ELLZYGOLF

What a great couple of days in the sun i've just had,mind you it is the Summer isn't it???? Playing in the PGA City Summer Classic with a good old mate of mine Nick Jones. The format has changed this year with Greensomes (both drive then choose best tee shot) at Sheringham and Betterball at Royal Cromer. Playing on both days with a good friend of mine and fellow Pro Paul Hetherington and his partner Colin Mcshanker or something like that. Recieving just 5 shots in the Greensomes we got the ball around nicely shooting 68 net 63, 7 under and 1 shot behind the leaders. We played fairly solid with the main help being Nick holing a few good putts. The hilight for me coming at the last hole where i hit a 4 iron 220 yards to around 6 feet which Nick duly holed. Sheringham was playing quite easy with hardly a breath of wind and the course being in great condition as usual. Playing again in the same four ball at Royal Cromer we needed to get off to a good start. On the 3rd hole Nick holed one of the funniest chip in's i've ever seen. From over the back of the green he had a terrible lie,going uphill to the green then downhill to the flag he hit it far too hard. Had the ball not hit the flag dead in the middle the ball would have finished 50 yards down the fairway but some how the ball dropped into the hole, it's not how it's how many isn't it??!?! We made birdies at 7,11,12 and 14 to get 5 under the card but a disappointing 3 putt from yours truly from no great a distance halted the charge and that was the end of that. We finished in a tie for 4th place,3 shots behind Paul and Colin and 4 behind top Mars bar seller Alex Lucas and his mate Sean The Chef. 3rd place went to Lee Patterson and partner who had a great score of 62 including a double bogey at Royal Cromer. All in all it was a good laugh in this fun event played in amazing weather. Both courses were in terrific condition and worth a visit while the weather is good. Next stop for me, the Open Championship Regional Qualifier at Gog Magog on Wednesday. I've got darren Cossey on the bag again, and seeing as the course doesn't start with a W we should do just fine ;)

I'm at last starting to see some progress in my game with a half decent finish at the wonderful venue of Knebworth Golf Club. It's the first time i've played there and was surprised how hilly it was.ball it's a great course in fab condition. As i have said before this is one of the biggest Pro-ams we have during the season. All in all i hit the ball pretty good from the Tee apart from my first tee shot which must have missed the left hand side of the fairway by at least 60 yards, thats what happend when one of your amateurs reminds you 4 times that Out Of Bounds is on the right!! I made 3 bogeys on holes 2,5 and 10 making up for them with birdies at the 3rd,6th,7th and 18th. My round would have been closer to the winning score of 3 under had i not putted so poorly. Two 3 putts on the 2nd and 10th from no great distance and a lots of missed birdie chances within 10 feet was the story of the day,a tad frustrating to say the least. In the end my 1 under par round of 70 put me in a tie for 4th place. The winning score of 68 was scored by James Gurry from Essex whose found some form this year,beating Jason levermore and Roger Gray into 2nd place. I feel my game is on the right track now,hitting more fairways makes the game a lot easier,i just need to work on my game from 100 yards in as i'm not hitting or chipping it close enough and not holing enough putts.

Next week is a fairly quiet one with the PGA City Golf Summer Classic at Sheringham and Cromer. the format is a pairs event, one Pro and one Amateur with greensomes at Sheringham and better Ball at Cromer. My partner for the event is a long time friend of mine from Eaton Golf Club Nick Jones,we should have a laugh and hopefully finish well up the leaderboard. On Wednesday it's the Regional Qualifying for The Open Championship being held at Gog Magog in Cambridgeshire. There are about 15 courses holding these qualifiers around the UK with 12 competitors going through from a field of 90 at each course. This first stage shouldn't really be a problem to be honest as you have a lot of guys who play in there one and only outing of the year. Even though i haven't played the course before i'd still be disappointed not to progress to the Local Final Qualifing in a couple of weeks time. This will be the first time i've tried to qualify since 2003 when i missed out on getting into The Open proper by just one stroke. I have a good feeling about it this year so we'll have to see what happens,but if you don't get through the first stage your not playing well enough to qualify for The Open anyway,thus saving you a few hundred quid in the process. I'd love to play in The Open one day but what will be will be...........

Today i was a little closer to home playing at the immaculate Weston Park in Norwich. Playing with good friend and sponsor David Eldridge from Advantage Technologies is always a good laugh and an eventful day. During the season David and myself are playing in a few Company Days competeing against pairs who are clients of the company. Todays guests were Kevin Playford and Carl Pickett from The Adrian Flux Group. Kevin who plays off 7 handicap had a fantastic round scoring 40 points after going around in 75 strokes,if only his putter was a bit warmer he'd of had an amazing score. Carl playing off 28 played well scoring just 26 points but learnt a lot from the day,mainly saying "Severiano Ballesteros" during his swing to help slow him down,back in my day we used to say "Arthur Gudugon",my how things change!!! Keep practing what you've learnt Carl and your handicap will soon come down. David had a great back 9 helping him to 33 points with a few blobs,but all in all he played well. He's an uncanny golfer who makes 3 putting look so easy :) If you'd like to get involved in these company days and your a customer of Advantage Technologies then please contact David, if your not a customer then why the hell not, get to it, no time like the present!! David can be contacted at www.advantech.co.uk Weston Park is in great condition at the moment and well worth a visit,just watch out for those pesky Dinosaurs!!

Tomorrow i'm off to the Knebworth Pro-am which is one of the biggest in the region. I've not played there yet but hear it's a great course. My golf seems to be improving by the week so i'm looking for a good finish tomorrow. Well i've just put my foot in it there,here comes a 90!! Tonight it's feet up, curry and a few beers and watch the US Open. My money is on young Rory Mcilroy,i've got a fiver each way on you mate at 55-1 so come on,do the business!!!

Today i played with and helped out good friend and sponsor Ben Parry from Accident Exchange in the BMW Golf Cup International at Donnington Grove. Todays event was run and organised by The Dick Lovett Group as a qualifier to win your place to the National Final at Turnberry later this year with the winners of that event going into the Grand Final in South Africa. It's well worth purchasing a BMW just to get the opportunities to play in these events. I managed to bring my team home in 2nd place with Ben putting in a good effort coming in the top 10 in the individual competition. He's a force to be reckoned with, if only he could get his bloody handicap down,Bandit!!! Accident Exchange have sponsored me since early last year and it's them i thank for me being able to drive around in luxury in my BMW 530 Tourer. It's far too quick and i'd be lying if i didn't admit that i didn't speed in it,75MPH is alright isn't it??? If you didn't already know Accident Exchange provide complete accident management solutions for motorists who have been involved in a Non Fault traffic incident with another motorist. For example in you have a Ferrai and yours is driven into by another motorist they will provide you with a like 4 like replacement until your repairs are complete. They will also assist with getting your vehicle repaired at a manufacturer approved bodayshop again at no cost to you, please feel free to visit www.accidentexchange.com Come to think of it i don't think i have many subscribers of this blog who drive Ferrari's!!,Mind you, if the CEO of Ferrari is reading this i've given you enough plugs and look forward to my Ferrari being delivered forthwith!!! Anyway, i had a great time and look forward to returning next year.

I don't have much to report this week due to a very lacklustre couple of days on the Links. Wednesday was the annual return to Wanstead Golf Club for an East Region Pro-am. It was nice to have Darren Cossey on the bag for the first time in quite a while. Darren has caddied for me on and off since i first turned Pro way back in 1997. I've always scored, played and done fairly well when he caddies for me, well, apart from Wentworth of course. At Wanstead i played terrible, maybe it's something to do with Darren and courses beginning with the letter W, or am i clutching at straws there!!!!! Wanstead is a course i've always liked but never scored very well on, this time round was no exeption. Despite birdieing the 1st hole it went down hill after that quite rapidly. After signing for a miserable 5 over 74 it was a bit of a result the team played well and finished tied 2nd, this helped pay for the day. On Thursday i was supposed to play against Lee patterson in the Norfolk Matchplay, but due to a slightly sore wrist (nothing to do with playing like a donkey on Wednesday i promise you ;) ) the game has been rearranged for later in the month. I always enjoy playing against Lee, we're currently 1 game each after meeting in the finals a few years back. As he's top in the draw he gets to choose the course we play, it must be a neutral venue, being the sod that he is he chose to play at Sheringham as he knows i struggle round there. I don't normally do very well on the last few holes so i'll have to make sure i thrash him early on.....

Friday saw me playing at one of my favorite courses in Essex, lets face it, there isn't many good one's to choose from. Canons Brook in Harlow is a lovely course always in good condition and a very friendly atmosphere. Unlike Wanstead i normally do quite well here (it's definately a W thing). I only hit a few poor Iron shots and hit the ball pretty good off the tee. The main problem was my putting, i just couldn't get the pace of the greens so despite not holeing many putts i was quite happy with a 2 under par score of 71 and a 5th place finish. And yet again my team came throught nicely to finish tied first and add a few more pounds to the days earnings. I'm still nowhere near playing my best golf but i do have that feeling its only just around the corner. I had a lesson earlier this week with Guy Ireson at Sprowston Manor, as good a couch as Guy is i'm sure he dreads me turning up and moaning about the state of my game. We found a few things to work on and i wasn't that didappointed in how my swing looked which makes a change for me.

Next week i only have the one Pro-am at Knebworth on Friday as well as a couple of company days for my sponsors Advantage Technologies and Accident Exchange which should be fun. Tip for the week is simple, Always throw you club in the same direction you tried to hit the ball. In no way do i condone club throwing, it's very childish and expensive, you have been warned..........

Playing in the final group with Andrew Collison (Bungay) and James Gurry i needed to get off to a good start to catch up the 3 shots i was behind the overnight leader. Despite not finding my swing during the night thankfully my short game was still in good shape. Opening with 2 pars the lead was cut to one shot after i birdied the par 5 3rd with Andy making a bogey 6. I also made birdies at the 6th and 10th to stay 2 behind. The turning point came at the tough par 4 11th where both Andy and James were in trouble off the tee and made bogey 5's but i never capitalised also making bogey myself after missing a 6 foot par putt. This error was compounded by me not birdieing the par 5 12th after going in with an 8 for my second shot with Andy and James also making birdies. A very strange thing happened on the par 4 14th where the face of my 3 wood caved in whilst playing the shot (honestly it wasn't a head off i promise!). Despite the tee shot going miles left i somehow managed to knock my second shot close and make a birdie 3. Scrambling pars at 16 and 17 left me 3 behind with one to play. Thats when i turned into a complete chopper for a few seconds. Not feeling the least bit nervous i somehow managed to top, yes TOP my tee shot with a Rescue club, thank god the camera's didn't film it, unfortunately about 10 spectators did!!! It's a good job it was teed up otherwise i could have missed it all together!!!!! The last hole is a tough finishing hole of around 410 yards, so having 297 yards to the pin just shows you how far i'd hit it off the tee, thankfully the Ladies tee was just in front of the Mens as it would have been far more embarrassing!!! A decent but tough 2nd shot left me with about 50 yards to the pin, i played a great pitch shot to about 3 feet but unfortunately missed the putt moving me from Tied 2nd to Tied 3rd and costing me another £250 in prize money. Andy Collison went on to finish on 9 under after playing very impressively beating James Gurry into second on 6 under, i was tied 3rd with up and coming star Mark Hooper on 5 under. 3rd place is a pretty good finish in spite of how i played from tee to green, thankfully my short game was in great shape, that showed in having just 54 putts in the two rounds. After two rounds of the Order of Merit series and two respectable 5th and 3rd place finishes i'm currently in 3rd place behind leader Mark Hooper and Sean Whiffin. Thankfully the next event isn't for a few weeks which gives me plenty of time to sort my game out, i have a good feeling about this year and see no reason why i won't be leading before the season finishes.

In the Pro-am the following day i played pretty much the same without the putter working signing off with a dismal 1 over 72. It's been a long week with 5 rounds played including travelling and practice,oh it's tough being a golf pro.......... A couple of days off is needed to rest my sore back which is a bit of a worry but i'm sure a few Stella's will help ease the pain. With a fairly quiet week next week i've only got two Pro-ams to play in at Wanstead on Wednesday and Cannon's Brook on Friday. See you soon.........

I'm going to count to 10 before i start this 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10............right, that's better, here goes. .....It looks like i'm getting back to my normal up and down golf, and about time too!!! Playing at Bishops Stortford Golf Club in The Weston Homes Classic, the 2nd Order of Merit event of the PGA East Region 2009 season i needed to get off to a good start to maintain a charge up the Order of Merit. This is a course i've had a reasonable amount of success on but not the win i really need. Teeing off in the last group, which is always a bit of a chore for the 1st round as you just want to get on with it as well as having to put up with the worst of the greens. A Par Bogey start didn't leave me in the best of moods i can tell you, then things started to go my way a bit. The 15 foot Eagle putt dropped at the Par 5 3rd followed by birdies at the 6th and 7th got me out in 3 under 33. Pars at 10 and 11 were follwed by my second Eagle of the day the the Par 5 12th and another Birdie at 14 got me to 6 under for the round. Despite how badly i was striking the ball this was a miracle. A missed 3 footer for par on 15 was nicely helped by two 10 foot putts for pars on 16 and 17. Not a great tee shot at 18 left me with 200 yards into the wind, i then decided to put a terrible swing on it and dispatched my ball in to the left hand trees. A plate of chips and a couple of putt's later left me finishing with a double bogey 6 and a round of 3 under 68. I wasn't really that annoyed as i hadn't played well during the round, but you obviously don't want to finsih a good round like that. I'm now 3 shots behind Andrew Collison from Bungay Golf Club instead of just 1 or 2. Andy has been a very good player for a long time, winning 3 events on The Challenge Tour a few years back. I feel good to catch him up as he hasn't been in a position like this for a while, plus he's from Suffolk so that gives me more reason to try to catch him up and beat him. Let's hope the putts continue to drop and i find my golf swing during the night.....

As you may be able to tell by the choice of colour of writing that i've had a very poor week, i'm not going to depress you with all the boring details as life is too short. Shooting a +5 76 at Maldon and a +3 73 at St Neots it wasn't really the week i was looking for after last weeks progress in form. Golfers among you will empathise with form going up 'n' down and no consistency, but without sheer hard work and effort that's all your golf will ever be. Pinpointing why i had such a bad week comes down to a few things. Despite having won at Maldon twice in the past i'm not a fan very slow greens. As for excuses for St Neots it's just a course i don't feel comfortable on. I practiced quite a lot during the week but never seemed to get a consistant rythym or feel for what i was trying to achieve, lets hope i can find what i'm looking for before the 2nd Order of Merit event next week at Bishops Stortford. One thing that sort of made up for a lousy week was the fantastic result of Manchester United losing in The Champions League Final, so it wasn't all bad........

Keeping it short and brief i shot a very average Level par round of 72. Due to perhaps a little fatigue as i've played a lot recentley plus all the travelling and coupled with an ice cold putter it was a fairly quiet day. Startibg off the 6th i got to 2 under after 6 holes having missed two putts inside 6 feet. A few 3 putts later and a birdie to finsih with left me in a tie for 11th and barely enough money to cover petrol. All in all it's bee a steady week, lots of moves in the right directions and confidence rising. Next week is fairly slow with just two Pro-ams at Maldon and St Neot's but all the same it's a nice way to relax, earn some money and get my game in order for the 2nd Order of Merit event next week at Bishops Stortford. See you soon....

Unfortunately this isn't going to end with a victory on today's Blog but i've got mixed feelings about the tournament and end result. Playing in the penultimate group with Phillip Abbott (John O'Gaunt) and James Ruebotham (Welwyn Garden City) i needed to get off to a fast start to catch the leaders. Hitting the flagstick from 105 Yards on the 1st was the ideal start after tapping in the Birdie Putt. Birdie's on the 5th and 8th were offset by poor Bogey's on 7 and 9, this got me out in 1 under 36. Another poor Bogey at 11 got me back to 2 under for the tournament, not out of it but making hard work for myself. Missing a 6 foot Birdie putt on 12 was followed by a delightful chip in on the 13th, in front of th TV camera's too,should make good viewing when it's shown on Sky Sports later this Summer. Another Birdie came at the short Par 5 16 and a shabby bogey at the last when trying to force a Birdie to catch the Clubhouse leader. My 3 Under total of 141 was only good enough for a tie for 5th, 3 shots behind winner Sean Whiffin from The Herfordshire. This is where the mixed feelings come in. I'm disappointed in how i struck the ball in general, missing too many greens and fairways and the odd missed putt, but i was quite happy with some shots throughout my game. Normally being in the position i was in i would be a tad angry to finish 5th, but seeing as i've only been playing again for a Month and my confidence being quite low i'm reasonably happy. If i was to rate my game at the moment i'm about a C- so i have a long way to go. It's a good start for the Order of Merit with 5 events to go and i'm sure i'll be in the mix in most of them. So all in all despite my game not being in great shape a good week so far with earnings of £863 and i still have the Pro-am to go tomorrow. Attack attack attack!!!!!!!

All in all a good day at the office despite a mixture of the usual good, bad and ugly. I had a great draw today playing with Darren Charlton, one of the nicest guys and swingers of a club in the Region. Getting off to a nice start with a Gap Wedge to 2 feet on the 1st and holing for birdie was the ideal start. Holing a good putt for par at the 2nd kept me going nicely. An 8 Iron to the Par 5 5th to 12 feet resulted in my 2nd Birdie to go 2 under. A 3 Putt bogey at 6, missed 3 Foot birdie Putt at 7 and sloppy bogey at 9 got me to the turn in Level Par 37. Birdie's at 15 and 17 got me round in 2 under par 70 and a tie for 3rd after Round 1. I'm only 3 shots behind surprise leader Andrew Agnoli from Bishops Stortford and 2 behind Rob Leonard. There's quite a few within touching distance and i think i'll need to shoot at least 67 to have a chance on Thursday. this is well within my capabilities as today even though i didn't strike the ball as well as i'd have liked i still missed 2 Putts of 3 feet and only birdied 1 of the 4 Par 5's. Confidence is slowly coming back and great things are just around the corner, and thats a promise...............

The start of a long week began with a Pro-am at the great venue of John O'Gaunt in Potton, Bedfordshire with mixed feelings of my performance (yet again!!) JOG is the favorite course played on the East Region calendar because of the quality of the course and a great £10,000 prize fund raised by home Pro Lee Scarbrow. In previous years i have used this Pro-am as a last minute competitive round for the PGA Championship which starts this week at Wentworth, maily because it makes you think about where you need to place the ball as apposed to the normal thrash it attitude needed at most courses we play. As usual the wind was howling with threat of rain, what is it with this weather/ we should have moved when we owned half the world! Playing with John Cox, Dave Chamberlin and Rob (sorry forgotten your surname) we had a good laugh despite the random golf. I'm not going to in to too much depth but the stats read like this. Fairways hit = 1, Greens in Regulation = 8 and Putts = 26. this all adds up to Level Par round of 71, good enough for tied 6th place and a very average £375. The scoring wasn't particularly good, probably a result of the weather First place with 68's were Richard Beadles and Former Tour player Mark Davis and 3 players on 70. My stats don't read to well and shows that the more fairways you miss the harder it is to hit greens in reg and the fewer putts you have (if chipping well). My feeling today was to try to get my Driver working as this is a great place to focus your mind on small targets even though it might not be the best way to approach the course strategy wise. My scoring normally gets a lot lower when i'm hitting fairways,something i obviously need to work on. I hit a lot of decent Iron shots as well holing some good putts, let down by a few dodgy approaches and a few missed opportunities. My game is definately coming together and only time will tell in the effort i'm putting in and the more golf i play.

Tomorrow i'm off to play Royal Worlington and Newmarket Golf Club which has been voted the best 9 hole course in the country. I've never played here but hear it's amazing. This will be my final practice before our 1st Order of Merit event in The Woolston Manor Classic which starts on Wednesday. I would normally have a practice round at the venue but the course hasn't changed, it's going to be bouncy as it was 2 years ago when i won the same event. My main reason behind this is to turn up on Wednesday with happy memories from 2007 rather than perhaps playing badly on Tuesday and worrying about it. This approach is a little arse about face and can been seen as negative but it's a positive way for me to do it. I really feel good times are around the corner, keep your fingers crossed for me please

Once again i'm back to erratic ways on the golf course,but i did find something positive to help me,eventually!! Playing with David Eldridge (Advantage Technologies), Tony Cooke and an friend from way back Nick Jones.The Norfolk G & CC was in great condition all round,my only complaint being the greens not short or quick enough.They always have ahad a great surface at the club and i'm sure the strange and rapid growing conditions didn't help with regards to the slowness of the greens. I always enjoy playing here as it's a course you feel you should take apart.I'd won the Pro-am here on previous occasions,including the last two years so i had a good feeling about it.That soon changed i can tell you......

Starting off the 1st i pulled my tee shot into the left hand cabbage and ended up with a Triple Bogey 7,thanks for coming!!!! it didnt get a whole lot better during the day.Birdie at the Par 5 2nd,Bogey at 5 after hitting tee shot into the water hazard with an Inbred (thats what Suffolk people call Hybrid clubs). Through the fairway with a 5 Iron on the 8th into another water hazard resulted in another bogey. Out in 40 (+4). Bogeys at 11 and 12 kind of got me a little annoyed but with my always never give up attitude something strange can always happen.After finally finding my swing at last on the 15th tee i hit a 9 Iron onto the par five green and two putted for birdie.I then prceeded to birdie the final 3 holes as well for a +2 74. Unfortunately i didn't finish among the prizes but playing the way i did i didn't deserve to.The Pro-am was won by Alan Hemsley with a good round of 67. Obviously this is a disappointing way to end a nice start to the week but i feel i've found something in my game which i will work on over the weekend come rain or shine. One funny thing did happen on the 8th hole today where David Eldridge hit his 3rd shot straight into the newly cut tree's in front of the green.Despite the dry spell we've had recently the ball decided to plug in the trunk of the tree,about 15 feet up.So if you can get a ladder to the 8th hole theres a brand new Titleist 4 sitting there waiting to be you!!!

Next week see's the start of the season proper for me with a Pro-am at the wonderful John O'Gaunt in Bedfordshire which has a nice £10,000 prize fund, this is closely followed by the 1st East region PGA Order of Merit event at Woolston Manor in Epping Forest Essex.I have a good feeling about this event as i won the tournament last time it was played there.Here's to a successful week ahead.

At last i have some good/better news to report after winning the latest Norfolk PGA Pro-am at Royal Norwich. As some of you may know i was attached in some way to RNGC for a number of years, dating back to when i was an amateur member between 1986 and 1996 and then as one of the Pro's from 1997 to early 2007.It's always nice going back there,seeing old friends and memories of great times growing up. It's a course and club which has always inspired me and inspitation was something i needed after a dismal start to the season. Up until 10pm on Sunday night i didn't have a full team but thanks to Bruce Bailey (Weston Park), Richie Burton (RNGC) and Ben Smith from Royal Cromer for helping me out and also playing well to finish 3rd in the team event. It was quite windy which i think shows in the not particularly great scoring. RNGC is normally ripped apart but thankfully today it wasn't. The severe wind was one of the reasons, the other reason being the condition of the course which was a little scrappy to say the least. Like most courses in the Norfolk area RNGC is in dire need of some rain, when this comes i'm sure the course will be back to it's normal great condition. If you haven't played it it's well worth a visit. I'm struggling to know what to write as it's been so long since i wrote something positive in my blog, i'm sure it will come back to me and hopefully i'll be writing a lot more of these in the not too distant future. I'll give it a crack and see how we get on....

Starting on the 11th i made a disappointing bogey going in with a Pitching Wedge, i say disappointing but the Pitching Wedge was hit from 181 yards away, strangely enough the ball still went through the green (this shows you the strength of the wind and how firm the ground was). Bogeys followed at 12 and 14 (3 Putt) to be a nice solid +3 after 4. You might be wondering "how the hell did you win after that start?" but the thousands of practice rounds i've had here in the last 25 years helped me stay patient and positive. Birdies at 16 and 17 were followed by a disappointing bogey at the 1st. A 9 Iron to 18" on the long par 4 (i say long par 4, must have a hell of a bounce off my tee shot) resulted in a birdie 3. Pars followed then i made birdie on the par 5 7th after hitting a Gap Wedge onto the green for my second shot. This hole should be a Par 4 really as it's barely on the limts at 475 yards, if only they would change it. Pars at 8 and 9 were followed by a 2 Putt Birdie at my final hole the 10th for a 1 under Par round of 71. Considering my start and conditions i was quite happy to have got the ball round in a half decent score and just hoped i'd finish in the prizes. Little did i know that the next best score was 75 which was quite a surprise if i'm honest with you. I even lost a £1 bet with Europro Tour Player Craig Butler as i didn't believe him when he told me i'd won by 4 shots, more fool me!! The result has given me a nice platform to build on in my hope of catching up the leaders in the Norfolk PGA Order of Merit after missing the first 4 events and a nice healthy 4 shot lead in the Insight 54 hole competition.Insight Finacial Services sponsor three Pro-ams during the year with an extra prize pot for the top 5 aggregate scores during these events and it's something i'd like to win again.The next two events in this series are at Weston Park and Eaton in October and November respectively. With regards to my golf i feel things are starting to improve,i've now got rid of that painful (touch wood) Snap Hook and can now see myself hitting decent shots before i take the club back. There's still a lot of work to be done and i'll be working my guts out for the rest of the season.

Next stop is another Norfolk PGA Pro-am at The Norfolk where Reg Varney is the home Pro. I normally do quite well there as a rule and i'm looking forward to hopefully making another dodgy speech come Thursday evening. Tip for the day is Never Ever Give UP....

Deja Vu it seems again after yet another scrappy display at the wonderful course of Hadley Wood.Despite practice improving and a few decent friendly games at Weston Park (winning a few quid off Fewy being 4 under for 9 holes) and 18 holes at Royal Cromer with David Eldridge from Advantage Technologies my confidence was starting to come back. How mistaken was i?!!! Hadley Wood is a tough track at the best of times,but when you add 30+ MPH winds with quick bumpy green's any flaws you have are going to come flowing out. Getting off to a terribl;e start with a 3 putt double bogey at the 2nd and a 3 putt bogey at the 3rd i was out of it before i'd even started.5 over after 7 soon became 6 over after 10.I hit the ball much better on the back 9 holes scoring birdies at 14 and 16 i finished off nicely making bogey at the final hole going in with a 9 iron.Paul Hetherington won with a respectable round of 71 continueing decent early season form.75 picked up money so i've only got a measly £80.90 to show for the week.If Alan Sugar was my agent i'm sure i'd have been Fired by now.Despite a terrible week the confidence is definately getting higher.I was even sad enough to watch a DVD of me winning the East Anglian Open in 2005,this have given me a few idea's i'm going to try which i'm sure will start to bear fruit very soon,god knows i need to.

It's supposedly County Week on the PGA Calendar next week with just 2 Pro-ams to speak of,the first at my old hunting ground of Royal Norwich on Monday and The Norfolk on Thursday.I'm currently not on the score sheet for the Norfolk Order of Merit having missed the first 4 events and i'm hoping to be in the top 5 after two decent results next week.The following week the season starts off proper with a big Pro-am at John O'gaunt and the first Order of Merit event at Woolston Manor where i won two years ago.Let the good times roll,please!!!!!

Those of a faint disposition look away now....Right, you've gone,here goes.....Today i played at the former Open Championship Regional Qualifying venue of Hendon Golf Club.They've done so much work to the place the past 18 months and it was in great condition,i think you'll find it difficult to find greens like that anywhere in the country (yes before you say it i putted well), well worth a visit.After my dismal display of non shot making on Friday i practiced during the weekend,allowing my body time to realx on Saturday,and boy did it need a break.Still without a clue of where the ball is going i didn't have much confidence teeing off at 9.40am.After 11 putts i was an almost miraculous Level par after 9 holes including a chip in for birdie at hole 7.After driving through the fairway into a ditch (the first decent strike i wasn't expecting) at hole i made a bogey 5.Birdies at 12 and 14 got me to 1 under.It's amazing how you can get a score going if your short game is working,thank god it was.A poor tee shot at 16 and a chip out sideways led to a double bogey 6,then two sloppy bogeys on 17 and 18 left me with a 3 over round of 73 and a tie for 12th.The scoring in general was pretty poor with only 2 people breaking par.I'm never sure as to why more people never break par here as playing as bad as i was i could still get it going.Golf is always a learning curve and as disappointed as i was to finish like i did i took the positives from it in that my chipping and putting was pretty good (it needed to be) and as soon as i start striking the ball properly and straight i'll be shooting well under par before you know it,that much i know.

Next stop is another former Open Championship Qualifying course at Hadley Wood,i'll need to take more than my Z Game with me this time.A few days practicing and playing and hopefully a lesson with Guy Ireson at Sprowston will help iron out the creases in my game and remove some of the stains along the way.Commiserations to the LegendaryBryan Gunn and his pathetic teams performances this season for being religated to the 3rd tear of the football league for the first time in over 50 years,lets hope Delia can cook the books and bring in some talent they obviously need.

Here we are again, Pro-am time! I'm going to be honest from the off here, i really wasn't looking forward to this one due to complete lack of confidence,but it turned out surprisingly well. This was my first competitive round since the middle of October last year, a lot can happen in 6 and a half Months and most of it bad!! Leading up to the Pro-am at Grim's Dyke near Watford i'd hit balls and played for the previous 11 days and boy did i need to. I'm normally very confident when it comes to golf, but 6 Months of the hardly playing has taken it's toll on my confidence. I've been working fairly hard at my game in the past 2 weeks with a disappointing lack of improvement. It's amazing how good you can swing and hit the balls sometimes then the next shot is almost like you've never played before. Anyway, enough negativity for one day. Grim's Dyke was my 4th full round of the week having played at Weston Park on Monday and Tuesday and a trip back in time to my old haunting ground of Royal Norwich on thursday. Having played thousands of rounds at RNGC since i joined there in 1986 it was so strange going back for the first time in 2 years. Nothing much has changed apart from i'm sure they've made the course tighter, or is it me whose got wilder?!!!!! Back to Grim's Dyke, i promise i'll get to the point in a minute!! Not having played here for a few years it's always nice to go back to nice courses with friendly atmosphere's. Like i said earlier i was going into this with no confidence, the following text will show you anything is possible if you try you heart out, here goes....oh, and don't laugh, it will get better soon....

Miss a 2 foot par putt at the first hole,Par 3,Fuming!!! 2nd Hole,Snap Hooked Driver,Wedge to 10 foot, made Par. 3rd Hole, Par 3, 9 Iron to 5 feet, Birdie,Whoo Hoo!!! 4th Hole, pulled Driver into tree's, Gap Wedge to 18 inches, Birdie! Pars at 5 and 6 after missing good chances from inside 10 feet. 7th Hole, yet another pulled Tee shot nearly on adjacent fairway, 8 Iron over the trees onto the green followed by a good two putt to make Par. 8th Hole Par 5, Driver down the middle (at last my own fairway!), 6 Iron in greenside trap, out to 5 feet and holed putt for Birdie! 9th Hole, another par 5, down the middle again (must have slipped or something), 4 Iron, chip and putt for Birdie! At this point i'm thinking to myself "What the hell's going on here,i 've hit 1 decent shot, i've missed a 2 foot putt and i'm 3 under par!!!,bring it on!!" Yet another Snap Hook off 11, ball ending up on the 2nd fairway, my 3rd fairway of the day, i'm counting it so there!!, Wedge on green, Par. After hitting the 12th fairway with a 4 iron i then decide to dispatch a 6 Iron into the Grim Ditch miles right of the green ending up with a Double Bogey 6. I think if i had been playing well this would have really upset me, but purely because i'd been sclaffing it all day to this point i just had to laugh. Although in my mind i was saying "here we go,another wasted day,get your coat!!!" A chip and putt birdie on the short par 4 13th was followed by yet another snap hook with a 3 wood on the 14th. Of course i made birde from where it finished,what do you expect!! Back to 3 under, plenty of time to throw this away yet! Terrible 4 iron on the par 3 15th resulting in bogey 4. I then played the last 3 holes reasonable steady with no funny shaped tee shots involved finishing with 3 pars for a 2 under par 67 and a tie for 4th place. Now thankfully i'm a bit more experienced than i was a few years ago and i managed to turn around a horrendous display of golf from a possible 80 into a 67. I always get more pleasure playing badly and scoring well because it's quite hard to do, we can all play well and score well, but you can only do that so many times before you get found out. So all in all i was ecstatic to pick up some money, finish in the top 4 and unbelievably breaking par. Not every report will be as indepth as this, i just wanted to show you that if you never give up, no matter how badly your playing you can still put in a decent score.

It's a day off for me on Saturday to rest my aching bones and muscles then back to the grind on Sunday in preperation for another Pro-am at Hendon on Monday. I'm going to keep searching until i find the right feel and movement for my swing and before you know it i'll be back in the winners circle and playing the golf i expect of myself. No more negatives from here on in,let the good times roll!!!! Now where did i put that once decent golf swing?????? Theres a great new site out for golfers of all levels and standards, visit www.purplegolf.com and register or at least have a look, it can onlt help your game.

A week of practice behind me and gradually the confidence seems to be creaping back.It's amazing how quickly confidence can come and go with this game.At the start of last week it was hit the ball and see what happened,now it's a case of "don't do this" "make sure you do that". The strike and direction are slowly becoming more consistant and i'm sure after week 2 i'll be approaching the confidence i had not so long ago.The weather forcast is terrible for the week ahead but thats not going to stop what i have planned.Practice every morning Monday -Thursday play 18 holes in the afternoons.This should help me and my chances come the first Pro-ams of my season at Grims Dyke in Watford on Friday.Fingers crossed for Norwich City tonight!!!!!!!

At last i'm home with my feet on solid ground for a change.It's been a nice easy winter for me so far having been on Fred Olsen's Braemar for almost 5 Months since October 27th last year,doesn't time fly! With all that behind me it's now time to start preparing for the 2009 golf season.Although i've played golf almost twice a week i haven't practiced since September or played a competitive round since mid October.So to say i'm ring rusty is an understatement.I'm a couple of Months behind most of my competitors but i'm sure it won't take long for me to get back into the swing of things and with any luck start whooping butt again as i used to(before last season's nightmare!). This year my calendar isn't anywhere near as glamorous as last year, no 6th PGA Championship,but hopefully that will all change this year,not as if you can become crap over night is it!!! I will be playing a few Europro Tour events, as well as a few National, Norfolk and Regional PGA events.It's going to be nice to play in The Open Championship qualifier again as i haven't tried since i missed out on getting into The Open proper by just one shot way back in 2003 (God that makes me feel old!!)

Targets for the year ahead include winning the Regional Order of Merit for a 3rd time,couple of high finishes Nationally and getting into The Srixon PGA Playoffs in October.It would be nice to win the Norfolk Order of Merit again for a 6th time but having missed the first 4 events it will make it tougher than it should or needed to be.I practiced yesterday for the first time since September and it went surprisingly well,although i ache like mad today,no pain no gain as they say!! Those of you who read this regularly i promise to you this years Blog won't be anywhere as distressing or morbid as last year and hopefully there will be a bit of fun along the way.

My first competitive round for 6 Months will be at Grims Dyke (North London) next Friday,lets see if we can start the year with a big W!!!!

It's that time again, the golf season is drawing ever nearer.I have just updated my schedule for the year and it's no where near as exciting as last year. Lets hope the golf is a lot more exciting in more ways than one!! I'm off to the Caribbean for two more weeks on Thursday 19th March where i hope to get myself in good a shape as possible (i'm hoping my shape won't be round!) for the long season ahead. With such a disappointing season last year i have a lot to prove to myself. Despite how badly and inconsistantly i played i did ok finishing 7th in the East Region Order of Merit, a lot of people would be pleased to finish in the top 10,but having done that 6 times previously (1st twice,2nd 3 times and a 5th place) my goals are set a lot higher. The main aim for the year is to finish in the top three so i can make it to the Srixon Playoffs again and hopefully improve on my 4th place way back in 2007 and get back to The PGA Championship for a 6th time. Another aim of mine is to win a lot more East Region PGA Pro-ams. Last year i only won one at Leighton Buzzard with a 6 under par 65, where as in previous years i normally win at least 6,this year is going to be a different story,just you wait and see.

I've had a nice Winter so far playing some great courses in mostly good weather in some great company. My golf has been a little erratic to say the least and i can't wait to get back to Weston Park and start beating balls again. The last round i played was at Caye Chapel just off the coast of Belize,losing 4 balls and chipping in 3 times just goes to show what a funny game this is. I'll be updating this blog as regularly as soon as the season starts,fingers crossed for some not so depressing reading. Watch this space......

Well here we go again.I'm very sorry for the long delay in updateing this Blog.I'm still out in The Caribbean working on The Braemar,but only for a couple more weeks.I'm looking forward to getting the golf clubs out again and making up for a pathetic year in 2008.The signs are looking good,i feel healthy,got a corking tan and my golfs improving the more i play and i haven't even hit a shank yet!!! I promise this year to make this Blog enjoyable by giving you successful stories to read and title's galore,got to get my world ranking below 1346 if it's the last thing i do!!!

The year has been great so far.Lots of funny happenings,but the high ight has to be just over a week ago.We had an extended day in Antigua,thankfully the same day the 2nd Test started between England & The West Indies.A few of us from the ship went along,what an atmosphere,i'm now hooked on Cricket.It only cost £5 to get in,sitting in the Bleachers in the middle of the Barmy Army.Thanks to Leo Shavers and his Trumpet we appeared on Sky Sports many times,as well as the BBC News At 10 (if you saw me it was a diet coke in my right hand,no Rum in sight i promise!!) I got a bit of stick because i was wearing a West Indies T-shirt but there you go,i didn't even like the game at that point.

I'm currently at Sea to Colombia,then a lovely trip back to Miami via Panama,Guatemala,Honduras,Belize,Cozumel and Key West.I'm going to be updating quite often as i used to,i just hope theres some here to read it.Looking forward to seeing you all on my return next week.

I must appologise for the delay in writing the latest update of the Blog,thats if anybody is reading this! I'm now back in sunny Norfolk,doesn't have quite the same ring to it does it.I'll try to recap as much as i can remember,now where was i?

After leaving Miami on the evening of November 27th and joined by my good mate Dave Kristian (Great Comic and Singer) we had a couple days at sea to the Dominican Republic.The Dominican Republic is an Island split almost in half with Haiti ans Hispaniola (with Hispaniola being the nice half).Visited by Christopher Colombus on his was to The Americas in 1492 and colonised by the Spaniards in 1493 it is the oldest European settlement in the Western Hemisphere. My History teacher at school would be so proud of me right now,shame i don't remember his name. the average temp in Dom Rep is around 30 degree's and the Island even has snow on top of it's 2000 metre high mountain,that was a mention so my Georgraphy teacher didn't feel left out! I've been going to the Guavaberry Golf and Country Club for the past 6 years.It's a great course sculptered out of thick jungle and designed by the Gary Player. As i said on October 31st the Dominican Republic has some of the finest courses in the world,this course would definately be in my top 10.

After leaving the country's capital of Santo Domingo we set sail to Curacao,part of the Netherland Antilles and also part of the ABC Islands,the others being Aruba and Bonaire.Curacao is about 40 miles off the coast of Venezuala and a country mainly used to refine oil.Other than that it's a stunningly beautiful Island.If you went you'd be amazed at the beauty of it's Capital Willemstad,all houses are painted in pastel coulours,the reason behind this aparently goes as follows.The Countrys Govenor was so fed up of waking up every morning and being blinded by the white buildings and the headaches that then followed.So he demanded that every household in the Country must paint their houses in pastel colours or else,something like that,anyway it's a beautiful City. We normally play golf here but due to reasons unknown we didn't play.I have been here a lot in the past,both from the ship and also to play in the VIP.COM International tournament run by my good friend Vince Kelly.Unfortunately this event isn't being run any longer due to the current financial crisis.Fingers crossed things sort themselves out and the East Region PGA boys will be back out there in force again.Blue Bay Beach and Golf resort is a great designed course,if a little rough around the edges.It has 3 amazing holes.The 5th is a 200 yard par 3 over The Caribbean Ocean,with a drop of around 100 feet from tee to green,not one for the faint hearted.The 17th green is right next to the sea and the 18th runs along the coast with the sea running the whole 470 yards.It's such a tough hole that a fellow pro of mine had an air shot with a driver off that tee and he was still in good shape,i'm not going to mention his name unless asked.Another great Island worth a visit.

The next stop was to a Venezualan Island called Isla Margarita,just off the coast of Venezuala funnily enough.I'm not up on my history and geography on this Country (nor your English as my English teacher would say if he was reading this),but it's again a beautiful Island with so much to offer.The next few Islands we stopped in Grenada,Barbados,St Lucia and a half day in Antigua.St Johns in Antigua is a lovely town,it was just a shame we were in on a Sunday as everything seemed closed,or was closed,i'm just being polite.I will write about this Island another day.After leaving Antigua we were at sea for almost three days,culminating in the long drawn out affair which is US Immigration in Key West.It's a shame it has to be done and i appreciate why,but it jsut takes far too long with total lack of repect added for good measure.My 7 week stint ended as i took off from Miami Aiprort on Thrusday 12th December with a temperature of 27 degree's,then landing at Gatwick Airport at 6.20am with the temperature being -5,thats Minus five! Welcome home Ian!

This will be my last entry to my blog for 2008.I want to say a few thank you's to the people who have helped me during my struggle of a year,if it wasn't for their help i'd be writing this from a lunatic asylum.Firstly i'd like to thank David Eldridge from Advantage Technologies www.advantech.co.uk for his help throughout the year,without it like i say i wouldn't have been able to play golf pressure free knowing that i have their full 100% support.I would next like to thank Ben Parry from Accident Exchange www.accidentexchange.com for easing my car pressures through the season,driving around in a BMW 520d for the past 12 months surely beats the old Audi i used to have,even though i did rack up a few points along the way.I met these two sponsors whilst working on the ships earlier this year,and long may our partnerships continue.My Management group The Oakroom have also helped me no end,organising and funding my route and the UK and European tournaments,my thanks go to Bill Doughty and his company. Fred Olsen Cruise Lines have also been a help in sponsoring me this year,along with Titleist and Footjoy,not forgetting Marboro Lights.

Although this year hasn't gone down in living memory as being the year Ian Ellis finally made his way to the big time,i have learned a lot about how hard it is to travel so much and still trying to play good golf,it's a hell of a lot harder than people think.Trying to think of highlights makes me realise and remember how poor a season it has been.Although i wouldn't put finishing 7th in The East Region Order of Merit as a highlight it does go to show how much better my bad golf is now compared to a few years ago.Just 3 top 10's with a 2nd place at East Herts being my best finish,it was a shame not to add to my current tally of 7 wins,next year will be different i swear.From winning 5 Regional Pro-ams last year i only managed to win one with a 6 uner 65 at Leighton Buzzard,not good really considering i expect to win every time i play.I faired slightly better in Norfolk PGA events,never finishing out of the top 4 in the 6 events i played in,so i should be pleased to finish 5th in the Order of Merit after missing 9 events.The only highlight being winning the Norfolk Matchplay for the 4th time beating some good players along the way.Out side of local golf i played on the PGA Europro Tour,making 5 cuts,missing the cut in 2 and retiring from one.Very dissapointing not to figure in the hunt in any of these events like i should be doing.I played a lot of good golf in most of them,but too many error's pushing me well down the field.I ventured onto The Challenge Tour courtesy of being ranked the 4th best PGA Professional last year.I only played in 3 events,missing the cut in all three,nothing to do with me not being good enough,i just never played well in any of them.The main event worth mentioning must be The BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.I was hoping this was to be 5th time lucky,but alas it wasn't.Going into the tournament with hardly any competitive golf due to a back injury earlier in the year and hardly any confidence it was always going to be a struggle.I'd like to say i enjoyed it but i'd be lying i said i did.Although it's a big event i'd like to be a part of it for the whole week,not just the first two rounds.At the end of the day it's a tournament and i'm a Professional Golfer who plays golf for a living,so earning nothing made it a disappoining week for me,6th time lucky in 2010???? I still bring back great memories from the event and am proud of myself just qualifying for it,not many people can say that they've played in Europes biggest event outside of The Open five times. I still find it hard to believe i hit the first tee shot with the clubface,considering how wobbley my hands and legs were.Going into that green with a 52 degree Gap Wedge is so much easier that worrying about shanking a 3 Iron off the downslope! I must thank all of my Friends ,Sponsors and Family who came to support me again,i'll make you all proud one day i promise!!

With the 2009 golf season so close already and a few weeks off golf for me i'm already looking forward to taking the bull by the horns and start kicking arse again.All that remains is for me to wish you ALL a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year.Thank you all for your patience in reading my diary this year,it's been depressing writing this sometimes believe me,but it's also been a lot of fun.Here's to only happy writing next year. Here's a few photo's for you.

What a beautiful place Honduras is,well worth a visit if you ask me.I can't explain too much about the Island but the best place to go is West End or West Bay. It's like stepping back into the hippie days of the 70's,thats a good thing isn't it? After Honduras we went to Belize,formally known as British Honduras.The RAF still have a base here and was featured is SKY TV's Ross Kemp's Gangs,that tells you a little bit doesn't it.The five of us had the pleasure of playing golf at Cay Chapel,an Island 12 miles off the coast of Belize(Google it to see what i mean).The trip started with tendering off the ship,a short taxi ride to the a small airport,then a 10 minute flight on Mayan Airways to the amazing Island of Caye Chapel.Sitting directly behind the pilot it was almost like sitting in the back of a car.I've never been so scared in my whole life,looking like we were going to land in the sea (we obviously didn't as i'm writing this) it was a great feeling to land on dry ground.The Island basically consists of a runway,a few villa's and an amzing golf course.One of the scariest things is the fact the course is full of crocodiles,iguana's and Coconut Tree's.If you get the chance to go it's a must.

The next day we arrived in Cozumel,an exclusive Island 8 miles off the coast of Mexico.The course we played was Cozumel Golf & Country Club,designed by Jack Nicklaus.Totally different to the previous two courses this cruise,it's an incredible course,occupied by 40+ crocodiles and anything else you'd care to dream up.It's hard to keep your balance and head down when a crocodile is 20 feet behind you believe me!With the cruise almost over our last stop was in Key West,the Southern most City in the USA.The home and birthplace of Ernest Hemingway and full of Mangrove swamps.It's conected to the main United States by 47 bridges (the longest being 7 miles long) and covering a distance of around 100 miles.We played at Ket West Golf Club (obviously) which again is nothing like the previous three,another great course and well worth playing if the chance arose.My playing partners were David Drury and Malcolm Hole,we had a good laugh in the 26 degree heat and it was a shame to get off the course.Next stop is Miami where these passengers leave and the new batch join,i've only got 5 golfers this time but i'm sure i'll be working my guts out as per usual.Ciao for now,i'll update early next week when i arrive in the Dominican Republic.Hows the weather back home by the way???

I've got a few days to catch up on in the next installment of my (b)log. Thankfully we haven't been taken over by Pirates like the Oil Tanker in Somalia,although it might liven up an otherwise slow cruise. When we got to Ocho Rios, Jamaica last Sunday the weather and the golf course (Sandals Golf & Country Club) were absolutely perfect. I had the pleasure of playing with Arild, the ships Captain and David Drury from Hull. The Captain is golf crazy and wanted to stay there all day long. The course is amazing, quite hilly and what seems like thousands of different types of tropical plants and tree's. One of the rules when playing here is that you must have a caddie as well as a cart, so we were quite lucky to get a good one in Byrd, he made the day for us, maybe it was the odd whiff of herbal roll ups he was smoking that made it enjoyable, the jury is still out on that one! This was my 2nd game in 29 days and i played like it too. It was a farely uneventful round for me until i holed a PW from 140 yards for an Eagle 2 on the 12th. The Captain was going wild,said the only time he'd seen something like that was on TV, good job i didn't break it to him that i fatted it!

After Jamaica we had a day at sea, this is when i tend to do the majority of my lessons, weather permitting of course. I quite enjoy teaching and i'm fairly good at it i think, but i couldn't do it full time, not just yet. The only problem with teaching onboard is the fact that the ball only goes about 5 yards before it comes to an abrupt stop. I would love a pound for every time people say to me "So you hit the balls into the sea then!", it's quite a novel idea and something they used to do many years ago. With todays laws it's just not possible as it would harm the enviroment. To do this enviromentally correctly it costs around 30p per ball, and you have to buy a minimum of 10,000, so that ain't gonna happen. As i said teaching in a net isn't ideal but a decent teacher should be able to see what the pupil is doing wrong before they've even hit a shot, after that it should be quite simple to change things, providing the pupil puts the effort in.

Following the day at sea we arrived in Cartagena, Colombia. The first thing that comes to mind when you here Colombia is drug lords and Cocaine, but when you leave it's the last thing you think of. As the National saying goes "The only danger is wanting to stay". It really is a beautiful place. As we were only there for half a day so i didn't really get a chance to see much apart from the Old Town. Despite it raining for a few hours it was a nice place. The next day we were in Colon, Panama. Not the nicest place in the world but as soon as you get away from the port area it's an amazing country with an incredible history. Most famous for being the Gateway to the Pacific, it's Panama Canal is one of the modern wonders of the world. Well worth reading up on the history of it. I'll give you a quick summary. 35 Kilometers from East to West, 3 different Locks, takes 8 hours to complete the journey, 30,000 workers killed during the 10 years of construction (landslides and Malaria) and was opened in around 1914. All facts approximate at time of writing this! If you have the chance to go through it then you must. After Panama it was down to Costa Rica. Following the now rainy theme of this cruise it of course rained all day (3rd day in a row,severve flooding around the country). This was my first visit to Costa Rica, again it's a beautiful place if you know where to go and the weather being kind. The coditions at sea the last two nights have been some of the worst i've experienced onboard a ship, thats including the Bay of Biscay and North Sea. There seems to be something happening and wouldnt be surprised if another hurricane arrive before the end of the Hurricane season ends on 30th November, i just hope i'm well out of the way. Next stop Honduras!

Now i have a bit more time to write this i'll fill you in on Miami and The Bahamas. First of all Miami. LEGO and palm tree's spring to mind! It's quite a nice place but i didn't get much chance to see a lot due to the time it took for The US Coast Guard to clear the ship. When a ship comes into the US for the first time it has to go through rigorous testing, this took approximately 8 hours. When the ship was finally cleared (passing with flying colours) at 3pm i could then get off. It a breathtaking slight when all you can see is Skyscrapers, i'm not used to that sort of view in Norwich. What i did get to see was the normal standard stuff you find in any big City anywhere in the world, all the usual Starbucks and chain stores. The Bayside harbour area was very impressive, the price of Heiniken less so. 2 simple bottles of beer cost me US$14.91, thats £5 a bottle, never again! I think if you had a couple of days to spend here you would probably love it, 4 hours just isn't enough time. But i must say the skyline at night is awesome.

After we left Miami Thursday evening we were on course for The Bahamas. Nassau (the capital) is a town caught up in a struggle between old colonial buildings and shops for the thousands of passengers who come in every day. Along side The Braemar was Carnival Destiny (4000+ passengers and crew) and one of the Disney ships (3000+). Next stop is Ocho Rios in Jamaica where i'll be golfing at the beautiful Sandals Golf & Country Club.

I’m sorry for the delay in updating my (b)log, with limited use of a computer and also infrequent internet access it makes it quite difficult at times, almost impossible. Where do I start??

After seeing land for what seemed forever for the first time in Barbados on Wednesday 5^th November is was nice to see the good old British weather had followed me all this way, you guessed it, it rain almost all day, and when it rains here, it really rains. Thankfully the sun came out and before you know it you wished it was raining again. It was nice to be back in Barbados again for the first time since March this year. It’s a beautiful island with a lot of wealthy people around. Golf Course wise it’s probably best known for Sandy lane and Royal Westmoreland Golf Courses It’s also very well known for Rum (now my favourite tipple), Malibu is made here as well as my favourite Mount Gay (it’s a drink not an order!). It never seems we spend enough time in places like this, so before you know it it’s 5pm and you’re of to the next port of call, Grenada.

I was on Braemar when it was the first cruise ship into Grenada after they had the terrible hurricane in 2004 (I think it was 04, maybe 05?). All you could see for miles were Blue tarpaulin roofs on building and church’s, it looked more like the home stand at Stamford Bridge than a paradise Island. It was amazing how upbeat they were at the time and how quickly they turned things around, if it were to happen in England we’d still be moaning about it today. It rained again for most of the morning, but the temperature was still 28 degree’s, perfect. Next stop was St Lucia; it didn’t rain, reaching a max temp of 31 degree’s. This Island was the base for the England World Cup Cricket team in 2007. Well worth a visit.

After St Lucia we arrived at one of my favourite Islands, St Kitts. They say St Kitts is the next big popular resort in the Caribbean, I hope they don’t ruin it. I had the pleasure of playing golf with Keith Deller and another passenger at the prestigious Royal St Kitts Golf Club, WOW! Keith as I said earlier is The World Dart Champion way back in 1983; he’s not changed a bit, still likes a pint and still throws the arrows like it’s an easy game. Phil Neal (ex Liverpool and England footballer) asked Keith the day before what his favourite double was, Keith said double 10, he then proceeded to hit it 3 times in a row, makes you sick. Keith plays off an unofficial handicap of 21, I say unofficial, it should be 12. Despite playing right handed and having his hands the wrong way round (left below right = cack handed) he strikes the ball very well, but he chips like I throw darts! The weather was fantastic as always and everyone had a great day, this is the place to go for a golfing break, believe me.

At last i can update my log. Since my last update we've been floating around in The Atlantic Ocean plodding our way to Barbados, and at last it's almost within sight. As of 9.30am we have covered 1800+ naughtical miles with around 250 to go. For those of you who don't know there are 1.15 Naughtical miles to a Land Mile. Always learning!! I've heard a few funny remarks from passengers regarding how different things are since the ship has been lengthened, here are my top 3. Number 3 "It used to be a lot warmer in The Caribbean when the ship was smaller!" Number 2 "There never used to be so many clouds when the ship was smaller!", and Number 1 "Isn't the sea a lot rougher since they lengthened the ship!!!!" Priceless some of the comments old people come out with. One of the probelms we had whilst being in the middle of nowhere was that we lost reception from various sattelites, so we had no news, no mobile reception and no email/internet. What a great weekend of sport with Lewis Hamilton trying to win the World Championship at F1,the final event of The European Tour Order of Merit, Hull playing Man Utd and the Stanford US$ 20 Million Cricket. I finally found out the results of these events at around 5pm on Monday, thank god i didn't miss anything exciting!!

The weather has been getting gradually warmer each day since last Friday, apart from rain on Saturday. The current temperature is 27 degrees and it's not even 10am yet. Other than trying to detox i've been going to the gym almost every day, almost on Monday, almost on Tuesday, almost on Wednesday (thats Micky Zany's gag, not mine). I've probably lost half a stone in weight since i got onboard, who says Rum is fattening? I've been trying to give lessons to passengers onboard but people seem to be very careful with their money nowadays. Anyway we will soon be touching down in Bridgetown in Barbados, It's a beautiful place, shame we're only there for the day. but it's a good time to stock up on Mount Gay (it's a drink not a sexual position!) Keep warm!

Happy Halloween.Thats the scary stuff out of the way! Welcome to my new blog "The secret Diary of a Floating Golf Pro". This will be running during my winter spent onboard Fred Olsens MS Braemar. I joined the newly lengthened (they cut the ship in halk and added 30 meters to it,incredible really) in Malaga last Thursday,23rd October.This is supposed to be a Flagship Golf Cruise but for some reason nobody took the package up.

Flagship Golf has been running since my first cruise in October 2002. Basically golfers pay 400 pounds on top of their cruise and in return they get me running around after them taking care of things. They get four rounds of golf,upto five lessons,cocktail parties,competitions and no hassle golf.Other than looking after the golfers i have to book the tee times,arrange transfers and packed lunches etc.My main job seems to be listening to complaints if it's too windy,it rains,or the course is too difficult,all the things out of my control. In the past 6years i have completed over 55 cruises,mostly in The Caribbean.I know your probably thinking "lucky sod!",but hey,someones got to do it,and thank god it's me! During the past few years we have played some great golf courses in the Caribbean,and also some not so good.The best one's in my opinion are in the Dominican Republic,namely Teeth Of The Dog at Casa De Campo and Playa Grande up the coast,well worth the visit.

This cruise i also have the pleasure of a couple of sporting hero's from the past in Phil Neal (ex Liverpool and England) and Keith Deller (ex World Darts Champion).They're both nice guys (not in that way) and they will be joining me for a couple of games of golf later in the cruise. I've been lucky enough to meet some stars over the years,some i've heard of and some i wish i'd never met,ego's are a funny thing.Some of the nicest i've met are Tom O'Conner,Lord Brocket,Frank Bruno,Norman Wisdom,Micky Zany,Leo Shavers and many many more - not to mention my travelling photographer, student golfer & social animal extraordinaire - Will Myatt.

This cruise the ship is relocating to the caribbean after having spent the summer in Europe.It's a long 3 week trip with lots of sea days,not a cruise for the faint hearted.After leaving Malaga on 23rd Oct we then went to Gibraltar,day at sea,Lanzarote,Tenerife,2 days at Sea,Cape Verde (give that one a miss),5 days at Sea,Barbados,Grenada,StLucia,St Kitts,Tortola (British Virgin Islands),day at sea,Gran Turks,day at sea then finally arrive in Miami on Thursday 13th November. Our current location is approx 200 miles west of Cape Verde and 1800+ miles East of Barbados,not a good time to spring a leak!!

I will keep this updated as and when i get the chance,obviously how much Rum is consumed will make a difference to the writing,spelling and sense it makes.Bon Voyage me hearties!!

At last the season is over for me with the playing of The Norfolk Strokeplay Championship at The Norfolk Golf and Country Club.Playing in the pro-am with good friend and Sponsor David Eldrisge (Advantage Technologies) and two of his friends (David and Caroline) i had a very up and down round.It was more Seve than Faldo,never knowing where the ball was going to go.In blustery conditions level par 72 is always good round there.Starting off the 1st i scrambled for par,then birdied 2,3 and 4.A double bogey on 5,birdie on 6,bogey on 7 and pars on 8 and 9 got me to -1 for the first 9.Bogies at 10 and 11 were followed by birdies at 12,15,17 and 18. This all added up to a 3 under par 69 and a 3 shot lead going into the 2nd day.

The 2nd day was always going to be a struggle,playing 36 holes when a little under the weather (bad back and cold sweats).Playing with great mate Fewy and Neil Lythgoe i had a fight on my hands.Neil played well shooting 71,Fewy played ok without holing much for a 72,i scrambled like mad for a 70 and a 4 shot lead going into the final round.When your scrambling all the time it will eventually catch up with you,and it did!Despite being 1 under after 6 holes and not hitting a decent golf shot it started going tits up! It reads like a suicide bomber.Bogeys at 7,8 and 9,birdie at 10,triple bogey at 11,bogey at 12 and 14,birdies at 16 and 18 added up to a 76,2 shots behinf Lythgoe.To be perfectly honest he deserved to win playing solid all day,i played crap and ground it out a few times,sorry,a lot of times!I will fully update and end this years blog properly when i have time.Speak soon!!

At last,i've broken par at Sheringham!!! Playing in a Norfolk PGA Pro-am at Sheringham today in perfect sunny conditions was a total surprise given that is October.Playing with a sponsored team from Insight Financial Services.Starting from the first with a par and a birdie at the second par 5.After driving in the fairway bunkers on 3 and 4 i made two bogeys.A bogey at the long par 3 6th got me to 2 over,about right for me on a course i love but can't score around.A birdie at the par 5 7th was given back with a bogey at the par 3 8th,nice!! A 30 foot birdie at 9 got me back to + 1 at the turn.A scrambled par at 10 got a little confidence going.An 8 iron to 5 feet at 11 resulted in a crap birdie effort,still +1.Another scramble at 12 for par and another par at 13,still +1.Then i pulled my finger out.A wedge to 2 feet on 14,birdie.A 6 iron to 6 inches on 15,birdie.A sand iron to 10 feet on 16,birdie,now -2.Despite being reminded from my good friend Colin Norris in the morning not to hit it out of bounds on the 17th tee i managed to hit it in the semi rough down the left(i'll get him back for that).I miss judged wedge into the green and a missed 4 footer for par got me back to -1.A drive,wedge and 2 putts at the last finally got me round Sheringham in 69,my first round under par at this course,about bloody time.

It wasn't good enough for a win,finishing 1 behind winner Lee Patterson (Royal Cromer) but i didn't mind as i've achieved something which has been nagging me for years.The next event on the Norfolk schedule is at The Norfolk G & CC in Reymerston in the 54 hole Strokeplay Championship which i won last year.I'll be in touch!!

Today the Dell Bower Suffolk PGA Pro-am was played at Hintlesham Hall and i was out for a bit of payback for last year.Dell Bower is the President of Suffolk PGA Golf and does a great job of promoting them,we could do with somebody like him here in Norfolk.Last year when i played in this event it was played in torential rain,despite getting it round in 3 under 69 and having a 3 shot lead it was eventually abandoned due to flooding greens.When the re-sheduled tournament took place i didn't finish anywhere,hence the payback.

It only rained on and off today but the wind was there as usual.A birdie at the 1st was followed by 11 frustrating pars (the putter was frozen).A poor bogey at 13 follwed with birdies at 15 and 16,this got me to two under.A par at 17 was followed with a par at 18.The 18th hole is a short par 5,down gale,a decent drive and a wedge was all it was playing.This is a tee shot i can never seem to hit properly and as per flippin usual i was in the right hand trees and had to settle for a par.A birdie would have won it outright for me.Instead in had to settle for a 3 way tie for first.It was dissapointing not to finish alone in first place but it's always nice to do a hit and run when you go to Ipswich.It was much nicer than than playing in the Norwich City Football Club day at Dunston Hall as there's no winners there,just LOSERS!!! I must thank Peter Ford and Stan Lee's for helping me out last minute as Monday evening i didn't even have a team.Also a thank you to Tony Garnett (Suffolk PGA Secretary) for finding me my 3rd man in Craig Hancocks to make up the team,it had to be better than ball spotting on the 4th all day which was his job.

Thursday see's the Norfolk PGA roll up at Sheringham Golf Club for the Annual Mike Jubb exhibiton Pro-am where Mike never seems to lose,lets hope we can get within 5 shots of him this time!!

Sorry for the delay in updateing my Blog,due to Laptop problems it hasn't been possible.Not that you have missed much or anything worth knowing.

As said below the 1st round of The Ladbrokes Masters was abandoned due to flooding.The 1st round was played on Wednesday 23rd September,with the top 50 and ties making the cut.Due to not having a much needed practice (see Tuesdays blog) round it was always going to be difficult.Starting off the 10th i made a bogey after going in with a wedge.Birdies at 11 and 12 followed by hitting my tee shot in the crap left and never found it,double bogey 6.Going for the green with my 2nd shot at the par 5 14th i hit it in the lake beside the green,after a penalty drop i scrambled for a par 5.Missing the green at the next with a 9 iron resulted in a bogey 5 (now + 2).Losing another tee shot in the crap left on 17 resulted in yet another double bogey 6 (+4).Birdies at 18 and the 1st got me back to +2.A three putt bogey at 3,birdie at 5,still +2.The 7th is a tight par 5 with a lateral hazard down the right hand side i needed to be aggressive with a driver.After dropping at the point of entry i scrambled for a par 5.A bogey at the 9th knowing i wasn't going to make the cut left me a little pee'd off to say the least.I won't be going back there next year as it's far to hill and tight for me,although it's worth a trip.

With the season drawing to a close there isn't much to play in apart from a few pro-ams,i'll let you know what happens!!

So much for the good weather i was bragging about.Day one of the Ladbrokes Casino Europro event has been abandoned due to flooding!!!

I arrived safely in Spain for the final Europro Tour event to be played at La Cala Resort.Getting to the course nice and early to play in the Ladbrokes Casino Pro-am i was a tad disappointed that my team didn't make it to the tee.I wasn't really that disappointed seeing as they only managed amass 51 points the day before (best two stableford scores on each hole to count,thats 21 worse than level points),so this saved me 6 hours of torture.I drove around the course in a buggy to get a feel for it,and Jesus Christ is it hilly!Not looking forward to next three days,looking like the Marlboro's will take a back seat this week.Other than that the weather is great,blue skys and hardly a breath,beats good old Englands weather.

A pretty miserable day for me in The Cambridge Meridian Pro-am,despite 5 birdies including 2 chip in's i shot level par 73.The blame was down to celbrating Bretts win the day before,take it from me,beer and golf do not mix!

Finally the East Region Order of Merit events have come to a close.Starting the 2nd round in a tie for 13th place i needed to get going quickly,and for once i did!Holing from 15 feet for birdie at the 1st and from 40 feet for birdie on the 3rd i thought this course was going to get a hiding,but no!I parred the next 6 holes which was disappointing considering they contained 2 reachable par 5's and a drivable par 4.A birdie on the par 5 10 got me to 3 under,but well behind schedule (considering my playing partner Andy Pestell had just birdied 6,7,8,9 and eagled 10 to be 6 under for the round). I missed a short putt for par on 12,parred through to 18 which i birdied,adding upto a 3 under par 70.Only good enough to move me up to a tie for 7th place.After holinmg to good putts in the first 3 holes the putter went cold on me,just a tad frustrating,but thats been the story of the year,thank god the season is almost over and i can start afresh.

The tournament was won by Brett Taylor,rounding up a great season for him by also winning the Order of Merit.This will earn his spot at Wentworth for The PGA next may,good luck mate.The other two players joing him at The Srixon Playoffs are Darren Charlton and Mark Hooper.I finished 7th in the Order of Merit,considering how badly i've played this year that isn't a bad effort.I unfortunately didn't add to my 7 wins,maybe next year is the one.My placing during the 6 Order of merit event were 12th,31st,2nd,33rd,8th and 7th. The Bishops Stortford event will be televised on Sky this weekend,it's a no brainer,Ryder Cup or East Region Pro's? You decide! The programme is called SPORTNATION,check it out.

Thr Pro-am at Cambridge Meridian is on Friday,then i'll be off to La Cala in Spain to play the final Europro Tour event where i need a top 20 finish to get the the Tour Championship at Le Bourds in October.That shouldn't be a problem if the putter starts working. TTFN

A disappointing day today at Cambridge National (or Meridian,depends on what they fancy).This is probably one of the easiest courses we play in the Order of Merit.Par 73 with 2 drive-able par 4's and 5 reachable par 5's.I shot a 2 under par 71 to leave me in a tie for 13th place with 1 round to go.I'm 5 shots behind surprise leader Andy Robinson from Felixstowe Ferry.Thinking back how i played i didn't putt or hit the ball well,but did have a couple of very good shots in there.Missing from 5 feet for birdie on the 1st hole set the tone of the day for a very cold putter.Bogeys at 3 and 5 put me 2 over,birdies at 6,8,11 and 12 got me going,only to drop a shot at 14.A birdie at the last made it slightly respectable,but only just.I need to shoot 65 tomorrow to put me in with a shout,not by any means out of the question,lets see what happens!!

Took £8 off Jason Levermnore and Brett Taylor in a practice round at Cambridge Meridian/National with my partner (golf partner) Andy Pestell,just thought you'd like to know!

I played quite scrappy today at The Three Rivers East Region Pro-am,shooting 3 under par 69.Starting off the short par 4 10th you really expect to get off to a good start early on.Despite having 72 yards to the flag on the first two holes i failed to get the ball close enough to give myself easy birdie chances.Birdies at 12 (20 foot putt) and 13 (25 foot putt) slightly made up for the average start.After hitting what i thought was a good tee shot off the par 5 14th i was a tad gutted to see my ball sitting under a bush (its a blind tee shot with a severely left to right sloping fairway) to the left of the fairway,after a penalty drop i tapped in for an ugly bogey 6. A bogey followed at the short par 3 15th,i'm fuming by now!!! A couple of pars were followed by a good 30 footer for birdie at the 18th.Par a 1 followed by a poor drive at 2 resulted in a bogey 5.Then the ball got rolling.A 15 footer for birdie at 3,a 2 putt birdie at 4 and a 20 footer for birdie at 5 got me to 3 under which is where i stayed after saving par from the green side trap at the 9th.This left me in a tie for 4th.

Looking back at the round i really dont have any idea where the ball is going right now,left,right,fat,thin,necky,toe'y,high or low.But amongst all this crap i'm hitting some great shots as well.And its a good job the putter was working,or is it the puttee!! I've got a lesson with my coach Guy Ireson up at Sprowston on Monday,hopefully he can find a solution and get me fired up for the last East Region Order of Merit event at Cambridge National next Weds/Thurs.

Today proved to be a fairly successful day at Eaton Golf Club as the Norfolk PGA Matchplay came to a close. After beating Mike Jubb (Sheringham) and Alan Hemsley (Richmond Park) in the previous two rounds i was drawn to play Neil Lythgoe in the Semi-Final.This was always going to be a tough match.Winning the 2nd hole with a par 3,a birdie 3 at the 3rd and 4th this got me off to the fast start i needed.I then scrambled for pars on the next to holes earning halves i had not right in having.A birdie on 8 got me to 4 up.The next.The next 7 holes were halved in pars giving me a 4 & 3 victory.Gary Potter (The Links) beat Tony varney (The Norfolk) in the other Semi-Final by 2 &1. So this set up a Final against my old boss from way back in the day when i was a little whipper snapper.

A birdie on the 3rd got me 1 up,i lost my tee shot at 6 to go back to Level.I hit a 6 iron stiff at the 190 yard par 3 7th and a good par on the long par 3 9th got me 2up at the turn.Gary lost a ball at 10 to go down.I bunkered my tee shot at the par 3 13 which ended up losing me the hole.Holes halved in par on the next two holes were follwed by my two putt birdie at 16 which sealed the game 3 & 2 in my favour.I wouldnt say it was the best game we've ever played,the non turning up of any spectators was a shame but as i'm sure they would have had a laugh at our expense at some point.My long time friend and caddie Darren Cossey pulled the bag around which was very helpful considering the weight of the bloody thing.

Looking back at the four matches i've played this year i've only lost 4 holes (2 of them in the final),and i have generally got off to fast starts which makes it all the more easier to finish games off.This is the 4th time i've won this title,and i'm yet to see a trophy for my efforts.

Thursday i'll be playing at Three Rivers Golf Club in Essex where i won last year,lets hope a win is around the corner which will keep the bank manager off my back!!

Much the same as yesterday with regards to the report of the 3rd and final round.Today was very windy,this shows in the scores throughout the field.This is not an excuse by the way.Starting in tied 9th place i got off to a nice start with 2 good pars and a two putt birdie on hole 3.I hit my tee shot in the fairway trap on the left side of the 4th hole.The lie was decent enough for me to get a four iron to it,but fat hooking it left and out of bounds was a bloody disgrace,this resulted in a triple bogey 7.A bogey on 8 was followed by a birdie on 9.A 3 putt par on 10 was followed by 3 good pars,then the 15th came back to haunt me again.Missing the fairway right this time i chipped out,hit my 3rd shot 50 yards from the flag,a pitch,chip and a yip later i tapped in for a double bogey 7.By this point i'm steaming! A bogey on 16 an a couple of pars to finish with lelt me with a round of 76 +5 and a 3 round total of 216 +3 and a tie for 25th place,what a load of crap! At least i didnt finish down near the bottom of the pack,now that would have been embarassing!

Looking back over the tournament as i often do,i actually played quite well this week,hit lots of good shots and putted quite well.I made just 3 bogeys,but the two doubles and triples leave a sour taste in my mouth.Playing 47 holes in 10 under and the remaining 7 holes in 13 over is pretty poor by anyone's standards.I seem to being hitting either a very disructive shot or hitting an average shot and compounding the error,thus resulting in doubles and triples.At least theres some good golf to report instead of all bad,at least i didn't hit any shanks i suppose!!

Not much on next week due to not being invited to play in a couple of East Region events,god knows what i've got to do to get into those! I have a Pro-am at Three Rivers next Thursday and the Semi Final/Finals of the Norfolk Matchplay at Eaton on Wednesday.I've also got a couple of days with my sponsors next week,Monday with Ben Parry from accidentexchange.com and Friday with David Eldridge from advantech.co.uk ,lets hope the golf is spot on by then!

I've been trying to think of a clean golf joke but none come to mind,i'll try to find some for my next blog.

Another up and down day at the office today in the 2nd round at Five Lakes.I scrambled again at the start of the round,being level par after 4 holes was a miracle.I thankfully started to hit the ball better after that.A good birdie at the long par 3 7th and a two putt birdie at 9 got me 2 under -5 for tournament) at the turn.I drove through the back of the par 4 10th and chipped and putted for birdie.I came unstuck at the 500 yard par 4 12 hole after topping a 3 wood from a perfectly good lie in the rough,this pathetic effort went about 40 yards into the hazard,resulting in a good 2 putt for a double bogey 6.The wheels totally fell off on the par 5 15th after pulling my tee shot a little left and i couldnt find my ball,seeing as hte rough was ok i still can't believe we never found it.A bogey with my second ball added up to an ugly 8 (you can imagine how pissed off i was with that,i'm keeping the language down to a minimum here so as not to offend) i birdied the 18th after hitting a wedge to a couple of feet to help a little bit.My round of 1 over par 72 has put me down the leaderboard a little bit on 2 under par.I've easily made the cut but that was never an issue,i want to be in with a chance with the final round to come,not trying to claw my way back from 5 behind.At least i know i'm playing some good golf,it's just a case of hitting my bad shots at the right time and in the right places.As for topping the ball,i can't even remember the last time i did that,probably somewhere in the Caribbean with a stinking hangover.

Looking at whats happened today it's the sort of thing that accurs when you've been struggling all year like i have.I very rarely make doubles and triples,but this year has been full of them.Put it down to lack of concentration ar not enough trust in my game,thats the only answer i can come up with.I'll never give up trying,something good will come from this season,even if it's when the season finishes,but i'd like to think it will happen before then.

A quick joke to finish with.Two lesbians on the tee,one of them rips it down the fairway,the other one shouts "Your the man!"

Much better today,mind you,it couldnt get any worse than my NR at Haverhill yesterday.i didn't write anything yesterday as there was no point.I played crap and putted even worse,lost a ball playing 17 trying to help the team score,was no point in going back to the tee,letting a group through and shooting 77+.Anyway,enough of that old hat.Today was the 1st round of the above event.For the first time in a long while i got lucky with the draw regarding the weather,and made the most of it.

Starting from the 10th i made a simple birdie after driving into the greenside trap,a 3 putt bogey at 11 followed.I scrambled my way from the 12th to the 4th where i made a birdie,also making birdie at 6 and the par 5 9th.This resulted in a 3 under 68 and a tie for 7th place,just 1 shot behind the 6 way tie for 1st.I struggled today with my game for the first 8 holes,then i improved with my striking and direction.I'm confident for a good round tomorrow morning (7.28am start) and hope to be in a good position going into the final round on thursday.Fingers crossed the weather is with me.

I played my usual rubbish in The Norfolk Open at Sprowston yesterday,surely i'll play well in it one year!! The story of the day was a lack of birdies and struggling to hole putts on fairly good greens but micky mouse pin positions.I hit the ball ok at times,but not as good as the previous day.A morning round of 72 +1 was made up of 15 pars,1 birdie and 2 bogeys,not great to be honest with you.A second round of 74 +3 contained a mixed bag of 2 birdies,3 bogeys and a double from yet another plugged lie in a bunker.This left me in the top ten and 3rd pro.The event was won by Stuart Ballingall,an amateur from Dunston Hall,he beat Pro Tony Varney at the 3rd extra hole.Stu obviously likes this event as he beat me in a play off in 2006.The showing from the Pro's was pretty pathetic with only a handful inside the top ten. I feel i would have been much further up the leaderboard had i not missed 15 putts from inside 10 feet,anyway thats enough about that event for another year.

Next stop is an East Region pro-am at Haverhill on Monday where i hold the course record of 7 under 64,fingers crossed for a repeat performance!

At last! A decent round of golf! Today i played in The Leighton Buzzard Pro-am and shot my best round of the year,not difficult given what i had to beat.Playing with Neil Mitchell's team (neil has had to withdraw from the rest of the season due to a bad back injury,get well soon mate). The guys in the team were John Edwards,Peter Ford and Ashley Fox,we had a great day but with a bit of luck we could have won the team event. Still using the same swing thought i found at East Sussex (it's a secret) i had what seemed to be a very easy round.I only had one bogey on the par 3 11th (i started on the 10th tee,the birdies came at 10,13,15,18,3,5 and 7.This added up to a 6 under par 65 putting me in a tie with Richard Beadles and John Bevitt.

At last things are going my way,just before the season comes to a close,good timing hey! The Norfolk Open starts tomorrow (Thursday 28th August) at Sprowston Manor,lets hope i bring good news on my next blog.

What a strange up and down event that was.I'll try to keep it brief as not to bore you.

Round 1 - Teeing off the 10th tee in the morning with a couple of very good players in Elliott Saltman (brother of Lloyd Saltman) and Chris Hanson (sorry,don't know his brother) it was fairly windy.A 3 putt bogey at 11 was followed by a double bogey at the long par 3 13th.I hit a 4 iron into the left hand trap,to say it was plugged is an understatement.I could only see 5 dimples of the ball,add this to being up the face of the trap and having to go out backwards i was screwed.A bogey at 18 and the 3rd was slightly helped by birdies on 2,6 and 7 for a round of +2 74.

Round 2 - Teeing off the 1st in the afternoon i needed to get going quickly.A birdie on the short par 4 6th was followed by a nice eagle 3 at the 573 yard par 5 7th after hitting the green with a 3 wood.Some work was undone on the 9th with a lost ball after hooking my 3 wood 2nd shot,resulting in a double bogey 6.Birdies a 11,13,14 and 16 got me well into the tournament,then it got Fugly.A crap tee shot at the par 3 16th finding the water resulted in a double bogey,a 3 putt bogey at 17 and a bogey at 18 got me round in even par 72.Not a happy chappy as you can imagine.This got me through to the final round by the skin of my teeth.

Round 3 - All pars and a birdie at the 2nd got me -1 after 6,then the plugged lie got me again.Hitting,lets face it a pretty crap gap wedge into the 7th,the ball plugged up the face,similar to round 1.A big heave later and the ball ricocheting over my head to plug again,another bunker shot,a chip and two putts later i was pretty fed up walking to the 8th tee after making a triple bogey 8 (this must make painful reading as it bloody awful writing it!).I bounced back with a birdie 2 on 8.The 9th was a horrible hole too with my 2nd shot plugging (yes again!) in the greenside trap.This ended in a double bogey 6.A 3 putt par on 10 was followed by birdies at 11,13,14 and 16.A bogey at 18 got me round in 72 again.My +2 total of 218 left me in a tie for 37th.The event was won by big hitting Australin Daniel Gaunt after a 3 way play-off.My room mate for the week,Andy Pestell had a dissapointing bogey at the last to finish 1 shot behind the play-off in 4th place,pretty good considering thats only the 2nd cut he's made on the tour.But well done to Pesty anyway.

So looking at the tournament i hit a lot of very good shots,and every time i hit the ball in the bunkers it plugged,my own fault as you shouldn't be going in them i suppose.I'm a little disappointed as i've made 13 birdies and an eagle in 3 rounds and finished two over par.I'm taking a lot of positives away as i've found a decent rhythym again and l'm looking to have a good end of season finish,trust me,i mean it this time,its going to be a finish to remember!!!

At last the sun has decided to make an appearance this Summer,and it made a difference to my game if nothing else.Playing with the main sponsor of the event,Bill Doughty from The Oakroom i knew i had to pull my finger out and show him i can play and that i'm not as bad as my season has made me out to be.I had birdies on holes 3,5,6,9,12,17 and 18 and just two bogies on 7 and 8.I wouldn't say i struck the ball all that well today even though i hit a lot of greens and fairways in regulation,one thing i did do is hole out well from around the 6 feet mark.I ended up shooting 5 under 67 and this was good enough for 2nd place behind Mark Davis (65,including 6 birdies and 2 eagles).This amazingly has equalled my lowest score relative to par for the year,that just shows how desperate it has been this season.I have taken a lot of positives from this round,knowing that i can still score well and if i can start striking the ball slightly better i'll be hitting the ball further and closer to the hole.The team event was won by Paul Hetheringtons team despite Paul shanking his tee shot out of bounds on the par 3 15th,way to go Paul!!

Next week i'm playing at East Sussex National in a Europro Tour event.I plan to play in the last 3 events in the hope of turning this year around and to earn some decent money at last.Depending on how i play next week will determine whether i enter the Qualifying School for The European Tour,if i finish inside the top 5 i will,what will be will be!

If you get the chance please visit my sponsors pages www.advantech.co.uk and www.accidentexchange.com as without there help i'd be up a certain creek without a certain paddle.

Sorry for the delay in bringing you this report,it's the first chance i've had to write it.The 1st round of The Oakroom Classic at Stockbrook Golf Club was not a nice experience to say the least.This is one of the trickiest golf courses we play due to the size and shape of the greens and the amount of water hazards in all the right places.Add to this gusting winds of 30+ MPH and a few showers and its a battle to the death.Playing with Mark Stokes and Craig Laurence i struggled with my game yet again.Despite starting with 8 pars and lots of scrambles i made a double bogey 7 on the ridiculously hard par 5 9th.A birdie on the short par 5 10th was given straight back on 11 and a double bogey on the 12th put me at +4.After hitting a 6 iron stone dead on the 13th i also birdied the 14th.A disappointing 3 putt bogey and another bogey on 17 left me well out of it on +4 76.There were only 3 players to break par which shows how tough it was playing.They were Darren Charlton,Jason levermore and Mark Hooper,all shooting 2 under par 70's.

The second round was played in still gusty conditions,but at least it was easier than the previous day.Needing to get off to a good start i didn't with bogey at the 1st.Birdies at the par 5 5th,9th and 10th and 18th,and a bogey at 15 left me with a round of 2 under par 70 and a two round total of 146 +2.This was good enough to jump me up to 8th place in the final standings.The tournament was won by Mark Hooper on 5 under.This is Marks first win and he's certainly a name for the future.This has pushed me upto 8th place in the Order of Merit and unfortunately leaves me no chance of winning or getting into the top 3 with one event to go.The plan is to go and win the last event in September in Cambridge and try to get to 4th place at least.

I feel totally refreshed after a weekend of doing nothing,boy did i need it after the trials and tribulations of the previous two weeks.Yesterday i played Alan Hemsley in the quarter final of The Norfolk PGA Knockout at Weston Park.I had to have a lesspn before i played to try to work out what was wrong with me,as it turned out,a hell of a lot was.The confidence went a little lower when Mike Few said its the worst he's ever seen me hit it,Thanks Mate!To keep it brief i was aiming right with my feet and even further right with my shoulders,add to that a crap rhythm (never could spell that) and timing.Anyway,i know what i've got to work on.

After a good practice i played Alan.It was a scrappy game.I won four holes with Birdie (2,5,8 and 13) and four holes after unexpected bogies from Alan (1,3,7 and 12).The only hole i lost was the par 5 6th when i hit the ball in the tree's a few times.The 7 & 5 win puts me in the Semi Final which will be played sometime before Christmas 2009.

It's just lashed it down here,i'm hopeing it also has at Stockbrook Manor where we play the penultimate Order of Merit event.No matter how i play i need a top 3 finish to give me a chance of getting into the top 3 by the end of the season.If i get my putter working it shouldn't be a problem.

Today in The West Essex Golf Club Pro-am was a day of grinding and relying on some mental toughness.Feeling very tired after the long week in Wales and the drive home over Snowdondia the day before left me feeling below my best,as if i needed anything else to make this game harder.Nothing memorable to report other than i made 2 bogeys on the 2nd and 16th (3 putt) and birdies on 3,8 and 14.This left me breaking par for the first time since 15th July at The Players Club in Bristol,pathetic really to be honest with you.

A weekend off golf beckons,i can't wait to not touch or see my clubs till i play Alan Hemsley in the Quarter Final of the Norfolk PGA Matchplay at Weston Park.I'm looking for revenge after losing to Alan at Richmond Park at the same stage last year.I hope to win as it will set up a Semi Final against a name i won't mention on here or by breath,lets hope i can beat Alan first.

Also next week i have The OakRoom Classic at Stockbrook Manor,this will be the 5th East Region Order of Merit event of the year.I really do need to win this one to give me any chance of getting to The Srixon Playoffs later in the year.I'll be in touch daily.

Round 3 - Today was a round of grinding out a score from a very poor striking day.It's almost got to the point where i don't know whether i'm going to hit it left or right,hit it fat or thin or strike it from the toe or heel,honestly,thats how i feel at the moment.I hit some good shots but nothing to write home (or here) about.A steady start with pars at the first two holes followed by a good 30 foot birdie putt at 3.Bogeys at 6,7 and 13 left me struggling big time but a coupel of good birdie 2's at 14 and 18 got me round in level par 69 and a tie for 21st place.Not a great result but i am taking a couple of positives away belive it or not! I have found a good thought with my putter having not had a single 3 putt in three rounds and holing out quite well.

I've played 7 rounds in the last 8 days and i'm looking forward to putting my feet up.But first i have to play at West Essex in an East Region Pro-am on Friday.I quite like the course here and i'm hopeing to repeat my win from last year.Following this will be a weekend of catching up and spending some quality time with my on George before 5 rounds the following week.I'll keep you posted of how i get on at West Essex.

Whatever happened to the British Summer?It certainly isn't here in Wales.I'll go through the first two rounds quickly so as not to bore you.

Round 1 - As predicted by the Met Office the weather was horrendous,more like the end of the world!I'm not trying to sound like wingeing Robin Mann but these were some of the worst conditions i've ever played in,add to that the longest round i've ever had,6 hours 45 mins,yes 6 HOURS 45 MINUTES!!!! It was a battle from start to finish.Despite playing the last 6 holes in Level par for a 76 (+7) i was fairly happy considering the conditions.I would have defied a 5 handicapper to break 100 on this day.One of my playing partners,Adam Runcie,who plays for the Wales National Team shot 85 (+16),and he can play the game.The toughest stretch of the course is 13-15 and they played like this.13th 437yard par 4 Driver and a 3 wood.14th 208 yard par 3 - driver.15th 430 yard par 4 - driver 3 wood.There were quite a few scores in the 90's and lots in the 80's.I was left in a tie for 57th after the first round,could have been better but could have been a hell of a lot worse.

Round 2 - The weather was much better for the 2nd round,not much rain and the wind a little calmer.I hit the ball a little better today.A birdie at the first was given back quickly with bogeys at 2,3 and 4.Birdies at 8,9 and a great birdie on the long 13 (driver then rescue club).A bogey on the long par 3 14th was followed by 4 pars to finish with for a level par round of 69.This pushed me from 57th to tied 25 with one round to go.The cut eventually fell at +10.Anything under par will push me well up the leaderboard in the 3rd round.Lets hope the weathers good for a change!

It managed to rain for the whole round today which was nice.14 pars,3 bogeys and a double add up to 77 and a two round total of 152 +8,missing the cut by god knows what.I don't mind playing bad in decent weather and missing the cut,but not when it's completely lashing it down and you can't keep your grips dry.I'm writing this blog before i try the local Guinness this afternoon,it would probably make more sense now anyway.I'm looking forward to getting on the ferry back to Holyhead and trying to sort my game out for The Welsh PGA Championship at Royal St Davids next week.I'm not looking forward to playing at the moment,i'm sure this will change when i get to the course as it's supposed to be fantastic.

All in all its been a pretty miserable season so far,and it pains me to write these daily blogs with nothing but bad news.I'm trying my hardest to make it interesting for whoever reads this,but without decent golf it's quite difficult to make it that way. See yestredays blog regarding jokes,it might at least cheer me up,if not everybody else!!

A day of mixed fortune but the same poor result in Ireland today at Glasson Golf & Country Club.This is the 3rd Challenge Tour (and last for a while) of the season for me,and it looks like this one is going a similar way to the previous two.Despite finally getting over my man flu and feeling fairly weak i got off to a nice start with a tap in birdie 2 at he 219 yard par 3 3rd,and another birdie at the par 3 5th.I played ok for the next 5holes making pars then the downward spiral started when play was suspended for 20 mins due to flooding greens and a torrential downpour.I then 3 putted 11 for bogey,the same on 13 put me back to level for the round.Then the next downpour started and i hit a big slap off the next tee (565 yard par 5 14th) losing my ball,then there was another 30 minute suspension because of flooding greens (no wonder they call this the Emerald Isle).I birdied my second ball for a bogey 6,two bogeys at the next two holes and a couple of pars resulted in a very lame score of 75 +3. I can blame the bad luck of getting the wrong end of the draw with all the good scores coming in the morning groups as there was no wind,but i'm fed up of making excuses for crap golf.Theres only one person to blame and thats me.I need to shoot at least 68 tomorrow to stand a chance of making the cut,i can't see it happeneing to be honest with you as the forcast is horrific for the morning.That doesn't mean i wont be trying though,toodle oooh!!

SEEING AS I'M IN IRELAND AND MOST OF THE BLOGS I'M WRITING AREN'T VERY EXCITING DUE TO CURRENT LACK OF TALENT,WHY DON'T YOU EMAIL ME ANY DECENT GOLF JOKES (OR NON GOLF JOKES) AND I'LL PUBLISH THE BEST ONES.

I'm writing this installment in pink because i'm playing like a complete girl at the moment.No offence to the complete girls out there.Today at the brilliantly presented Kings Lynn i hit the lowest point of my pretty pathetic season.I don't need any excuses at the moment but a fever and cold didn'y help me out much.I had a lovely team in Kevin Playford,Des and Jason,but i didn't help them out as much as i would have liked.Everything was out of sink today,hooking and slicing,bad putting etc,it was a miracle i got it round in under 90.I shot +4 76,6 bogeys and just two birdies.When playing badly you need momentum to keep you going.I was level par after6 holes,then after hitting Sand Iron into 7 follwed by a quick 3 putt,then missing the next with a wedge i was all of a sudden +2.The not birdieing the 9th par 5 going in with a 6 iron i was on the slippery slope.No matter how hard i tried nothing was happening.Never mind,pick yourself up and keep grinding,i didn't become the player i am by giving up.

I've just driven 280 miles from Kings Lynn to Holyhead to catch tomorrow mornings ferry to Ireland where i'm hopeing to find a lucky Leprachaun to smuggle in my bag and get this thing on the road.I'll be in touch with how things are going when i get the chance to.

Another two miserable days of golf followed the first round at Colchester.Nothing materialized in the 2nd round of the East Region Championship.Hitting the ball all over the place and relying on my short game.I pretty much scrambled my way to level par for the round with two to play,but two closing bogeys didnt do me any good,finishing well down the field again.I must thank Darren Cossey for caddying for me agian,but the magic we have shown together in the past didnt show up.The event was won by Paul Curry with a 12 under par total of 128,very impressive.

The Pro-am the following day was pretty much the same as the days previous.Playing with Ben Kirk who i've known for a few years it was very inconsistant,with birdies on 2,6,7 and 15,and bogeys on 3,9,13,14 and 16.I need to sort myself out and quickly otherwise the season is going to be a complete washout.I'm off to Kings Lynn on Monday then over to Glasson Hotel for a Challenge Tout event in Ireland.The time has come to works my rocks off and give it my all for the next 2 months,shit or bust as they say!

This is the first time Colchester has held this event after it was moved from Nazeing Golf Club this year.Its an event i previously won in 2000.Colchester is one of the more established clubs in the region and one i was looking forward to playing.I had a decent draw playing with the home Pro Mark Angel and European Tour winner Mark "mad dog" Davis.We had a bit of fun but not the sort of scores we were all expecting.Ang had a bit of bunker trouble in his 78 whilst Mad Dog couldn't hole a putt to save his life for a 73.My round was slightly different with a sour taste in my mouth with the way i finished.I had birdies on holes 2,5,6,12 and 13,cancelled out with bogeys on 4,7 and 11.So i was 2 under after 13 not playing great,hitting it left and right.This is the worst case senario as you never know whats coming up,a pull or a push etc.I scrambled pars on the next 3 holes.The 17th hole is a great hole into the breeze.I hit a crap rescue club off the tee right,chipped out into the semi rough.My 3rd shot caught a "flier" and flew miles through the green (i had 170 yards into a strong breeze,the 7 iron i hit went 190 yards).The ball ended up in the bushes,3 chipps and 2 putts later i was storming to the 18th after making an ugly 8.So in the space of 15 mins i'd gone from having a decent shot at winning the event to needing a miracle in the second round.At this point i did well to make a par on the tough 18th hole,hitting my drive as hard as possible and a wedge to 20 feet and a 2 putt par.Thats how to turn a 68 into a 72,piece of cake!

The scoring was in generally good,with Paul Curry leading on 6 under 64,with Pestell and Danny Heard on 65.I have a decent draw again playing with Jason "9 knuckles" Levermore and Brett "Mr Mechanic" Taylor,lets hope we can get caught in a birdie frenzy and shoot around 64 or 63.I think 6-7 under will win.You'll have the usual collapses from the usual suspects so if i can get to 4 under i should be in the top 5,which what i desperately need if i want to stand a chance of retaining The Order of Merit.

As expected i had an awful day at Fynn Valley.You must know whats its like going to a course you have never played well around,and will never do any good no matter what.Well Fynn Valley is that place for me.I hadn't played there for a few years and the course has matured quite well,its just a shame about the 3 holes with the very severely sloped greens,if these could be flattened a bit it would make all the difference.Anyway,i shot a 7 over par 77,thats probably par for me.I played ok apart from a couple of holes (14 pars,2 bogeys,1 double and 1 triple),probably a bit too stiff after watching The Open for 3 days lying on the sofa.The pro-am was won with a good score in the conditions by Andy Pestell (67),thats his score not his weight!

A very frustrating drive home after a similar story on the golf course made a possible good week turn sour.As per the first two rounds the wind was up today,in a similar direction to the first round.A bogey on the 1st hole was followed by 6 easy pars (3 putting the par 5 6th for par just for good measure).A bogey at 8 was followed by (and which summed the week up perfectly) a few too may putts.A 3 putt bogey on 9 and 10,bogey on 11 (on a roll now!) put me well out of the tournament.At times like this you want to just walk in knowing that every shot you make or miss wont make the slightest bit of difference to the amount of money you win.(The prize money is far too top heavey in these events,where you have to finish inside the top 15 to even make a profit).A lost ball on 15 ended up being a double bogey 7.A birdie on the 16 followed by two pars meant a miserable total of 77 shots and a 7 over 3 round total of 220.This left me in tied 41st place and a measley £230 for my efforts.

All in all,looking back on the week this is probably the best i have played tee to green in a number of years,hitting lots of fairways and greens in regulation.The only problem being if you haven't already guessed is the putter,you'll find it somewhere in the Bristol Channel if you want it!!Only kidding,it's in the lake beside the 10th green!A weekend off golf watching The Open Championship is called for before i play at one of my least favorite courses on Monday,i'm not going to mention names,but wish me luck at Fynn Valley on Monday!

A disappointing day at the office today,although i played a lot better than my score of 74 suggests.The 36 putts i had tells the story.I'm not making any excuses as you can't use excuses in this game.Looking at it the way i putted i'm just not used to putting on big,quickish very slopey greens,the more i play courses like this the better i'll be prepared.For instance,my last hole (9th),the first putt from 60 feet had to go up a 6 foot slope curving a few feet right to left,then when it got to the top of the slope it swung a few feet left to right as it went down the hill,piece of cake if your a scientist!Anyway,enough of that.I got off to a great start with an eagle at the par 5 12th to move to four under.A bogey at 13 was followed by another at the ridiculously difficult par 5 15th.A 3 putt bogey at the 1st was b acked up with a 3 putt double bogey on the second,right in front of the cameras for good measure(at least my sponsors might get more coverage if i play lots of shots!).A birdie at the 6th was cancelled out by a bogey on the 9th.I finished on 143 (+1).The cut fell at +4 with a few big names missing the cut.Well done to Andrew Pestell for making his first cut in a Europro Tour event,hard to believe as it isn't difficult to make the cut in these events.Today i'm looking to get back to level par as quickly as possible and try to get a score in the mid 60's.Whatever happens this has given me confidence for next weeks Order of Merit event at Colchester.

Got off to a great start to The YES! Classic (they make putters if you didn't already know) at The Players Club,Bristol.It's reknowned for being one of the best tournament courses in the UK,and i can now see why.There are no gimmie holes and constant wedge's into green which seem to be the norm at the moment.This is probably the best i've played so far this year (not hard),the only thing which didn't work that well was the putter until the end of the round.It's so frustring when your hitting good approach shots in hole after hole and wlking off with tap in par putts,but given the conditions and the scoring i'll take tap in pars for the rest of the week.i birdied 3,10,12 and 17,with the only mistake coming at the 490 yard par 4 into the wind 14th hole.looking back it was a stupid mistake,trying to hit it too hard off the tee to make the second shot shorter,looking back i was going to be hitting in a 3 wood a best,so i should have just tried to hit the fairway and take it from there.One shot at a time and all that old crap!!!

I'm tied for 6th place after the end of the first round on 2 under par,four shots behind Graham Gordon of Scotland after shooting a great 65.With one player on 67 and three on 68 i'm well in the hunt.I want/need a decent round tomorrow to give myself a chance of winning the event.I'm not here just to make the cut,i'm here to make something happen and get the season going with a bang!!.

At last,it didn't rain when i was on the golf course!Today we had a charity Pro-am,part of the Norfolk PGA season at my home club Weston Park.Although it's my home club i haven't played here since the Norfolk Open last September.It's a great golf course in a beautiful setting.I like the course but it's not one i generally do well round.My two amateur partners(should of been three but the other person turned up late and didn't bother to join us,a waste of his £50 he's going to be charged if you ask me) Gus and Roy from Wensum Valley hadn't played here before and enjoyed the day.I got off to a good start with a birdie at the first.A bogey at the par 5 4th hole when i went for the green from a tricky lie with a 5 iron,ending up losing my ball.Birdies at 7 and 9 got me to the turn at -2.A disappointing par on 13 was follwed by a pathetic tee shot on 14,hitting it out of bounds right,resulting in a double bogey 6.The head off continued on the next where i made another bogey putting me at +1.I birdied the last hole to finish on Level par 72,good (or bad) enough for a tie for 4th with Lee Patterson.the leading places were Reg Varney (69) and Alan Hemsley and Fewy on 70.The winning team were The Beakers Twitchers team of Fewy,Howard Barber Neil Augustine and Colin Reynolds from Weston Park with a score or 14 under par 130.

I now have the pleasure of a short drive down to Bristol to play a Europro Tour event at The Players Club.I'm looking forward to this one,it's the first time this year i've played in one of these events going into it with a bit of confidence and form.Later in the week we have The Open Championship,a good outside bet in my old mate Jon Bevan who qualified last week at at Southport and Ainsdale.This is his 4th time playing in the event,and 3rd in a row.He's 1000/1 at William Hill,got to be worth a punt on him making the cut again.

Not a great day at The Bush Hill Park Pro-am today.Theres no excuses,it was just one of those days where nothing felt right from the word go.I didn't get the chance to hit 50+ balls like i normally do before every round i play,so i was a little on the stiff side.I couldn't get the pace of the greens before i went out,plus it was blowing a gale with rain on and off most of the day.Starting at the 11th i made a sloppy par,Bogeys at 12,13,15,5,6 and 8 were slightly helped by birdies on 3 and 10.All adding up to a pretty poor effort of +4 74.This wont effect my recent new found confidence as i hit a lot of good shots today,the main difference being i putted like a man with no arms.15 2 putts and 3 1 putts (where i chipped the ball stone dead) was the main cause,holing just a couple of putts early on and i'm sure i would have been under par no problem.The winning score was 3 under 67,Paul Hetherington,Bobby Mitchell and Andrew George.Another score worth mentioning is Jason Levermore who had a great finish,birdieing his final hole for a 77,sorry Jason,had to mention it!

I have a charity Pro-am at Weston Park on Sunday.It's rare for me to play my home course so i'm looking forward to it.Favorites are the usual stalwarts at Weston events,Neil Mitchell who loves the place and Mike Few the head pro.Anything under 70 will probably win,i have a great feeling it's going to be me!

Today was almost a total washout at Harpendon Golf Club in the latest East Region PGA Pro-am.It rained non stop all day.Being one of the early starters,teeing off at 10am i was one of just 15 players to complete their round.The pro-am was held over just 8 holes (the last hole the last team played).Despite shooting a +1 71 i would probably have finished in the top 3 or 4,but due to the persistant weather the scores upto the 8th hole counted towards the prizes.Being level par for the 8 holes (31 shots)this put me in a 7 way tie for 2nd place,4 shots behind the deserved winner John Bevitt who was 4 under for those holes.He finished the full round with a great score of 2 under par 68,so it was only fair he won the tournament.My full round consisted on just 1 birdie on the 1st and bogeys on holes 2 and 12.I was reasonably happy with the way i played given the conditions and feel good for Bush Hill Park Pro-am on Friday.

Today i played Mike Jubb in The Norfolk PGA MAtchplay at one of my favorite coastal courses in the UK.As per usual the wind was fairly breezy as it always seems to be every time i play Sheringham.Neither of us got off to a great start,halving the 1st in bogeys 5's,then the tide turned in my favour through some good golf of my own and unexpected mistakes from Mike.I won the second with a birdie 4,a great 3 at the long into the wind par 4 3rd after hitting a rescue club in.I also won the next two holes with pars.Halved holes on 6,7 and 8 were followed by Mike making birdie and me missing a simple 3 footer for the half.I stayed 3 up all the way through to the 16th where the match finished with me winning 3 & 2.It's the second time i've played and beaten Mike at his home club in the past 4 years.Mike hasn't played much competitive golf recently and it showed in his golf,not hitting all the fairways and sloppy mistakes around the greens.With a bit more golf i'm sure he'll be back to the quality scoring i expect from him.I'm now playing Alan Hemsley (Ricmond Park) in the quarter finals at Weston park.I'll be looking for revenge after he beat me at the same stage last year when he holed a monster at the last to go through.

Next on the agenda is Pro-ams at Harpendon tomorrow and Bush Hill Park on Friday.The confidence is coming along,and i'd be disapointed not to win at least one of them.Amazing what difference a couple of scores can make to your confidence.Hopefully these installments won't be as depressing to read as they were to write over the past 3 months.

It looks like the worst is behind me.Had a great day at The East Herts/Weston Homes Pro-am.My round was full of a few downs but a lot more ups at last.I'll go through it quickly so not to bore you.It looks like a heart monitor the way it reads.Birdie at 2,bogey at 3,birdie at 4,bogey at 7 and 8.Chipped in for par on 9.Birdies at 10,11,13 and 14,bogey at 15,birdie at 17 and holed a bunker shot for birdie at the last for a 4 under 67.The bunker shot dropping earned me a few extra quid as it put me tied 3rd in the individual event and tied first in he team competition,which we ended up winning on countback on the last hole.So it's been a good week,more like the kind of golf i'm used to playing,not this over par tripe i've been serving up all year.in all i had 19 birdies during the 3 rounds,lets hope this will be the norm for the last 3 months of the season.

Got a few days off now before The Harpendon Invitation Pro-am next Wednesday,i'm thinking about winning it as apposed to trying to pick up a cheque,amazing what difference a week makes!

Not the result i was hoping for but at least i'm back on the right track.I shot a second round 1 under 70 to finish on 6 under,just 1 shot behind first round leader Brett Taylor.Although i didn't strike the ball that well during the second round i feel it was a missed chance of lost opportunities with the putter not behaving as it did in the first round.I was consistantly knocking ball closer to the pin than Brett,but he was the one holing the putts,closing the door for me before it was my turn.Bogeys at 2 and 5 left me +2 for the round after 8 holes.I then managed to pull my finger out and start playing some golf.I hit the flag with my second shot on the 9th finishing 18 inches from the flag for a tap in birdie.I missed 3 good chances the next 3 holes,all inside 15 feet.A two putt birdie at 14,chip and putt birdie at 17 got me within one with one hole to play.A poor tee shot at the par 3 18th left me needing to hole my bunker shot to tie with Brett,i obviously missed,but i did manage to hole a 20 foot par putt to keep me tied second with Jason Levermore (Clacton) who shot a great 64 and Mark Baker (Colchester) who had a 66 including a hole in one on the par 3 7th.

Congratulations to Brett,it's his forst Order of Merit win,long over due seeing as he had led the first two events of the season without notching up a win.This result has pushed me from 23th in the Order of Merit to 7th.I'm quite a way behind first place (Brett) but with 3 events to go anything can happen,i'm looking to finish in the top 3 to get to The Srixon playoffs in October,finishing 1st would be an added bonus.

Lets hope the crap golf has come to an end and i can continue to shoot under par for the remainder of the season.

Holy cow!!! A miracle has happened,i've broken par at last!! After shooting over par or worse in my last 10 rounds i managed to shoot a steady 5 under par 66 to lie 1 shot behind Brett Taylor.I hit the ball well today making 7 birdies and 2 bogeys.The main difference today was that i acctually holed some putts.I was level par for the front 9 and 5 under for the last 7 holes.The birdies came at 1,7,11,12,14,17 and 18,with bogeys at the 2nd and 6th.Brett had a remarkable round being 1 over after 10 holes then played the next 7 holes in 7 under for a back 9 score of 29.He's the man to catch having played very well recentley.I'm looking forward to the challenge tomorrow playing with Brett and John Bevitt.I feel a win coming,lets hope when you next read this you'll be reading about an ellzy win!

Another miserable week on the course has finished.I'll recap as much as i can remember from the two tournaments i played in.

TRAD East Anglian Open ant Blakes Golf Club.This is the second Order of Merit event of the PGA East Region season.I (as seems the normat the mo) didn't get off to the best of start in the event,a tournament i have won three times in the past.Playing quite solidly i was Level par through 12 holes,ending up with shooting 3 over par 74,which left me well down the field.The only highlight of the round was driving the 395 yard Par 4 9th hole,nearly breaking one of Jason Levermore's ankles in the process (not difficult given the size of them!)This just goes to show how windy and bouncy the course was playing.Needing to get off to a good start i managed to being 1 under after 9 holes,without holing anything.With a bogey on 10 and a birdie on 15 i was back to one under,but unfortunately bogeyed 16 and 17 to finish with a half decent round (given the conditions) of 1 over 72.Putting me in a tie for 31st place on +4.This has moved me down to 23rd place in the Order of Merit,but with 4 events left i can quite easily still win if my all around game improves just a little bit.I'm not far off playing good golf,its just a matter of being patient and mentally strong. Another thing i should mention is that BIG Hitting Neil Mitchell was outdriven THREE times by Short Hitting Roger Grey.The thing that made this worse was that Mitch had walked past his own ball each time thinking he was further down the fairway,he'll never forget about this,i'll make sure of that!

The event was won by Darren Charlton of Dunstable Downs,it's the second time he's won this event in the last 3 years.

Scottish Challenge,Cardrona Golf & Country Club.Having not played a practice round due to playing in the above event,this was always going to be a tough challenge,seeing as everyone in the field is a quality player.Starting my round at 3.10pm on Thursday in what seemed to be gale force conditions,it was always going to be a grinding day at the office.Despite birdieing the first hole and the 8th i got it round in a 3 over par 74,leaving me in a tie for 98th place.Knowing i needed to shoot a couple under in the second round to make the cut i was going along nicely at level for the round after 8,without holing any putts to talk about.The round came undone with a double bogey at the par 3 9th putting me to +5 for the tournament.I tried very hard and had to force it,this was obviously going to lead to some mistakes having to attatck the flag a bit more than i would have liked.I finished the round with an easy 2 putt birdie from 10 feet on the last hole for yet another 74.Thius left me in a tie for 122nd at +6,missing the cut by 5 strokes.

I'm very disappointed with how the season is going,this is an understatement by a long way.Believe it or not i'm starting to get more confident as the days go by.I'm starting to hit more fairways,greens and decent shots,its a matter of stringing things together and starting to hole some putts.Patience is a vertue,it had better be!!

We have the 3rd PGA East Region Order of Merit event at East Herts next week.It's one of the favorites for most players on our calendar.I know i can play the course having shot a 65 (-6) a few years ago when i finished 3rd in the event.I know i've said it before,and i'll probably say it again,but this is where the season starts,the winners circle can't be too far away,can it???

Today again didn't go to plan in the CALLPRINT Pro-am at Blakes Golf Club,getting disqualified for signing the wrong score.I acctually scored 3 over 74,not the 2 over 73 i signed for.I realised this when i was putting my stuff away on the car,then went to let The PGA know.It didn't really make any difference as i wouldn't have won any money anyway.I felt bad for Steve Cheek,the main sponsor of the pro-am,as he felt it was his fault,but it wasn't.it was mine.It's the first time this has ever happened to me,a mistake i won't make again.

I had a good practice afterwards,getting a few swing tips from a couple a good mates of mine,Andy Pestell and Stokesy.Lets hope i can get the putter working this week,as i feel its going to be a putting comp with the course playing fast and running.

Happy anniversary to my Parents today,best i get this out of the way before i forget again.

Very busy week coming up.Pro-am at Blakes on Monday,with the 2nd Order of Merit event starting on Tuesday.I have another decent draw playing with Sean Whiffin (winner of the 1st event) and last years winner at Blakes Danny Poulter (brother of ian if you didn't already know).When the event finishes on Wednesday i have to dash to Stansted to fly to Edinburgh to play in my second Challenge Tour event of the year at Cardrona in Peebles.I'll try to keep this updated daily as and when i get the chance.

Upminster pro-am got off to a rude awakening in two ways.Driving back from Devon the day before,taking which seemed to be years,i was then up at 5am to get to Upminster.Feeling a bit spaced out through mental and physical tiredness i got off to a terrible start,taking double bogey on the first hole,a 180yard par 3.It didn't get much better for the next 8 holes,reaching the turn in 5 over 38.I played a lot better on the back 9,making a birdie 3 on the 10th and an eagle 3 on 17.I also missed a lot of very good opportunities for birdies on the back 9.It resulted in 33 shots and a +2 total of 71.Finishing tied 9th in pro-ams isn't going to win you much money these days,but i should be greatful for anything as i didn't look like i was going to win a bean after 8 holes.

I seem to be making quite a few eagles at the moment(four in the last 3 weeks),but them seem to be when i'm well over par,lets hope they keep coming when i'm scoring well

Well,what a trip that was.I've never been to Disneyland before,but Bovey Castle surely must be as close as you can get to it.The course is situated in the Dartmoor national Park,the scenery and views are beautiful,but the course didn't and doesn't live upto the surroundings.I'm not saying this because i missed the cut again,it's the general opinion from the players i spoke to.The course has some tremendous holes on it,but far too many blind tee shots with very uneven fairways,bit of a lottery to be honest.I had a couple of decent tee times,7.30am and 12.10pm.I played with a couple of nice lads,Michael Hempstock of Doncaster and Kenneth Mills from Wales.I didn't play all that well,with the only highlight being the eagle 3 i made at the final hole for a 3 over par 73.I was going along quite nicely in the second round at +1 after 9,then made a couple of bad swings on 10 and 11 resulting in a bogey and a double bogey.This left me a lot to do on the demanding last 7 holes.Unfortunately i never recovered and finished with a 76 and a +9 total of 149,missing the cut by 3 shots.

The above mention about Bovey Castle isn't meant to offend anybody,so my appologies to Goofy,Donald Duck and Micky Mouse.

Cannons Brook Pro-am.What they say about Friday the 13th is obviously true,well it is for my putter anyway!

I hit the ball pretty well to be honest with you,hitting 15 greens in regulation and a measly 34 putts added upto an unremarkable 1 over par 74,putting me in a tied for 10th place,winning an amazing £95.23.This just about covers the cost of Diesel for the trip,at todays prices anyway.As soon as i start to hole some putts i'll be off and running,i seem to remember saying that before on many occaisions.

Now is the start of a run of lots of golf,this will be the start of a great rest of the season.Fingers crossed!

Another typical day for me and my years of nightmares at Wanstead Golf Club continued.It's a course i enjoy playing,but for some reason i can't seem to score very well or do very well there.I was 4 over playing the last,lost my tee shot and didn't see the point in going back to the tee seeing as they were queing up,plus even holing the shot wouldnt have won me any money.The course wins yet again!! I'll be back there next year and hope to beat my best score in over 10 attempts of a poor 1 under 68.The Pro-am was won by Mark Bishop with a score of 66,coming in 2nd place was Brett Taylor who had a great back 9 of 28 (5 under),just goes to show it's never over till it's over.

Apart from three hard days of practicing this week i'm only playing once more in the East Region Pro-am at Cannons Brook in Harlow.This is completely different to Wanstead in regards to good or bad vibes.I've won here before and have placed in the top 5 for the past 4 years,hopefully we'll get round quick so i can watch some of the US Open,although i'm doubting a quick round,they never are nowadays!The report for this tournament will be put on during the weekend.

From next week i have a very busy spell coming up,with a possible 16 rounds in 18 days,with a return drive to Devon and a return flight to Edinburgh thrown in the mix.It's about time i pulled my finger out,so this would be a good time to get on a roll.

Finally,at last!!!! I've managed to break 70 for the first time this year in a competitive round,hopefully the struggles of the year are finally over.Nothing really to report other than than the usual few sloppy bogies and some good points.I'm still hitting loose shots,but they are closer to the target now,as apposed to being on a different planet.I'll make this brief to keep you awake.Started from the 10th tee,nocking my second shot stone dead,bogey at 11,a 2 putt birdie on 12 and a bad bogey at the reasonably short par 4 13th.Chances over the next 4 holes went begging then follwed by a bogey at the tricky 18th.

Playing the front 9 (the easier half) as my second 9 i knew there was a score out there.An eagle 3 at the 3rd and birdie 2 the 4th were the only highlights from the 9 holes,although i did miss good chances on holes 1,2,6,8 and 9 for birdiesThis resulted in a 2 under par 69,only good enough for tied 11th,just what you'd expect on a course playing short and receptive.I think the worst is behind me,theres so much golf to play this year and i've got a great feeling about it.

Not much golf this week,just two Pro-ams at Wanstead on Monday and Cannons Brook on Friday,i'm expecting a win or at least a couple of top 3 finishes,god knows my bank balance needs it!!

The first Order of Merit event of the 2008 East Region PGA season (Bishops Stortford Masters) has come and gone.It has been a very frustrating tournament for me in more ways than one.I scored a 1 under par 70 in the first round yesterday,leaving me in a tie for 13th place.I have still been finding it difficult to get my game in good shape but i'm finally turning the corner,i hope! The round was ruined by a poor finish after getting myself into a good position of 3 under after birdies at the 14th and 15th.A bad bogey at the 16th from the middle of the fairway and another poor bogey at the 17th resulted in a very average 70 strokes.

Needing to get off to a good start in the second round,i finally managed to with birdies at the 3rd,7th and 9th.This put me at 4 under par for the tounament after 27 holes,by no means out of it.As was the case in the first round i failed to believe and trust myself over most shots and played the final 9 holes in 3 over for a miserable round of level par 71.This left me in a tie for 12th place,not a great start but not horrific either.Proving this is my worst finish of the season in the Order of Merits (as i did last year) i should do just fine.

The tournament was won by Sean Whiffin (Bush Hill Park) with scores of 66 and 69,beating Jason Levermore (Clacton) with the same scores in a playoff.Whiffs was in a great position at 11 under standing on the 15th tee,he then proceeded to play the last 4 holes in 4 over.Lever's holed a putt from around 30 feet at the last to get into the playoff.The playoff was a bit of an anti climax with Whiffs winning with a bogey 5 at the par 4 10th.

All in all it wasn't a great event,but at least i can see light at the end of the tunnel and the scores are starting to get lower.Lets hope there's a bit better news in the Pro-am tomorrow.

Scores etc can be viewed at www.pga.info then click regions,then East Region and Tournament Information

Alex "Fat Rog " Lucas and myself failed to qualify at the SkyCaddie Fourball event at Bush Hill Park today,shooting a very disappointing 4 under par 66.Nothing seemed to go our way,playing the 4 par 5's in 1 over being the main culprit.The event was won by Jason "Skinny Rog" Levermore and Andrew "Unty" Pestell with a great score of 12 under par 58.I'm sure they'll do well in the finals at Fulford Golf Club,York in October,all the best lads.

Another disappointing week ends with a long drive home on a Friday evening.Although i managed to find a positive thing to think about towards the end of the second round.Needing to get off to a quick start,i got the complete opposite.4 over par after 7 holes and i'm all but out of the tournament,but you never know in golf.The whole round was a grinding effort.Despite playing the last 11 holes in 3 under to shoot 71 and missing a load of putts for a change,i kept plugging away,hoping to find something to bring back the positive vibes.I think i've found something to work on ( a mental thought) so i fully expect the scoring to improve,and quickly.The cut fell at 4 under par,so my two round total of 141 (+1) was way off the mark,finishing a measly 115th place.I did win something during the week though,much to my surpirse.The sponsors of the event give away a bottle of Moet & Chandon for every eagle made (17th hole first round),i just need a reason to open it now!

I'm back playing on the PGA East region curcuit for the next two weeks.The first Order of Merit event take splace on Wednesday at Bishops Stortford Golf Club (the East region HQ).I've got a great draw playing with ex Tour player Paul Curry and Paul Hetherington.I'm looking forward to the event,its a great course,normally in good condition,lets hope i can get win number 8 on the board and earn my right to get back to Wentworth next year and the season ending PGA Playoffs.

This Monday i'm playing in the Skycaddie Fourball qualifier at Bush Hill Park with good mate Alex (fat rog) Lucas.We got through to the finals last year at Fulford Golf Club in York,so we're hoping to be one of the 7-8 teams that go through.Bush Hill Park has great memories for me,i hope these memories get the juices flowing and get my golf moving in the right direction at long last.I think we will need to shoot 8 under to make it straight through,it shouldnt be a problem if we play half decent,but that sounds familier,doesn't it?

Disappointing 1st round score of Level par 70 today.The course probably won't play any easier.There isn't much rough,the greens are holding and a nice pace,although the course is a little wet and rough around the edges.The scoring this week will be on the low side,with the cut likely to be around -3 or maybe even -4,so my work is cut out for Friday afternoon.It's certainly atainable without too much problem,just got to keep the mistakes down to a minimum and get the putter working.

The course measures only 6791 Yards,with a par of 70.The three par fives (554,569 & 572 yards) are within reach in two providing you hit good tee shots,i did on two of them but failed to make any birdies on theses holes.The par 3's are very good,i unfortunately bogeyed the shortest of them (14th) with pars at the rest.The par 4's vary from two holes which are within range for a driver to a the 18th which is 481 yards.I had two bogies on 12 and 18,a birdie on the short 12th and an eagle two on the short 17th (291 yards) where i hit my tee shot to 6 feet.

Looking back and analyzing the round as i always tend to do,i need to be a bit more patient and focused on the course.Playing in a four round event you have to plod along taking chances when they come,as apposed to Pro-ams where you have to sprint from the off.A decent round is just around the corner,if its tomorrow or next week i'm not sure, i just know its very close.

Here we go again.Time to pick my chin up from the floor and get going again.This weeks event is the Oceanico Group Pro-am Challenge at Worsley Park in Manchester.I walked the course this morning with Andy Marshall,it was nice to have a good chin wag and catch up on the gossip.Andy's season is going along nicely without anything special happening,1 good round and 3 average ones per event seems to be the norm for him at the moment,i'm sure he'll turn that round quickly.

I'm teeing off at 7.30am on Thursday,first group out.The course is very wet after a heavy downpour Tuesday evening,all the bunkers are full of water,preferred lies are likely and the rough isnt very thick.I'm predidcting low scoring this week,it's going to be a putting competition so lets hope i can retreive my putter from the freezer and warm it up a bit!

It seems i'm destined to never make the cut at The BMW PGA Championship,but not if i've got anything to do with it!

It was great to see so many friends,family and followers at the course before i started,mostly consisting of people i have met whilst working on Fred Olsen Cruises over the past 6 years.It was also great to have the support of my sponsors Dave and Rachel from Advantage Technologies,Ben from Accident exchange and representatives from my Management Company The Oak Room.Along for the ride was also a couple of comedian friends of mine,Micky Zany and Phil Lowen,they certainly took the pressure off whilst i was warming up.

The first tee shot in the second round is so much easier than the first round.I didnt hit it perfect but it was nice to get the ball down the hill.My second shot went to 20 feet,which i missed,here we go again!.A bogey at the 2nd was followed by a good par at the 3rd.Waiting on the 4th tee for 20 minutes was followed by a poor tee shot,resulting in a poor bogey on a decent birdie chance hole.Another good shot into the 5th,led to another poor putt,but i managed to get my par.Then the wheels fell off for an hour,bogeying 6,7,8,9 and 10.I missed a good chance for birdie at 11,made good birdie at the 12th.Bogeyed the 13th from the middle of the fairway,3 putted 14 for bogey,par at 15 followed by a poor bogey at 16 from the centre of the fairway.I holed my longest putt of the week at 17 from around 10 feet for birdie and failed to chip and putt for birdie at the 18th.This resulted in a very sloppy round of 80.

Looking back over the week i know what things i need to work on.Despite hitting the ball great on the range before and after rounds,i failed to take the same mental approach and trust onto the golf course.I hit the irons well during the week.The main problems were off the tee and putting.Having 71 putts in two rounds of golf isnt something to be proud of,mind you,i never putt on greens that pace so its understandable.

Playing with two great golfers in Per Ulrik Johnasson and Gregory Bourdy was a good insite into what i need to do to improve myself.Gregory (winner of two events in the past 12 months) hits the ball on the same flight (draw) all the time and has a great short game.This just shows that consistency breeds success.Per struggled during the week but showed what a great competitor he is by hanging on in there to the end.As soon as his putter starts working well he'll be in the winners circle again for sure.

Despite the ill health my caddy and great friend Darren Cossey,he did incredibly well encouraging me around all week,he wants to make the weekend more than i do,despite the bag weighing a ton.

I'm not going to allow a poor week disrupt my year,I still have great feelings for the season ahead.This week i'm off to Worsley Park in Manchester to play in a Challenge Tour event,i'm sure the course won't be as difficult and i'm hoping to kickstart my season with a bang!

After seeing land for what seemed forever for the first time in Barbados on Wednesday 5^th November is was nice to see the good old British weather had followed me all this way, you guessed it, it rain almost all day, and when it rains here, it really rains. Thankfully the sun came out and before you know it you wished it was raining again. It was nice to be back in Barbados again for the first time since March this year. It’s a beautiful island with a lot of wealthy people around. Golf Course wise it’s probably best known for Sandy lane and Royal Westomoreland Golf Courses It’s also very well known for Rum (now my favourite tipple), Malibu is made here as well as my favourite Mount Gay (it’s a drink not an order!). It never seems we spend enough time in places like this, so before you know it it’s 5pm and your of to the next port of call, Grenada.

I was on Braemar when it was the first cruise ship into Grenada after they had the terrible hurricane in 2004 (I think it was 04, maybe 05?). All you could see for miles were Blue tarpaulin roofs on building and church’s, It looked more like the home stand at Stamford Bridge than a paradise Island. It was amazing how upbeat they were at the time and how quickly they turned things around, if it were to happen in England we’d still be moaning about it today. It rained again for most of the morning, but the temperature was still 28 degree’s, perfect. Next stop was St Lucia, it didn’t rain, reaching a max temp of 31 degree’s. This Island was the base for the England World Cup Cricket team in 2007. Well worth a visit.

After St Lucia we arrived at one of my favourite Islands, St Kitts. They say St Kitts is the next big popular resort in the Caribbean, I hope they don’t ruin it. I had the pleasure of playing golf with Keith Deller and another passenger at the prestigious Royal St Kitts Golf Club, WOW! Keith as I said earlier is The World Dart Champion way back in 1983, he’s not changed a bit, still likes a pint and still throws the arrows like it’s an easy game. Phil Neal (ex Liverpool and England footballer) asked Keith the day before what his favourite double was, Keith said double 10, he then proceeded to hit it 3 times in a row, makes you sick. Keith plays off an unofficial handicap of 21, I say unofficial, it should be 12. Despite playing right handed and having his hands the wrong way round (left below right = cack handed) he strikes the ball very well, but he chips like I throw darts! The weather was fantastic as always and everyone had a great day, this is the place to go for a golfing break, believe me.