Alf. S

Date 08/10/2024 Course Name West Lothian Golf Club Gross Score 80 Course Rating 71.2 Course Slope 126 Gross Strokes over/under par 9 Birdies or better 0 Longest Drive 251 Another tough day on the course, wind 20mph gusting to 40mph, greens firm and fast, really difficult to hold the greens. GIR 11% but chipping and putting was really good. With the wind Holes 1, 9, 13 and really playing like par 5s, I couldn't reach them with a good drive and 3w. On the 18th which is an exposed tee, it was tough just to stay over the ball without getting blown over. Putted great on the front 9, even for the bogeys I shaved the holes. Went a bit cold on the back and 11 was me being greed with a chip and failing short. Ended up in 2nd place for the comp and a cut from 8.3 to 7.9.

Semi final of the club Greensomes last night. We were giving our opponents 5 strokes and they were +1 thru 9 and 2 up on us. Started to play a bit better and by the 15th turned it around to be 2 up with 3 to play. 16th they were stroking and we could only bogey to their 5 net 4. Halved 17 with 4s. 18th we had 2 putts for the win from 30'. partner left it 4' short and I missed my putt. On to extra holes, halved 19th and then with the sun setting lost the 20th when they got an extra stroke to a 4 nett 3 birdie. Our record this year has been Fourball - Lost on the 18th to a guy holing out from off the green for birdie Foresomes - Lost in last 16 on the 19th hole Greensomes - Lost in SF on 20th

Worst round of the year yesterday 87 (+16). Tough conditions but that only contributed to some bad play. Struggled on the front 9 to hit greens in regulation and my chipping and putting wasn't saving me and struggle out in +7. With the wind my thoughts were that 3 of the par 4s were unreachable in 2 so maybe it wasn't so bad. Started back par, bogey, par still OK. 13th into the wind again unreachable in 2, 2nd shot it was 167yds to clear the ditch, I hit a 3W 200yds carry, it carried the ditch pitch straight right into gorse and gone for a double. Still soldiered on pared 14 and 15. 16 into the wind, left with a tricky chip for 4th, tried to be too cute twice and duffed the chips ended up with a triple. Doubled the 17th ann bogey the last feeling totally beat up.

In the UK we (i.e my wife and I) have been watching the Olympics avidly for the last week (like from 8am to 10pm) it is covered by the BBC and the coverage of the golf may as well be non-existent. They are only streaming 2 channels and swimming, sailing, tennis, badminton, shooting and archery have had more coverage. We might get the final hole shown if Fleetwood is in contention today, really poor. And is turning it into a non-event in the UK.

Date 08/01/2024 Course Name West Lothian Golf Club Gross Score 80 Course Rating 69.7 Course Slope 123 Gross Strokes over/under par 9 Birdies or better 5 Longest Drive 255 I really need to work out a different strategy for the back 9 at the my club, another round dropping too many shots coming in specifically holes 12-15, double on 12, bogied 13, scrapped a par 14, bogied 15. This was from not really finding any trouble but playing shots from the semi and the ball sitting down. The 13th is a challenge for me The fairway slopes left to right and the bunker on the right is bang in range of my driver. Doesn't help that my natural shot is left to right, found it 3 times in my last 5 rounds. If I hit it up the left, it can get tangled in the rough and end up with me playing 190yds with trees blocking left, in to a left to right sloping fairway with my natural shot being a cut.

Out playing in the QF of the club Greensomes against the Captain and a Past Captain and giving them 8 strokes. Not been hitting my irons well for a while so decided to have a hit on the range before hand then had a pitching session for a warm up. Hit the ball the best for 2 years, chipping and putting well. My partner plays off 1.8 and hits the ball +30yds past me with driver. Tactics were, I drive and get the ball in play and he can then grip it and rip it. Worked really well, we were ~level par thru 16 and won 3 and 2. Makes a big difference if I'm playing 7i compared to a hybrid into some of the greens

Date 07/25/2024 Course Name West Lothian Golf Club Gross Score 79 Course Rating 69.7 Course Slope 123 Gross Strokes over/under par 8 Birdies or better 5 Longest Drive 250 Bit better today, went out and hit some irons before the round which helped on my approaches also had a new putter. Holed a few long putts but also missed 3 from inside 4 feet. +3 going out and +5 coming in, finished bogie, bogie, bogie, double.

Date 07/24/2024 Course Name West Lothian Golf Club Gross Score 82 Course Rating 69.7 Course Slope 123 Gross Strokes over/under par 11 Birdies or better 3 Longest Drive 280 Senior Open at the Club. Same story at the moment out in +3 back in +8 with sloppy bogies and 3 putts. Finished on a high at the par 3 last, hit the pin with my tee shot and holed the putt. Back out today and hopefully better time.

I'm normally a shirt tuck in guy but if I'm getting really hot I will untuck. I lost around 42lbs a couple of years back and since then the shirts tend to fit me better and I don't have the belly overhang that I used to have, much more comfortable with the shirt tucked in. BTW profile picture is me tucked in at 220lbs now around 180lbs.

No score from me this week, team golf. Got beat on the 1st extra hole in the last 16 in my club Foresomes ton Thursday and playing a team scramble today

Date 07/15/2024 Course Name West Lothian Golf Club Gross Score 83 Course Rating 69.7 Course Slope 123 Gross Strokes over/under par 12 Birdies or better 3 Longest Drive 281 This game does my head in. +11, 0 GIR thru 8, then +1, 8 GIR for the next 10

Date 07/11/2024 Course Name West Lothian Golf Club Gross Score 80 Course Rating 69.7 Course Slope 123 Gross Strokes over/under par 9 Birdies or better 2 Longest Drive 270

As my handicap was dropping thru the teens to single figures I thought I was getting good at the game and decided to move from my cavity back Mizuno MX-15 regular shaft to a new set of irons. After trying the TaylorMade LT2 regular shaft irons at the local golf shop decided to go and buy them from eBay, didn't really know what I was doing but one of my golf mates used rifle shafts and I thought he was smart. So it was LT2s with rifle shafts I bought. The shafts were extra stiff. Starting off I couldn't use them at all, after 6 months I had completely changed my swing, now totally inconsistent, handicap on the way up and had given myself tendonitis. Needless to say at the start of the next season I got fitted for Mizuno MX-25s Regular shaft, 1/2" longer and never looked back. Still got them but the LT2s are long gone.

Hope you have a great time, you might get lucky with the weather, looks like the rain is stopping around 3pm.

Date 06/27/2024 Course Name West Lothian Golf Club Gross Score 79 Course Handicap 9 Gross Strokes over/under par 8 Net Score to Par -1 Net Score 70 Net Birdies or better Longest Drive

Had a great game last night, 2nd round of the Club Foursomes KO competition. Close game in terms of h/c (CH us => 9, 2 them => 3, 6) meant we were getting one stroke from our opponents. Looked well and truly out of it after 8 holes, 7 over and 3 down. 9th was our stroking hole, look good for a hole win, they chip in for 4 we miss the par putt. Conversation to my partner "We need to start going for it and being aggressive" He holes birdie at 10, and level par for the next few holes but not making any progress and are 2 down with 3 to play. Have a great up and down on 16 to get it back to 1 down, they drive into trees on 17 and we again make an up and down to go all square. On 18 partner's drive is on fringe about 15 feet away. I never putt on the fringe but this time thought it was low risk and left it 6 feet short but he holed the putt Closed it out on the 1st extra hole, probably their worst hole on the night; my partner hit the green with his approach and put pressure on them. Their angle meant they were coming in over a bunker on to a firm green. They didn't carry it and 2 shots later we have 2 for the match, I dollied up the putt to inches and secured an unlikely win.

Keep the head up, time is a great healer, but it is age that gets you. I'm getting use to my new normal back after some health issues last year, lost yardage and just beginning to accept the fact that I can't reach the long par 4s any longer. Still holding on to my h/c of 8. If I can do it anybody can.

Date 06/22/2024 Course Name West Lothian Golf Club Gross Score 82 Course Handicap 9 Gross Strokes over/under par 11 Net Score to Par 2 Net Score 73 Net Birdies or better Longest Drive One of these frustrating days, holed some good putts and missed some easy putts. 8 on the 3rd put an end to me being competitive in the medal; lost ball, heavy 4th on for 5 and 3 putt on one of the easiest holes on the course. 17th was a bit of a nightmare as well; hit a great drive about 270 yds but caught the fairway bunker tried to take it clean with 52° and advanced it only 30 yds, pitch shot comes up short, chip comes up short and 2 putts for 6. Grr. Current showing a differential of 7.9 so should be a counter and get me back down to 8.

Perfect scoring conditions today, pity no one told me. 87 net 78 so not posting. I thought I hit the ball well but a few slack shots wracked up doubles and triple. Course is unforgiving hit a bad shot and you're punished 3rd: 100yds in 52° wedge catch down slope to go thru the green, short side chip back => double 8th: push drive, chip out and miss fairway. miss green, chip 2 putts => double 9th: triple with penalty drop and now trying to play low risk 14th: triple with lost ball 16th: double, nearly chipped in for par, lipped out return putt, 180° lip out on the way back

Date 06/13/2024 Course Name West Lothian Golf Club Gross Score 78 Course Handicap 9 Gross Strokes over/under par 7 Net Score to Par -2 Net Score 69 Net Birdies or better Longest Drive CR=71.2 SR=126 Par=71

I'm usually 18 but we have a 9 hole setup at the club you can play that is measured and has a WHS rating. 9 hole competitions are becoming more popular in Scotland and our club run 9 hole competitions every Wednesday in Spring and Autumn, once sunset gets passed 9pm they switch it to 18 hole comps then switch back in August. At the course the 8th and 15th holes are right at the clubhouse. During the week I will go out for a round and try to get 18 in but if the pace of play is slow I can play the short course and go from the 8th to the 9th on the 9 hole course or cut in to 15 and play the last 4 holes to play 12 or continue on and come off at 15. If I'm really playing bad I can just chuck it at the 8th. The R&A have recently started a 9 hole challenge where if you can get through regional qualifiers you get to play at The Open on the week prior to the Championship. i.e this year Royal Troon.

The last time I was at a range in the UK without Trackman or Toptracer bays it was £12 for a 100 balls but now all the local ranges have the Ball tracking capabilities installed and charge £18. It is far more interactive but at the course you can get the full Trackman Studio for £25/hour which I would far prefer using, we also have a practise area that is about 240 yds long but you have to use your own balls and collect them. This is OK when you have the range to yourself but you get some FWs that will set themselves up in your hitting zone to do some obscure practise routine, that seems to have no rhyme or reason to.

Date 06/08/2024 Course Name West Lothian Golf Club Gross Score 88 Course Handicap 9 Gross Strokes over/under par 17 Net Score to Par 8 Net Score 79 Net Birdies or better Longest Drive Tough conditions yesterday, 25 mph westerly, dry course, secondary rough up, and not hitting the ball well. As ever seem to play the 1st 5 holes well (+1), chipping and putting well, then lost ball at 6 for a triple was the first step on the slippery slope. Out in +6, In in +11, the back 9 is killing me at the moment. I also need to take my punishment from bad lies and stop thinking I'm Jordan Spieth. Had quite a few shots where I should have wedged out and took a hybrid or long iron to only duff it 30yds and still in the rough. Back out tomorrow. SR=126 CR= 71.2 Par=71

After the rubbish of last week got to be happy. Course is toughening up, lots of run but 2nd cut is brutal.

Date 06/06/2024 Course Name West Lothian Golf Club Gross Score 79 Course Handicap 9 Gross Strokes over/under par 8 Net Score to Par -1 Net Score 70 Net Birdies or better Longest Drive SR=126 CR=71.2 Par=71