Horrible QC start

Although I have been playing rather well the last couple of weeks, the last qualifying competition I played (last weekend) did not go well.

I started with a double bogey on the 1st followed by another double bogey on 2 and 3. Well to honest, I played double bogeys till I reached the 6th hole I even made a 9 on the par 5 7th. And then on the 8th hole, I felt like I found my swing back.

The hole morning I had been struggling and all of a sudden, it all came back. I happened to play my buffer which was already more than ok seen the disaster on the first 7 holes.

I don't know why this happened. Was it due to the early flight ? the drinks I had the night before ? Lack of concentration on the first holes ?

If anyone can explain, please let me know ;-)

Putting

I've been practising a bit with my new putter over the last few days. And yes, it pays off to spend some time on the putting green. At least it did yesterday.

I went out to play a couple of holes with some colleagues at Royal Antwerp and my putting was more than ok.

No three putts, some very good long putts and no missed short putts. In all, some very decent putting.

Lets hope this continues in the coming weeks when I will play a couple of qualifing competitions ;-)

New putter

I have been talking about it for months, maybe even a year. But last week, I actually did it. I threw away my old putter and have bought myself a new fancy putter.

I've been playing with a putter I bought almost 3 years ago at Decathlon. And I've always liked the putter. But lately I had the feeling I was in need of a change. I felt like I needed a new putter that had some additional weight that would keep my stroke on the right plane.

With the help from my favourite pro, I have been testing a number of putters and finally choose one of those fancy 2 ball putters from Odyssey.

It feels like I found my swing back

After struggling with my swing for the last couple of months, I feel like I have found my swing back.

Today on the driving range and the pitching area, I have the feeling again that my swing is actually back on track. Almost every ball I hit (and I guess I hit some 70 to 80 balls on the driving range) was perfect. Or what a 30 handicapper can call perfect.

On the pitching area, I had the same feeling. Almost every ball I hit was on the green within a meter or 3 of the flag.

I hope to be able to go to the practice in the next couple of days to get the confirmation I'm finally back on the right track.

Swing changes

When I'm on the driving range, I often stop practising just to have a look at the other people on the driving range. And like any other golfer, I look at how they swing.

And when you're not feeling that comfortable with your own swing at that moment, you start wondering if you should change.

At least, that is what happens with me.

And when you start changing things in your swing, just because it seems to be working for other people, you end up with ... Well actually you end up in trouble because there is no more balance in your swing.

So instead of just changing or taking over elements from other people, I'm gonna take up a few lessons to get my game into shape again.

So Stephane, here I come ...

First (non qualifying) competition of the year

Last Thursday I finally found the time (and courage) to actually play my first competition of the year. Ok, I admit it was non qualifying, but nevertheless, it was a competition.

On receiving my scorecard, I was surprised seeing I only had a playing hcp of 28 while my official hcp is 31. And I do not feel the course I was going to play was/is that easy.

Luckily for me, my fellow competitors were very pleasant company and I really enjoyed this round of golf. Unfortunately, the weather gods were not with us on Thursday evening. The last two holes raining was pouring down and made we kind of rushed to be in the clubhouse as soon as possible.

I played my handicap (totaled 18 points on the 9 holes we played) and I was rather pleased with the way I played (except for the last hole).

After this first non qualifying competition, it seems I'm up for a real challenge, so in the next days, I'll subscribe for my first qualifying competition of the year.

Sometimes I wonder why I like golf

I guess some of you may recognise this.

You go to the driving range and every ball you hit is a beauty. You tell yourself that you finally got the hang of it and you're of to the first tee.

And that's when things start to go wrong. The first ball goes way left (of course out of bounds) and as usual the second ball is nice on the fairway. No problem you say to yourself, just a pitch and a put and I saved it (again). Except that you seem to have forgotten the water just in front of that first green.

On those moments, I tend to ask myself why I like this game so much.

But tomorrow I'll be back on that same driving range and of to that first green. And then I will hit that first drive right in the middle of the fairway ...

Alle begin is moeilijk

Het goed weer begint en ja hoor, het begint weer gigantisch te kriebelen. Ik moet en zal die golfclubs terug van onder het stof halen en de golfbanen onveilig gaan maken.

Het nieuwe seizoen is ondertussen alweer even bezig, maar ik heb tot mijn grote spijt nog maar heel sporadisch de baan gezien. En die keren dat ik op een golfbaan terug te vinden was, speelde ik een spel dat van heel ver leek op golf. De konijnen, hazen, eenden en fazanten zochten dekking van zodra ze mijn auto op de parking zagen :-)

Gelukkig begint het sinds afgelopen weekend weer enigszins op golf te lijken. Niet dat ik op dit moment mijn handicap speel, maar het komt alvast in de buurt.

Ik heb mij voorgenomen om de komende weken te proberen om 2 keer per week te gaan practicen en minimaal één keer per week 9 en hopelijk 18 holes te spelen. Kwestie van het niveau wat op te krikken alvorens ik een qualifying wedstrijd durf mee te spelen.