My shot of the year... (so far...)

Last Saturday was first round of my Club's annual Knock Out match play "President's Trophy". According to those I've asked, it is keenly contested. So I was happy that I qualified.

Anyway, the shot I want to tell you about was my second shot on the 9th hole of my match. I was just 1 up in the match at this point, my opponent had won the last 2 holes to come back from 3 down through 6.

Our 9th hole is a par 4 of some 350m with a dog leg right. I had put my tee shot into the trees on the right side just short of the apex of the dog leg, about 160m from the hole. My opponent, after having himself found the trees off the tee had recovered to the centre of the fairway and was lying only some 60m short of the green for 2.

I was standing behind my ball, thinking should I or shouldn't I.

Option 1 was to chop out back to the fairway, try to hit the green and play for a bogey, maybe get lucky for a par and hope my opponent made no better than 4 or 5 as well. He was 2 under the card for the last 3 holes and his short game was apparently on song.

Option 2 was to "have a crack!" using my Grandfather's venacular. I had bit of a gap in the tree line's canopy that I thought I could attempt to find a path through should I wish to. The logic for me was I'm 1 up, worse case is I lose the hole and go to 10 all square with the luxury of getting strokes on 3 holes around the back. Not a bad position to be in really.

So I settled on having a crack. Taking 6 iron I went through my routine, addressed the ball and thinking "swing easy" pulled the trigger...

Contact was so sweet, with no sensation of ball on club at impact at all. The ball flew straight for the gap in the canopy and through, appearing to draw just a little. It was on its way. From where I hit the ball I couldn't see the green, so I run left out into the fairway to survey the result. Looking to the green from 170m or so away I spot what seems to be my ball on the green.

On arriving at the green my ball is sitting comfortably about 8 feet from the flag, pin high left. Its pitch mark only some 2 feet or so away.

I had gambled and won. My opponent Pitched on to outside my ball, missed his par attempt and I conceded his 2 footer for his bogey, leaving me to 2 putt from 8 foot for the win. I didn't even think of holing the birdie putt as I was still thinking about the 6 iron I hit to get here.

I rolled the birdie attempt just by the hole on the high side and left it about 3 inches past. My opponent conceded the tap in and we went to 10 with me 2 up and grinning from ear to ear......

Cheers

__________________
Look at the Target, Look at the Ball, Swing... Dr Bob Rotella...

sounds like a cracking shot craig!
how did the match end up?

I love reading descriptive golf.

Nice shot.

The match went on to the 14th green, with me winning 6&4...



Needless to say I suppose, I am very happy with the result.

Now I am drawn to play a fellow off 12 who has had net 66 and net 64 the last 2 weeks. He took pains to tell me late in the day on Saturday when we were sitting in the clubrooms after our matches that he was 1 under the card his last 2 times out the front 9 having shot 36 and 35.

Bottom line, he has to give me 5 holes and so long as I can play to my handicap or better, I hope to do well...

Either way, I do enjoy match play golf, so next week is looking like being a fun day regardless of the eventual result...

Cheers

__________________
Look at the Target, Look at the Ball, Swing... Dr Bob Rotella...

Some minds games for your next round Young Scragger. Interesting. I love matchplay.

May I suggest walking on the opposite side of the fairway to him and only say "shot" or "bad luck" after he has hit. Be aggressive and committed to your shot Shags. Kill him.

Now most memborable shot, hmmmm, I've had a couple of ferets and long putts drop. Nothing really stands out as yet.

Nicole

During Saturday's round, I think I might have hit a shot the equal of, if not better than "that" 6 iron from the week before......

Our 7th hole is a 445m par 5 with a dogleg left at about 140m out, after smashing my drive into the upper foliage of a large gum tree which guards the front right side of the tee box only about 20m or so away, the ball hit something substantial and thankfully, dropped straight down finishing about 5m short of the trunk in some patchy rough.

Not happy, I get to my ball and try to fashion a fade of sorts with a 5 iron around the tree, to find the fairway. Strike it well, but, I overdo the fade bit and the ball runs into the right rough again and hits another tree, this time about 250m or so away, this time too close to the tree to do anything but go sideways.

So, I'm standing over my ball, some 240m or so from the green, with my opponent, having played his second, sitting nicely in the centre of the fairway, some 120m from the pin. Being only 1 down at this point of our match and having played 3 already, I decided I was not much of a show of winning the hole, so I settled on having a crack…

Grabbing 4 iron, I took line over the tallest tree inside the left corner of the point of the dogleg, this was the shortest route to the green and remembering to “swing easy” I pulled the trigger…

Just like last weeks 6 iron, contact was so smooth, again no discernible contact of ball on clubface at impact (I do LOVE that when that happens…!!!) and off the ball sailed rifle straight along my intended target line, clearing the tree I had picked out by seemingly only inches. I was hopeful that I’d find it had finished somewhere close-ish to the green when I got there and that I was a chance to get up and down for 6, maybe chip in for 5 and put some pressure back on him and see what might happen……

So, we round the dogleg and I’m searching the fairway grass for my ball and am a little perturbed that I can’t see it anywhere’s on the fairway or surrounds where I think it might have finished.

At this point I was certainly NOT thinking to check the green.

But, after my opponent had played his 3rd to the green finishing nicely only some 15 – 20 feet away from the pin, I noticed his was not the only agate on the cut stuff!!!

Bewdy, on getting to the green I had hit the green and was only marginally outside his ball and I guessed still a chance for a half if only I could can my 20footer for par.

I did go on to make that par saving putt, and watched as my opponent then stepped up and holed his for his birdie…

So it was 2 down through 7 and off to the 8th tee we went. At this point I was feeling a little vexed, happy to par the hole, a little disappointed to lose the hole, happier because it was to a birdie, but ultimately rueing what might have been, annoyed at having hit 2 of those 5 shots less than 30m or so combined.

__________________
Look at the Target, Look at the Ball, Swing... Dr Bob Rotella...

Beat this then. I skyed my driver, it went 100 yards straight . I was then faced with about 180 yards shot across wasteland to an invisible green which was marked by a high post. I creamed it, perfectly straight and far and it landed as I found later right in the middle of the green!! When I walked around the dog leg, I found the green was closed and a Winter Green which was some 30 yards shorter was in play and it was further left too!!! Sod it.

Bugger....!!!

My shot of the year so far, is a bit on the short side. A short par 4, and I am 130 from the green. The green is kidney shaped, and the pin is guarded by a bunker with about a 4' lip to get over if I miss the green short by less than a couple of feet. I hit my approach to the center of the green to avoid the bunker, but I am too far right, and my ball comes to rest on the green, but with no clear path to putt to the pin. To get to the pin I need to pitch off the green about 20' over 2' hill, land on on the green, and hopefully be close enough for a 1 putt par. As it turned out I holed the pitch shot for birdie, with absolutely no damage to the green's surface. GJS