South Africa, just the name is enough to conjure up images of wild beasts roaming the planes, where the daily struggle for life is a brutal as it is beautiful, and somewhere that was definitely on my bucket list. Well this year I was lucky enough to be invited over to play in the 2014 South African disabled open and following that to captain the England team in the inaugural world cup of disabled golf, this was to be held at the amazing love golf's bar and Safari resort and was being organised by the South African disabled golf association. So we are almost at the end of February and the good old british weather has deemed it fit to try and wash us all away and cause nothing but heartache for the whole country. We British however are a hardy bunch and we will overcome this just like we will anything else that is thrown at us. Personally I have been very fortunate and not had the flooding issues at home but it has caused havoc with training and has left me practicing putting across the living room floor much to the chargrin of my wife ;-). However, I have been working hard and trying to get some kind of stability in my swing and consistency back into my short game. I have had lots of emails asking what I do for training when the courses are closed and if I think that you can train effectively at a driving range. Personally I think driving ranges are great for keeping your swing in check if you can't get on the course but I don't think you can beat learning by actually getting out there and playing. Finding your ball in silly places and having to manufacture a shot rather than aimlessly blasting balls into the horizon on the range and then wondering why the game is not there when you step onto the tee. I am very lucky and I train 2-3 times a week at heathfield driving range but as I said, only to keep my swing, not to try and cut down course time. Anyways, I have managed to get out for a couple of games in the last few days, firstly, I travelled up to meet Tony Lloyd at the very nice Shropshire golf centre where I had a brilliant 4 ball with a very talented young golfer called Lewis who travelled down to meet us. Tony was paired with his pal Rob and the banter was flowing before we even got to the tee !! I could tell it was going to be a fun day. I had wonder caddy, super Dunk on the bag so we could get in the swing of it and work together before Q school. Lewis was accompanied by his dad and brother and as a loud and motley mob we all set off for the first tee. Matchplay was decided upon with tony and rob having the nerve to take on The boy wonder Lewis Eccles and myself. The stage was set and the game was on. And the day certainly lived up to its promise. We really did have it all, some fantastic golf was played all round and I don't think there was ever a time without a smile or a laugh. And just to top it all, with some fantastic play by Lewis as my teammate and some silky smooth chips from the young player, we secured a great 3 and 2 win aswell ;-). My next game was around the beautifully maintained derby course if the belfry in Sutton Coldfield. It was only me and Dunkles playing but I was using it as a bit more variation in practice so being in a 2 ball meant we could zip round. I was striking the ball really well which was definately needed as the wind was blowing like crazy !! It caught me out with major gusts a few times, and with only 2 real mistakes during the round I scrapped away for a 74. Not brilliant by any stretch of the imagination but definate progress on my wind playing. My next game is Tuesday with another bunch of disabled bandits who will try and part me from my £5 for their stableford game ;-) I normally lose in spectacular fashion too but the banter and camaraderie is second to none. But win or lose in our fun games, I shall keep grinding. I will keep working towards Q School and working towards generating publicity for disabled golfers everywhere. With 4 weeks until history is made with a leg amputee playing in the 3rd level of the Regular European Tour, there is lots and lots of work to be done if I am to even have a 10% chance of qualifying. But like a typical pig headed bloke, I don't know when I'm beaten so I shall try until I fail, then I'll have another go too ;-). I will be updating my blog more regularly as we approach Q School so keep them peeled and as always, thanks for taking your time to read my blog and to all those that send me emails every day, thanks, your support and love is amazing. Onwards and upwards. 2014 is going to be amazing !! For now at least. Monk out x Well, what can I say. This season has been absolutely brilliant in some ways and completely exceeded my own expectations with my results and EDGA European Tour Order Of Merit win. My first competitive match of the year was a pro event in Manchester on the NW Pro Tour which was really just to see how my winter training was helping and it was a great experience. What was good was really good but it definately showed up a deficiency in my short game that I really had to work on. My next golfing trip was for the England team in a Ryder cup type event against France at the amazing St Omer Golf Club. The match play event was right up my street as I love to play matchplay. After two hard fought days it all came down to the 18th green and me needing to get up and down from greenside to win my point and in turn the whole match for England. Boy was I glad that I had been working so hard on the short game and as the ball rolled to about 12" from the cup, the feeling of elation and pride for my team and country was enormous, knowing that shot had won it. so with 2013 drawing its final few breaths, our eyes move forward to 2014 and our minds fill of our hopes and dreams for the year ahead. Personally, I could not have had a better 2013. My year started well with a trip to the PGA show in florida, where i was able to make some great contacts that really did help me to have such a successful season. I was able to take forward my wintyer training form into my playing season and with 2 wins, one tie for 1st and a 3rd in my OOM events, A team Matchplay and singles win for me against France. Another Half a dozen good performances saw me feeling hppy with my results. Yes, things could have been better, but if there was no room for improvement thenm things would be boring wouldnt they :) For all those that are regular readers of my blog, you will know that i also did the London Marathon in my day wheelchair in a time of 4hr 12m 55s, a great event that I will be doing again in 2014. I am of course looking towards the EDGA Tour OOM Title and I will be looking at trying to retain my 2012/13 13/14 Title, This i can assure you will not be an easy task. The standard of disabled golfers accross the world hs risen so dramatically over the last 18 months that now there is always a good 8/12 players that could easily win each event. This should make for some great battles next year ;) As well as my Golf in 2014, as i said earlier, i will be doing the london marathon, in an everyday wheelchair. I am hoping to beat my PB, which i set this year but finioshing in one piece is more important than beating a time. After i finished the Marathon this year, i said that i was looking for a new and different challenge........... What i wasnt counting on was undertaking a challenge i have always dreamed of......... Let me explain, Last year i met a great guy ( Craig Collins) who works tirelessly for a great charity called childrens christmas wishlist, I was lucky enough to accompany Craig to Coventry Hospital last year and be part of the handover of gifts, that will be given to and used by Terminally Ill Children, who have to spend their Christmases, in hospital. This moved me, not only because of what the charity does, ( which is amazing ) but because of the passion and selfless drive and desire of the charities founder to raise more and more money and give the children more and more, even paying for holidays and dream experiences. I knew, there and then, that i needed to support them and help them in any way i could. Then me and craig had a conversation. i told craig i was looking for a challenge, he asked me what kind of challenge, i said about the marathon and that i was looking fo something a bit mental and something that i could raise lots and lots of money with but also something that will stretch me and push me to my limits. About 5 minutes later, my challenge was set. I knew what i was doing and I had a new goal. i was going to do something that everyone dreams of but very very few will ever do. Ladies and Gentlemen. In November 2014. I will be setting out on an 18 Day Trek of Hardcore proportions. A true test of endurance and will power witrh what can only be described as the ultimate prize at the end........ I am going to Mt Everest !!!! i am going to walk the 18 day trek and push myself to breaking point in aid of Childrens christmas wishlist. How awesome is that !!! I will of course be looking for sposors and any donations, wether it be pennies or pounds !! The more money I can raise, the more smiles you can help me make on Christmas Day for children that deserve nothing less than miracles !!! so as you can see, 2014 is looking like being a big big year. Throw in a dozen or so pro events and i am looking to be non stop from jan, all the way to december but just the thought of being able to say that i have been to Mt Everest is driving mr forward !! so to all my golfing friends worldwide, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that 2014 will be all you ever dreamed it would be. I look forward to seeing you all and our battles to come. thanks to everyone that has looked after me and supported me so far in my golfing journey and heres to a great 2014 for all of my amazing TeamMonk Sponsors. Monk Out xx If you feel that you can help with a donation to an awesome cause, please visit my just giving page. http://www.justgiving.com/monktoeverest? So, November has come rushing past us and we find ourselves nearly into December !! The cold weather may mean that courses are starting to close or temp greens and winter tees etc, but that doesn't mean that training stops. I have been spending a lot of time at the range over the past couple of weeks, mainly working on 7 iron thru to lob wedge and just concentrating on the quality of strike and consistency of swing and timing. It's this time of year that the ranges start to get busy and I guarantee that if you look at the players at the range with you, about 80% will hit their driver and 3 wood more than any other club in the bag. These will be the same people making double after double when they get back on the course next season. How they smile when hitting drive after drive, not caring about swing or timing, as long as the ball goes flying down the range towards the 200yrd wide end fence. When if you watch them closely, they hit one left, two right, sky 3 then say, " I love the driver, I always hit it miles !! ". These are the guys to play for a fiver ;-) Anyways, my training is going very nicely and now that I have the awesome titleist 712 ap1 irons in the bag, my ball striking, flight and consistency is much better. I have played a few rounds this month, the derby course of the belfry was in amazing condition and was a pleasure to play. Heythrop park was also top top quality and certainly worth looking at. I was also fortunate to be invited to pyrford golf club by a fellow disabled golfer ( Martin jelley ) for a game with him and mark helm. Again, another gem of a course with water in play on 17 of 18 holes !! I have also had a couple of rounds at my home club of Bicester golf hotel and spa just to keep the game in check and also to test out the new monk mobile !! So I shall keep training hard so that I am ready to defend my titles in 2014. Till next time bloggers Monk out. X Disabled golf has a problem in the uk The problem has caused not a joining of forces but in fact a fracture that runs so deep and with so much hatred, petty mindedness and downright corruption in certain area that I feel it may take years to repair if possible at all. When I first came into disabled golf around three years ago, I was amazed by the talent that was being shown by the disabled competitors and I loved the fact that when you see the final group coming down 18 on the last day of a tournament, you don't see the disability, you are too in awe of the golfing skill on show. When I saw this, I wanted in. I wanted to be a part of what I saw as a disabled golf family. I left a sport I loved, and one that I was already a member of the national squad and I concentrated on golf. I wanted it so badly I could taste it. I wanted to be in that last group on the final day I wanted to win that top prize So I trained And just like my competitors all over the world, we improved and got more competitive and before I knew it I was a single figure handicap and I was competing in the top group and thought life was good. Then I started to notice the politics. The way that as soon as one disabled association was mentioned, everyone had stories of varying degrees of legality and how by alaigning yourself with the wrong group could see you " expelled " by the supposed power group who could make life pleasant or a struggle in the disabled golf world. I started to see the real people behind the positions of supposed power in various associations and clubs across the uk and I didn't like what I saw. The back biting, the sneaky phone coversations that started with the phrase, " I shouldn't be telling you this but....", the scheming that occurred on a seemingly regular and accepted frequency. As members of associations, we want to know that we can rely on our peers and those in positions of power to act in a manner befitting and progress our great game forward. We are players of one of the only games in the world that everyone can play on a level playing field regardless of who they are or whether they have a disability or not and I fear that with the current uk structure we are going to achieve the exact opposite of our aims. We will end up driving people away from our game if we don't sort our crap out NOW !!! Are we now really in a place where we are prepared to allow a small minority of people to ruin our good name and sport or are we, as I hope, ready to stop messing around and start moving our sport forward and working towards the holy grail of Paralympic inclusion !! Can you imagine Paralympic inclusion at the moment with the current state of British disabled golf ? Who would run the national team for a start ? Balasa ? DGA ? SDGP ? golf England ? I know a few people that would love to add that to their titles but lets be honest, would it or could it work at the minute ? I think not. The politics of the present time would kill any hope we would have of creating a great golf squad. And it certainly wouldn't be from the lack of talent. I can think of at least a half dozen golfers from England, Scotland and wales that would breeze into a GB team but won't get a chance because of allegiances or the whim of a committee member. The present situation is a joke. Those of you in the know will already be aware that I have been dropped from the GB team for the upcoming Copa del Nacion in Spain ( I was part of the last winning squad, have never lost for GB or England, I'm also the European order of merit winner last year and hopefully this year and have won two out of three European disabled tour events this year). Reason for my dropping, because my subs were late and when I was representing england against France in st Omer earlier this yer, me and a team mate grabbed a couple of hours sleep in my car so we didn't wake up our respective teamates as it was 3am. To add insult to injury, I won the winning point, on the 18th green to win the challenge trophy for England. After a great team performance and a great team morale. This is what I got. Do I deserve to be dropped from what is the equivalent of the euros ? I don't think so, but you may disagree and that's your prerogative. Do I think the decision was made for the greater good of the team ? NO Do I think the decision was made as a vindictive snidey way to hit me where it hurt ? Oh yes indeedy. The current politics is a cancer slowly killing our game. I haven't named the person whom I know is responsible for the demise of a great association and as he likes to try and get scary and threaten legal action to throw his weight around and I shall not confirm or comment as to his name so please do not ask me to. I'm sure that the number of good people in disabled golf hugely outweighs the bad and I'm sure that we can get British disabled golf back to where we should be. I gave up my amateur status to try an bring some more publicity to the great talent that we have in disabled golf in the uk and to try and entice more people to take up the sport that has changed my life. It's time to start making a noise if something's wrong. It's time to take our sport into the current century with dignity and pride. Lets show the rest of Europe and the world that the British system isn't busted and antiquated. Lets find those disabled golfers and train them. Lets introduce people to the most enjoyable and frustrating sport known to man. Let them know what it is to throw off their disability, watch the ball drop in the hole and become.... A Golfer A rant by Andy Gardiner The awesome guys at Gripeeze.com are the newest members of #TeamMonk and are helping me with the 2013 season. The guys jumped straight in when they heard I was having travel problems and after spending some time with the owner and inventor of the product in Florida earlier this year, I have seen for myself the way that the gripeeze product can considerably change people's way of life by giving them the ability to have a good solid grip again and allowing people the chance to do things for themselves. I am proud to be associated with gripeeze and look forward to promoting their range at events across Europe. July has also seen the arrival of a new clothing contract for me and #TeamMonk with the amazingly bright and in your face LOUDMOUTH GOLF. I will be wearing some of Loudmouth Golfs finest trousers, hats, shorts and belts for the rest of the 2013 season and into 2014. Massive thanks to Tracy and Wendy from Loudmouth golf for keeping me looking the absolute mutts nuts and allowing me to show my crazy side on the course. Here is a small selection of some of my outfits so far. ;-) So it was off to a scorchingly hot northern Holland for the ABN AMRO Dutch open. It was being held at the BurgGolf hotel and golf club in Purmerend which is about 15km away from Amsterdam. During the practice day pro am I was liking the look of the course and striking the ball nicely. I was looking forward to the start of the tournament and one I knew I was playing with my good friend Mathieu Cauneau and the awesomely talented Swedish lady golfer Caroline Larsson. Round 1. The first hole is a tricky little par for requiring nothing more than a 7 iron off the tee and a controlled wedge in. After two nice shots I was left with a straight 8 foot putt for birdie. I prompltly 3 putted and dropped a silly silly shot ! I made solid par on 2 and 3 and came onto the 4th tee slightly less angry and a lot more positive. I then promptly duck hooked my tee shot into the water. I dropped at the point of entry and after getting my head out my backside played a gorgeous 8 iron from 155yrd and left it stiff for a tap in par. What a recovery !! That set the tone of the front 9 and after a couple of solid back to back birdies I was back under par at the turn. A reasonably solid back 9 and I had knocked it round in 76 and had a nice 5 shot lead in the clubhouse. I felt really comfortable on the course and was able to deal with any trouble I put myself in and escape with a par or at worse only a single bogey. What was really good was the adoption of vpar technology in the tournament , this meant that you could keep up to date in a live leaderboard at all times. With a solid 5 shot lead, I was quietly confident that if I just kept my head and played a nice solid round tomorrow I could indeed go one better than last year and I could get my hands on the ABN AMRO Dutch Open Title. Only time would tell. 18 holes of golf is a lifetime Day 2. So day two and I'm in the final group with a 5 shot lead over the field. I know that a nice solid round and that puts all the pressure on my opponents and means that someone would have to shoot super low to overtake me and take the title. I tried to just keep things simple and play fairways and greens. And I pretty much did just that. I didn't play or strike the ball as well as the day before but I was again getting away with getting up and down or if I was missing my shots, I was not getting myself into too much trouble. After I got onto the 18th tee I finally allowed myself to ask the scorer what the leaderboard looked like, and I glanced a look at the vpar screen. I was gobsmacked, I knew I had played steady golf but I had 1 hole to play, final group and I had an 8 shot lead. The 18th hole is a medium length par 3 with water cutting across the hole and 2 very unforgiving bunkers guarding the green front right and left. 185yrds and I play a solid 6 iron that lands just left of target but just slides off the green by 6ft. A little chip see the ball finish 18" away from the hole and another glance at vpar confirms I have 8 putts for victory. I then went and missed my 18" tap in, leaving it seemingly suspended in mid air on the lip of the hole. No harm, no foul and I tap in to take the victory and the much wanted win after last years defeat against Manuel in a play off. that meant I had now had Back to back wins on the EDGA European tour now this season, coupled with my 3rd place at the first event of the year meant that I now had a really good lead at the top of the order of merit and I now had the chance to win it at the next event in Sweden for the world invitational event. So, until Sweden and the world invitational Monk out |
Andy Gardinerhere you will be able to keep up to date with what is happening in my golfing journey Archives
November 2014
|