How did your return to golf go? Compare your numbers against the rest of the country
If you’re in Scotland, you’ve been fortunate enough to be able to play through the winter, while Wales also reopened recently and Northern Ireland is to come. But for those of us in England, March 29 was the D-Day – and with the NCG team all based in Yorkshire, it was a most welcome return to action.
So how did we get on? And, more importantly, how did you get on?
Well, the data-mad folks at Shot Scope can tell us – and there are some interesting numbers. It’s fair to say a few of us were quite rusty, so if you were well over your handicap then go easy on yourself. You were far from alone.
Shot Scope recorded 446,000 strokes in England on Monday, spread out over 4,788 rounds. The average score was +21.71 while golfers averaged +5.23 shots over their handicap. You did improve on the back nine, though, reducing the average score from +12.87 to +8.84 after the turn.
How long did you spend thinking about your opening tee shot in the build up to the day? Well, 94% of us hit driver off the 1st tee, but only 30% of us managed to find the fairway. That’s not all, 39% of us need to book some lessons to get rid of that dreaded slice.
All good fun, we’re sure you’ll agree. Here’s how the NCG team enjoyed their day…
Where did you play?
Alex: A course near me called Robin Hood. I mainly like it because it’s short, with a handful of fun par-4s, and generally suits my shot shape.
Steve: I played at my home club, Sandburn Hall. It was an 8.52am tee time and the car park was already rammed. Happy days.
Hannah: Of course I played at Huddersfield Golf Club, the biggest decision was narrowing down which equipment I was going to use.
How did you get on?
Alex: A mixed bag – as you’d expect. My long game was good. It was nice and windy which helped me snort one drive that was pushing 300 yards. I then proceeded to dump my approach in the drink. A couple of birdies eased the pain – particularly a snaking 40-footer at the 10th. Man I forgot how good those feel.
Steve: Hmmm. There was a little bit of everything. A treble at the opener, I found the trees twice and the water twice as well. Shots went left, right and, occasionally, in the middle. But, every now and then, I absolutely flushed one and there were enough of these as we went through the back nine to give me some cause for optimism. I’m going to need to do some work, though. The competition season starts on April 10!
Hannah: I only managed seven holes so probably not a fair assessment of things to come. I was pretty happy with the two birdies I made in the first three holes though. I ended up 1-under after an unfortunate incident with a chip shot and a sprinkler head.
Where did your first tee shot go?
Alex: The 1st hole is a gentle left-to-righter. Perfect for my shot shape. So what did I do? Hit it dead straight. My ball actually landed on the second tee box, so I had a nice approach in.
Steve: Left. Very left. So far left in fact, that it found itself in the middle of the 9th fairway. A rather inauspicious return, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Hannah: A nice high draw which finished two inches into the left semi. Normally I would find this frustrating but since we still have to use winter mats in the fairway I was more than happy to hit my approach shot from the rough.
How did you get on in your first round back? Were you one of the seemingly few people who managed to shoot under their handicap? Let us know in the comments below or you can tweet us.
Visit the Shot Scope website for more information.
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Alex Perry
Alex has been the editor of National Club Golfer since 2017. A Devonian who enjoys wittering on about his south west roots, Alex moved north to join NCG after more than a decade in London, the last five of which were with ESPN. Away from golf, Alex follows Torquay United and spends too much time playing his PlayStation or his guitar and not enough time practising his short game.
