From the Rough - 5 weeks to go

Another busy week for me, playing alongside Ngy, Ichiro and Kingy on Saturday, and backing up to play with Rod on Sunday. Now I just have to work on the sleep deprivation and my FocDoc "fitness" regime will be complete

Final arrangements are complete for the event shirts (thanks Matt) and a special gift from our corporate sponsors (thanks Spud, Ichiro and Billy). Now I can put my feet up and watch the days tick by until the 19th March.

After a soggy week and some persistent drizzle Macarthur Grange was humid and more of a challenge than usual with the rough seemingly sprouting to 20 cm over the past week. Anything off the short stuff was hard work, assuming you could even find your ball. Reminiscent of the inaugural FD at Mt Broughton.

Once again Ngy was the pick, scoring 40 stableford points to finish 2nd in B Grade. Even more impressive was his ability to scramble in the back nine - after carding 46 in the front nine he came home with a 37 off the stick to stay in the low 80's and reduce his handicap to 16. As you can see below he had his share of trouble but kept his head to finish strong.

For the C Graders, Doc finished with 36 (3rd), Kingy 33 (7th) and Ichiro 31 (9th) to re-claim the cat bell.

Sunday's round was at Beverly Park and was played in similar conditions, with increasing precipitation in the final few holes. Doc hit the ball well through the round and managed to get out of some tricky lies amongst the trees but wiped on 2 double-holes to finish with 34 stableford points and 4th place. Rod showed some good (and some bad) shots, struggling in the conditions with a score of 19. Clearly the pressure of playing alongside one of the official handicappers was too much - or was he simply trying to convince me that a 27 handicap was too low. Hopefully I'll get another look pre-tournament to know for sure.

Clearly the interest in playing some quality golf is strong amongst the field and we should see some interesting duels on day two. If you can, get out and swing a club at a course or driving range - the standard is increasing and you don't want to be left behind.

Have a great week. Till next,

Doc (and Foca)

Ngy's recon to Hyatt Coolum

A few weeks back Ngy found a reason to be at Coolum and couldn't resist the temptation to slip in 9 holes. As this is on the shortlist for possible 2011 FocDoc venues I asked for some notes.

As you'd expect the course was in good condition with some tricky holes and water in play on a few holes. After an adventurous 1st hole carding an 11, Ngy played +5 for the remaining 8 holes with 4 pars and a birdie.

Highlight of the round was the 7th (see below) which was a tap in birdie

Looks like an interesting course and a genuine test for the regular players whilst providing a challenge for the irregular players in the field, especially as the back 9 has more water in play. As it was recently rated the 16th best public access course in Australia it may be worth further consideration

Notes from the Rough - 6 weeks to go

A wet weekend saw common sense prevail and most of us stay undercover. I did say most of us..... Ngy and Kingy (aka the Duck) were fortunate to have better weather on their side of the fence (i.e. Campbelltown) and carded a mixed round with Ngy hitting an 88 for first place in B Grade and Kingy struggling with 100 (his highest score in a long time) in an attempt to cling onto his C Grade status.

Many of you will be aware that Ngy also scoped out a possible 2011 venue for the FocDoc, Hyatt Coolum on the Sunshine Coast last week. He's obviously torn the place up as he goes silent when I quiz for details. Clearly Ngy is the pre-tournament favourite once again - though we know he can't back up when it matters.

One of the benefits of the wet weather is that it gave Leo a chance to update our website (thanks Leo). Check out the site for some updated info on past events and photos from every year to date.

http://www.focdoc.com/FocDoc.html

Till next week,

Doc (and Foca)

Notes from the Rough - 7 weeks to go

I've decided to go back to the blog format to give me a chance to add info without filling your mailboxes as well as spare you all from Ngy's responses. There is a comments section at the bottom of each posting so you can read and add thoughts on the post and news of the week. Enjoy.

Plenty of golf preparation underway with Matt, Spud, Ichiro and Ngy taking part in a charity golf day at Concord on Thursday. Looks like Ichiro, despite his protestations to the contrary, is improving with every round and looks likely to be down to a 20 handicap by March. Matt emerged from a long break with the clubs to impress the lads whilst Ngy appears to be heading in the opposite direction - all of those sneaky sessions at Mac Grange appear to be catching up with him and he may need a spell to recapture his form from late last year. Finally, Spud put pressure on the team, delivering his 3rd drive on the 18th (each player needed to contribute at least 3 drives under Ambrose format) but managed to make up for it with solid golf closer to the pin. The team finished mid-field but enjoyed the opportunity to play a decent course on a school day.

Saturday comp saw Ngy, Ichiro, Kingy and Doc at Mac Grange. Once again Ichiro led the pack, scoring 2 inside his handicap (Par format) with Doc and Kingy 2 shots outside handicap and Ngy trailing at 3 outside. All scored in the low to mid 90's, hitting the ball well but all struggling to hold some putts. Overall a decent round with the only worry the fading form of Ngy.

See below for the update and pics from the Oz Day round at Mac Grange

Til next week, Doc