Individual Scratch Team Debut – 17th May 2010

With a couple of people dropping out of the first scratch team fixture of the season it meant that I got a place in the team at home to Blackpool Park in the first round of the knockout cup.
I knew my opponent would be a category 1 handicapper as they didn’t have anybody above a 5 in the team, so I knew I would be in for a tough night but was hoping that home advantage would count in my favour on a sunny and slighty breezy evening. I was 5th man out and it meant I was drawn against a 4 handicapper.
I wasnt full of confidence as I hadn’t played too well on Sunday evening at Heysham, putting being the real problem. So i had spent an hour on our practice green before my match to make sure I had my pace spot on and had no worries about technique. As always in the scratch team we where off the stones for the white tees, playing the course at its maximum length. My opponent stepped up and hit a long drive that moved left on the wind as most others had done before us, I stepped up and bombed a low one down the middle of the first fairway which left me with a pitch to the green, I hit the back of the green and made par to take me 1 up as my opponent missed his par putt and made bogey.
We both made bogey on the second and par on the third to keep me at 1 up and playing some good golf. My opponent hit a great drive onto the green on the 4th and made birdie, which I couldn’t match and it was all square. But I went 1 up again with a par down the 5th. I made par down the 6th but it wasnt enough, but again I bounced back straight away with a good par on the 7th to go 1 up again, made par on the 8th and then birdie on the 9th to turn 2up.
Both of us where playing some good golf and although the greens where not in good condition I had the pace of them and was rolling in some good putts from all parts of the greens.
We both made par down the 10th with my opponent getting it up and down from the back of the green. I made a 15 foot left to right swinging putt on the 11th for par after finding a bad lie off the green with my tee shot, and then made par down the next two holes and that put me 3 up as my opponent could only make bogey on the 13th.
I hit a good tee shot into the green on the 14th and two putted for par as did my opponent. But on the 15th I found some deep rough right next to the green and the best I could do was chip to around 12 foot and with two putts, make bogey, which wasnt enough, so I lost the hole, back to 2 up.
A good drive down the 16th saw me in the fairway with 165 to the flag, i hit 7 iron and ended up pin high left just off the green. My opponent found trouble with his second shot, so I knew that if I got up and down I would win the match. I hit my chip to about 10 foot and rolled the putt in to win 3 and 2.
I was 1 over par thru 16 and played some really good stuff to win, unfortunately only one more of our lads got a win and we lost the game overall 4-2. This means we go through to the plate competition with the semi finals being next Monday, hopefully I will get another start!
I should have some time this week to get a round in at some point one evening and maybe some practice too. I’m undecided about playing in the comp next Saturday as my usual playing partners are on holiday, but I may decide to put myself down on Friday if a space comes free at a decent time.