Early season update

After Australia I decided not to play in the Portuguese amateur due to it being only a week after we got back. Therefore, this gave me a week to re-adjust to the time zone and the climate. Once I had, I went off to Spain to practice for a week and a half in preparation for the Spanish amateur.

Normally people associate any part of southern Spain as a perfect golfing climate. La Manga decided to disagree with this by throwing 30/40 mph winds at us almost to the point where it was unplayable. The format is 36 holes strokeplay with 32 making the cut into Matchplay rounds. I shot a decent 2 over 75 which left me around 20^th showing how bad the wind was. The 2^nd round was a repeat of last years Spanish as after a par at the 10^th ( my 1^st ) I proceeded to go, 8,7,7. The 11^th was my initial downfall as I spun 2 balls back into the water, not playing for my average shot was my mistake and a harsh one at that. On the par 3 12^th I hit it left understandably with water right and the wind gusting off the right and slightly into. This ended up 7/8 yards behind the tree. The only shot I had was to flop it over the tree however as I did I caught the top of the tree, the ball dropped and got stuck in the middle of it and just like that my tournament was basically over. Ironically I played the last 14 holes really well and even if I’d bogeyed both of those holes I would’ve made the cut which left me frustrated.

I couldn’t dwell on it too much however as I was off to Qatar for the Bonallack trophy the day after the tournament ended. This was a biannual match between Europe and Asia-Pacific. I played with Todd Clements and we were a combined -24 for 2 foursome and 2 fourball matches and only managed 1 and a half points showing the ridiculous quality of the golf. For example, the second foursome match we played we were -6 thru 7 and only 2 up. After being up the whole way in my match I was 1 down with 1 to play and standing on the 18^th tee I was told I needed to win the hole to retain the trophy. Unfortunately, I missed a makeable putt to do this and gave me one of the, if not the worst, feelings on a golf course I’ve ever experienced. From a golf perspective after the emotions settled days later, I needed to improve my putting. I’d played great over the past 2 weeks, but the way I putted especially in Qatar was appalling and needed addressing.

A few weeks passed where I worked on this and with a few changes in my setup, courtesy of my dad, I was ready to find some confidence again in the EuroNations cup at Sotogrande. This was a 4 man England team playing against 15 other nations in a 72 hole strokeplay event in which the 3 best scores for each team out of 4 counted each day. From an individual viewpoint I certainly found my putting and shortgame like it was last summer, but my long game went missing, if only I could combine the two! Sotogrande was a tough test with firm fast greens and a lot of wind. I shot a good 71(-1) to start with but followed it up with 2 76’s, there was only so much my short game could do. 2 unlucky doubles late on in the round cost me. The wind dropped in the last round and even though I still played badly, a bit of luck, 7/8 up&downs led to a respectable 68(-4). This left me T5 for the individual competition but more importantly after a series of 2^nd in team events, helped us to a commanding victory by 20 shots. We were 11 ahead after round 1 and 21 ahead after round 2 so only complacency might have lost us the event.

The British season now starts with the Lytham trophy next. I’ve seen good things in every department of my golf I just need to combine them together and I should do well. For those interested I have the Lytham trophy, France vs England match, Irish amateur and Brabazon in May. In June I have the St. Andrews links, Amateur Championship and the European amateur. It’s a brilliant run of events playing some great courses so I can’t wait!

Winter Break

After the Walker Cup my off season began. The one downfall about our season is the lack of competition during the autumn and winter months. Fortunately for me however, I knew I was likely to be going to either Australia or South Africa with the England Team in January so it was important to get some preparation done.

 

A couple of months gave me the time I  needed  to address the  parts of my game that I wanted to improve. Our season is so hectic during summer there isn’t the opportunity to make changes, just tweaks. We all know what winter golf is like here, therefore after a couple of weeks home from LA, my priority in October was to head over to Marbella. I practiced there until November and then travelled to Portugal with England for our first training camp. This gave me a chance to address the issues I had with my game which had built up over the season and work at them with the England team coaches.

 

Next stop was San Diego. Phil Walker, an overseas member, who some of you might know very kindly offered to host me for 12 days so I could get some warm weather practice. He arranged for a couple of guys to see me and give their input into my game. I took away a few very handy tips that I think will make me become a better player. I have to give Phil a massive thanks for all that he did for me over those weeks, it was far more beneficial than being back at home practicing alone in cold weather.

 

My time at home was cut short as another warm weather camp in Portugal. This was good because not only could I discuss the things I did with Phil but I was also able to revisit the topics we spoke about during the first camp. At this point I was offered the Australia trip for 5 weeks from 1st January. This gave me motivation to practice hard during the upcoming weeks, knowing that the start of my season wasn’t that far away.

 

I’m writing this whilst in Australia, having left Melbourne for Perth. I’ve just played my first comp (Master of the Amateurs) at Royal Melbourne and finished 13th with scores of 72, 75, 72, 70… +5 total. The course was incredibly unique. The greens are that firm I was taking off 10 yards for every short iron shot. You couldn’t get to half of the pins due to the bounces which increased dramatically as shown by the leaderboard. Admittedly I didn’t play that well, I felt slightly uncomfortable over my shots and I didn’t really hold my fair share of putts even though I feel I putted quite well ! So, all in all, I was quite pleased with the result. It wasn’t a disaster, especially with it being my first tournament for a while. Hopefully I can start competing at the top soon.

 

I now have 3 tournaments in 3 weeks starting with the Australian Amateur on Tuesday the 16th.  It’s my birthday during this competition, what a great present a finish at the top of the leaderboard would be! I absolutely loved being back competing so I’m looking forward to the next challenge.

 

Matt.

Walker Cup

I was officially selected for the Walker Cup on the last day of the Home Internationals. I had to keep it secret for 3 days before the official announcement was made. It was difficult keeping the exciting news to myself when I wanted to tell the world !

People kept telling me the experience, people you’ll meet and memories you’ll have will be unforgettable, however, you don’t know what they will be until you’re actually there. So, when the squad arrived in London being filmed by a cameraman at the hotel and receiving our named Walker Cup bags it all started to become very real.

We flew by business class, which if you get the chance, is the only way to fly – I don’t want to ever fly economy again! We went about our preparation by playing the course 4 times and 2 other courses to mix it up. We also went to an LA galaxy match, the late late show with James Corden and my personal favourite, Universal Studios. As you can probably tell the only problem with it all is that it made the week go ridiculously fast. The course itself is holding the US open in 2023 so as you can imagine it was a long and penalising golf course containing thick rough and slick greens. It’s full length was 7’900 yards with around 5/6 par 4’s over 500 yards and 2 par 3’s over 280 yards. However even though I make it sound horrifying, I really enjoyed playing the course.

Anyway, Saturday approached. I wasn’t playing in the morning foursomes but I got to the course for the first tee shot just so I could experience it. We did well to make it 2-2 after it looked 3-1 at 1 stage. Nerves started to kick in for me on the putting green and carried through onto the 1st tee. Normally in the big events I’ve been nervous but its more anxiety to get going. This was simply just utter nerves where your brain goes to mush and you just hit the ball. I lost my first 2 holes as he started birdie, birdie. From here I played well clawing it back by winning 4,10,12. I personally thought I was unlucky on 13 and then a poor wedge shot meant all my hard work had been slightly undone going back down to 1 down. As some of you saw on 16 I hit it into a bush and then proceeded to hit 2 iron from 250 to 12ft. Personally I thought it was one of the best shots I’ve ever hit,however, the tv commentator made it sound like it was an everyday occurrence ! I missed the putt unfortunately but won 17 to go down 18. A bad drive cost me really and that was the match. Even though I lost, the support and the buzz I received during that match was so good I didn’t feel too down. In terms of the match we really lost it in this session. 3 of us were up with a few holes to play and all lost so instead of being 6-6/7-5 up we were 8-4 down and had a lot to do.

I played the Sunday foursomes. Again the following I got was great and people were watching our match just because they loved the support. We lost the foursomes 3&2 which seemed strange as I thought I played well and putted decently. By this point the match was pretty much over as we were 11-5 down so my singles match was basically to go out and enjoy and to try and win for myself. I played a guy who was the number 1 matchplay player in amateur golf due to strong recent form, so it was always going to be tough. It was close through 8 being all square, however I became a bit loose in the next few holes becoming 2 down thru 12. I rallied hard but it wasn’t enough and I lost 2&1.

Again another amazing experience and one I will never forget. I just want to thank the guys who came over and made it so special for me. I still reminisce nearly everyday about something that happened and it’s taken me a while to write this as every time I go to write something I stop and think about how good it was. The club have been so good to me this year I just hope I represented them in the way they would be proud.

For me, going forward, it’s more amateur golf for 2 reasons. My first reason is it all came so quickly I didn’t really turn my mind to thinking about turning pro and all the decisions that come with it. For example, the sponsors, management groups, invites, what I do if it doesn’t work out straight away, etc, etc. And secondly, I don’t feel 100% ready, there are a few things I want to touch up on before I feel I’ll be ready to take my golf to the next level. Meanwhile, here’s hoping for another exciting year, I’m just not sure I can top this one !

Irish amateur

Royal County down was the venue for the Irish amateur, according to golf digest the number 1 golf course in the world. Just for this reason alone I was really looking forward to the week.

The first couple of days were flat calm surprisingly and this gave us a chance to score on a very tough golf course. I started well with a birdie on the par 5 1st until driving it into a fairway bunker on 2… one I thought wasn’t in play. I hacked out, wedged it to 9ft and missed it for my first bogey. I bounced back straight away by hitting a 6 iron to 10ft and rolling it in for birdie. Topsy turvy start! Some steadiness followed with solid play, hitting 5/6 greens leading to 6 straight pars to be out in -1. I was only out in -1 due to a my pace putting from 15-25ft being awful so the lines I picked weren’t right due to my inconsistency of pace. However, I did hole a 20ft putt on the par 3 7th after being unlucky with my tee shot. I chipped in on the par 3 10th after going long, made an 10ft putt on 11 for par after leaving my 2nd shot way short and then got up & down on the par 5 12th to get to -3. Routine pars followed on 13 & 14 until I bogeyed the difficult 15th. A green that slopes off severely from both sides isn’t exactly fair when you have 190 in. Again though I bounced back well hitting it to 6/7 on 16 and 17 and holing them both for back to back birdies. I lipped out on my 2nd shot at 17 and I’ve never seen my Granddad, who was with me this week, jump up so fast! Unfortunately the par 5 18th is another green that slopes off in ever direction. I got caught out going down 1 of the slopes from 140 yards and making bogey for a score of 68 (-3). This put me T2.

Determined to stay at the top I started well again birdying the 1st. I missed a 6 footer for birdie on 2 until bogeying 3 by 3 putting from 60-70ft. Normal pars followed on 4 & 5 before on 6 I had 122 in and slightly miss hit it landing short and spinning round and down into the front of the bunker. However, some idiot decided to leave the rake up against the front lip stopping the ball from rolling down into the middle and leaving me with no stance or shot. I could only hack out to the front edge and make bogey. I parred 7 until hitting it to 12ft on the par 4 8th and wacking it 3ft by. I would then go onto miss this and eventually be out in 2 over. Playing well but scoring badly, this showed as I hit every fairway on the front 9! Eventually hitting 10/14 fairways for the round. I parred round to 13 with nothing special happening until 3 putting again on 13 from 50/60ft, terrible first putt leaving it 12ft short. This might have been influenced by the fact we were on the clock at this point due to 1 player in our group taking an extortionate amount of time. The last 5 became stressful as I knew how far behind we were. However I made a brilliant up & down on 14 for Par. I hit the last 4 greens leading to 4 straight pars after 2 putting all of them from longish distances to be round in 74 (+3). This put me 9th and to be honest I was just quite happy to get in.

Saturday, moving day, was more like hold on to what you’ve got as strong winds picked up and showers became frequent. I birdied 1 by getting up & down and hit the pin on 2 from 83 which ended up 3ft away to go -2 thru 2. The first 3 were crucial as they played downwind so you needed a good start. I parred 3 then turned back into wind. I hit 1 green out of the next 6. I bogeyed 4 after leaking my tee shot right. I then got up & down on 5,7,8 and miraculously on 9 after being all over the place to be out in -1. I technically missed the 10th as well but 2 putted from the fringe for par. I bogeyed the downwind par 4 11th annoyingly after completely misjudging my 2nd. I had 122 into the 525 yard 12th leading to an easy birdie. I got up & down out of the bunker on 13 and 2 putted 14 to stay at -1. However, the last 4 were all into off the left and by this point we had horizontal rain come our way. I missed every green coming in, however it was only because I missed 2 horrible downhill downwind 3 foot putts on 15 and 17 for pars that led me to a bad finish. Including these 2 bogeys, I also bogeyed 18 by missing my 7 iron approach left to be round 73 (+2). Yes, it could’ve been an incredible score in the conditions but when you only hit 6 greens 2 over is good, especially when 3 of them were in the first 3 holes. This moved me up to 3rd and 2 off the lead.

The final round contained fairly strong winds but no rain so it was slightly better than yesterday. I birdied the first again by holing a nerve settling 10ft putt. I was keen to get off to a fast start as I hadn’t done so at Hampshire and didn’t want a repeat. Unfortunately this never happened as I bogeyed 2 from a bad drive left, 3 due to a poor 8 iron that went 20 yards left, 4 due it playing tough and catching the bunker short right off the tee, 5 because my tee shot ended up in the heather on the side of a bunker that’s 5 yards off the fairway and led to a hack out sideways and finally 6 after 3 putting from 30ft after a poor wedge shot. 5 bogeys in a row! My chances had gone within 6 holes. However I had to keep going. I missed a 12ft putt on 7 for birdie until holing a 25/30ft putt on 8 which was a massive bonus as it was 1 of the toughest holes anyway never mind when its directly into wind. This got me going and I parred 9 & 10 by 2 putting from long distances. I held an 11ft putt on 11 for par after being out of position and hitting a poor chip to keep a good finish intact. I somehow lipped out on 12 and 13 from 25ft and parred 14 to still be 3 over. I made great up and downs on the tough 15 and 17 as they were into wind again before frustratingly catching a mini flyer on 18 and going over the back leaving me no shot whatsoever. This meant a round of 75 (+4) and a finish of T4. If I’d parred the last I would’ve finished in a tie for 2nd. Although, after the start it looked very ominous so to finish top 5 in the end is respectable.

So that’s 7th and 4th now in the last 2 events which is great. The only thing missing for me is to win something big. I drove the ball well over the last 2 weeks which is a positive sign and chipped well especially at the Irish so hopefully I can touch up on a few things and go well at the Brabazon which is 9 days from now.

Summer 2017

First and foremost I need to apologise for my lack of activity on writing blogs. It’s been so hectic recently with trips up to Scotland and back (x2), 2 trips to London, over to Austria and then to North Carolina in the space of no more than 2 months. Anyway, enough of the excuses and back to late May with the Brabazon.

The brabazon was held at Woodhall spa this year, thankfully I didn’t have to try and qualify like previous years due to an exemption from England. Woodhall spa was a course that presented good scoring opportunities if you drove the ball well. This didn’t seem to register with me first round as I drove it about as well as my mum in a manual! My saving grace was the putter. I gained +4.1 strokes on my putting for the statisticians, for the traditionalists that means I gained 4 shots on my putting on the average tour pro from the distances I was putting from. If you’re lost, just know I putted really well!! I shot -1 (72) and the same thing continued 2nd round however I didn’t hole everything this time which led to a 75 (+2). I went to the range straight after and obviously found something as in the 3rd round I came out the blocks fast, a run of 6 birdies in 7 meant I was -6 thru 10. Wind really picked up on around 12 and a bogey on 14 halted any mega score, I finished with a 68 (-5) which looked incredible as I got lucky with the weather, the wind sustained itself and made it really difficult for the leaders. Everyone dropped back fortunately so from being 11 off the lead I was now only 4. The last round was good but just didn’t contain any fireworks which was needed to catch the leaders. I shot 70 (-3), 4 birdies and 1 bogey to finish 5th, 3 off the lead.

2 days later I was up to Scotland for the Scottish amateur at Western Gailes. Whilst I’d just gone 7th, 4th and 5th I wanted to win. Any fame I had received evaporated with my sister reaching Britain’s got talent final and she got far too arrogant for my liking! Anyway, back to golf and I started with a 72 (+1) I was 3 over thru 9 with nothing clicking so that score was respectable. 2nd round I shot 66 (-5) even with my dad caddying! The conditions were perfect and a run of 5 birdies in 7 got me to -5 thru 12. The main reason momentum and score was halted was when I hit it to 9ft on 13, hit it a foot by and missed that! Could’ve been -7/8 but that’s golf! Going into the last 36 on Sunday I was 3 back, The weather was tricky but my start was great being -2 thru 4. This Petered out however due to some average play until on 14 I made a tigeresque eagle on the 600 par 5 ( driver, 5 iron to 10ft ). 4 pars followed to shoot 69 (-2). I was still 3 back unfortunately but with some nerves and bad weather it was still easily catch-able. On the front 9 I only had 1 decent birdie chance which meant I was out in +1. I kept patient tho and birdied 10, 14 and held a putt from off the green on 18 after a bogey 17 which made things taste sweet. This led to a solo 2nd finish with -7, 2 off the winner. Getting closer!!

So next was the St. Andrews links, don’t think I have to tell you where this took place! 1 round on the Jubilee, 1 on the old then if you make the cut its 2 rounds on the Old on Sunday. I shot 70 (-2) on the Jubilee first round, a bogey on the first and a bogey on the last with 4 birdies in between showed steady play. Onto the Old and whilst everyone else was preparing we were retiring downstairs after a lovely lunch in the R&A clubhouse. With a 2:30pm tee time I needed something to do. Time passed and I was ready to play my favourite course. Stress free golf continued with birdies on 3,5,9,10 and 15. Nothing special to report on those apart from my bogey free round ending on 16 after I hit it closer to the 2nd pin. Never good! A 20ft par putt went in on 17 stopping any collapse to shoot 68 (-4). 1 back I started strong on my 3rd round with a 25/30ft putt for birdie on 1. Birdies followed on 3, 5, 7 to be out in -4. A complete thin with a 9 iron on 10 started an eventful back 9, this led to a bogey and then a bogey on 11 meant I had to start digging in. This was the case until I held a putt from off the green on 14 for birdie, a brucey bonus! Don’t worry though it doesn’t stop there. I doubled 16 after trying to hit it too low into the wind resulting in hitting 1 of the many fairway humps and looping into a bunker 40 yards from the green. It somehow ended up against the face, plugged. Things were slipping back and when I hit my drive on 17 right, I felt like Speith on 13! What have I done! The relief when I saw the ball spotter put his hand up is indescribable. I went on to run one up from 175 to a ft and birdie the last for an easy 69… ( -3). This meant I was tied for the lead and not 2/3 back like my previous events! The first 12 holes I played was probably the best golf under pressure I’ve played so far. It was stress free containing birdies on 2,5,6,10,12 in heavy showers and some wind. This propelled me to -14 for the tournament and an almost certain a nice lead. A poor leave on 13 led to my first bogey which didn’t get to me as I managed to negotiate a 14,15,16 with pars. On 17 there was 1 place I wasn’t going, more chance of going on the beach left than right! As i got to my ball in the left rough I was told I had a 4 shot lead. So I carefully/tactically played 17 which led to a bogey and a 3 putt from 40ft on 18 after playing that safe led to a 70(-2) and a -11 total. There weren’t any wild celebrations as I was worried someone could finish birdie birdie to tie. It was unlikely, but when I was sat in the media room and Ben Ferguson birdied 17 panic set in. My dad had nervously walked as far away as possible. Thankfully the valley of sin did its duty and I had FINALLY WON!!! Such a great feeling and a great place to do it especially with my Grandad there. In my opinion, looking back, that finish in the 3rd round with that piece of luck on 17 probably won it for me.

No time to rest however as it was 7 hour drive down to St. George’s next for the British amateur. A bad 2 hole stretch of 6, 6 ( 3 over ) on 14,15 turned an average score into a bad one at St. George’s in the 1st round to shoot 74 (+4). I was disappointed but after all the good golf it was a round I couldn’t really get angry with. My 2nd round was at Princes, definitely the easier of the 2 courses. I thought the cut was going be -1 so i needed a 67 or better. A fast start was imperative to give myself hope and that’s what i got. I birdied 1,2,7 and 8 to give myself a chance. I bogeyed 9 and looked for all the world I was about to bogey 10 until I held a 20ft putt for par. I birdied 13 and 15 to get to my number and managed to survive the last few. This included an incredible up and down on 17 which I’ll never forget. It’s probably the happiest I’ve been this year after a round as to set -5 as your total then to go and do it under pressure was so satisfying. Anyway I made it on the number which meant I had to go through a Pre-lims match. It was nip and tuck with my putter annoying my opposition. We were A/S through 12 and I held a 8ft, 15ft, 6ft, 9ft on 13,14,15,16 respectively all for halves. We halved 17 and 18 until I held an 8ft putt for the halve on 19 to keep going. I finally won on the 20th with a par and I was more relieved than happy. I wanted to talk to my dad and mum about it but couldn’t really as I had only 20 mins to eat and get back out. This was my downfall. I had to play an american who was well rested and raring to go where I looked like I’d been doing an 2 hour cardio session. After all that pressure and then release of it, I started badly ending up being 2 down thru 6. Once my game picked up however, so did his and I ended up losing on 17 2&1. I would’ve definitely fancied my chances if I’d just had some more time to gather myself inbetween rounds.

Next up was the European amateur at Walton Heath, yep it doesn’t stop. A course which seemed long but get past the first 7 and maybe 10 and there were chances to be had. The first couple of days I felt I hit it ok but wasn’t completely happy. Same for my putting. However, on the 1st round my good shots seem to go very close therefore it contained a lot of short birdie chances leading to a 68 (-4). 64 was leading. The 2nd round was just fizzling along until I held a 57 yard pitch on 12. I was due a hole out so wasn’t completely surprised once it went in. I then birdied the 3 par 5’s 13,14,16 coming in to end up with another 68 (-4). -8 total and 1 off the lead. My 3rd was the most frustrating round I’ve had in a while. I felt I played it if not better than the previous days but nothing seem to go for me and I couldn’t have scored any worse. An example of this was on 5, I leaked my drive right, found a bunker where I hacked out, hit a horrific wedge shot long left and didn’t get up and down for a double after being -2 thru 4. I shot 73 (+1) in the end to be 5 off the pace. Like the British amateur I thought -9 would be the number. It looked more than likely after I birdied 2,3 and then holed out on 5 from 118… it owed me 1! Now this did shock me as I wasn’t expecting 2 holeouts in 1 tournament. I birdied 7 and 8 to be out in 29. Something I’d never done before. I bogeyed 10 from a bad drive and missed short putts on 12 and 13 for birdies and then from the middle of the 14th fairway I made a bogey 6. This stretch killed me. I fought back, birdying 15 and 16 to shoot 66 (-6) and a total of -13. -15 got into a 3 way playoff so what could’ve been! I finished 6th and once again improved my chances of making the Walker cup squad. So there were benefits.

I have played in other bits and bobs as well. For example I got through the regional stage of the Open and missed out by 3 shots in Final qualifying. I got sent to Glasgow Gailes annoyingly but there’s not much I could do. I got within 1 of the mark with 7 to play however it just wasn’t to be. I also recently played in Austria for our European men’s teams championship. Individually I finished 2nd in the qualifying stage out of 96. I won 3 out of 6 matches in the matchplay stage and the team lost in the final 4-3 to Spain. I then headed off to North Carolina a few days later to try and qualify for the US amateur. I shot 65 (-7) with my only bogey at the last, 74(+2) to come 4th and miss it by 1 place ( 2 shots ). I am first alternate for that qualifying site so who knows. Maybe someone up there will help me out!

As you can see its been ridiculously busy but I have loved every minute of it. I decided to pull out of the English amateur this week due to not adjusting back from North Carolina and being mentally drained. I’ve got the big 6 with Cheshire coming up and then most probably the home internationals at Moortown. The Walker Cup is now on the horizon, who knows if this season’s finishings will earn me a place in the squad for this prestigious event I can but hope. It would be a fantastic end to a brilliant few months.

Lytham Trophy

Just like the Hampshire salver, the Lytham trophy is a tournament that I’ve played a couple of times now so I know what to expect course and scoring wise. In previous years I’ve been content to make the cut but this year I wanted to to win it or certainly put myself in the position to win

So on the 1st round we got typical British links weather. 20-30mph winds with the course being firm and fast due to a lack of rain for a few weeks. 8 out of the first 9 holes were straight into wind so it was a case of hanging on and staying patient. I hit a great 4 iron into the first but a terrible first putt to 6ft which meant I would go on to 3 putt and make bogey. I missed another 6ft putt on the 2nd for birdie. I hit a great drive on 3 which reached this bunker at 270 which I didn’t think was reachable. This led to a bogey. A couple of good pars followed before I bogeyed the really difficult 6th ( a par 5 for the members but we play it as a par 4 in the tournament ). I parred 7&8 until bogeying the par 3 9th as I hit 6 iron into the back left bunker and ended up with no stance. I would say it got easier when we turned for home but it never really does there. A regulation par followed at 10 before I drove it into a fairway bunker on the par 5 11th. I hacked out, then hit 6 iron from 262… yes 262 yards onto the green before 3 putting again. I held a 13ft putt for par on 12 to regain momentum. Another 2 pars followed until bogeying 15 due to short siding myself. Stress free pars followed on 16&17 before I birdied the last for a 75 (+5). Believe it or not this put me inside the top 15, showing just how hard it was. Yes there were a couple of 3 putts which let me down however to not drop more than 1 shot was good on that course with those conditions.

So the 2nd round I wanted to get closer to the lead. Winds were up again but not as much as the first day. A great up and down from the 2nd tee on the 1st for par was followed by another 3 steady pars. A loose 6 iron and a missed 6ft putt on the par 3 5th led to my first bogey. Again I bogeyed the 6th from poor play and then doubled the 7th after 3 putting from 4ft! Stupid! On 8 I hit my tee shot into the bushes on the right, chipped out, hit 7 iron to 20/25 ft and holed it for a 4. A much needed boost. I then steadied the ship by parring my way up to the 14th. Then the worst display of wedge play and putting I’ve had for years decided to turn up. I missed the green from 121 and a 4ft putt on 14, a 7ft putt on 15. I missed the green from 78 and a 5ft putt on 16 as well as missing the green from 140 and a 6ft putt on 17 for. All these led to bogeys and looking back I put myself under so much pressure and tension ( especially the putting ) there was a very little chance I was going to make those putts. Anyway, I managed to hole a 10ft putt on 18 for birdie which meant a round of 77 (+7) and me making the cut on the number. Second prize was making the cut but I wasn’t that happy as I want to do better than that,

Top 20 became the goal for the day. We finally got good conditions with no wind and sunshine. I got up & down on the 1st and parred the second until hitting it into another fairway bunker on the 3rd leading to a bogey. I responded well with a birdie on the 4th. 6 straight pars followed from 5-10 with some solid play and a couple of up & downs. I must add I missed the green from 130 on 8 with a wedge so my wedge play was still very iffy. On 11 I got desperately unlucky as I flew my drive into the very right edge of this fairway trap that’s 297 to carry. This led to a bogey. My tee shot on the 12 then plugged into the face, I did well just get it out otherwise it could’ve been nasty. So another bogey followed there and on 13 as well when I pulled my tee shot into rough. I played for a flyer which I never got and therefore ending up short and not getting up&down. On 14 I pulled my wedge shot, again, and missed about a 7/8 ft putt to make 4 bogeys in a row. With the round slipping away from me I steadied my trail of bogeys with a good par on 15 before holing a 25ft putt on 16 for birdie. A regulation par on 17 followed before I missed the green from 109 on 18 but fortunately this time I got up&down to save 4 and shoot 73 (+3). I know I don’t talk much about my driving on this but it was the best I’d driven it in a competition for a long time. This was the case in the final round as well.

The wind then picked up just enough to give us something else to think about. I got up and down on the first again with 2 good pars on 2&3 following. I bogeyed 4 by 3 putting from the front edge of the green. I bounced back on 5 by hitting a 7 iron from 227 to 3ft. I parred 6 by 2 putting from about 80ft and then birdied the par 5 7th by hitting it in 2. I missed the green short from 90 yards on 8 but fortunately held an 11ft putt to keep momentum. I hit 9 iron long on 9 nearly into the bushes at the back. I recovered well to 15ft and then held that for another boost. I parred thru to 15 by hitting 3 greens and got up&down twice. I played 15 Ok however I didnt get up&down from an easy spot due to a poor chip. 3 regulation pars followed for a good round of 70 (L) and a finish of 7th. Royal Lytham is one of the very few courses in which you could have a 15 over par total and finish 7th. So I achieved my goal and some for the day but as I’ve said, I’d like to be in the last few groups giving myself a chance to win.

Next up is the Irish amateur at Royal County down which I’m really looking forward to. I need to improve my wedge play as I’m missing more greens than I hit when really I should be looking to make birdies. My putting wasn’t really that good either this week so if I can get those 2 going together with the way I’m playing, I should go close next week.

Hampshire Salver

The Hampshire Salver. A competition that begins at the start of the busiest part of my season. After winning the Hog last year it was good in the practice round to reminisce about what happened. However, its a different year and after the Spanish I wanted to bounce back.

It all started at Blackmoor on the 10th tee, a tight tree-lined course I hadn’t done well at in previous years. With this in mind I concentrated on a good start, which I got. 2 good long putts on 10 and 11 resulted in pars until hitting it close (6ft) on the par 3 12th to register red early on. I birdied the par 5 13th with a 15ft putt dropping and the difficult par 3 15th after hitting it to 8ft. A run of pars followed from 16 to the 3rd due to steady play. I hit every one of those greens just didn’t manage to stick it close enough. I reached the par 4 4th and hit my worst tee shot of the round into the heather. I went to take my medicine and hack out, but as I did, the ball came out dead and right into a little ditch than ran perpendicular in the rough. I took a drop, stuck my next into the green side bunker and got up and down for a 6. Frustrating yes, however I knew I was playing OK but more importantly putting well so I stayed patient and after a couple of routine up and downs on 5 & 6 I birdied the par 5 8th by hitting it in 2. I got up and down from a really easy spot on 9 to card a 67 (-2). For the individual 36 hole event I was lying 2nd, 1 behind the lead.

A quick lunch and I was back out but this time starting on the 1st. Somehow my 10ft putt on the 1st missed nevertheless this was quickly forgotten when I rolled a 20ft putt on 2 and a 15ft putt on 3 for birdies. I erased the error on 4 from the morning and parred it which began a run of 4 pars until a 25ft putt on 8 dropped to get to -3 for the round and -5 for the tournament. I felt in control and comfortable until I tried to hit a low 3 iron on 10 and got ahead of it. This led to me chipping out sideways with 250 still left, I ended up making a very good 5 which in a way kept the momentum going. I parred 11 with a good 2 putt until on the 137 yard 12th I hit a 127 yard shot with it being downwind that seemed to come off like a rocket, hit the downslope, and fire off about 25 yards long into this artificial mound full of deep rough and weeds. The next shot required a bit of luck as it was a bit of a hit and hope. It resulted in coming off firey, running up and over the slope and down off the front of the green. This meant I was now short playing my 3rd. Now I was anxious and tense and because of this I duffed my chip and finally made 6. I didn’t birdie the par 5 13th after a poor 2nd shot and started to feel my chances slipping away. I steadily parred 14,15 and 16 until knocking in a 12 ft putt on 17 for birdie. I sort of knew I needed a birdie on the last to have a chance of winning the individual event but my chances disappeared after my approach spun back and just ran off this false front leading to a bogey and a round of 70 (+1) and a -1 total putting me 4th.

The individual events are great to win however it was the overall event that got my attention this year as that contains the world ranking points. So after a good first couple of rounds at Blackmoor I was hoping to replicate the success at North Hants to win the overall competition. Again I started on the par 3 10th at North Hants and not very well this time with a bad 6 iron resulting in a bogey. I parred the next 3 until having my first 3 putt in a while due to a dodgy pin position. More pars followed due to good steady play but didn’t hole anything of length and was out in +2. I missed a 6ft putt for par on 1 and hit it into a fairway bunker on 2. Things weren’t looking good walking down the 2nd fairway. However golf’s a funny game and I managed to make par by hitting the front edge from the bunker then birdied the par 5 3rd by hitting it in 2. I held a 17ft putt on 4 for birdie and a great momentum keeper on 5 from about 15ft. Good chances slid by on 6&7 until I hit it stiff on the par 3 8th and held a 12ft putt on 9 for a birdie birdie finish and a round of 69 (-1). As I said it looked bleak on the 2nd but I was pleased to keep going and birdie 4 of my last 7 to keep me in it.

I worked out I was 1 off the lead going into the final round of the overall comp. However I bogeyed my first hole again and the reachable par 5 3rd which was a real killer. I hit it into a fairway bunker and 3 putted on a hole I looked to birdie. I missed a 10ft putt on 4 for birdie and hit a great drive on 5 which caught the very edge of a fairway bunker leading to a splash out and another bogey to be 3 over thru 5. I parred 6&7 again until rolling a 15ft putt in on the par 3 8th… If only I’d played that hole 18 times! I parred 9 which meant I was out in 2 over and needing another comeback. This was especially the case when I bogeyed 10… thank god I didn’t play that hole 18 times! I played 11 like my dad which resulted in a bogey and any fight I had left was slipping. I parred the next 4 to steady my score until bogeying the tough 16th. I birdied 17 after a brilliant pitch shot out the rough. This was unfortunately undone on 18 after a poor pitch shot went long and a missed 5ft putt meant I was round in 75 (+5). 4 over total for the individual event and a 3 over total for the overall event. This meant I finished 8th.

Obviously afterwards I was annoyed at myself with a poor last round from being 1 off the lead to finish 8th. Looking back I started badly and nothing really clicked so it might just have been one of those days. However next up is a comp I love, the Lytham trophy. A completely different test but one I look forward to.

Spanish amateur

My first event of the year was to be played in Valencia for the Spanish amateur. I was supposed to play in the Portuguese amateur a couple weeks before this however due to England Golf sending my entry form to the wrong email address, I wasn’t entered and therefore unable to play. The Spanish was at a course called El Saler, one of the toughest golf courses I’ve played abroad. I was excited to test myself due to a long winter with a lack of competitive competitions available. Also, I had made a few changes to different aspects of my game which I felt good about and wanted to test them in a pressurised environment.

Ater a good practice round I felt like I was ready to do well. The format was a tough one with the top 32 players over 2 rounds from approximately 130 going through to matchplay. I got up&down on the 10th, my 1st, to get me going until I sprayed one right on 11 which ended up lost leading to a double bogey 7. I bogeyed 12 by 3 putting from just off the fringe and parred the next 2. +3 after 5 isn’t good but with the course and the blustery conditions it was probably around average. I then proceeded to 3 putt the par 5 15th and drive it into the fairway bunker on 16 which led to another bogey. It all went horribly wrong on the par 3 17th when my 3 iron just got taken on the wind landing on the left fringe, it then kicked hard left into a bunker with no sand and ran into some weeds underneath a bush. Already scared that  I’ m playing  myself  out  of the tournament I had to hack it a yard back into the bunker and try to make a 4. I attempted this however I didn’t move the ball, I then proceeded to do this 4 more times before becoming successful, real schoolboy stuff. My bunker shot lipped out to 5ft and I missed that leading to a 9. Ridiculous. After that I was so embarrassed by what I had done I was no longer thinking about the next shot but about how bad my score was and what others may think. I bogeyed the 18th to be out in +12. I spent the rest of the back 9 in shock and feeling guilty for my playing partners who had been drawn with me. There’s no point me explaining my remaining 9 as my mind was all over the place and it doesn’t reflect me as a player. I finished with a score of 92. I never realised  that could happen to me at this level. Having time to reflect I feel maybe I wasn’t fully prepared mentally on the choices and struggles that take place in an event. But even now I still cant properly comprehend what went on.

Waking up the next day was hard, I didn’t really want to show my face to others but I wanted to prove to everyone that it was a one off and show my true golfing self. A really good up&down on the 1st gave me a little boost. I 3 putted the par 5 3rd from 60+ ft after a terrible pitch. I missed a 10ft putt for birdie on 4 until hitting the par 5 5th in 2 leading to a birdie. I then found my putting boots as I held a 18ft putt on 6 for par, a 13 footer for birdie on 7 and a 12ft putt for par on 8. I parred 9 to be out -1. I kept momentum going as I recovered from 60 yards on 10 for par after a poor drive which led to a hack out. Regulation pars followed on 11, 12 and eventually 13 after my 12ft birdie putt was left hanging over the edge. I had to chip out sideways to 100 yards on 14 after an average drive got punished, I made up for it however after my pitch finished 7ft away which I then converted to stay -1. I parred 15 until catching a flyer on 16 which unfortunately left me in an awkward spot leading to a bogey. I then reached 17… it was playing similar to the 1st day with the wind. I pulled my 3 iron again slightly which landed on the green and just rolled into the same bunker I was close to yesterday. This time it rewarded me by placing my ball into a mini bush that had grown onto the face of the bunker. I was just able to move it 2 yards onto the fringe, 60 ft away. I putted up to 6ft and missed it for a 5. Just one of those times where golf becomes unfair. That hole would have put me in trouble but I parred 18 for a 74(+2) which I felt was a lot more respectable especially when the amount of under par scores could’ve been counted on 1 hand for the tournament.

My next event is the Hampshire salver on easter weekend which I can’t wait for as I just want to bounce back quickly and defend my winners title.

 

 

 

South Beach International Amateur

The South Beach International amateur is an event held in Miami, Florida during the week leading up to Christmas whereby the top 600 amateurs in the world receive an exemption, it is ranked as one of the top 8 amateur competitions in the world and I had the good fortune to be able to play in it. The first 2 rounds were played over 2 courses (Miami Beach GC & Normandy Shores GC). There would then be a cut from 210 into the top 72 and ties with the final 2 rounds being played at Miami Beach.

It all commenced at 10am at Miami Beach, probably the harder of the 2 courses, with a nervy tee shot. I hadn’t played an event now for nearly 3 months so that competitive edge had been lost and therefore I became anxious over my first tee shot. However, I managed to par the hole and set the trend as 11 straight pars followed. This was due to a lot of long range 2 putts and the odd up & down. I reached the Par 5 12th in 2 from the 13th fairway which gave me my first birdie. A great 2 putt on 13 from around 90ft sustained momentum until an errant 5 iron on the par 3 14th left me short sided with no shot leading to my first bogey and back to level. I responded well by being in a greenside bunker in 2 on the par 5 15th, however I caught my bunker shot semi thin bouncing past the pin and down the slope into Bermuda grass. This is where my lack of experience came into play as I continued to go straight underneath my next chip. Perplexed I popped my next chip just onto the green about 20ft away and 2 putted. Taking 5 from 15 yards is unforgiving. However, I was completely uncertain on how to play those 2 chip shots. I parred the next and recovered my confidence with my bunker play with one of the best bunker shots I’ve played all year to save par. I then held a 12ft putt on 18 for birdie to shoot 72 (+1) to recover what could have been a disastrous finish.

With the cut probably going to be +1 I felt I had little room for error in the second round at Normandy Shores GC. I started well with a par then holing a 15ft putt for birdie on 2. This started a putting exhibition as I held a downhill 5ft putt for par on 3, a 20ft putt for bogey on 4 after being in the water off the tee and a 15ft putt for par on 5. I got up and down on 7 for par, held a 12ft putt on the par 3 8th for birdie and parred 9 by holing a horrible swinging 6/7ft putt after being in the greenside bunker. This meant I was out in -1 somehow having around 11/12 putts in 9 holes. I began to give myself space from the cut after I hit a wedge out of a fairway bunker over water to a foot on 11 and then holing a 25ft putt on 13 for birdie to reach -3 for the round. This made me relax a little and I played better coming in. I finally missed a 10ft putt on 14 for birdie however and didn’t make use of good scoring opportunities on 15 and 16 leading to pars. I lipped out from 40ft on 17 for birdie and on the last I might have lost a bit of concentration where 2 solid shots left me 30ft to go, I then proceeded to ram my first putt 15ft plus by and miss the return leading to a 68(-2). That was slightly aggravating, however I couldn’t really blame my putting as that kept me in the tournament.

I was lying T45 at -1 for the tournament yet determined to now push on and improve my position. No way did I want to feel satisfied at where I was. My start however left a lot to be desired. A poor lay up into a bunker on 1 led to a bogey, I then bogeyed 2 by getting a mini flyer and not even coming close to getting up and down. I hoped my bad start had ended with a well-played birdie on 4 however I was wrong as even though the 5th was arguably the toughest hole I played it poorly lead to a bogey killing any built-up momentum. I then missed the green with a wedge on the 7th and my inexperience of Bermuda rough showed again as I fired this one 15ft by. This meant I was out in +3 and really losing ground yet I was still confident in my ability to scramble back. My woes continued though as I played a replica hole on the par 5’s 10 and 12 by hitting it in the water with my 2nd and having to get up and down for bogey. This separated a bogey on 11 and led me to being 6 over thru 12. The only aspect that pleased me throughout the round was that I never gave up and this showed with birdies on 15 and 16 followed by up and downs for pars 17 and 18 to give me a round of 75(+4). A round where nothing really went that well and one certainly to forget.

After a bit of practice on the range and the putting green I was determined to correct yesterday’s effort. Yes, a good finish was a way away but there was still a lot of pride involved. I began with 4 uneventful pars before having to chip out sideways on the 5th after a bad drive and get up and down from 30 yards to save bogey. I bounced back immediately by hitting a wedge on the par 3 6th to 4ft and then wedging it to 10ft on 7 both resulting in birdies. A real swinging 7/8ft putt for par on 9 dropped after a decent bunker shot kept me going into the back 9. The misfortunes of 10 and 12 yesterday were thankfully recovered as I got up and down on 10 for birdie and wedged it to 12ft on 12 to go -3 for the round. A bad drive on 13 led to me missing the green and a bogey. I played the last 5 holes fairly well however the only decent chance I had coming in was a 7ft putt on 16 which I pulled miles wide. I desperately wanted 1 more birdie to get me back to level par for the tournament however it wasn’t to be as I finished with a 69(-2) … +1 for the tournament and in a tie for 51st.

Overall the experience was incredible. After the 4^th round for example, a few of us headed down to the beach and jumped in the sea. There’s not many places you can do that in the middle of December! It was consistently 28-30 degrees and we were in buggies every day so it felt more like a holiday than a competition at times. In terms of my golf, off the tee was a big problem for me, even in the last round when I shot -2 I only hit 1 fairway so there’s a lot to work to do in that respect. The biggest positive for me was my putting. Fast, slopey greens aren’t quite what I’m used to especially on greens with a moderate amount of grain, therefore, to putt well was good for my confidence. My next journey is back to Spain to play in an event called Costa Ballena with England. It’s a quadrangular type format in which we play matchplay against Italy, Spain and Germany lasting over 3 days at the end of January.

Thank you for all your support throughout 2016 there have been a lot of people who keep asking how I’m getting on and offering their encouragement so I thank you all for that and hopefully I can improve on a decent year.

Season Review

Recently I have played in the North of England at Alwoodley golf club, this was to be my last event of the year. Unfortunately I’ve been struggling long game wise for a couple of months and this showed. I ended up shooting 77, 78 to miss the cut comfortably, 8 penalty shots with a few chip outs tells the story. It was certainly the worst I’ve felt in a competition so I’ve just got to accept it was a really bad week and to make it a one off.

However, I cant allow that to spoil what in my opinion has been a good year. I feel I have made vast improvements in my tournament play, the results and scores I’ve started to produce have been good along with consistency. I have reached all of my goals for the year, to be 500th or lower in the world amateur rankings of which I’m 457 (I started the year around 1200). To win a tournament, which I achieved in April with the Hampshire hog. To represent England which as I’m sure most of you recall I did in Holland in July. On a nice little side note I managed to reach +5 this year, after Alwoodley unfortunately I’m back to +4.4 but to say I reached that achievement pleases me. Also Ive worked out that out of the 42 competitive rounds I’ve played this year I’ve shot level or better in 25 of them. All that  said though, no way do I feel my golf’s close to the complete package. There are still areas of my game I know I can improve on which excites me as I never want to feel like I’m unable to get better.

So what happens next? I will be going out to Spain throughout the winter months, I’m going for the whole of November but my grandad and grandma wont be there so it looks like beans on toast every night! I’ve also had of couple of England training sessions down at Woodhall Spa to meet the coaches and show my ability along with picking up any nuggets of information that will help me. These sessions will continue with a trip to Portugal in January. My first event will be the Portuguese Amateur in the 2nd week of February, my aim now is to focus on being fully prepared for making a good start to the year.