Best Round! yes! yes!

Jan 1st I decided that my golfing resolutions for 2009 would be:

1) shoot a round under 90 as my personnel best was 93.

2) Get my 25 handicap down to 20.

3) Play in all the big Golfshake events.

4) learn how to use a fairway wood.

Well today only 25 days into the new year I have achieved 2 of them already! Having mastered the fairway wood at the range I took it out onto the course today and shot an 87. My best by a mile. To mid and low handicappers this may seem routine but for me it is huge.

The first 3 holes seemed to be going okay nothing special until the 4th hole. (SI 1) I hit a decent drive up the middle and then reached for the fairway wood. Just as i had practiced up the range I got a true flight straight up the middle onto the fringe. A lagged putt gave me a solid par which i knew was a nett eagle.

The best was yet to come as on the 8th I got my first ever gross birdie on a short par 4 (301yrds) dogleg left. I took the corner on with a drive and then struck an iron to the heart of the green, pin high about 6ft away. It gave me that amazing feeling we all know but for me it doesnt happen very often. All that putting practice into an empty pineapple chunks can on the living room floor must have paid off as I sank it. I regret to say i even punched the air and bellowed "YES!" like id won the Masters...

I then parred the 2nd hardest hole to get another nett eagle and after a good drive and a fired up fairwood wood, a pitch onto the par 5 green in 3 followed. So did a 2 putt par. In the middle of the back 9 I had the feeling I had a good score going as I bogied or better most of the holes.

I tried to put it to the back of mind as if just by thinking about it I would curse it.

Going down the last 2 holes my partner then tried to remind me about the scorecard..."Hey Miller.. Youve got a good card here. If you can par the last 2 reckon you can get under 90"

Just what you want as your teeing up on a tight par 3.

I escaped with par after a fairly routine tee shot, long putt, short putt.

As I stood on the last I felt a different kind of pressure. Silence. The 2 lads I was playing with were trying so hard not to put me off they were silent. This made it worse. I needed the background noise of Ben eating a crunchie and Dale looking for a tee in his bag.

I hit a poor drive in truth but knew the green was not protected by bunkers down the right side so again reached for the fairway wood. It was short of the green but close enough for a chip to within 6ft. I missed the par putt and took the bogie thinking I had blown it.

When we were in the car park totting up the scores I was expecting a 91 and so delighted when I found out it was an 87!

Positives are that I have hit a sub 90 round and have confidence in using a fairway wood. My handicap has also reduced by 2.8 shots.

All I can think about is getting out there and beating it - I love golf...

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