What a top weekend

Look, I don't want anyone to think that I'm a golf obsessive, but...

We took an extra couple of days off last weekend. It was our daughter Kate's graduation ceremony in Cambridge on Thursday (2.1 in Law from Gonville & Caius College, thanks for asking - what a brilliant day), then piling everything from her room into the car and coming back to Nottingham Friday morning. Once we had unloaded everything from the car that just left enough time for 16 holes Friday afternoon/evening...

Saturday was our invitational pairs comp. John, the senior pro, caught me before the round to invite me to the Bridgestone Challenge on Wednesday, where I can have my balls assessed, apparently, to see whether I am using the optimum ones. I have been using Bridgestones for a couple of months now, and without a doubt they are the best balls I have tried - I'm using the 330's Tour Performance ones (yes, yes, I know, off a 20 handicap) for 'amateur swing speeds' so I'm looking forward to seeing whether I'm using the right ones according to their computerised system.

The competition itself was a great walk round. My partner was Christian: Austrian, a 28 handicapper and I don't think he's ever played to it! Thoroughly nice bloke, though I may have learnt some Austrian swear words. Along with us on the round was Roy Maltby and his bank manager Paul, who was encyclopaedic in those little golf shot definitions. You know the ones - a Dennis Wise (nasty little five-footer), Anna Kournikova (looked great but a poor result), Kate Winslet (a bit fat but otherwise perfect), Tony Blair (too much spin), Jamie Oliver (you really want to smack it but you can't), Richard Hammond (started off straight but veered off at the end), Rock Hudson (though it was straight but you were wrong), Princess Di (shouldn't have taken the driver) etc etc. In deference to Christian we didn't employ an Adolf (two shots in a bunker).

Interesting conversation in the bar afterwards about wives and their attitudes to golf. Christian said that his wife doesn't like him playing golf, so he only plays on Saturdays. Paul's wife is so hostile to him playing that if he manages to sneak in for nine holes after work, he has to put his suit back on to go home! I offered the opinion that they both needed to introduce their wives to the great game. Mapperley ladies have worked hard to increase Ladies membership and so several 'beginners' started together with some free lessons. That way they could all learn from one another and play at the same level at first. My wife plays three times a week, with me and with her friends, and our free time is now pretty much organised around the golf club. It's great.

Sunday was the big junior open comp, the Mapperley Bull. If Peter hadn't missed a 9-inch putt on the 18th he would have won it outright, but as it was he won Division 2 and is the proud owner of a new golf bag. 94 off his 27 handicap for a nett 67. Pretty good as he was on the end of a two-night sleepover at his friend Alexander's house and was shattered.

Julie and I followed the juniors round and both had record scores - I broke 40 on the front 9 for the first time ever and Julie had a 107 gross which beats her previous best by 3. It's really nice to play together and feel as though we can both progress reasonably briskly down the course. Julie's only been playing for a year, and I know more than a couple of men who have been playing for a lot longer than that who would love to shoot 107.

So that was the weekend - Kate's graduation, 52 holes of golf for me, a maiden competition win for Peter, a record score for Julie, the two older children at Glastonbury on a pair of free tickets I won in an Oxfam competition on Twitter and I even won a tenner on the Lottery on Saturday night. Hoorah!