Alf. S

To put in context I have never broken par on any course best, was a level par 64 on the winter layout of my home course. yesterday being 1 under after 15 was a great chance to achieve a 1st until the quadruple bogey on 16. I do thing the golf gods are taking the p!ss, was out for a round this afternoon still hitting the ball well but a few penalties going into ditches, 3 putt and unlucky breaks had me 8 after 15. On 16 I hit my drive within 5yds of where I was yesterday hit a 3H to 45 feet and holed the putt for birdie.

Well that was a bit of an eventful week. From the depths of despair and back. Last Monday my game just got to me, my expectations were not matching the reality. The course over the summer months have been playing difficult and with the rain in August my thoughts were that I would start scoring better but the game isn't that easy. All my life I've been fighting with a high cut with my driver, I go to the range or lessons and I think I've solved it only for it to come back. My handicap has been bouncing around this season getting down to 4.9 up to 6.8 and back to 6. When I drive well I score well, current conditions that is carrying 230 and average 250yds. When the high cut comes in I'm down to about 190 and of course if I'm lucky in semi rough. After another go at changing my setup I thought I solved my driving issues, last Monday played the local Muni. 1st hole bit of a push but good length, 2nd 299yd par 4 on the fringe with my drive. So far so good, 3rd cut into the tree on the right chip out ended with a 7, 4th great drive up the centre, 5th cut back, 6th push, 8th great drive, 9th lost ball (reload great hit), etc, etc. Came off totally disillusioned didn't want to go out on Wednesday but managed 12 holes, played Thursday and again wasn't really engaged. After a bit of soul searching and re-alignment of expectations (i'm not a scratch golfer) went back out at the weekend. Saturday 35 (-1) on the front 9, then the rain came finished 77 (+6); Sunday -1 through 15, then carved two 4h into gorse for an 8 to finish 75 (+4).

My approach play from fairway or semi-rough is my worse part of my game, especially when I'm over 150yds and out. I'm not the most consistent of ball strikers so spin and control don't necessarily come into my thoughts The semi at my club is short so in a lot of cases the ball sits up making it easier to hit. Looking at my Skycaddie stats over the last 20 rounds I see no correlation in my numbers between FIR and GIR. Currently siting at FIR 59%, GIR 43% Recently was fitted for a shorter driver to improve my dispersion but lost 10-15 yds. So got it lengthen, my thought being no use being in the fairway if I'm a couple of clubs longer into the green.

Played there for the 1st time in June. ALF may come back, you never know.

Playing in Scotland I thought I would give put up WITB beyond the clubs. It of course varies but you'll get the idea. Most players in Scotland walk with the majority (circa 80%) using trollies and probably 60% using electric trollies so the main bag type is cart bags Bag Srixon Z Cart Bag Trolley is Powakaddy Freeway 5 lithium 18 hole battery Mount Skycaddie Bottle holder Umbrella Waterproofs Galvin Green Black Gortex Alf Trousers and Arlie Jacket, good to have lined pockets in suit to keep hands dry and warm KJUS Dexter 2.5 Half Zip (lightweight) waterproof jacket Caps Callaway high crown visor Galvin Green Gortex cap Callaway pro cap Really bad weather stuff Callaway Aqua Dry Bucket hat Galvin Green Snood Under Armour cart mittens Under Armour Retro Beanie Gloves 3 x Cabretta gloves (Srixon, UA, FJ, Callaway) 1 x All weather (Srixon, UA, FJ, Callaway) Pair FJ rain grip gloves Balls 10 x Titleist Pro V1 10 misc premium balls Others Skycaddie SGX500 Nikon cool shot rangefinder Cardholder Titleist tour double canopy umbrella Glasses holder with prescription sunglasses Mixture if castle tees 2 1/4" 2" 1/4" Titleist pitch repairer with marker grove brush Callaway microfibre tour towel Ballzee ball cleaner Food and stuff Bottle of water Bottle of energy drink (Lucozade Orange) 2 x Oats bar 1 x chocolate bar

I was fitted for a Callaway Maverik last year and they convinced me to get it -1". When I got it I was hitting it 10-15yds shorter and swinging 5mph slower than my regular length Epic. I've since had 1" plug put in the shaft and getting a lot better results. I know the older Titleist (910 and 913) adaptors were not compatible between driver and 3w but they changed the adaptor at the 915.

18th on Saturday final hole 140 yds par 3 wind behind, PW, hit the pin on the full bounced 3 feet from the hole but ran thru the back. Holed the 30 footer back for birdie. Still waiting for my 1st hole in one.

I suffer from it off and on, the worse was when I was using extra stiff shafts, with a steep swing and divot. Over the last few years my swing has moved to be more shallow taking very small divots has helped. I also moved away from a neutral swing and tend to generate most of the power through the left shoulder and arm. Another tip is to use a sweat wrist band all the way up my arm to just below the elbow to relive some of the tension on the tendon (Nike is best). This season I bought a massage gun and I've been using this lately which seems to have helped.

Long sighted and started wearing glasses for driving (car not golf) when I turned 40. My reading sight progressively got worse and started using the same prescription for reading, when I was ~50 started needing a separate prescription for reading. This sort of corresponded with the time I started to use my distance glasses on the golf course, I wouldn't be able to follow the ball after about 200yds, so if I hit a wayward shot I couldn't spot where the ball landed. About 2 years ago I got my 1st pair of varifocals (progressive) glasses but couldn't use them on the course, found that I couldn't pick up the ball flight. So I use my distance glasses solely for playing golf, a pair of clear lenses and prescription sunglasses. I do have a set of Oakley prescription sunglasses as well but couldn't get my exact prescription due to the maximum lens prescription permitted in the Flak Jacket frames.

Personally I would avoid the M1 and hated it, when the ball came out the middle great but off centre it went nowhere, had the Jetspeed and R5/R7 previously and thought they were great clubs. Replaced the M1 with the original Epic which is more forgiving in my view. Be careful on shaft also, I suspect if you're starting out you'll not want some exotic X-Stiff shaft, you'll probably better getting a mainstream regular shaft. The tools are exactly the same head, and should be set at the same torque. Enjoy your golf

Normally I'm driver unless there is a lot of trouble in range. A burn (creek), bunkers at both sides of the fairway. And will normally try to lay up a doglegs so I'm in the fairway. My best irons are 8-LW so if I can get within 150yds off the tee I'm either GIR or greenside chipping. But I think I'm about to change strategy. Scotland is usually a lovely green country but we have had a long dry summer locally only 2.5 inches of rain in the last 3 months, normally we are 12-18 inches in the same time period. Most courses have sprinklers on tees and greens but not fairways. Fairways are hard and fast, greens are firm so you can't fly the ball into most of them. Over the last 4 days I have had a gross 76, 87, 77, 86. I was wondering why, was I hitting the ball so much better on the good days? I don't think so! I then tried to analyse the games and OK I had putted better on the low rounds but I surmised that I was leaving myself with really difficult approach shots, at the moment you have to run the ball in, if I'm out of position I have to try and manufacture a shot or fire at the green and hope for a good bounce, not a good strategy. So at the weekend I'm going to try and go for placement rather than distance. My 5i is probably going about 220yds at the moment so this maybe a good bet on some of the holes. Saying that the weather may be about to break, out at 11am.

2 questions to ask. 1. Do you wanted it gapped to the 6i? 2. Do you want something that goes longer than the 6i but shorter than your 3w If I take an example of my irons the loft of the 6i is 27' and shaft length 37.5. If I look at the Apex spec 6h is 27' and 39 length so I would expect this to go 10 to 15yds further than your 6i the Apex also has the loft adjustment which allows -1' and +2' of loft. The 2 degrees can be as much as 5 yds off distance. I myself carry 5-AW I dropped my 3i and 4i and replaced them with Epic 3h,4h both lofted up to 22' and 25' respectively and they gaps pretty well to 5i which is 24'. This was done the trial and error. If the reason you can't hit 5i and below is because of the shaft length then a 6h maybe the one to start with

Edinburgh is about 1.5hours from St Andrews and 1 hour from East Lothian (Golf Coast/Muirfield). There are loads of courses that cater for all budgets, Even if you don't play the Old Course I would recommend going to St Andrews the town is steeped in history with bars full of golfing memorabilia. St Andrews Links has a wide selection of courses. https://www.standrews.com/play/green-fees-2021 All the Links Trust course are maintained to the same level and in similar condition. The New Course runs right alongside the Old Course and then the Jubilee is on the coast, The Castle is not one of my favourites with very challenging greens but great views, if your budgeting then Eden or even Strathtyrum are still a good knock and enjoyable Balgove is really just a Junior 9 hole course. If you have non-golfers their is also a putting course called the Himalayas which is good fun and again right next to the Old Course. The other so called "St Andrews" courses are The Dukes which is inland but still has a links feel with gorse and the 2 Fairmont course south of the town The Kittocks and The Torrance which you normally get a good deal on Golf Now circa £65/pp c.f. advertised £120, personally I would play them at £65 but maybe not at £120. Of the 2 The IMO The Kittocks is the better and more scenic. There are also loads of less well known courses within 30 minutes of St Andrews that are all worth a visit. In East Lothian the links course stretch all the way from Longniddry to Dunbar and again are all normally in good condition but some you won't get on, in no particular order. Longniddry ££ Craigielaw ££ Kilspindie £££ Luffness Gullane No1 ££££ Gullane No2 £££ Gullane No3 ££ Muirfield £££££ Renaissance £££££ Archerfield £££££ North Berwick £££££ The Glen £££ Winterfield ££ Dunbar ££££ I've tried to indicate costs with pound signs but doing if from memory. If you are travelling to the West of Scotland and Ayrshire than I can give you a similar list.

Played in the qualifiers for the club championship at the weekend. The Saturday for probably the hardest I've seen the course, gusting 25-30mph fairways and greens hard. Greens running fast with interesting pin positions. Lost 3 balls, couple of penalty drops for and 84 nett 78. Nearly NR'd 3 times and wasn't going to play the 2nd round, playing partners kept me going. Sunday the wind had dropped so played a lot easier but missed 4 from 3 feet and a mind blip at 15 for an 82 nett 76. Top 16 scratch and the remaining top 16 nett qualify for the knockouts. I was 2 strokes out on the handicap at 49th so will have to wait for next year.

Yeap, me too, it is no coincidence that the Euros 2020 were allowing crowds of 60,000 into Wembley and the infection rate has rocketed in London.

JT or JR played OK last week maybe worth a punt. St George's usually throws up some unlikely winners last 2 being Darren Clarke and Ben Curtis. I'd forgotten the Thomas Bjorn melt down in 2003, -4 with 4 to play and dropped 4 strokes to lose it to Curtis, ouch!

I'm a Mevo user and a golf addict that plays 4 or 5 days a week. I'm pretty much comfortable with my distances I should be hitting in terms of carry. When things go a bit a skew I will go down on to the range with the Mevo this usually is about once a month. I also tend to tweak my drivers and will again use the Mevo to look at distances and launch angles. It is not something I will generally use all the time, since it is a bit footery to setup and breakdown on the range. For me it is a useful tool that can give me confidence that my gapping is OK and hasn't changed.

Just over half way thru the Summer so time for another update. As mentioned with WHS I had a few rounds to play with before my good counters started to drop off so with a scratch 77 managed to get down to 4.9 in May (lowest ever) but this has been very much the exception. As I moved into June some of the good counters dropped off which has pushed me back to 6.1. My game is in better condition with my pitching, chipping and putting pretty solid. I bought a couple of Callaway Jaws wedges and I'm really getting on well with them c.f. the old Cleveland RTX 3.0. 70 yds and in confidence is high and getting some really good birdie opportunities. On the Putting I'm back with the Ping Heppler Floki and although I think I could be holing more it is giving good results from 6 feet and in. The driving has been a bit unpredictable, I go to the range and think I've fix my issues and the fix lasts for a couple of rounds and the cut is back. At my home course I can pretty much keep it in play because I know the lines and bail outs, away is a different matter. When I played the Old Course in June we were told on the 1st tee, left is usually a good line if you're unsure, I was playing the tiger line down the right all day and lost a couple of balls due to the cut. We have had a pretty dry spell for the last 6 weeks in Scotland so the courses are dry but the rough is lush. If you go in the rough it is pretty much lost. It means the errant tee shot gets you a 2 shot penalty. So although in general I'm playing steady, my cards have a smattering of doubles and triples with lost balls the main issue. Saturday 82 with a triple and quad at the 9th and 12th. Today 79 with a triple at the 5th. It is our last Senior League match this week at a decent local course Bathgate they have a unique claim of having produced 2 Ryder Cup captains in Eric Brown and Bernard Gallacher and also Stephen Gallacher. I think my game is suited to match play at the moment, I can have a nightmare hole but come straight back. My partners and I have won 6 form 9 matches the 3 loses being away from home. In terms of games we are mid table and there is only pride to play for. This week it is also the Club Championship qualifiers, it is over 2 rounds. Top 16 scratch then next 16 h/c qualify into the knockout which then takes place over next week with the finals over 36 holes a week on Saturday. It is tough for me to get into the scratch, I've made it before as one of the last qualifiers and at that level you normally come up against a seed in the 1st round i.e. the scratch or +h/c golfers. Best hope is if I get into the handicap and maybe get a wee run. On the retirement front, I moved back to be Semi-retired now working 2 days a week from home. My old boss coaxed me to help him out in a Cambridge based start up. The prerequisite was that it should not get in the way of a tee time. Anyway time to sign off for now. Enjoy your golf

Love your photos. Where does the Greywalls name come from? The only other reference I can find is the Hotel that is next to Muirfield clubhouse. In the picture below the white building is the clubhouse on the left is Greywalls.

It is just over a year since I was given the opportunity to review the Ping Heppler Floki putter so I thought I would give an update. You would have thought at 60 I would know better and to realise that course conditions play a big part in putting. Winter we play on soft slow greens that have very little break and we get gimmes from 3 feet and in. We start the season in April when the greens have had no growth for 4 months and expect them to roll smooth and predictable and we haven't had to hole a 3 footer for 6 months. This year up until mid May the temperature didn't get above the mid 50s so very little growth, greens were bumpy and unpredictable. For me I blame myself and I chopped and changed my putters as we came in to the summer season, when I putt badly I'm always analysing my stroke, where I'm missing, as I alluded to on the May 5th post I had switch back to a TM Rossa Daytona but it wasn't long until I fell out with it and switched back to the Floki. Now in July we have had a long dry spell of temps in mid 60-70s and the greens are excellent. I've now settled back in with Floki and putting well with good pace control and averaging in the low 30s per round. My confidence is on the rise with holing out inside 3 feet being solid, 3-12 feet average 30-40% and holing 1 a round 15 to 20. 3 putts are a rarity. Last weekend 27 putts is a season best. The club pro said to me don't chop and change things, once you get the confidence in the correct setup and you hit a bad putt ask yourself what did I not do rather than trying theoretical fixes that may makes things worse. I feel I have a pretty stable setup, i have missed a couple in the last few rounds with a slight push. I tend to use my right index finger as the guide for the putter and if I grip incorrectly this can cause me to push, just need to work on routine on this. It is still my Gamer at least for this week.

I'd never read your review before and it is pretty accurate. Post COVID a few things have changed when I was up The Dunvegan had closed down and is now up for lease but a lot of the lot places you mentioned are still up and going. When we were there the St Andrews Brewing Co. had tents erected outside the brewery for COVID safe drinking which was the only place we could get in. The Jiggers Inn had setup 10 - 12 outside tables so you could watch and hear the players playing the 17th. Just one bit of information on merchandise you have ones that are officially logoed by St Andrews Links Trust and others all around the town including the Old Course Hotel you will get another logo. The town coat of arms is a common one you will get from the town merchandisers

There are many great courses but the Old Course you can say that you're in the footsteps off the greats especially with the iconic photos on the Swilcan Bridge

Usually the guys who play the Scottish Open the week before are better prepared for the conditions and I suspect Royal St Georges is going to be playing firm similar to The Renaissance so bombers maybe not have such a big advantage. Has Rickie even qualified? For me I would want Robert McIntyre to do well but winner maybe Spieth. List of US entries to the Scottish Open.

Had a great day, sunny, very light wind and course in great condition. Didn't play my best but still enjoyed it. Highlights/Lowlights Took 3 to get out Shell bunker on 7, it is pretty big I'm sure there are bones of golfers who didn't make it out buried in it somewhere. And par'd the last to the adulation of the watching crowd and his dog.

Im looking forward to not falling asleep at 12:15am when Rahm is on the 14th hole like I did on Sunday!