The blonde Golf thread

[tikay]

Well done Kev.

I had my best round of the year today too.

These are ideal conditions for scramblers like me if my ball-striking is anything like it should/used to be.

With 82 scores entered and 21 remaining I am the leader in the clubhouse for the Thursday stabbo..

tbc

Wiiii, hope you hold on Ralph.

[Karabiner]

There's always one isn't there. I'm now 2/101 with 2 scores yet to be entered.

We played the competition from the white tees and despite hitting three poor chips from just short of the greens on 5,6, and 7 to make bogey on each of them I still managed to play the front nine in 42(+6) for 20 stabbos as I get 15 shots, so as long as I can avoid double bogeys I feel like I'm always going to be competitive. Played better on the back nine getting up and down a few times and was in decent shape until I had my Ryan Fox moment on the longish par3 17th. I pulled my 5wood into the left greenside bunker and it ended up about a foot from the left-hand edge in a footprint(grrr). I had to play out backwards and failed to get up and down despite going very close with my putt for my one and only double-bogey of the day. Made a par4 at the last to come back in 40 for another 20 stabbos making 40 total and shooting a season's best 82 off the whites. The guy who pipped me must have had a good back nine as he got 40 points too off a similar handicap.

Not really that far off shooting my age for the first time since I deffo left a few out there today. Encouraging.

[doubleup]

good effort Ralph!

[tikay]

There's always one isn't there. I'm now 2/101 with 2 scores yet to be entered.

We played the competition from the white tees and despite hitting three poor chips from just short of the greens on 5,6, and 7 to make bogey on each of them I still managed to play the front nine in 42(+6) for 20 stabbos as I get 15 shots, so as long as I can avoid double bogeys I feel like I'm always going to be competitive. Played better on the back nine getting up and down a few times and was in decent shape until I had my Ryan Fox moment on the longish par3 17th. I pulled my 5wood into the left greenside bunker and it ended up about a foot from the left-hand edge in a footprint(grrr). I had to play out backwards and failed to get up and down despite going very close with my putt for my one and only double-bogey of the day. Made a par4 at the last to come back in 40 for another 20 stabbos making 40 total and shooting a season's best 82 off the whites. The guy who pipped me must have had a good back nine as he got 40 points too off a similar handicap.

Not really that far off shooting my age for the first time since I deffo left a few out there today. Encouraging.

Awesome! Well done Ralph.

[RED-DOG]

Amazing Ralph.

You're like fine wine, the older you are the more chance of you getting drunk.

[Kev B]

Excellent Ralph 👏👏

[Karabiner]

Thanks guys.

It just goes to prove that if you play crap enough for long enough you eventually become competitive via the WHS handicap system.

[doubleup]

So while flicking between racing and the ladies golf, I heard on the latter that Scotland has more than 550 golf courses. I then decided with the aid of Mr Google's excellent map and my not so excellent memory to list how many I'd played.

The answer I came up with is 90. The most northerly being Boat of Garten and the most southerly, Brighouse Bay.

So, I thought, can I make 100 by the end of this season. Most of the seniors competitions I have booked are on courses I have already played, with only one new and other stuff booked. Also my handicap is above 24 which knocks out a few competitions. So it might be a struggle, that, at the extreme, could involve Portpatrick in mid-October.  insert freezing cold emoji

I'll see where I stand at the end of August and plan things for the end of the year.

edit in my enthusiasm for my quest I just booked the Callander Seniors in August - a 2pm tee-off. Without thinking about the midge hell that part of the world can be in the late afternoon....

[doubleup]

Slight update. Overnight enquiries about the courses played on a regular mid-September golf weekend (now sadly abandoned due to deaths and decrepitude of some members) has produced three more courses, bringing my total to 93, so 100 by the end of the year should be doable.

[RED-DOG]

Click to see full-size image.

 

[Eck]

Nice going guys, everyone still trending by the look of it, well almost everyone....Tony?

Well done on the result Ralph I see you record your putts so talk me through the par save on the 10th please

Another good weekend for me, won division 1 on Saturday with an 80. Lot more difficult conditions to last weekend with some very strong winds and a shot less after getting cut to 8.8. We then played a scramble at Linlithgow on the Sunday. Never played it before and really enjoyed it, didn't trouble the scorers much but we got it round in 4 under without a bogey but probably about 8 back from 1st place. Lovely course in a beautiful setting, views only slightly marred when you pan round to see the industrial wasteland that is Grangemouth .

Repeated last Mondays 74 off the yellows with another, was 2 over going down 17 in perfect position in the fairway but my lay up was my usual miss big hook (its a 4 off the yellows and a 5 off the whites with a burn in front of the green feels like a bit unfair for a 4). Anyway a 6 there and a bogey up the last was a bit disappointing but if you asked me a few weeks ago if I thought I'd have a couple of 74's in the next 2 weeks I'd have snapped your hand off! Driver is working really well and hit one of my best to run out of fairway on the 16th https://www.alloagolfclub.co.uk/the-course/course-tour/hole-16/ (must have been burnt out when they did these videos). Was a slightly helping wind but i've hit good ones before in stronger winds and got nowhere near that and was nice to take advantage and get a birdie before the tough finish.

Weather is a bit iffy up here this week but hopefully get out tomorrow night and will try to play our senior open if we can convince the pro to let us in on an early tee time on Thursday. Not playing Saturday as off to the Commonwealth games with my daughter to watch the Athletics. Sunday off to Pitreavie in Dunfermline, designed by McKenzie who did Augusta for an individual open. Played it last year for 1st time as a scramble and the greens were a lot of fun as you would imagine lots of 2 and 3 tiers.

Anyway lads keep it going looks like most of us are getting there. Dave if Alloa isn't on your list would be happy to host you and anyone that wants to come along.

[doubleup]

good scoring tom! 

I had a look at your seniors on thursday, eck, but it seems to be 24 hcp limit.  Hopefully I can get back down to the low twenties by the end of the season and be able to enter most of the seniors next year.

[Karabiner]

good scoring tom! 

I had a look at your seniors on thursday, eck, but it seems to be 24 hcp limit.  Hopefully I can get back down to the low twenties by the end of the season and be able to enter most of the seniors next year.

You can still enter them Dave but you'll have to play off 24.

[Karabiner]

Well played Tom. I'm sure that won you the money!

[Eck]

Wasn't thinking that one Dave, if I go out it will be a 7am start. If you fancy a game to tick it of your list I am certain you will appreciate the course and I would happily get you on, don't think i've used a concession in a couple of years they should be paying us

 I've now played quite a few opens around here and I get a better appreciation of ours, I think its a lovely track, each hole asks a question. I marvel at all these smaller clubs I go to where they have squeezed 18 holes into what used to be a hillside or farmland and then you get some shot where your going WTF

Braid was a genius. Alloa's not like that, nothing quirky but each hole asks a question . Its in a place that used to be a Centre of wealth about 100 years ago or so they built a really good golf course, pity the town itself has been now branded the most depressing place in Scotland by the Daily Record