Nothing really groundbreaking happened for the most part of September. Carrying on from my mindset from the end of August was the goal.
I did meet up with Paul at the start of September and we discussed various things, ranging from mindset, to just making sure that all the pre-shot routines etc were still in check.
One thing we did discuss was practising various shot skills during range practice. Every golfer has heard of the 9 windows. Picture an X’s and O’s grid way out in front of you on the range. There you have the Low Fade, Mid Height Fade and the High Fade and so on.
This is great from 2 perspectives. It helps you visualise shots, but it’s also helping you practice setting up and executing these shots.
For the most part I can pull off all the fade shapes, and the middle draw shape. So that’s 4 types of shot I’m ok with. The rest, especially the low draw, are a bit more difficult, but at the end of each session I will keep working through these skills.
To find a man’s true character, play golf with him.
It's a club final, but not the final i really wanted
There were very few counting comps to play due to a 10 day holiday to Turkey with the family, but when I came home I had 4 days to prepare for a Club Final. Not the final I wanted to be in, however I found myself in the 2nd Class competition and thought that I would do the competition justice by taking it seriously and trying my best to win it.
The Club Finals day arrived on the 13th of September, and the weather was not great. Up to 30mph gusts, and light rain. Perfect…for me! I know how to grind in that kind of weather, and I also know not to complain about it as it distracts from getting anywhere close to executing a strategy and a golf shot. My opponent on the day was a guy I’ve known for 41 of my 46yrs on the planet, and although we are not super close friends, we are still friends who went all through Primary and Secondary School together and have been in contact at various stages of our lives with one thing or another.
He doesn’t play as much golf as he would like to, but he’s still dangerous, and needs my full attention.
My plan is to get up early in the match, hold the lead, grind him down and then finish him around the 15th or 16th hole.
The plan works, I win the final 3 & 2, on the 16th hole, just about where I predicted it would finish. It’s a bittersweet one to take, yes I won the final, and I can be considered the best of all the 2nd class golfers in the club, but I know I’m miles better than that, but overall you get what you deserve from this game i suppose. Walking back to the clubhouse it made me realise I really need to up the ante, and do it earlier in the off season.
This year I started in January, but planning for the 2026 season is starting in November 2025.
Playing golf with good friends is always nice
Further into September I played golf with my oldest golfing buddy, Andy MacDonald. He was a member and club champion 5 times at the current club i play out of (Auchenharvie 88) but he left and went to Largs Kelburn 3 seasons ago. We are still in contact and still play a lot of golf together. So he invited me to play Largs Kelburn.
I love the course, it’s always in great condition, the greens are lauded by the members and visitors alike, and it’s very tricky, but not impossible.
It’s just a great all round challenge. Andy doesn’t probably play as much golf as he would like either, but he does enough, his HCI sits at a respectable 6.0, but anyone that knows him, knows he could be off 0.0
I've just made a massive decision
Its always good to watch how someone with a lower handicap goes about their round, especially on a tricky course like Largs.
On the day I felt like I played really well, struck the ball well, drove the ball not too bad, and putted very well. Back in the clubhouse after the round Andy complimented the way i go about my rounds these days, and it got me thinking “I could play and score well on this course” but the thought was a fleeting one. Anyway, we ate our toasties, packed away our gear and headed home. I thought that was the end of it.
The same night Andy called me to say there was a member’s guest day the following Sunday, would i like to team up with him. I jumped at the chance to play the course again in quick succession.
On the day myself and Andy teamed up my other two mates also teamed up and we played as a 4 ball. We had a great day, a great laugh, and played some really solid golf in the fourball format. My putter was on fire, I was enjoying my short game and my ball striking was as good as it has been the whole season.
As a result of all the psychological work I have been putting in this year I felt I was making better shot choices, and more to the point, executing most of them, which didn’t go unnoticed by my playing partners. Andy and I finished 3rd and I won the closest to the pin on the par 3 8th hole!
As we sat in the clubhouse I added up what would have been my individual net score just out of curiosity. I would have come in with a 68, that’s -2 for a demanding par 70 course. I was over the moon with this. And that’s what started the wheel turning…
On the drive home with my mate John we were discussing the course conditions for the time of year (1 week before October) and the fact that it was in superb condition, it was at this point that we both looked at each other and said “Fancy joining Largs next season?”
It took me a few days to get my head around going up there full time (I was a lifestyle member back in 2021) and the main reason for not joining full time was my health, it would have been a waste of money. But now that I seem to be managing half a dozen chronic illnesses better I made a decision. I was going to leave Auchenharvie 88. I love the club, and all the members, but just feel it’s time to move on.
I was a committee member for 6yrs, saw the club through COVID-19, 3 different club management software platforms, set up a website, a facebook page, a mailing list, was vice captain for 2 years and was named captain for 2 years. Myself and two other club members were responsible for the club entering wider county comps, something that we had to really sell to the then committee at the time. I helped run the team for around 6 years. I was also the vice captain when the club first won an Ayrshire trophy, The Presidents Putter. 2 years later i was the sitting captain when we won the Ayrshire Treble which consisted of The Presidents Putter, The Ayrshire Handicap League and The Ayrshire 4-Ball.
The wheels are in motion
At this point our tiny wee club in the North of Ayrshire was being noticed by everyone around Ayrshire. Our club membership rose to the highest it had been in 10 years. I put a lot of effort into making the club as good as it could be.
It hasn’t been a 1 way street though. I have met some really good guys as a result of my membership. Guys that I would consider really good friends now. Golf gave me a purpose and helped with some mental health battles I’ve had over the years, it gave me back the competitive nature that I had when I was younger and the laughs we have had over the years have been phenomenal.
I know that if it doesnt work out where im going next i will always have a home with Auchenharvie 88. I want to try something different for a wee while. So at the end of september the wheels were set in motion.
