STRAIGHT UP

 

STRAIGHT UP

I played 9 holes on Friday and 7 on Sunday.

It was really hot even though I didn't hit the course until after 3.30PM each day.

I decided to try a new teeing off trick - one that I've been using for putting for a while. A few years ago I was playing with a good golfer and I noticed that when he was putting he used the writing on the golf ball to point towards the hole. I tried this and it made a real difference.

I kneel or lie down on the green and use my putter shaft to show a line from the ball to the hole. I then turn the ball so that the writing lines up with the shaft. The difference in accuracy is amazing.

Nowadays golf ball manufacturers are adding lines to golf balls for this purpose.

Callaway even have three lines on the ball so that the golfer can use the centre one for a straight putt and the left or right one if they can see that there is a 'break' in the green.

I now don't feel so silly of someone noticed me lining up the ball. I used to get funny looks.

Anyway. on the last two outings I applied this trick to my tee shots. I crouched or laid down and used the driver shaft to point down the fairway to where I wanted to go. I then lined up the line on the ball on the tee with the shaft. As I prepared to hit the ball I noticed that the perceived direction was different from what I had been doing. Effectively I had been hitting the ball slightly in the wrong direction, either to the left or the right. Using this trick I now began hitting the ball straight down the middle of the fairway.

Over the two days I managed to drive my best tee shots ever on nine different holes. It was amazing. I also used the technique on fairway wood shots and once again it helped with accuracy. I'm sold.

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A sad story. Look away now if you are of a sensitive nature.

Yesterday, after the first hole, I walked from the green to the second tee. This requires walking across a footbridge over a stream. As I was crossing I looked down and saw a gold ball in the water - a nice, white, shiny and new-looking golf ball. Beauty! I crossed the bridge, pulled out my telescopic golfball retriever and climbed down to the edge of the stream. I was able to easily retrieve the ball and carefully swung the expanded pole away from the water and above the deep grass I was standing in. Instead of doing what I normally do, that is keeping an eye on the ball while it is in the cradle at the end of the shaft, I concentrated on collapsing the sections of the telescopic shaft. When I turned my head I saw that the ball had disappeared from the cradle. It had fallen into the long grass somewhere but I didn't know exactly where. I started to search but saw that there were golfers on the first hole fairway so I had to make a move WITHOUT FINDING THE GOLF BALL!.

HOLES WITH ONE

 You might recall the presents I bought The Old Girl for Christmas and her birthday - a wheelbarrow, a sack trolley and some garden tools. Well, she bought me a new golf club for Christmas - a Universal adjustable club that can serve as an iron (numbers 1 through 9), a wedge (several settings) and a putter. See: ONE SHOT

We settled on the Universal not the Divnick basically because it was the only one that we found on Trade Me. This cost $200 which was a lot cheaper than buying new but a lot more than the full set of excellent Bridgestone clubs I bought for $156 back in October.

The Universal has an adjustable head that can change loft depending on the shot planned.

It also has a telescopic shaft that can be minimised for travelling with, and can fit     in a bag or backpack.

I went out and tried it this afternoon. It took a bit of fiddling to master changing the settings but I've mastered that now.

It also took a bit of practice to become familiar with the club at the different settings but I also mastered that and was able to practise until I was hitting some good shots.

The club is no serious substitute for the full set but as an easy tool for the occasional game it is great. I just had the club and a small shoulder bag with some balls, tees and my golfing glove and didn't have to haul a trundler along. I played a few holes and was able to par a fairly difficult par 4 hole and for the others I was 1 over par, two over par, two over par and three over par. Excellent for a first attempt..

The only trouble is that I think it needs a golf ball retrieving attachment.

If this could be added to the club easily I'd be in heaven.

As it was I found 6 golf balls in the streams but fetching them was difficult without a retriever. I ended up walking in the streams which were surprisingly deep getting my new shoes wet and with the water coming up over the bottom of my shorts (don't tell The Old Girl). Well, I couldn't leave those golf balls there could I?