Funniest thing I ever saw on a golf course happened when I played in a competition at High Elms. I was playing someone I hadn't met before. On the 18 I had a 6inch putt for the match. A funeral cortège passed by just as I had lined up my putt and this bloke asked me to stop and we both stood to attention as the cars passed by. I turned to him and said " With respect, I was putting for the match !", He said, " I don't give a shit, she was a bloody good wife to me".
Funniest thing I ever saw on a golf course happened when I played in a competition at High Elms. I was playing someone I hadn't met before. On the 18 I had a 6inch putt for the match. A funeral cortège passed by just as I had lined up my putt and this bloke asked me to stop and we both stood to attention as the cars passed by. I turned to him and said " With respect, I was putting for the match !", He said, " I don't give a shit, she was a bloody good wife to me".
I now live very close to Kingswood Golf Club, very nice in the Spring/Summer but can get very wet in the winter and there are some long holes on the back 9 which in the winter become a bit of a slog. Tyrrells Wood(Headley/Box Hill area) is a very nice and in excellent condition not overly long but very tricky and hilly.
Went for the first time ever last night. First 9 holes at Barnehurst. Shot 60 which i have no idea whether that is good or bad. Almsot parred one hole on my first ever go round which I was happy with. Averaged about 3 putts a hole though, will need to work on that. Enjoyed it though, looking forward to going again
That's good going for your first real nine holes. Putting is perversely both the easiest and the hardest part of your game to improve - I still have days where I putt as badly as I did when I first picked up a golf club.
It's addictive - expect to want to play every week now
Really? Pleased with that then. Baring in mind ive never shot a hole before, only a handful of goes at the range. My pal said that putting is difficult and he averages about 2-3 shots at the moment on the green too. Might have to buy a little putting set to practice.
It is addictive, I am looking forward to the next time I can go already. Plus a new thread I can slowly be a part of ; )
I know Barnehurst is local mate, but it wont really do you any favours as its a mess. You are better off going and playing the par 3 course at Birchwood as a beginner.
My pal that I went with said that Birchwood is better. It was more that Barnehurst is local and it is getting dark real quick. Last few holes we practically played in the dark. Might be going again next Sunday so I will try and do the Birchwood beginner course instead. Thanks mate
That's definitely true. If you can find a decent local par 3 course that will help you. Can't comment on the state of Barnehurst as I've never played it, but a par 3 course will be shorter, so you're more likely to get to the greens without taking five shots
Yesterday I was taking two or three to get to the green. Just took 3 or 4 to get it into the hole! I will try out the Birchwood one and any others that I can find
The academy course at Pedham is nice, all par 3s, or there's the valley course at Lullingstone. That has 3 par 3s and 6 par 4s, so a little more of a challenge.
Princes Park isn't too bad, 9 holes, but I think you get to play it twice for £8, so 18 holes in total, was a pleasant surprise when I played it with Red Panda. Lastly, there's a 9 hole par 3 at Gravesend Golf Centre, behind Cascades. Can get pretty windy and the greens are tiny, so hard to hit, but it's not in bad condition, and again pretty cheap at well under a tenner for a round.
Nice one Dizzle. Also if you're just starting out it's definitely worth considering some beginner lessons so that you don't start with bad habits and get a good idea of the swing mechanics. You can either do these in groups (cheaper) or individually. I had a few back in the day at the World of Golf range in Sidcup which was pretty good.
Agree with randy Andy about Pedham par 3 course. Often the par 3 courses are neglected maintenance wise, but not the case at Pedham. As the light draws in its ideal. You can get round it between 60 and 90 mins, then get a small bucket for the range to keep the dust off your driver and longer irons.
Can't stress enough how useful lessons are. I only started playing earlier this year, had 10 lessons so far and it's amazing how much my game has improved. Plus, as red_murph says, it stops you getting into bad habits early that will be really hard to eradicate from your game later on.
keep going with Barnehurst Dizzle, it did me no harm I was a member there for almost 10 years & played there every weekend (tried to get a round in Sat mornings before a home game). It may be a short course, with most par 4's around the 300 yard mark but it can be tricky with all the trees & out of bounds. One thing it did for me was to hone up my short game as I would often be around the green after 2 shots and so had a lot of "up & downs" for par.
keep going with Barnehurst Dizzle, it did me no harm I was a member there for almost 10 years & played there every weekend (tried to get a round in Sat mornings before a home game). It may be a short course, with most par 4's around the 300 yard mark but it can be tricky with all the trees & out of bounds. One thing it did for me was to hone up my short game as I would often be around the green after 2 shots and so had a lot of "up & downs" for par.
The course was probably decent all them years ago!
keep going with Barnehurst Dizzle, it did me no harm I was a member there for almost 10 years & played there every weekend (tried to get a round in Sat mornings before a home game). It may be a short course, with most par 4's around the 300 yard mark but it can be tricky with all the trees & out of bounds. One thing it did for me was to hone up my short game as I would often be around the green after 2 shots and so had a lot of "up & downs" for par.
I'd say it's one of the trickiest I've played, there's that drive over those trees/bushes where you can't see the fairway and that other short one near the road which bends to the right, steep downhill then up to an obscured green, I played there last year (after playing much more often since my previous visit there) and it was surprising how tricky it still seemed, when I expected to rip it to bits!
If you don't mind second hand clubs then check out golfbidder.co.uk, got my driver from there (Nike Sumo, not very forgiving and probably too advanced for me, but when you get it right it's amazing) for £50.
Can't get on with the oversized heads on all the latest drivers. It just doesn't feel right teeing the ball up at knee high. I use a 9 degree callaway bb steelhead III that has the head size of most 3 woods. It's probably 10 years old.
Played in our Club Championship this weekend in the rain and wind, over two days. Shot +7 (net) on my two rounds and finished fourth out of forty five.
Managed to finish seventeenth overall on Gross, which isn't bad seeing as I'm in Division 2 (handicap 14).
Missed more putts than I care to mention. Enthused by the result but frustrated that having come down five shots in a year, I seem to have plateaued a bit - probably been fiddling with my grip, swing, posture and everything far too much over the summer.
Comments
It's addictive - expect to want to play every week now
It is addictive, I am looking forward to the next time I can go already. Plus a new thread I can slowly be a part of ; )
Princes Park isn't too bad, 9 holes, but I think you get to play it twice for £8, so 18 holes in total, was a pleasant surprise when I played it with Red Panda. Lastly, there's a 9 hole par 3 at Gravesend Golf Centre, behind Cascades. Can get pretty windy and the greens are tiny, so hard to hit, but it's not in bad condition, and again pretty cheap at well under a tenner for a round.
As the light draws in its ideal. You can get round it between 60 and 90 mins, then get a small bucket for the range to keep the dust off your driver and longer irons.
It has been let go badly the last 4/5 years.
I use a 9 degree callaway bb steelhead III that has the head size of most 3 woods. It's probably 10 years old.
Managed to finish seventeenth overall on Gross, which isn't bad seeing as I'm in Division 2 (handicap 14).
Missed more putts than I care to mention. Enthused by the result but frustrated that having come down five shots in a year, I seem to have plateaued a bit - probably been fiddling with my grip, swing, posture and everything far too much over the summer.
Isn't it about time we did a CL Golf Day again??!
Preferably somewhere you can have a decent night out too!!