Sanity

I have decided to stick with a neutral grip for regular full shots, having toyed again unsuccessfully with a stronger grip. I became a very unhappy hooker. I can still draw the ball with a neutral grip if I want to, but usually it's better, safer, more sensible to play a straighter ball, even if you lose a few yards in the process.

Having said that, there is always the opportunity to strengthen the grip if faced with a shot on a tight dogleg or a recovery out of the trees. Hitting a fade is more difficult; I'm working on that.

But my short game is where I'm scoring better lately. I've discovered the eight iron. It's a versatile club, not too lofted, not too strong. I'm using it as often as possible to get used to the flight and roll involved. I'm talking here about chips, chip and runs and similar touch shots around the green.

Putting, for so long my greatest problem area, has improved now that I've given up on trick grips and techniques and gone with the simple philosophy of smooth and low. It's a kind of a Crenshaw approach; nothing too technical, just using the hands to feel the stroke, find the distance, make good centre contact. The odd short putt is getting away and the odd misread is causing problems, but all in all I'm putting much better.

In general, I know I have reasonable technique and skills in all areas of the game, but I have been my own worst enemy with all the fiddling I've done, all the theories I've tried and rejected. Let's see if I can stick to this new, simplified approach. I will monitor my scores over the next few months and review things then. I'm hoping that sanity has finally prevailed.