Be Excellent To Each Other

I used to live by Stanley Park.

Now you live by the warrior code?

Well that was a most agreeable way to spend an evening once again. Nice course, warm weather, good company and a pint at the end. I chipped in for a birdie on one of the par 5 holes! Never got birdie on a proper course before. Shot 101 in the end which was 9 shots better than the last time I played there. Mr Burrrrt got 115 and Baz 126.

Well done all!

We should invite Rory Mac to play with us. On his current form it might be close!

That seems cheap to me, last week it cost me £25 for a game!

This has really made me want to pick up golf again. I haven't played in about ten years.

They vary around here from £10 for Stanley Park which is a fine muni course to £170 for Royal Lytham. I don't think I shall ever play Royal Lytham.

Edit: it's actually £170 if you go in the week. £255 to play 18 holes there on a Saturday.

That was my point, given its in London too. Should point out that's a nine holer though. However our council runs a good few other courses too - indeed Bromley runs a disproportionately high number of leisure facilities for this day and age, and well by all accounts.

I fancy a round of golf. It's the weather, I tells ye.

Sadly, my golfing buddies (Dad and Bro) live at least 100 miles away.

Even Tiger Woods on t'xbox is out of the question. Stupid online passes.

I'll get your sarcasm one day. ;-)

I've not played for about 10 years either but definitely getting the bug to play again. Such a good way to spend a Saturday or Sunday morning.

I shall be liberating my clubs next weekend. At which point it will then most likely proceed to rain for the rest of the year.

Certainly what the long range forecast shows. Boys birthday party at our house is next Saturday and will be a BBQ. Forecast - rain.

Had a nice game at Duxbury Park in Chorley with Mr Burrrrt last night, lovely course. He played consistently well to card a thoroughly respectable 99. I on the other hand started off really well but no sooner had I begun contemplating my impending career change, having basically solved golf, than my tee shots began to swerve right. Then all my other shots followed, after losing six shots in one bunker I began to despair, finally scoring a horrible 121. To the driving range I think.

121 is about what I score normally.

I seem to be alternating between that and about 100, never really anything in between. I might actually get some lessons soon.

A strange reversal of roles. It's usually me who slicing it like a bastard off the tee. Only the fourth time I've broken 100. Thought I'd got 100, but found I'd got the magic 99 after a recount when I got home.

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!

Yeah, I just went on the field and it took me a full hour of practice to get my swing back in shape. Pretty sure it was my timing that had gone off, I was starting the downswing with my hands and arms instead of my hips, getting all crossed over myself. So much easier to puzzle these things out when you aren't also trying to contend with playing a game.

Just so I can set expectations, Riles! Curio! We're going to get drunk then hit balls around for a bit, right?

Yes. We just need to arrange a time.

Yes.

Good oh. There was talk of scores and the like - it was making me nervous.

HAHAHAHA

I could use a driving range visit or two first as its been half my life since I last hit a ball in anger. Annnnnnndyyyyyy. Can I borrow your least good ball sticks?

All driving ranges will have bats you can borrow.

We should go to the driving range and then play a round, as I haven't played in a couple of years either.

But we are keeping score, if only because I might actually win.

Let's do it Saturday afternoon.

Hahahahhaha.

Had a golf lesson last night. It was dead interesting. Some slight changes to the grip and backswing arc all explained really well. However it's going to make things worse before they get better. When I got all the pointers to come together the ball was indeed flying further than I have ever hit with that club however I'm going to need to practice like fuck in order to commit this new approach to muscle memory.

I can't believe how much golfs Craster, Curiosity and I have done did recently.

Sunday.

Enjoy yourselves

I just need someone to persuade my wife that I can be allowed to go off and have fun* for several hours.









* Not that golf is particularly fun how I play it.

Went to play at Darwen golf course yesterday with Baz and Mr Burrrt. I had a shocker of a round but man, what a course. Brutally difficult and incredibly picturesque with some really memorable holes. Postage Stamp is a par 3 down a mahoosive hill with nothing but impenetrable rough surrounding the target.

This one in fact:

http://www.bubblews.com/news/921132-dar ... tage-stamp

Although I think that chap seems to have been aiming at the wrong green. The green is out of shot there below the one he's go the arrow pointing at.

I think I lost two balls on there.

Another one called Over The Trees sees you teeing up facing a massive line of very, very tall trees but still some good distance to the green making club selection tricky. I thought I had nailed it but in the end my six iron was a bit too much and it ran over the green. Can't wait to revisit when I'm playing a bit better.

Aye, it's proper gnarly. I don't think I'll be rushing back to play it again, I've never been so knackered after a round. I was reasonably happy with scoring 111 and getting a couple of pars as my driving wasn't great. A nice flat course next time I think.

I don't want to talk about my score. I was happy simply get to the end before I ran out of golf balls. It was a close run thing.

Silverdale next Friday, which looks like an altogether flatter, open and more forgiving course. No, wait

Had a lesson last night after playing so many horrible tee shots. Booked a course of six lessons in fact. Really excellent stuff and given me lots to work on. By the end of the session he had me hitting a few good shots with the driver which is a club that I never really bother to take out of the car, let alone the bag. Mostly it's a case of slowing my backswing right down and trying to time the release correctly.

Had a great time at Silverdale last Friday. It was a bit drizzly but that meant it was quiet. It always makes me feel edgy over the ball when I feel as though the group behind are waiting. But we had the whole beautiful course to ourselves. And what a course it is, not unlike Darwen it's set quite high up with views out over the surrounding countryside. Some properly memorable holes too, plenty of blind drives and plateau greens. A real challenge, especially for the moderately shit golfer. I eventually shot 120 but to be honest it felt like a good score on that course and in those conditions. My mate got round in 100 and he's normally in the low-mid 80s, so meh. I was just happy to be using my driver and not feeling like every tee shot was likely to just go scuttling along the floor.

Stanley Park this afternoon with Mr Burrrrt. Looking like it's going to be a bit rainy again but hopefully this will mean it's quiet on there too.

Jesus, it's properly pissing it down. But like they say there's no such thing as the wrong weather, just the wrong clothes. I have the wrong clothes.

Lets do this!

Weekends aren't far easiest, but can't do this weekend (brother 2), the weekend after (brother one), the following weekend(Majorca), or the two weekends (Majorca then parents) after that. Can also rule out the following four weekends from memory, but only one of those is due to purnells.

Could possibly do Mondays but they are funeral, client dinner, Majorca, just back from holiday and conference respectively.

I'll get back to you on Tuesdays in due course.

My friend played at The Wisden today. He seemed to have enjoyed it.

Great game today. I shot 100 to Mr. Burrrrt's 101. It was equal to my best ever score but easily the best game I've ever played, a much harder course than where I last got 100. Frustrating to be one shot away from double figures yet again but it's surely only a matter of time. I'm blaming the rain this time.

Yeah, I think we both could have scored a bit lower if it had been drier. Putting on some partially sodden greens didn't help much. Besides us both getting 8 on the first, we didn't score more than triple bogey on any hole.

Yeah you seemed to get especially unlucky with the puddles on the greens. I think my head went towards the end when I started thinking that I might get round in under a hundred, as soon as that happened I just began trying to not fuck up instead of actually play well.

All in all a good game though, some nice pars and I only lost three balls I think.

Yay! Finally got under a hundred yesterday. A 97 at Stanley Park. I was actually surprised because Baz was having a horrible round so I wasn't feeling very stoked about the whole thing. But looking back at the card it was just a really steady round with only a couple of triple bogies, the rest were all singles and a couple of pars. Breaking 90 will be tough I reckon.

yeah! luyten wins the dutch open!

Excellent!

Cheap golf in Woking, maybe. I don't know how much golf costs.

http://local.amazon.co.uk/Central-Londo ... 1_40010921

18 holes + "refreshments" for two people for £29.

That's an excellent price, especially near That London I guess.