3 down 5 to go........

Have been very busy at work lately. Have finished day 3 of 8 in a row and feeling particularly knackered but am relieved to think that my 'normal' contract will be under way soon. My boss is on a 5 day pro am in Ireland so I have full responsibility for the shop. This has come about fairly quick but I knew what I was in store for when I started the job.

Things have been going great there tho. The staff and all the members are all great and with the exception of a few initial reservations which are now resolved I am feeling very settled into what I am sure will be my permanent job for years to come.

My PGA application was returned successfully and I will receive more details about the next step when my criminal records checks (compulsory) go through which shouldnt be long.

Have tried my best to keep practising during and after these long hours but often feel tired and find it hard to concentrate. N my boss has pointed out a couple of swing flaws and practise has been encouraging. I find it depressing that I wont get to set foot on a golf course for 5 more days but take comfort in knowing i should play a bit better than i did at Wentworth so all good things come to those who wait.

The worst part of these long hours right now is that I dont seem to be speaking to R much. She lives away from me so we have to keep in contact a lot over the phone, mainly in the evenings. Recently tho Ive been getting in later than normal and we dont seem to have been talking as much. Im worried she's feeling a bit neglected, ignored etc cos maybe I havent appeared very supportive towards her recently where Ive been so tired. The fact is I miss her loads and cant wait to see her again. Its not easy when the most important person, thing etc (which she is to me) isnt around when you need them most and we both find this hard at times. The comfort is that things will go back to normal soon and we can make up for lost time.
I'm very lucky to have a person like R in my life. She's always been 200% behind my golfing aspirations and [for the price of a smirnoff ice ;)] has always listened to what I have to say and offered nothing but love, support, affection, good advice and friendship. She's my 'rock' as it where and I hope she knows it and that I represent something similar to her.

Not a very golfy blog but nevermind......

Back from Wentworth - wowee

Never in my life have I taken such great delight in playing like a pillock!!!
Wentworth has officially taken its place in my mind as heaven on earth. If only I were rich and could be a member of that place, i'd be in my element - R I love you so much for the greatest birthday present I have ever been given...

I have played on so many shitty courses in my time - naming no names MW but I'll be the first to admit it was way out of my league in terms of condition.

We arrived to glorious sunshine, checked in and paid - then we were given a 'goodie' bag. In it was a courseplanner, a scorecard, a range token and some exclusive wentworth tees. What a touch. I have proudly created a shrine in my bedroom.

After a nice warm up session we took to the velvety putting green. I must have spent nearly an hour practising on here to get some idea of what I may face on the course but even this would not aid me.

Unfortunately as we tee'd off, mother nature interfered and the heavens opened accompanied by a truly horrendous thunderstorm! Fortunately we made it to the halfway house but were very soaked and downright pissed off that the weather was spoiling our day! I was relieved cos I was struggling big time on the greens. I had already had three 3-putts and a four putt!!!!

Thankfully then, the rain stopped and the sun came out and it stayed with this for the rest of the round. I was so surprised at how different the course seemed in real like than on tv. How slopes seemed less or more severe, how shots seemed harder or dare i say easier than they look on tv - the 10th tee shot for example. The biggest surprise for me was how small the greens were. The 1st in particular was tiny but this is normally played as a par 5 for amateurs.

My biggest achievement was definitely a par on the 15th hole - a 460 yard par 4 beast of a hole in which I had a good up and down from a bunker in which i have seen many fail.

To play from 14-18 which is the main stretch you see on TV was a real thrill and to solidly par the last 2 holes left me feeling very contented and satisfied with what was a truly great day.

I recommend the Wentworth experience highly and although the cost financially is very high, the experience itself I would have to say is priceless!!!.........

Wentworth here we come.....

Well its been a while since the last the last blog but ive been busy. The new job is going very well. Had a delay in my PGA Application because I wasnt told they needed:
My passport, driving licence/birth certificate, utility bill, National Insurance Card and cheque towards the Criminal Records Bureau.
Still waiting to hear back about what the next steps are but my boss seems to think that my amateur status could be relinquished by the end of June (wow very quick!!!). The next matter would be the playing ability test. However, I know that I have to work on May 27th (the next test date) but my birthday is the day before this anyway so golf may not be such a good idea (although obviously I wouldnt go out if I was playing!)

On seperate issues, not to jinx myself but I think I may have gone 3-4 rounds shank free now which is relieving although my form at the moment is abysmal. I put this down to changes i have been making in my grip. Until recently I have neglected the basics of golf - if you dont aim in the right direction-only a bad swing will hit the ball straight and if you dont grip properly, then the clubface will aim in any position other than at the target at impact.....

Such basic concepts but I guess the more improved you get the more you take these for granted and they will cause you problems if not correct.

Today however, I am realising a dream from my young junior days. I am going to play at the Wentworth West Course (yes the one on telly) and am very exited.
Looking out the window now it is sunny but cloudy so I can only hope that mother nature is kind to us today. I've got to work 8 days in a row after this so I really wanna enjoy this last day of freedom.

I cant wait for many things there - the 1st tee shot, the 10th tee shot, all the holes from 15 to 18 wow bring it on!!!
The thing Im looking forward to the most is seeing up close the course that some players have dominated and others struggled miserably and to see where I rank in amongst them. This would be a good day to see some signs of life in my form coming back as I do not want to shoot more than 80!
We'll see stay tuned for the after thought..........

Update on career - exiting developments!

Well I think this has been my first blog for a week but it comes with exciting news. I have managed to capture a job at a very reputable golf course in the heart of Sussex, thus I am very shortly about to begin the process of turning professional!!!

This has all come about a lot sooner than I expected but I have no problem with it at all. The whole point of this blog was to give an account of not only the process of turning professional but my experiences also along the way.

I have recently received my PGA forms which mainly contain a lot of admin stuff like ethnic monitoring etc but also a criminal records bureau identity check. I'm not sure whether or not I can divulge prices so for safety I won't but i'll give you an idea.

My first process will be the admissions review programme, a 2 day thing held at the Belfry in which I understand is basically used to detail the 3 year foundation degree programme (t was a diploma but has recently changed. I first have to pay for this and the playing ability test which I have discussed in a previous blog.

Thats stage one, I will learn more and more as I get into my new job and keep this area updated.
Thats it for now, oh and I still have the shanks!!

Davies and Tate 2005 - shanking misery!

Well, what can I say? I'm not one to beat around the bush but we got anihilated, thrashed, turned over, any word that you can possibly use to describe the terminology of well and truly beaten!!!

I wont divulge the scoreline - oh ok it was 11.5 - 0.5 and most certainly not in our favour, but I would like to add that in the AM foursomes, it was myself and my brother that claimed the half point so happy days!!! Also, to big myself up in the most embarrasing way possible, I was the player that lost by the least (2&1) so I teased the lads that I was the best performer for us on the day haha.

My singles match was just an absolute joke!!!! I was drawn against an absolute wa**er who I later found out that was disliked even by his own teammates! I couldnt believe how wayward this guy was. I think he only played his second shot from the correct fairway three times in the entire match and each wayward drive - apart from being accompanied by a very loud 'FORE' shout and nearly killing someone - left him a clear shot to the green every time whereas my 5-10 yard wayward drive would leave me blocked out by huge oak trees.

Also those bloody shanks returned with a vengeance and it got to a point where I just couldnt bring myself the begin my backswing. Added to this the guy, who despite my 5 shanks to that point was only 2 up through 13 proceeded to say 'if i had played as well as i NORMALLY do, i reckon I'd have beaten you by now!' What an arrogant comment and he was obviously completely oblivious to the fact Stevie Wonder could have beaten me that day with his arms tied behind his back!!!

That spurred me on to birdie the next but only managed a half but on the 15th tee the guy topped an iron into the water and all his teammates laughed at him - an obvious summation of what they thought of him. Although I got back to one down and 2 to play unfortunately shank number 6 out of bounds ended my chances. I was gutted because I so desperately wanted the embarass the guy for his comments on the 14th tee.

There you go. I am certainly not a bad loser but this was the first time I've ever not wanted to shake my opponents hand after a match - win or lose.
The Plate competition now beckons so fingers crossed for that.......