More than a game: A costly exercise

Week 5 ? Edzell

Date 25 October

Weather: Intermittent rain, relatively mild, unusually still

Greens: Summer but cored and pretty wet

Mats: No

Preferred Lies: Yes

I?m one of those golfers who have a warped view of their ability. I believe I can hit it further than I actually can; that I can find the green from spots where even Seve would be forced to chip out sideways and that I really should be holing at least 50% of those 30 footers. In general I feel my scores should be better than they are. This over-inflated opinion of myself is proving to be costly so far in the Alliance season. I always have a cheeky £5 side-bet with Stewart but stupidly refuse to take any shots off him. Yes, he?s a pro and I play off 3. But I really should be lower than that, and my ego?s too big. At the moment I?m effectively paying an extra £5 entry fee.

Edzell is a superb inland course not far from Carnoustie. Tight and tree-lined it requires good play from the tee. Particularly today as the ground was sodden meaning absolutely no roll.

At the turn things were going exceptionally well. A birdie at the 9th got me back to level par and tied with Stu. Of course I then proceeded to come home in +5 to completely take myself out of the picture while he plodded back in level. Cue the customary handing over of the £5 note.

We?ve got a new partner for the next few weeks: Chris. He?s 55 and a 13 handicapper. On today?s evidence he could be a big money winner on the circuit. He had a fairly mediocre day that included an 8 yet he still came first in his category. I predict that Alliance secretary Ron will be considering a handicap adjustment sooner rather than later.

November 22: A great discovery November 17: Going cold turkeyNovember 9: A series of unfortunate eventsNovember 1: The weather turnsOctober 25: A costly exerciseOctober 18: A gritty performanceOctober 4: To pastures newSeptember 20: Arboreal adventuresSeptember 13: High hopes