The lost Moore Place tapes July 26, 2013
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The lost Moore Place scorecard revealed
Golfbattles fans – apologies for the lack of updates here. It’s been a little over 7 years that we’ve kept you hanging on. Yes, in the now infamous Battle of the Bulge post you were treated to a scintillating write up of a classic golf battle in which Leon won out over Dan. But we left you with the following cliff-hanger …
The day after another battle was fought. Hopefully Dan should be able to provide a write-up of that soon.
By “soon” we meant “in 7 years” and by “Dan”, we meant “Leon”. Dan has been trying to write it up. For 7 long years he’s been hunched over a notepad trying to put into words that glorious battle o’ golf. But he has failed. Writers’ block has won. And it’s been left to me to write it up. Here goes…
Moore Place
Legend speaks of Moore place golf club. The tricky über-short first over water. The slicers’ paradise that is the second. Legend speaks of it … but these days golfers rarely do. Somehow I get the feeling it was closed for years. But it was very much open on 22nd June 2006. It was the day after the Battle of the Bulge, where Dan had taken an unfortunate pasting at the hands of Leon. He was shaken, because back in those days he was the far more practised golfer. He spent a lot of time playing and practising. So the defeat the day before was weighing heavy on his psyche. Would Moore be the place for all that to change? …
The First
The first is about as short as they get. Can’t be more than about 80 yards. And, yes, there’s a pond in front of it…. but this is an easy hole. Leon notched up an easy par whilst Dan somehow managed to make a 5. Was the Bulge about to repeat….?
The Second
They call it the slicers’ paradise – it’s a wicked dogleg round to the right which perfectly suited Leon’s choice of club at the time – the infamous “bendy stick“. This was an old-school laminate 3 wood (actual wood) with a flexi graphite shaft. A club devised by an evil genius. It was known to create a devilish slice and should have been perfect for this hole. So when Leon contrived to make a 6 here, it signalled the death knoll for the round…
The rest
Trying to wrestle away the demons unleashed by the disaster with the bendy stick on the previous hole, Leon somehow never managed to recover. He was doomed to spend the rest of the round hacking from one side of the course to the other, cursing his luck on the second. Dan, on the other hand, knuckled down, got 4 pars in a row and never looked back.
In hindsight, it could have been considered an easy victory. But there was a moment there. A real moment. Back there on the first. When Leon made par and Dan double bogied … when it all looked in doubt.
The final scores:
Click the card for an in-depth look:
The final scores revealed
Coming Up:
Results of a recent 4 way battle at Coombe Wood. STAY TUNED!
Synchronised swinging July 18, 2006
Posted by golfbattles in Range sessions.2 comments
Took two whole digital cameras down to the range today. I had to film it in the dark of the nets to get both angles in, and the quality suffered a bit. Still interesting stuff though…
Full speed
Slow-mo
I’m still making the same mistakes as last week, although to a lesser extent. I’ll just have to keep on plugging away at getting the swing plane right…
Swing Plane in the Membrane July 12, 2006
Posted by golfbattles in Range sessions.2 comments
Swing Plane in the Brain!
Since the day of Doom things have been steadily getting better. I had some problems during the last battle, but I now put that mainly down to the grip (which I intend to write about soon).
So, in my last range session I had generally good results. BUT…on examining the video I see a horrible swing plane problem creeping in. Check it!
Lee Westwood’s Swing Plane
MY Swing Plane
The backswing is fine, but from the top down I’m all over the shop. To examine in further detail:
Monsieur Westy
Moi
You’ll need to click on the images to see a larger version.
I have marked in frames 2 and 4 lines in the direction of the swing plane going up and coming down. You’ll see that Westwood’s downswing plane is actually lower than his backswing plane.
Now, in my image I have kept the exact same lines from Westwood. Frame 2 I’m pretty much the same as him. And then….FRAME 4… WTF AM I DOING?!! I’ve gone waaay out. And then I pull…way back in again in order to hit the ball straight (the ball did go straight…).
Also notice that I’ve put in a green horizontal line at the staring position of our heads. Westwood doesn’t bring his head back above that line until the final frame. I do so in frame 6.
So, lots to learn from this. Next range sesh I’ll be working on that swing plane.
Battle of the Bulge July 11, 2006
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THE FIRST BATTLE in recorded golfbattles history
This is the reason we set up the website. All the rubbish below is mere words. This is action.
So, it’s Leon -vs- Dan. This is the Ryu/Ken matchup, the one everyone’s been waiting for. And what better location to hold it than the home ground of both combattants…Chessington Golf Centre.
Chessington Golf Centre
Click to open a larger version of the image to view it in all its glory. As you can see, the original Gaffs of both battlers were right next door. They both know the course like the back of their hands.
The Rules
The result of the battles is judged over 18 holes (this being a 9 hole course).
The Result
Let’s pick up the scorecard…
and turn it over…
Well there you have it. Leon snuck ahead by 3 on the front 9, and they squared it on the back 9. However, the story doesn’t end there. The day after another battle was fought. Hopefully Dan should be able to provide a writeup of that soon.
Adios,
Bonehead
DAY OF DOOM – But could beard have been to blame? May 16, 2006
Posted by golfbattles in Range sessions.1 comment so far
A truely, truely bad range session today. Wrist-cuttingly bad. Leave golf behind forever and take up tiddlywinks bad.
This was a typical shot:
Look at that again and this time watch for where the ball goes. OMG.
But, before I get too depressed could the beard have been to blame? You see, I've been growing a beard/moustache for an upcoming Mexican themed birthday party. I've never played golf with a silly moustache before. So, the only logical conclusion that can be reached is that the beard was to blame. It must be. The alternative would be that I'm rubbish.
Back at the range – still can’t follow through May 10, 2006
Posted by golfbattles in Range sessions.2 comments
Well, went back to the range yesterday with the intential of sorting out the follow through.
Not matter how much I tried, I just couldn't get it to look how I think it should. See for yourselves:
With a wedge
With a 3 Wood
As you can see, the swing is pretty much identical to the one from the last range session. So what's missing?
- Standing up slightly at impact I think is OK
- But, I need to cross the wrists after impact
Check out Tiger in action. See how he crosses the wrist just after impact? Next range session, that will be my goal. (Also look at the amazing body rotation and coil he gets…)
A visit to the range May 6, 2006
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On Saturday I visited the range (http://www.ingreen.com/english/) with my trusty assistant Pilar. I lured her into going with a promise of a trip to the beach, but I'm sure she enjoyed the golf more.
Her task: film my swing
My task: swing
Now, what have I learned from this visit?
- The backswing (the first 2 frames below) seems fine. I want rotation around the spine, whilst keeping the spine straight. In the first two frames below, I seem to achieve that
- On the way back down (frame 3) I still seem OK. I'm looking at the ball, spine is straight
- Moment of impact Frame 4: woooooooo! Suddenly my spine is bent a bit, and I've stood up slightly.
- I end up bringing the club up and not finishing my rotation.
So….I need to work on maintaing the rotation through impact and after impact.
Next range session is scheduled for Tuesday – I'll keep you posted….
Golf Battles 