Peaksy68

Congrats @GolfSpy_APH, hope you’ve got large feet

Thanks for all your efforts over the years Rob. I’ve enjoyed reading about your club hoing, sorry, quest for better equipment for a long time, even prior to your moderator role. Enjoy the challenge of your expanding day job, different stresses and hopefully you will get to play more often. As has been previously noted, big shoes to fill, and that’s not related to your stature! Hopefully I’ll get to tee it up with you one day

I think everyone else would chip in for new golf attire for me just so they won’t have to see the hat, win win for me

I was interested in making the big trip (travel restrictions notwithstanding) but I don’t think it’s advisable for the hat and me to be in the same location

My personal bugbear is showing players walking, or showing lots of big names when they aren’t in contention. It bewilders me when you don’t see a single shot from a player 3 off the lead, and the big name 10 off the pace is shown repeatedly. Too many putts, not enough average shots or lowlights, show it when someone hosels it.

Snap lockdown so no golf for me. Decided to cook up a storm. Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Prosciutto Crumbs Duck Breast with Beetroot and Duck fat Potatoes and Baked Stuffed Mushrooms Went a treat with a stunning Pinot Noir from one of Australia’s best producers, Bindi Dixon Pinot Noir 2016

I might have to look at that for myself, got TFCC damage (among other wrist problems) that annoy me to varying levels most of the time

I think @jlukes has had some success with a brace. If it was him I’m sure he’ll chime in.

Played well in beautiful late autumn weather. Started ok, 4 over at the turn with a very soft 3 putt. Ball striking was solid, apart from 3 very poor 40 yard pitches over bunkers that didn’t go to plan. Second 9 was better, 1 over with 12 putts. My 3 2 putts were a result of misreads, all went exactly where I aimed at the speed I needed. A couple of awful topped tee shots didn’t hurt much. On the last I followed up my topped tee shot with a topped 5 wood that only went 3 yards. Flushed the next 5 wood to 25 feet, just slid the putt past the hole. I think I holed about 100 feet of putts on the second 9. Very happy with my 5 over round. Decided not to light the fire tonight, my MLA Tour Mallet will keep me warm

I'm in. Do I get a prize if all 6 picks miss the cut?

Old and crumpled is potentially better than new and crisp, less likely to be counterfeit

Played in potentially awful conditions that ended up being ok. 9 over playing off 8. First round after a lesson so I was pretty happy with the result. Made 3 sand saves, one of which was my shot of the day. Plugged ball in the face, about a foot below the lip, on the short side, blasted out to 5 feet and made the putt. Ball striking was mixed, putted well after the first couple of holes.

Having a Black Hops Pale Ale while my wife has a Rose’ at Burleigh Pavilion. Great spot to sit and watch some amazing surfers while enjoying a very nice beer

Had a lesson this morning while on holiday, first in a few years. Adjustments to posture and alignment were the big things, a small grip adjustment to finish things off. Saw immediate improvements in ball flight and distance. Might have to book a week up here and a lesson every 6 months so I can keep on top of things.

Congrats everyone, looking forward to following along and joining in when I can. I’d better warn you now, I had a lesson this morning and I’m going to be flushing it from now on. Bring on the challenges

Played a competition round with my holiday bag. 12 over. Started with a 4 putt for double, finished with 2 doubles. Played well through the middle, had a couple of birdies and ball striking was pretty good. Happy with my score playing a new course and using clubs I haven’t used for 2 plus years.

I’ve finally been able to update my Holiday bag. They live at the holiday apartment my in-laws own on the Gold Coast in Queensland. I’ve been trying to add to it for a while, but due to COVID haven’t been able to get up here for 2 years. All old to very old school gear. Driver - Nickent 4Dx Fairways - Taylormade 08 Burner 3 & 5 Hybrid - Taylormade 08 All the above have Grafalloy Epic stiff shafts Irons - Ben Hogan Apex Edge Pro, 5-E, with Apex 4 shafts Wedges - Scor 49, 53, 57 with Genius 12 shafts Putter - Ram Zebra Bag - Sun Mountain Sync Had to clean a bit of surface rust off the irons after their extended stay in isolation Hopefully I get to use them more often

So sad to hear this Kenny, tempered by the fact your dad lived a full and meaningful life. Enjoy the memories of him, sounds like he was a great dad.

A year ago I would have said the same thing, but since we returned post COVID lockdown we’ve been using a scoring app to “mark” our cards and I use my phone every hole anyway. I studiously avoid looking at anything else.

Hope my round registered ok. Course details haven’t been updated, first was still listed as a par 5, now a par 4. Made my score look better

Probably my best ball striking round ever. Unfortunately I couldn’t make a putt. 11/14 fairways, one of the misses bounced hard right from 2 yards from the left and ran off the right edge of the fairway, the other was 2 foot left on the inside of the dogleg, a perfect miss. 10 GIR, 33 putts, 6 over 77 after a double bogey start. Had 7 birdie putts from 15 feet or less and only made one of them. Hit lots of putts that went exactly where I aimed but slightly misread.

Cape Wickham Links Unfortunately, I haven't got as many photos. Partly due to a few too many beers the night before, but mostly due to being absorbed in the moment. This course is breathtaking. The drive in to the property takes you past the lighthouse and the closing loop of 5 holes. Straight away, we knew we were in for something beyond special. This is view as you walk in to the rudimentary clubhouse facility After checking in you are taken through to view a brief video presentation, and a briefing on the current course conditions. The course has the rare combination (in Australia) of fescue fairways and greens. We were warned that conditions were extremely firm, and that flying the ball to the pin was more than likely to have you going through the back of the green. We were also told to not expect to see any pitch marks, again very accurate. 1st Par 4 Advise on the tip sheet was simple, "Just hit the fairway" To say this is a daunting opening would be understating things, especially with a 1 1/2 club wind into nd from the left. Leaked my second a little right of the green, after a chip and run 8 iron holed out from 6 feet. The ground game is important here. 2nd Par 4 Short par 4 that played longer straight into the wind. Concentration is a challenge due to the stunning views Looking back from the 2nd tee to the closing loop By this stage, my mind was already blown, and taking photos was completely forgotten for a while. One of my best ball strikes came on the Par 3 3rd, 190 yards into the wind, pured my 3 wood to the back of the green. Unfortunately I neglected to use my rangefinder to get the yardage to the very front pin. 34 yard 1st putt! The combination of fescue throughout and sea in the background made judging distances very difficult. Happy to walk away with a 4 I'll include the website link to the flyovers to give some idea what the next 6 holes were like. https://capewickham.com.au/course-overview/#holeinfo Didn't remember to get any more photos until the 10th. The intervening holes were all of the highest quality, but as I keep saying, this course just absorbs you. Downhill tee shot to a fairway that disappears below you. About 1/2 way down the fairway Further down to the green The 11th is a shortish par 3 along the edge of the water. One of the boys misjudged the wind to leave himself 1.5" from the hole. We started to get excited 12 is a short par 4 that would be driveable in the right conditions. Left of the fairway is a cliff. I wasn't tempted. 13 Par 5 with a green that the back half slopes down. A couple of great looking shots went 20 yards through (luckily not mine) 14th Par 4 Massive fairway that is a lot flatter than it looks. 2nd shot into the green at the bottom of a hollow. Lots of fun 15 Par 5 Steep right to left slope on the fairway, affects tee shot and second. I played this hole poorly 16 Par 4 Moderate carry to reach the fairway, with the ocean on the right. Long shot into what looks like a small green guarded by a bunker 20 yards short. Tough but breathtaking hole. 17 Par 3 Truly stunning golf hole. Elevated tee across the wasteland to a great green complex. Hit a gently faded 6 iron to about 15 feet despite having to catch my breath after taking in the view. 18th fairway is above the beach in the right of the photo 18th Par 4 Truly amazing closing hole. The fairway is barely visible from the tee, but by this time you will have had lots of chances to see it. The beach is in play, but no one in my group hit it there. I will get a smile on my face for the rest of my life when I think about this hole. An amazing finish to a truly wonderful golf experience. It almost assaults your senses, the sea air, the freshly cut grass, the stunning vistas and the most pure putting surfaces. Having played the only course in Australia rated more highly (Royal Melbourne West) I'm not certain the raters have got it right. I tried to find some photos online to fill the gaps, and interestingly I couldn't find any that were different to mine. This place must have the same affect on everyone. It's a tough but fair challenge, where every aspect of your game will be asked questions, but good shots are definitely rewarded.

Congrats on the anniversary @Apolloshowl. I too have clocked up 5 years this month. I meant to post something but it got lost in the Easter rush. It's been a great 5 years for me. I was fortunate to be selected to review the MLA putters very early in my tenure, and a few other reviews since. It's been good for my game to be here, and probably good for my general well-being as well. Although I've only met one person for real from MGS, I've made some great friends here. On a couple of occasions when my love for the game has been on the wane, the forum has really helped to reignite the passion. Last years Cobra Connect Challenge is a great example of that. Thanks to @STUDque for coming up with some extremely fun challenges Whenever I'm feeling bad about myself, I just think it could be worse, I could be wearing @MattF's hat (sorry Matt, I can't resist)

The format for the weekend was as follows Friday - Ocean Dunes 4BBB Stableford, ball toss for partners. King Island GC - 9 Hole Skins Saturday - Cape Wickham Links AM Individual Stableford, PM 2 Man Scramble Stableford Sunday - Ocean Dunes Modified Foursomes Stableford. Different partners for pairs events Strongly recommend this type of format for a trip like this. Stableford takes the pressure off a bit and keeps play moving, and the enjoyability factor was great. Ocean Dunes 1st Par 5 with a blind second shot, drops steeply down to the green. Long is no good, I know that from personal experience 2nd Short Par 4 with a steeply sloped green. Fun short 4 easy hole if you don't get greedy 3rd Tough Par 4 across the water into the wind. How much do you want to bite off? 4th Par 3 with another tee shot over the water. Room left, wet right 5th Par 5 Blind 2nd shot, uphill 3rd to a tiered green. Very nice grouping of approach shots Missed photos on a few holes, by this stage I was very caught up in my round 8th Par 3 Tough green that front half slopes up, back half slopes down. Imperative to pick the right club. Missing right leaves a tough chip from well above the putting surface 10th Par 3 Again over the water. Probably the signature hole at Ocean Dunes. My best hole for the weekend. 5 wood from 190 into the wind Friday to 12 feet, 7 iron from shorter tee Sunday to 6 feet. Friday was off the tee to the left of photo, Sunday middle of photo 12th Par 5 Uphill tee shot with a blind 2nd. Green has 2 large tiers, really need to on the right level. Actually a double green, but you would need to be a long way off line to use the other half. For fun we all putted from about 60 yards across 2 deep swales, 2 of my mates managed to 3 putt. 13th Par 4 Short uphill hole. Small green that has severe slopes, lots of room for creativity. Fun hole 14th Par 3 Very short par 3. Elevated tee playing back into the wind. Played 115 yards and 100 yards when we played. Roller coaster green, make sure you're on the right level. Fun hole with great views 15th Par 4 Blind tee shot, and depending on where that goes, a blind 2nd into the double green. Another fun hole with some dramatic slopes on the fairway Looking back down the fairway Into the green 16th Par 4 Tough hole into the wind, difficult to pick your line off the tee. Much easier second time around 17th Par 4 Blind tee shot again. massive green, we played it with the pin at the front. About 3 clubs shorter than a back pin. Played this hole well, as I should as it's my namesake "Peacock" 18th Par 4 Very long into the wind, steep slopes will roll the ball back 50 -70 yards if you don't quite make the it to the plateau. Very strong finishing hole Both pairs finished on 40 points after the 4BBB, my partner carried me with 5 birdies, although I parred 4 of those. We played the Modified Foursomes with each player teeing off, swapping balls for 2nd and then alternate shot. It was much easier 2nd time around knowing where to go as there are lots of blind shots. Fescue fairways and bent grass greens were beautiful to play on. Friday PM - King Island GC A quaint community golf course, with a quirky layout. 14 tees, 12 greens. We played skins after a couple of beers in the clubhouse, which has one of the best views of any clubhouse I've been in. Unfortunately I didn't get many photos, probably due to the beers and Bundy's I had while playing. Played well and made the most of the soft greens, shot 1 over and won 6 skins This hole the aggressive line is over the bay with a 240 yard carry. I chickened out, but proceeded to pull it 30 yards left of where I intended, 10 yards through the green. The next day one of the members holed his tee shot. Finished the day with a meal at a local restaurant. Stunning piece of local beef, cooked to perfection. Blue cheese sauce from local cheese was beautiful Actual finish to the day was a fair bit later after too many beers at the pub, shared with incredibly friendly locals More to come

Last weekend I journeyed to King Island for 3 days and 81 holes of golf. King Island is situated between Victoria and Tasmania, and sits at the western edge of the Bass Strait, which connects the Southern Ocean and the Pacific. It's renowned for having some serious wind, which thankfully we avoided the worst of. We flew out of Torquay (home to Rip Curl, Quicksilver and Bell's Beach Surf Classic) We organised a private charter for the 4 of us, which sounds pretty fancy but the convenience far outweighed the extra cost. I'm 3rd from the left. After dodging some kangaroos we took off safely and had an early look at Cape Wickham and Ocean Dunes before landing 40 minutes later. Cape Wickham Ocean Dunes More to follow