New year and a new blog!!

Hello again folks!! Yes it's me and yes it's a new blog!!

I took a well earned break from blogging in 2008. Why?? Well to be honest it was a pretty rubbish year that creeped over into the beginning of this year too. Those reasons are mainly personal and therefore not for broadcast over t'internet.

So, what's been happening and where am I now??

Well, lets see, I ended 2007 in employment at Kent National Golf Club and in October 2008 after a turbulent year I was made redundant. I wish I had enough media power to respond to that in the way I wanted to, but suffice to say I will never ever allow myself to get involved with this company again.
My golfing performances in 2008 were terrible. It started in May with a fantastic round of 87 at Farnham in a Titleist Assistants tournament (11 dropped shots in my last 7 holes) which literally crippled my confidence for the rest of the year. Sadly my lowest tournament round was a dismal 79. However, this is in the past now! I've been working hard and am optimistic about what hopefully lies ahead.
I have transformed my method too which is showing improvements gradually. I still think i'm probably a good year or so from fully learning to control my new swing. I'm essentially working on developing a one plane swing (and have been scrutinised by a lot of people for doing this), the reason being that this is a method that allows the body to dominate the swing. I have always been an 'armsy swinger' and this is very difficult to maintain under pressure. Therefore ultimately hopefully I am developing a swing that will hold up in pressure situations (should I ever be fortunate enough to get in to any) and more importantly allow to play when I'm nervous. Nerves became a huge factor for me in '08 to the point where I was afraid to play golf in front of anyone. I have realised this is not a good thing so have been working on it.

Anyways, back to the job front. As I said I was made redundant in October. From there I spent 2 months essentially unemployed. This was scary and most certainly not enjoyable. Thankfully, out of the blue from a completely speculative application, I landed a job in a doctors surgery dispensing prescription. I am still there now and absolutely loving it. Not only does it pay well, I thoroughly enjoy it and the people I work with are cracking people. Also I have a lot of respect for my boss who is a great bloke.
I can say, with complete sincerity and conviction, I will NOT be returning to work in a Pro-Shop. I never really enjoyed it and in golfing terms I am keen to focus on myself as a player, not as a coach or sales rep etc, especially for now! I can't predict whether I'll feel differently down the line.

With regard to my PGA, I am on the cusp (well a couple of months to go) of becoming fully qualified. The important thing is that I passed my practical coaching exams recently, which I was terrified about and it was a significant internal triumph for me! Now there are a few bits to tie up with it but I feel confident. Do not underestimate when I say that the day I recognise this qualification will be the proudest day of my life (as well as the day I finally passed my PAT!).

Anyways I'll leave it there for now. Keep tuned as I will update regularly.

All the best to everyone too. Hope everyone is happy and healthy x