Results tagged “golf”

Turns out that my putting stroke prefers keeping line with the direction to the whole, meaning that this zero torque putter fits my putting skill much better. End result is that I should me making 2-3 more putts per round, at least that is what all the hype claims. Made in America so it must be could, cost me enough that's for sure. Ain't it a beauty?!

For many of us hardcore golfers, there's nothing more exciting than a competition that pits the young against the old in a full day of thrilling and entertaining play.

Those young whippersnappers can really launch the ball into the next county, but the cautious wisdom and patience of the seasoned veterans often prove invaluable.

We made a few tweaks to the format to increase the challenge. The morning featured 9-hole singles matches, followed by 9-hole greensomes, and concluding with 9-hole foursomes in the afternoon.

In keeping with tradition, the weather was beautiful and sunny, setting the stage for some truly remarkable golfing feats.

Alongside the usual Nearest to the Pin, Longest Drive, and Leary prizes, we introduced new awards: Most Valuable Player, Shot of the Day, and a Consolation prize. Everyone who made a birdie also won a golf ball.

As the reigning champions from last year, the "Old" team once again managed to secure a big win for the second year in a row.

But, to be perfectly honest, we were all winners, both young and old, and we capped off the day with a fun borrel and a delicious BBQ, laughing and sharing stories late into the evening.

We can't wait until next year!

Second place Club Championship is not all that bad for a senior golfer I guess. A shame that the first round wasn't that great. Better luck next year.

Today was my first round of golf of the year, at the Leeuwenburgh Golfclub. I hadn't really played for more than a month, just practiced a bit, so I was curious how well I could play.

Not only did I have my first birdie of the year, which is normally the exciting highlight, but I managed to shoot two birdies in a row.

The first birdie was a longish 12 meter putt on the par three tenth, and the second one was on a par four where I made a long masterful shot from the fairway bunker and then sank the three foot putt.

The rest of the round was far from spectacular, with in total six pars, six bogies, three double bogies and a lousy triple bogie on the last hole for an 84.

Not a bad start for the year, and there will be plenty of fun challenges ahead.

As tradition would have it, the end of the golfing season marks the yearly Jong Tegen Oud Matchplay Tournament. This is a long awaited for contest which pits the best of the youth against the finest seniors. The age divide being forty years old (kind of).

It is fine mix of young and old going at each other in the true spirit of golf. Having lost last years match, the team old had some serious grudges to deal with. Not really revenge, but close enough to it.

Consisting of two teams of fourteen each, we played greensomes in the morning followed by singles in the afternoon. Afterwards we had a good old "borrel" with prizes, capping off the festivities with a fun BBQ just joking around into the evening.

We were all very lucky this time around with the weather. For a few days before, it had been raining seriously (cats and dogs), and the golf course was even closed on the previous day.

Well come Sunday morning the sun came out, the sky presented a blanket of blue, and the slightly wet fairways dried out well by the afternoon. To make it fair, we allowed ourselves to bump the ball and clean it if needed. Gimme putts were up for grabs, gentlemen that we were.

This year was no different from previous contests. The young group of whipper snappers looked awesome striking their drives with intensity, right down the middle in what looked like a million miles down the fairway. Flexibility to its extreme and a swing speed beyond belief.

Team old remained undaunted (though a bit shaky). We know from years of experience that long drives alone are not enough. The thinking man has the advantage in the end. It is not about closing your eyes and whacking the ball as far as you can.

Besides, the older you get the better your short game (they say). That is exactly where we came out superior, sinking longish putts and recovering from behind the trees. Team young were tough as nails and put up a good fight. However, in the end team old pulled off a semi-convincing win.

So what if this time around team old was the winner? What really counts is the fun time we had together, sharing a mutual love for an amazing sport, feeling good by the synergy that bubbles forth when the young and the old get together.

In the end, we are all young at heart.

Nieuwsbrief 6 oktober 2023

Second place bruto men with a 77 from the back tees, and they still insist on calling me Fred.

It was raining pretty hard in the morning, and with a bogie on the first three holes, I wasn't feeling that confident. Despite the slow start, I kept my head and pulled off a 39 at the turn. With just three bogies on the back nine, I scored a 38, for an honorable 77 total from the back tees. One birdie, no doubles, no penalties, and no lost balls. My handicap went down to a 5.0, not bad for an old man. Breaking the 5.0 level mark might be tough, but it's definitely doable. In twelve years from now, I shouldn't have any problems shooting my age.

Where's the %$#@&%$! hole?!

This picture shows the results of a single chipping session from about twenty meters one late afternoon of training for a couple hours. Being able to chip and one putt provides a huge advantage on the golf course, especially for those holes where you just miss the green in regulation and have a challenging chip and putt left over.

In general the results are pretty good, a majority of chances to one putt which is the goal of this exercise.

However, if I were to improve my chipping skills, one notices two things: the ball tends to be to the right of the hole and the average distance is a bit too long.

A good golfer prefers the ball to be long as this means there is a better chance of chipping the ball in the hole, but too far past the hole is not good either.

I therefore have two simple goals for the next time, namely: chip more balls along the line of the hole (close my club face ever so slightly), and avoid chipping the ball too far past the hole (minimal decrease ball strike velocity).

Hurrah, for the first time this year I finally did it: I completed eighteen holes without a single double-bogie, played the very same ball and to top things off I broke eighty.

38 + 38 = 76 (no birdies though).

Finally my handicap has stopped going up and is back down to a 6.4.

Last month my golf game has been very sharp, and I have put in some pretty good rounds. However, starting two weeks ago disaster struck and I cannot figure out what I was doing differently with my swing that has impacted my golf game so negatively.

My woods and long irons were inconsistent, I was striking the club in the ground before the ball, I was rarely contacting well with the ball, and most of my shots were pulled or hooked off to the left.

In desperation I signed up for a one hour golf lesson. With a couple very simple changes the pro saved my life by tweaking my swing.

I noted down a number of key aspects that the pro observed and told me about. I printed out the following list and will carry it with me on the golf course for extra inspiration:

Golf lesson:
* Put hands forward.
* Feel club leading edge slightly open and right of target.
* Do NOT close the face!

Long irons and woods:
* Stand proud.
* Trust your tempo and don't swing too fast.
* Stay behind the ball, follow through and do not fall forward.
* Do NOT hang hands between the knees!

Tip: 
* Practice hitting draws with open club face.

Played at De Koepel golf course today in preparation of next week's big senior championship. About a two hour drive to get there, but it was worth it.

I think that I am finally starting to play better again. Shot an okay 37 + 41 = 78 with one birdie and two stupid double bogies. The back nine is much more difficult. Wish me luck next week.

What a great privilege it was for me to be the captain of such a fantastic team. Ending up second place is a great achievement, and I congratulate all our golfing heroes who made it happen. We will have to wait until next year to decide how to proceed further, but no matter what happens, the fun memories will last.

For the third year in a row I get to be the captain of our great golf team. So far this season, we have won the first two matches, but unfortunately got beaten pretty badly in the third match. We have one match to go where you can get revenge and prove that we are the best team this year.

Today I had a terrible time on the golf course, and despite a piling up of inner frustrations ready to explode, I somehow managed to keep my cool.

You'd think that getting a par on the first hole and managing two nice birdies (one was almost a hole-in-one within six inches of the hole) would guarantee a successful round of stellar golf.

That was not to be the case. Three double bogies on the front nine and two triple bogies and a double bogie on the back nine. No less than fourteen unnecessary additional strokes. That's a 44 + 44 = 88, pretty awful round.

For someone of my golfing caliber, you'd expect me to be shooting in the medium to high seventies, but that's the gam of golf for you, very unpredictable and unforgiving somethings.

Decided to splurge again on golf and sign up as a member of the golf club called Golfbaan Bentwoud stichting (foundation).

It's only a twenty minute drive from my house, and it offers very nice training facilities. I can also play on the golf course for a big discount, and in the afternoons it is never busy there. This is really nice for me, because much of the time my home course is booked solid, and I cannot play on late notice.

I want to workout three times a week, practice golf and play more often, and take part in as many (senior) tournaments as possible. My goal this year is to get my handicap down below five and to win at least one tournament (maybe three).

First time this year I played golf, from the back tees. Climate was a bit cold and wet, and just finished the front nine before it got too dark. Actually on the last hole I could barely see the ball.

Bogey, bogey, par, par, bogey, par, bogey, par, bogey for a 41.

Not bad for the first time in almost two months. Hit the ball pretty well, had no penalty shots, and I made a couple of long putts. I am really looking forward to a fun and exciting new year of golf.

Sorry, I could not resist. What a beautifully crafted golf weapon. Makes the perfect pair with the driver I recently purchased.

A special thanks goes to the fine folks at Dormy Golf where I found it for a great price.

In case you were wondering, it's a TSi3 fairway wood 4. Isn't it georgeous?