Enjoy
Monk out x
This is Night Boat Golf. Hitting a 7 iron from the deck of the spirit of Britain p&o ferry from France to Dover on the way home from the French open. We were bored. This is a video recorded from tony lloyds laptop until I can get the full footage on here.
Enjoy Monk out x
0 Comments
So today was set aside for two lots of training, this morning I went to Bicester golf and country club an hit the putting green with a dozen balls, my Dave Hicks flat stick and a determination to get this long putting cracked :-). I started at about 5ft and just hit a few putts to get a feel for the pace before moving to 10-15-20 ft and repeating the same exercise. I then moved to putting downhill and right-left and left-right breakers all from the same distance increments. I must admit, I'm still amazed how good this putter feels in my hands. The long putts that use to scare me are now not quite so intimidating as they once were. The feel an roll off the putter face is awesome and the distance control is so much better it's like someone putting for me. I'm not saying that I now hole everything from everywhere but I am certainly making the second putt a lot easier for myself than I was before on the long Putts and quite a few more of the shorter distance ( 10-15 ft ) are dropping than they were before :-). Dave truly has worked a little miracle with that part of my game.
So as you can imagine, I was in a reasonably happy mood when I left the course as my putting was not bad at all and I was looking forward to going to southfields range this afternoon for some long game work. I arrive home and lo and behold there is a parcel waiting for me with a French postal label on it. ....... This could mean only one thing..... My Toowap had arrived !!!! My what ? My Toowap :-) The Toowap is a brilliant little GPS device with in built pitch mark repairer from France. I was talking to the boss man clement last week and he said he was going to put one in the post for me to have a looksie at. All I can say is.... What a great little device !! Small enough that it takes up no space, you can look at your own game, shot for shot on google maps !, and it's got a pitchmark repairer built in ! What's not to love :-). Also the unit is built in France by members of staff recruited from the disabled community so a great work ethic too and they are less than £100. Bargain. Have a look at www.toowap.com can't wait to get it charged up and out on the course ;-) So with my day going rather nicely and my Toowap on charge, I'm now getting sorted to go and work in the long game ready for the Brabazon on Friday and France next week. Two very tough courses so I will be working on my long game, especially the low drilling shot as I'm expecting lots of wind at Paris national :-) So till later my bloggy buddies Monk out x The picture at the top of this post is my initial view of the course at 8am this morning. Was a little chilly but a gorgeous start to the day ( it rained 10 mins later but only for a few minutes ).
This was my second start as a pro and I was playing on the jamega golf tour in the first of 5 one day winter series comps. I was feeling ok a the sart time approached, I had been hitting putts for about 40 mins and had got a nice read on the pace and how the break was taking. They were very slow putting up any kind of slope but downhill they wanted to roll and roll !! I went down to the range and loosened the shoulders up with some half wedges before moving through the even number clubs and finally onto some nice full drives, I wasn't striking the ball particularly brilliantly but as my tee time approached there was not too much I could do about it so I decided I would play one club more and just ease back on the swing for a while until I find my flow again. My tee time was 9:40am and I would be playing with Jamega tour veteran Warren Bennett and relative young un, Luke Joy. The view up the first hole was lovely, a tricky little par 4 with a raised green and a gentle left hand bend, I was last to tee off and after watching Warren and Luke melt two drives straight down the middle, my squeaky bum was back again :-). I settled down and cracked a decent drive down the left side of the fairway an left 130yrd into the raised green. I was first to play in and took aim slightly right of the flag with a full p/w, the ball screamed away and started to just slightly turn into the flag, landing about 15ft away ;-). I walked up to the green and had a look at the putt, not what I wanted to be honest, a slippery 15ft downhill, right to left breaker :-(. Not being the most confident putter in the world I was not overly happy stood over this puppy. I tried to remember all the teachings so far from Jedi Dave ( Dave hicks putting ) and just get a good roll on the ball. I played my shot, a lovely stroke and watched as the ball rolled down the hill and turned towards te hole, just catching the left side and dropping in for a nice birdie !! Get in, -1 through 1 ? That will do for me ;-). Luke also rolled in a lovely birdie putt on the first and followed it with 9 more and 8 pars !! A massive -10 that boy will be a mega star !! Mark my words ;-) Anyway a silly pushed shot on the next 2 holes resulted in a bogey and a double and I was +2 through 3 ! Not the start I was expecting after the first but never mind, a long time left to play. I made a good up and down to save par on 4 but I definitely wasn't striking the ball well at all :-(. I was putting well but just couldn't get comfy with my longer clubs. I threw away another handful of shots by getting too friendly with the various water hazards that litter the front nine and stood on the 9th tee I was +7 and had visions of another nightmare like five lakes. I gave myself a bloody good talking to and gave myself a goal of level par from the 9th to 18th. If I could do that, I would shoot a disappointing 80 but at least I would have proven to myself that I can play out here with these boys without looking a complete idiot. How could I be out here playing crap and not showing disabled golf at its best !! Now I was on a mission, this was time to see if I had some vestige of mental strength in there somewhere. On to the 9th we go, a par 5 and a birdie opportunity if I play it right, ok , a nice smooth drive down the middle is called for ! I of course hit it straight left !! Have to play a provisional ball and proceed to put that about 5 yards right of the first one, balls. We head up the hole and my first ball is about 3 yards from yet another hazard but is sitting well and I can get a stance so no real problems, I thank my lucky stars and decide that the best way to let the ball know who is boss is by smacking the living bejesus out of it with a 5 wood ;-). This I did to great effect, leaving myself around 80 yard to the flag. I played my 3rd shot, a lovely little pitch that checked up dead around 3 ft left of the flag and I rolled in the resulting birdie putt and walked off with a smile ;-) I just missed birdie on 10 before dropping 2 shots by bogeying 12 and 13 and I was back to +8, I needed a birdie to play my little even par game but as it was I just couldn't see where it was going to come from ! I made 3 nice solid pars on 14-15-16 and really should of had a birdie on one of them but here I was with 2 holes left and two pars would give me another score in the 80s. I was not the happiest camper. The last two holes are par 5s but now the wind had picked up these were not going to be a piece of cake. I knew I needed a birdie so decided to chase it on 17 and pulled my tee shot a little and blocked myself with some trees on the left side of the fairway. I decided it was another show the ball who is boss moment again and pulled out the trusty 5 wood. I hit an absolute ripper, the ball arced over the offending trees and took a great hop when it hit the fairway leaving me 45 yrds into the flag, with the ball now behaving I played a punchy little wedge and the ball stopped dead around 5 ft right of the flag. This could give me my birdie and I could still shoot 80 (+7) which would mean I accomplished the goal I gave myself. I looked at the putt and as I feel a lot more confident with the Dave Hicks Putter I rolled it into the middle of the hole and there it was, a par on the last for a level par last 10 holes. The 18th hole at studley wood is stunning. A mid length par 5 with trouble on the shape of bunkers in the driver landing area and a narrow fairway bordered with water both sides, a highly elevated tee box and plenty of wind ! A great view, a bum twitchy finishing hole. After settling myself on the tee I hit a solid drive down the middle and avoided one lot of trouble. My second shot was too far for me to reach the green so I decided to lay up around 70-90yrd short of the green. This just happened to be the narrowest point o the fairway with water waiting both sides to gobble up anything not dead centre. I had wind coming straight into and had about 200 to the lay up point I wanted. There was only one choice to be made, had to be the five wood. I stood over the ball and just concentrated on making a good strike on the ball. For once my swing was with me and the ball arced away and came to rest, dead centre, 80yrd from the flag ;-) whew, that is two lots of trouble dealt with, nothing to worry about now. I looked at the 3rd shot and decided a nice crisp 52deg wedge into the wind should be the right club to play, I lined up and again just concentrated on making a clean strike, the ball headed off towards the green and never looked anything but all over it, the ball landed about 8 ft past the flag, took a small hop forward then the spin took hold and dragged the ball bag to within 2" of the hole !!!! Very nearly a nice eagle 3 to finish but at the very worst it would be another birdie and a finishing 79 ! And the last 10 holes played in -1 Whew, what a relief to find my game when I pushed it , I really enjoyed the game an felt a little better about my own game. I was treated to a game of the most exquisite golf I have ever had the pleasure to watch as one of my playing partners ( Luke Joy ) went on to shoot 8 pars and 10 birdies in a flawless display that just eclipsed any golfer I have ever seen control a ball , and yes, a big statement I know but I guarantee that he is destined to be one of the countries leading stars in years to come. So after an up and down day , I was pleased with my fight back but as usual felt I could have done a lot better. Today is however, is a move in the right direction in my opinion. I'm starting to get more used to the longer courses and with some hard winter training I know that the game can improve dramatically and who knows, maybe, I can start stringing a full 18 holes of good golf together :-) Of course I would like to thank Jamega professional golf tour for another warm welcome and well run comp. and I must compliment studley wood golf club on a fantastic test of golf that the course offers with some of the best greens I have had the pleasure to play on this year. And to think I only live 20 minutes away from this gem !!! I will definitely be playing this track again. With my mind now firmly fixed in the French open in 12 days, I can feel the start of a training plan forming in my mind which hopefully will iron out a few issues and allow me to claim the overall EDGA Order Of Merit 2012 in Paris. I will be updating throughout the week with practice updates and I am going for a round at the world famous Brabazon Course at the Belfry on Friday so I am really looking forward to that. Will be another great test of golf before I head out to take on the albatross course of Paris national ( Ryder cup course ) So till the next time blogbusters Monk out X So I went up to the golf course today as it is not too far from where I live so decided to go have a looksie before the one day event there tomorrow. This will be my second pro start and hopefully I won't feel quite so nervous on the first tee this time ( wishfull thinking maybe ).
The course is studley wood golf club in Horton cum studley, just outside of Oxford. It looks like a very very nice course and was in great condition when I had a peek up the first fairway and around the 9th green. I didn't go out and play a practice round today for a couple of reasons, firstly, in my last 4 tournaments my practice day, ie, first look at the course, has been my best scoring by far !! I am thinking that this happens because of my propensity to over analyse shots gets in the way when I actually get out for a comp round. The second reason is that I wanted to concentrate on getting a good rythmn with my new putter ( kindley supplied by Dave Hicks Putters, defo worth a look ! ) and hopefully get some kind of read of the speed of the greens. They certainly didn't seem that fast to me this afternoon but that may all change if mr Greenkeeper decided to give em a chop in the morning ;-) The greens were running lovely and true though and look like they will take a ball nicely so looking like there may be some very low scores out there tomorrow. There is not a big field (24 I think ) but it certainly holds some golfers of note and there are definitely golfers playing that can bang a mid 60s in quite easily so it should be a good winning score. Personally, my aim at the moment is not to finish in last place lol ;-). I still have a lot of work to do with the swing and with the putting strike but most of all I have to get the space between the ears in place, these guys are so focused and professional that I am learning all the time but I feel with a good hard winters training, I have got a lot more golf to play and a bit further left to climb ;-) So I will update tomorrow with how I get on but you can always check out the website yourself if you like at www.jamegatour.co.uk Till then my golfing amigos Adios !! ( check my linguistic skills ) X Today I went on my travels to the south coast to pay a visit to the engineering and putting guru that is Dave Hicks at his state of the art putter fitting studio. What an experience I can tell you, everything that the putter head does can be seen, analysed and hopefully rectified. I tried various different putters and was put on the camera to show what the putter head is doing during before and after impact and also what path the putter was taking. I was pleasantly surprised that Dave didn't throw me out after watching my first couple of attempted putts lol, but after some in depth analysis and some putting Jedi mind tricks I felt we were moving forward towards the creation of a solid consistent putting stroke an closer to finding a putter to suit me.
In the end, I was assessed as requiring a 35.5" putter with a slight off set and 3deg flat. As you can see from the above fitting, this is not something that is readily available off the shelf at your usual golf shop so Dave will build one to my specs. So after a very successful session with Dave, I have just left his studio with a superb putting mirror that helps dramatically and I was introduced to " the vibe " a revolutionary shaft insert that actually works !!! By increasing the sweet spot size and reducing vibration on the club face and up the shaft. I am now have in my possession a beautiful piece of putting art and poetry that feels fantastic and rolls the ball really really nicely. The video above is Dave giving some pointers and then me rolling in a lovely putt with my new secret weapon :-). With Dave Hicks on board with team fluff and some really exciting innovations coming from him shortly, I feel proud and privileged to be associated with the brand and especially the man himself. To find out more about Dave and what he can do for you, check out www.davehicksputting.com So now I'm off home then getting some putting going :-) For now bloggeroos Monk out ( on the green ) So, today I am meeting a reporter from my local paper, the general manager of my golf club and Ian Reid ( S I Developments ) to do a news piece on my turning pro at five lakes golf course in the jamega tour. Hopefully will get a chance to go out on the course and play a few holes too :-).
It's at times like this, when I'm sat in my shiny spanking club, that it dawns on me again, just how lucky I am to have such a great team behind me. Hopefully my jamega debut will be the springboard that disabled golf has been looking for to propel the game onto the next level. I am going to continue to play on the pro tour as well as playing on the EDGA European disabled tour too and continue to show that disabled or not.... A golfer is a golfer !! Monk out x Wow, what a three days I have had at the crown plaza five lakes resort in Essex. When I played on the England team here in the home nations trophy earlier this year I never dreamt that it would be the venue for one of the best experiences of my sporting career so far. I was welcomed on arrival by the lovely Sally from the jamega tour and was issued with my yardage book and local rules and given a general run down of how things worked the next day for the first round. Sally was great and when my caddy asked for a copy of the yardage book she told him " oh sorry, they are for the pros only " and I must admit I was trying really hard to supress a smile :-). ( sorry Gerry ).
I then got to meet Tony from Jamega and the rest of the team and I was blown away by how friendly and welcoming they were. Even the course itself gave me the use of a buggy for the three days I was there for free which was a great help financially , THANKS GUYS !!! So, it was over with the nicities and down to some business, of to the range and then onto the green and out for a practice round to see what was in store for me. I had a good warm up and was very happy with the ball striking, but yet again, it was on the greens that the problems started to rear their head again, hmmmm not good but never mind, and out for the practice round I go. I couldn't believe it !!! I was playing some really nice golf :-). I was level after the front 9 and with 2 late birdies I shot a 70 and was really looking forward to the first shot next day. The putting problems didn't seem to be happening and the confidence was on the up :-). Bring it on I said.......... "you got it" said the course......... And so my journey as a professional golfer ( albeit not a great one :-) ) was about to begin. The time was 10:53am The day was Tuesday 9th October 2012 I was stood looking down the fairway of the 1st hole, surrounded by Jamega tour signs and an announcer in a matching gazebo on the back of the tee having just said " representing S I Developments and Bicester Golf and Country Club......Andy Gardiner ". Ahead of me, about 30yards was Brennan Nichols from BBC tv, with a camera pointed at me to capture the moment. I could hear my heart beating in my ears, my vision went fuzzy ( not a good thing ) I was just seconds away from fulfilling a dream of mine. To play in a pro event as a pro, to play as a golfer, not a disabled golfer. For once, since my injury, I feel injury less if that makes sense. I felt like I was ten feet tall. Sure, my leg was still screaming at me to get off it, the pain didn't leave my leg or my knee or my hip, but at that point in time, that moment, it didn't matter. I had one job to do that transcended any pain or emotion I felt, and that was to smack this little ball down the fairway and break new ground in so far as an amputee golfer competing on a level playing field with able bodied golfers. To show that sports can be inclusive for all and that if you have a dream you can achieve it. I know that there are golfers all over Europe that are itching to play in pro events and give up their amateur status and they have supported me on my journey to this little patch of grass where history will be made. I pick my line, just on the left of the right hand bunker with a touch of draw, 3 wood, not driver ( for position ). I approach the ball and take my stance. I take the club back and ......... Crack !!!! There it goes..... Slightly left of centre but just what I wanted and there it was, the wait was over, my journey had begun. I started with 2 good pars and should have made birdie from 4 foot on 3rd but oh no, mr I don't want to putt came out to play again !! I must have missed so many chances it was unbelievable, even when I was giving myself dead cert birdie chances I was 3 putting :-(. I scraped my way round and felt battered and bruised with a shocking 88 !! As my caddy went to have a bit of a chinwag after the round I headed to the putting green and me, 6 balls and around 300 putts got acquainted. By the time I had finished I again had confidence in the putting stroke, convinced myself it was first day nerves and now that I have the putting stroke sorted all will be well in the second round. After my poor showing, I was in the first group off in the morning at 8:30. I went to bed confident I could improve on day one. I couldn't wait to get back out there and have another go at taming the beastie like I did on practice day. Day 2 started the same way that day one ended, I couldn't catch a break on the greens. I was either pulling up short or I was lipping out or the bloomin ball would horseshoe round the cup and come back at me and after some more scrambling and more bunkers than I care to remember I hit a second 88 on the bounce. My putting has really developed problems, to the point I don't know what I'm doing. :-(. However. The monk has a plan :-) With just two events left on my calendar, studley wood with jamega tour and the French open in Paris there is a lot of work to be done in a short amount of time but I do love a challenge and putting wil not beat me. I intend to get some serious work done over the next week to get ready for Paris national ( French open ) and to tie up the European order of merit title. So I left Essex knowing I hadn't had the chance to show my true worth on the greens but one thing did brighten my heart and that is this......... Now I have played as a pro, others will think, "I can do that " and they will, and then more will, and more and one day there will be no distinction between able bodied and disabled golfers, we will all just be one thing........ Golfers There are so many people to thank for their support and their help and guidance along the way just for me to get here. I will unfortunately forget some on this list and if that is you, I'm sorry, it's not intentional I assure you. Function18.com for my awesome clothing S I development Bicester golf and country club Banbury golf club Oxford golf centre My family of course Super dunk and woggle the super caddys Adam bishop golf Toowap gps systems My SP golf JAMEGA Tour for their forward thinking BBC and ITV Oxford All my friends on the EDGA tour And of course..... You, my blog readers. Your messages of support are awesome and always manage to make me smile. I dedicate my turning pro to all of you above because without you, this would not of happened, do from the bottom of my heart, Thank You. X So for my final words on the most amazing few days of my life, it is a message for my golfing friends near and far........... DISABLED GOLFERS OF THE UK AND EUROPE, LET'S SHOW EUROPE AND THE WORLD, EXACTLY WHAT QUALITY OF GOLF THERE IS OUT HERE. LET'S SHOW THE WORLD WHAT YOU GUYS HAVE SHOWN ME OVER THE LAST 2 YEARS, DISABILTY IS NO OBSTACLE TO ACHIEVING YOUR DREAMS. MY GOLFING FRIENDS FROM OVER THE WORLD INSPIRED ME TO TURN PRO AND IF TOGETHER WE CAN INSPIRE ONE MORE PERSON TO PLAY OUR GREAT SPORT, WE HAVE ACIEVED OUR AIMS. For now ladies and gents Monk ( amputee professional golfer ) out X So guys this is the legend that is Gerry. Let me tell you a bit about him. Gerry is the inventor of my wonderful training aid the MySP golf conditioning system. This is what I use when I train and before going out on course. It's a great way of getting that connected feeling before going out and trying to tame the course :-). Gerry is also a golf coach and I will be working very closely with Gerry and the MySP golf company in the future. As Gerry is a wealth of knowledge and a coach I can think of no-one else I would want in the bag for my first pro event especially a I don't have the use of woggle or Dunkles :-(. Also please bear in mind Gerry is a big guy so keep the nasty or downright idiotic nicknames to yourself shall we please :-) ta.
Anyway lads and laddesses, till I update tomorrow , Monk out ! X This is the wonderful guy ( Ian ) from S I Developments that has kindly sponsored my entry for my first pro event. Just think if we can one day get our own disabled professional tour it will be all thanks to this guys forward thinking and his willingness to fund a lowly golfer like me. Thanks must also go to his son Pete who I know was instrumental in selling the idea to his dad.
Many thanks guys
Here's to taking the next step and working my ass off trying to not come last !! :-)
Think I will be using the r11 irons at five lakes. Can't quite get the consistency with the callaway forged irons although I love the shafts. Maybe a shaft transplant if the game is not quite up to what I want at my Jamega debut next week.
Anyways , hoping to do loads of updates direct to my blog with this new fangled app thingy for my ancient iPhone :-)
Picking up my substitute wonder caddy Gerry ( no nickname at the min ) in the morning before heading of to the practice round. Hmmmm maybe as he has no nickname like woggle or superdunk, I should let you guys pick one for him ! :-).
Will upload a picture when I collect him in the morning and whoever can come up with the best name will win a game with me and the England captain ( mr tony Lloyd ) at my home course. How's that. ? Your nicknames can be sent via the comments section :-)
For now
Monk out
|
Andy Gardinerhere you will be able to keep up to date with what is happening in my golfing journey Archives
November 2014
|