On the 18^th at Royal Troon...

You have just driven off from the eighteenth tee at Royal Troon (133rd Open Golf Championship venue 2004), named 'Craigend’ after the old farm it replaces. The swing felt good and looked good.

The ball covers the first 221 yards in the air and bounces just left of center and rolls another 20 yards coming to rest 2 yards from the first cut on the left, short of the fourth of the nine bunkers on this hole.

"Great shot," acknowledge your playing partners

And it is with an unobstructed view of the green sitting right in front of the clubhouse. Another few yards and you could have caught that bunker!

But, no it's almost perfect...

You and your party start up the eighteenth fairway. The conditions are also perfect.

It's a beautiful summer day with the usual and expected warm breeze lightly fluttering the flag up ahead.

Just 123 yards to the green 

Card gives 123 to green with the flag 17 yards on and set a couple of yards off center left. Will have to carry the bunkers 30 yards from front but with the path in front of clubhouse ‘out of bounds’ don't want to overshoot!

But which club? A good nine will clear the bunkers. If almost perfect will be right in the heart of the green, allow for a bit of run and nowhere near the out of bounds at the back! That's it!

Now just remember; keep it simple, keep it smooth, let the club do the work! Relax, position, one last look, visualize the shot and swing...

Almost perfect! 

The clean satisfying sound as ball leaves the club face. It felt good again and looks good in the air.

125 yards and almost perfect! Runs 12 yards up the green and settles just right of center.

On in 2, 12ft from the pin, who said 'almost perfect'?

Putt just slips by on the left ... Par 4 on 'Craigend' on the Old Course at Royal Troon!

What better way to end an almost perfect day!

After a light meal and relaxing drink in the 19th at Royal Troon you think to yourself "Just how close was that hole-in-1 at the 'Postage Stamp'?"

But does it have to be just a dream?

Well, for most of us it probably is, but does it have to be...?

At the start of every golf season, if you're like me, we have dreams and aspirations of winning the club championship, being picked for the club team or just knocking a few strokes of our handicap and winning a few bob in the medals.

We often start of reasonable well, with a couple of good rounds early on, and think this is going to be the year but then...

• the slice starts to creep back
• that hook returns 
• our favourite putter stops working 
• our confidence is threatened
• frustration builds up again

and most of us end up back at square 1 but does it have to be that way? 

Golf is a simple game

I don't know who said it but if you think about it, it's probably true. Hit a small round white ball from A to B in as little number of hits as possble. It sounds pretty straighforward.

It is us that makes it complicated

We think too much about and think about the wrong things. We are all different; height, weight, posture, flexibility, strength... the list could go on but it seeks to focus on what is important; what we can do to hit that ball where we want to put it as often as we can!

There is no magic bullet, I for one wish there were, but there are techniques, both on and off the course that can help bring that magic a bit closer.

Golf Swing Clinic

The Golf Swing Clinic web site aims to provide articles, help, tips and links to other resources that will help us be more consistent and enjoy our golf even more bringing the dream closer to reality.