Bemused from Haywards Heath

Okay, okay, I was wrong. I thought I’d made a swing breakthrough but my scorecard yesterday – circa 16 over par, on a glorious day and in perfect conditions with Horseracing James at Drift Golf Club course, East Horsley – suggests otherwise.

Still got that stick I gave you?

But wait a minute, before you start laying in. At least hear the case for the defence:

a)     the course, while magnificent, was in my estimation a good 5-6 shots harder than my club, with much tighter fairways and bigger penalties for going astray. So I played to my handicap… sort of.

b)     I had one of those days when the chipping was cold and the putts just wouldn’t drop

c)      there wasn’t time for a warm-up

d)     I lost my 8 iron less than halfway through the round

e)     Eight of my dropped shots came on just two holes, so it would have been quite a nice matchplay round.

f)        I completely lost my new swing for three holes on the back nine

g)     I realised one major thing I was doing wrong on… while coming down the 17^th.

No, you’re right, I’m clutching at straws - a) is fair enough, b) is true but I must be the one to blame for that, and, well, c), d), e), f) and g) smack of desperation and excuse-mongering as I head for my club final on Saturday.

But here’s the odd thing. I hit more than my fair share of really, really, really good shots. My ball striking was, for the most part, excellent. Honest. Really. It just didn’t really translate into a great score. At times – seriously – I looked pretty damn good. I loved the day, but the card was a tad deflating.

So I’m  bemused. My swing felt 60 percent better. Apart from my 24-handicapper blow-outs and the lost-swing bit. Delighted and bemused.

There was another unexpected highlight. I quoted a bit of Dave and Steve’s “Golf’s Golden Rule” at James – he’s athletic, strong and gives the ball a solid crack (I guess his 8 iron goes about 155yards) but he was rushing his transition a bit and coming into the impact zone at an angle.

And guess what? He slows up his transition and starts nailing it. He starts looking darn good. A bit too darn good, indeed, for my liking, especially when he proceeds to hit a 9 iron 155 yards to six feet of the hole.