Anniversary golf, Sunday Driver Bargains - CSS, and they're out to get me

Saturday's golf should probably be glossed over - couldn't get any rhythm at all, ended up with 26 points. Awful round, actually made to look better than it was with some decent putting. I think I've finally got the hang of rocking the shulders rather than trying to hit the damn thing. Still can't chip, though. Anyway, 26 points was good enough for 136th place...

As I was standing disconsolately putting my score into the computer, Nick Bramley came over - 'what are your ambitions in golf, Martin?', he said. Caught off guard, I foolishly replied: 'Oh, I think I can get down to about 14, Nick. Probably not this year but maybe next'. 'Hmmm...', he said. 'It's just that we've had a number of letters into the committtee'

'Oh, yes?'

'Yes, not about you specifically, but our Category 1 players are all moaning about their handicaps going up, even though they're shooting 2 over par, and it's your fault. Not just you, but you and some others'

Turns out that CSS (Competition Scratch Score) is calculated based on how a range of players have played. I'm having a great year, and one or two other people have joined this year after a number of years out and their (lapsed) handicaps are tumbling, with the result that CSS is sometimes 68 on our fairly tough par 71 course. Handicap adjustments are made against the CSS, not the par of the course. The low-handicappers can't compete and their handicaps are all going up!

Anyway, Tuesday evening there's a handicap committee meeting, and I may find myself dropped a couple. I'll let you know. I wonder whether I've been winning too often?

Monday was our anniversary (24 years, thanks for asking) so, romantic soul that I am, I booked a Sunday driver at Abbotsley in Cambridgeshire through yourgolftravel . An absolute bargain - a round on each of their two courses, dinner, bed and breakfast for £59 each. The hotel alone would normally have been £99. Beautiful day on Sunday when we played the easier of the two courses. Still a nice round, as the trees grow and the course matures it will become a tough one. Monday we played the main course. Marred only by the Society in front of us (Legal Eagles you know who you are!). Don't mind them playing slowly, it's a Society on a Monday morning, that's fine, but I seemed to spend half my time repairing pitch marks that they had left. That's bad manners, chaps. Anyway, beautiful course, some lovely testing tee shots through trees and over little streams etc. I like courses that set you little puzzles along the way. Long course and I only had my driver out of the bag half a dozen times. Nice, and nice to have a couple of days with Julie doing what we like best.

And playing golf.