not advice obv

Was going to ask Kev the same earlier but didn't have the bottle of wine in me that makes me post. Kev, what's your leak? That was a decent card apart from the holes that always kill us. Lots of bogeys which I'm sure will turn into pars as you keep playing as some must be down to chipping/putting. That will improve if you play more but what's the main cause of the 7/8's that kill a card?

Golf is tough in the rain isn't it. Have found myself playing in it a lot more recently as I try to play more medals and opens. Was chuffed to find a replacement screw for my trolley umbrella holder online. Got it delivered overnight as was due to play the following day. My mate picked me up then tells me "Oh I found one of them yesterday"

Bailed early from work on Tuesday to make the club medal. Check out this nonsense of a card, definitely a tale of two nines! Somehow got me cut 0.2.

Click to see full-size image.

Had the 3 man scramble senior open at Tulliallan this afternoon. Managed to get round fairly dry having to just take shelter a couple of times under some pretty heavy stuff but they passed fairly quickly. We managed a gross 67 (-2) for a net 59. Went ok apart from a couple of avoidable bogeys which always feel like a nail to the heart in a scramble. We knew 58 was leading when we went out last but thought as usually happens someone will come in with something lower but turns out we were 2nd due to a better back 9 from about another 4 teams at 59. Was a forgiving format, 4 drives from each and one must be a par 3. Worked out well as I started hitting it off the tee well and could use a lot of them. Got a bit interesting on 3rd par 3 the player needing a tee shot made a mess of it and I stiffed it so it left him having to be the only player teeing off on the final one. It took him a bit to realise why I was smirking as the last 3 is a beast uphill. Needless to say he pulled it left and we had a really tough shot over a bunker with no green and a big slope away from hole. thankfully our 3rd man pulled of a beauty and we got away with a 3. Birdie on the last was a nice way to finish but we headed of fairly certain we would be well off but looks like some vouchers will be heading our way which is nice. Can maybe use them to replace my golf shoes as i blew one of the eyelets on a pair of Footjoy's which can't be more than 3 months old, kinda hoping they will replace them but we'll see.

Not played much other than a couple of scrambles, they always start out as this is great fun but by about 14 you know you probably need to birdie all the rest and it gets frustrating as someone's in with net 54 .

Played a greensome today, easily my least favourite format. Drove the ball well which was good as I had the ignomy of needing one from the last two off our last scramble. So it felt like a drive chip and put round for a lot of it. hardly hit an approach shot which was unfortunate as my partner can hit a long drive but it wasn't working today. Was going ok till 15 I caught a bunker so had a 6 iron over trees, came out really hot and was happy to see it hit the tip of a tall pine, thought that's ok as that may well be too big, think it was 180 to back but it shot out of there. Wandered up couldn't find the ball, it must have ricocheted into oblivion so had to send my partner back up the fairway and he didn't get it to the trees - 8 game over

Got another scramble on Thursday but hope to get a few more games on my own ball, just played one early bounce game this week and got an 81. Think these scrambles are fun but beginning to think sometimes you try to push it and think your Seve when in reality your a diddy and you somehow manage to do that shot about one in 20.

Anyway looks like the weather is closing in and we will soon be into winter golf. Never been one to play in all the depths of winter but have got a couple of weeks in the Canaries to look forward to, expect to play most days. We found a local gym that has a trackman room and enjoyed that last year. One of my mates was so taken he was pricing up how much it would cost to build his own one but when we ask him to come out and play on an actual golf course he wasn't really interested.... as Jim says people are strange.

Yeah a sorry sight, my sister worked there for a bit for Capita before Covid now they all work from home.

I used to work near there, eck.  Near the end of my journey I had this view

https://www.google.com/maps/@56.1152516,-3.9670495,3a,19.6y,310.53h,91.18t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sV7ov9YJF9zzh9wCfOKMXiQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-1.1818120638894527%26panoid%3DV7ov9YJF9zzh9wCfOKMXiQ%26yaw%3D310.52977671547035!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDgxOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D


which oddly was always reminding me of this view


 https://www.google.com/maps/@36.3253141,-115.3380404,3a,71y,45.24h,99.93t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sqZ5Jb8OQfOHctfaB0jetnw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-9.927395415944972%26panoid%3DqZ5Jb8OQfOHctfaB0jetnw%26yaw%3D45.24049965071108!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDgyNC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D


Sorry about the mad links, but they do work!

Ha! my first wife used to stay in the houses just before where you are in the link. Was quite handy as she worked at Craigforth for Scottish Amicable which you would pass on your left further up the road.