So march is upon us all and will be over before we know it, then it will be the Masters and the 2013 season is well and truly underway. So , what have I been doing , well, I have been getting out onto the course as much as I can. I have been trying a few things that I was working on over the winter. My driving distance has certainly increased, I know that I am still not the longest hitter but now I seem to be finding myself hitting shorter and shorter irons into the greens. This of course means I am able to control the ball just a little more than if I was hitting a long iron or fairway metal in. I am still having my complete crash days but I am still a work in progress ! :-).
My putting has certainly improved too, a lot of which I personally put down to the fact that I absolutely love the feel of my custom Dave Hicks putter and I am therefore more confident when I stand over a putt. I have seen more putts drop for me, from a greater distance than before on a more regular basis which puts me in a great state of mind for the coming few months.
At the moment I am using TaylorMade RocketBladez irons, these did originally have the rocket fuel 85g stiff shaft in but I found them far too loose and for me they played more like a regular so I have replaced them with Dynamic Golf S300 and they now feel much more solid. I'm still using the Titleist 910 3 metal and my trusty Callaway fti 5 metal but the big dog is the Awesome TaylorMade R1 and I have the new 2013 Fujikura Fuel 60g stiff shaft in which together have given me 20+ yards in carry alone :-).
The lovely guys at Stewart Golf have also supplied me with a brilliant z3 push trolley which has been a god send. Light weight and really sturdy, well worth a look if you are looking for some new wheels !
My putting has certainly improved too, a lot of which I personally put down to the fact that I absolutely love the feel of my custom Dave Hicks putter and I am therefore more confident when I stand over a putt. I have seen more putts drop for me, from a greater distance than before on a more regular basis which puts me in a great state of mind for the coming few months.
At the moment I am using TaylorMade RocketBladez irons, these did originally have the rocket fuel 85g stiff shaft in but I found them far too loose and for me they played more like a regular so I have replaced them with Dynamic Golf S300 and they now feel much more solid. I'm still using the Titleist 910 3 metal and my trusty Callaway fti 5 metal but the big dog is the Awesome TaylorMade R1 and I have the new 2013 Fujikura Fuel 60g stiff shaft in which together have given me 20+ yards in carry alone :-).
The lovely guys at Stewart Golf have also supplied me with a brilliant z3 push trolley which has been a god send. Light weight and really sturdy, well worth a look if you are looking for some new wheels !
Also I have been talking to the wonderful guys at Footjoy and as you read this, they are building a Pair of " unique" red white and blue FJ Icons for me with my name on one and "MONK" on the other for me to wear this season. Massive thanks to Accushnet UK and Dan in Particular from Tour Support.
Another exciting development has been my trip to see the Jedi that is Dave Hicks from www.DaveHicksGolf.com
I took a trip down to Daves studio near Christchurch on the south coast and got put through my paces on the indoor TrackMan. We were doing some initial testing to see if the new vibe device would be something I liked and could use. All I can say, is when Dave gets you dialled in, Booom, consistancy like you wouldn't believe. The ability to change the characteristics was amazing and I am certainly looking forward to working with Dave over the next few weeks and get completely dialled in ready for my main season opener which is an England International match against our old enemies :-) the French next month in St Omer.
If the finishing results for my Irons are anything like the difference Dave made in my putting, the scores should come tumbling down so keep em peeled for some TrackMan readings and pics next time I go down to the simulator so you can see the differences :-)
So all in all, a quite busy March. Really looking forward to the coming season now though. Have played a good few holes at my home club of Bicester Golf club and there has been some really really nice golf in there. Plenty of birdies, a couple of eagles and not as many "big" numbers as before. Sure I'm still hitting bogies and the odd double now and again but I have Definately improveid in consistancy and the ability to rescue a reasonable hole from a complete disaster. Hopefully I will be able to carry this forward now and build a good solid start to the season so that by the time I go to the Czech open to defend my title I'm ready to clean up and pick up the number 1 spot in the order of merit from the get go. I certainly intend to go all out to defend my European Order of Merit title this year and I'd like a couple of tournament wins too if that's not too much to ask :-).
Oh and I'd like to retain the world cup in July at the westerwood. It's a different format this time with teams of 4 rather than country teams of 12. There is a very strong field playing and my team mates of Tony Lloyd, Roger Hurcumbe, and Ian Halliwell will all have to be on top form if we want to compete and hope to lift the trophy at the end of the comp. I'm sure we have the ability to take it but the golfing gods can be cruel indeed so we will have to wait and see but I've got all my fingers and 5 toes crossed !
Another exciting development has been my trip to see the Jedi that is Dave Hicks from www.DaveHicksGolf.com
I took a trip down to Daves studio near Christchurch on the south coast and got put through my paces on the indoor TrackMan. We were doing some initial testing to see if the new vibe device would be something I liked and could use. All I can say, is when Dave gets you dialled in, Booom, consistancy like you wouldn't believe. The ability to change the characteristics was amazing and I am certainly looking forward to working with Dave over the next few weeks and get completely dialled in ready for my main season opener which is an England International match against our old enemies :-) the French next month in St Omer.
If the finishing results for my Irons are anything like the difference Dave made in my putting, the scores should come tumbling down so keep em peeled for some TrackMan readings and pics next time I go down to the simulator so you can see the differences :-)
So all in all, a quite busy March. Really looking forward to the coming season now though. Have played a good few holes at my home club of Bicester Golf club and there has been some really really nice golf in there. Plenty of birdies, a couple of eagles and not as many "big" numbers as before. Sure I'm still hitting bogies and the odd double now and again but I have Definately improveid in consistancy and the ability to rescue a reasonable hole from a complete disaster. Hopefully I will be able to carry this forward now and build a good solid start to the season so that by the time I go to the Czech open to defend my title I'm ready to clean up and pick up the number 1 spot in the order of merit from the get go. I certainly intend to go all out to defend my European Order of Merit title this year and I'd like a couple of tournament wins too if that's not too much to ask :-).
Oh and I'd like to retain the world cup in July at the westerwood. It's a different format this time with teams of 4 rather than country teams of 12. There is a very strong field playing and my team mates of Tony Lloyd, Roger Hurcumbe, and Ian Halliwell will all have to be on top form if we want to compete and hope to lift the trophy at the end of the comp. I'm sure we have the ability to take it but the golfing gods can be cruel indeed so we will have to wait and see but I've got all my fingers and 5 toes crossed !