Even Fat Dogs Have Their Day....

So did you guess?

Against all the odds and all my expectations – and, I fancy, Nick’s too - I went round in 76 and won 2&1, to record by far the best result of my limited competition-playing career.

I needed a fair bit of luck in the closing stages, I admit, with two 25ft putts – I am, at best, a mediocre putter - at the 15^th and 16^th to get to dormie two. That said, though, I hit very straight (for me), with 8 out of 14 fairways and four other first-cut-of-roughs.

My single swing thought? Get the impact zone right. Allow yourself to release the club (oh alright, my two single swing thoughts, then…).

Did I manage to stay true to those thoughts? I don’t really know. I mean, you can't see your own swing, can you? I tried. All I really know is that my 76 featured among my best 10 rounds. I’ve never got close to beating a 7-handicapper before.

How much credit goes to Steve, Dave and the fact that I am writing their book? Again, I don’t really know. The jury remains out. I mean, I have been having lessons since the start of the year and was already making big improvements - I'd come down from 14 since January. And, after all, every dog has his day, even fat ones with grey muzzles. Perhaps I just got lucky.

There was one other oddity about the round, incidentally – the accuracy of my chipping; 7 out of 9 of my chips ending up within 8ft. That I couldn’t explain.

PS: Having declared I would hand my card in before the off, I have since been cut to 11.6. Seriously chuffed!