Bad round bears fruit

Swanning around the Grouchy Golf Blog the other day, I noticed a link to research by Dave Pelz on the advisability of keeping the flag in while chipping or putting from off the green. Apparently it’s far more likely to help than hinder your ball reach the hole, except in one or two exceptional circumstances, which you can read for yourself.

It was pretty good to prove this for myself on my very next round when I had an awkward downhill putt from a tangly bit of fringe then had the pleasure of watching my ball trickle down, hit the flag and disappear for an unexpected (and arguably undeserved!) par 5.

Sadly this was the highlight of my golfing week, as my rounds went, if not from bad to worse, certainly from reasonable to downright frustrating. It started with a singles match in which I played well up the fairway, but more or less handed the honours to my partner ( struggling with his own game) on the putting green. Two more rounds with MOH, one in blazing heat and the other in a chill breeze proved equally disappointing. Putting got better, but fairway shots got worse. On the bright side I got a lot of bunker practice and hit some great recovery shots, and more than one sojourn in the bushes reminded me the blackberry season was well under way. Later in the afternoon I set off down some quiet lanes and found a bumper crop. Luckily I had taken a old six iron with me (no, not one of my new Callaways!) and put it to good use pulling down the high branches, so all was not lost.

No golf today. I am nursing nettle stings and making pastry.