Friday evening in Ringside

To be honest, I am not a fan of Ringside. Never was and most likely never will. Somehow the course carries a bad karma for me. I have never had a round here without difficulties. Today the strong wind added it touch for the game. 

13th hole

At the first look the course looked nice and green. Must have been the greenest course this year. The greens were however in poor condition and the 12th green was still not in use. The wind felt colder than it probably was, but I could have used mitts, if they would have been along. 

First lost ball was already on the first hole. I tried to hit the ball over the water from (too) far away and missed the carry over the water by few metes. 

Second lost ball on the 10th. Having the strong wind from behind, the ball flew too far and got lost behind the green in the water. OB. 

Third and last lost ball went swimming on the 15th after a bad spoon. All in all it was a rough round.

Number of lost balls: 3

In total: 95

Season best: 95

First time at Cooke

I finally made it to play the Cooke course at Vierumäki. I have known the MD for a few years and today I managed to drop by. The course was the first one this year that actually was dry and the ball rolled on the fairway nicely. The greens will be in good condition as well pretty soon.

Birdie time on 13th

The course had a nice layout with nicely rolling fairways, quite many bunkers and few water hazards along the way. The driving was good today and so was the chipping with the great Bob Vokey's! They just made my day! All FIR-GIR combinations lead to Pars (3) and Birdies (2).

The wind was hard and chilly, but I did enjoy the round a lot. I cannot wait to play it again pretty soon.

On the 7th I shot from tee box too lightly and it did not carry over the water to the green. That was the only ball I lost today.

Number of lost balls: 1

In total: 87

Season best: 87

After work golf in Muurame

The good thing about my job, is that I am quite much on the road and sometimes (with good planning) have to possibility to play a round of golf before dying at the hotel. Today the change was at Muurame Golf.

12th hole

The course is physically challenging. Specially the the back nine. Unfortunately the signature hole 16. was still played on the winter green, so this had to be counted as practice round. The course was also wet and 17th has huge repair zone making the play of the hole difficult. The greens were bumpy and the speed varied a lot. The fairways and greens have been holed and the earth plugs stopped the ball from rolling.

One lost ball on the 8th. Over the green and into the water it went. Totally wrong club choice for the hole.

Hole19 had maps taken in the winter, so the app did now help much the game. Hope they will update them soon.

Number of lost balls: 1

In total: 85

Season best: 85

Park with Hole19 app

12th hole

Park was kinda wet in several places. I was quite surprised by that as I did not realize, that it would have rained that much. Never the less, playing golf on the Labor Day is much nicer way to spend your day, than getting drunk at Kaivopuisto.

Hole19

I did try the Hole19 app for the round. I have to say, that I liked it. Playing on a familiar course, gave me the opportunity to play along with the app without any pressure. It showed the distances based on the GPS and from what I can judge quite accurate. The stats were good, the only thing I would add are the chips. Then one would get an overall picture of the game. The great thing is that the app works without network connection! Great for games abroad with expensive roaming costs.

To the game. It was quite well with great FIR - GIR play. Some bad putts and missed opportunities would have looked nice on the score card.

One lost ball as I totally fucked up the drive on the 5th. It barely made it to the water in front of the tee box. Unluckily it did.

Number of lost balls: 1

In total 94 shots.

Season best: 85 shots

It was supposed to be spring

I have never quit a round due heavy snow before. Now it was time to do so. :)

We were attending to ITK 2015 days in Hämeenlinna and decided to play a round of golf at the end of the day. Great idea, despite the arriving rain showers. The rain did not come, instead came snow... Some hail on the fourth and fifth hole. We decided to continue the first nine holes, but on the sixth green the ball gained its size of snow on it. The putting became no-go-game.

The pictures above have been taken on the sixth hole. The one on the left marking the place for the second shot. The green is up the hill roughly 135 meters from there. Played the iron 6 with max power and got the ball to the right corner of the green as the picture to the right shows. Good chip and two putts later the ball was in hole and the player soaking wet.

We just played the closes to the pin competition on the 7th and went home.

That was sad, I started the round very well and would have liked to continue, but the conditions did not allow. Starting with two pars and playing a great birdie on the fourth, after a bad tee shot. The spoon from roughly 185 meters to 1,5 meters and birdie was in the cup. Until next time Tawast golf!

Number of lost balls: 0

In total 28 shots on the first six holes.

Season best in Tawast: DNF :D

Sometimes it is harder than always

Go dig a hole!

Well...this round in Tapiola did not leave much to say. The putting game was solid with only 31 putts, but the way from the tee box to green contained loads of action. Playing from difficult spots do not make the game easy.

The condition of the course have improved in the past weeks and will continue to improve as long as the sun will shine and some rain will come.

Number of lost balls: 0

In total 100 shots.

Season best in Tapiola: 99 shots

Round number 10 goes with a BOOM!

Yesterday's round at Park did go very goooood! The sun was shining and the wind was strong. I was hoping to catch a beer before the round, but the restaurant was not open yet. So I did spend some 20 minutes on the practice green putting. Wise choice as it showed to be. ;)

The round started with a par, saved by a good chip and a great put. The combination, that I would be seen during the round a several times.

The greens were quite sandy, but otherwise the Park was in great condition.

The parliamentarian elections are just a few weeks away, so that might explain why my drives were on towards the right. But they did have a good length and I managed to continue from there without any problems. As the roughs will rise, then I will be in trouble with my driving.

After a few rounds with the new Bio Cell spoon and Bob Vokey wedges, I start to really dig them! I can play more aggressive with those bad boys. They suit my play.

Great spoon after a bad drive on the 7th with a 4 meter long birdie put, made it the first ever birdie for me on that hole. I had a change to make a birdie on the 11th and 16th as well. Missed the hole with just a few centimeters, but made the easy pars. All in all 6 pars, 1 birdies and 0 lost balls made a nice total of 85 shots.

Number of lost balls: 0

In total 85 shots.

Season best: 85 shots

Nightmare on Fream

I cannot complain the conditions of the course, not the weather nor the company, but the round was horrible. I have no clue, what happened during the first holes, but after the front nine I had no power left in me.

View from my bedroom window

The morning was very beautiful. I woke up early, had a great breakfast and good coffee. Listened to Broilers and was in a great mood. This spirit continues all the way to the course, until something happened. What it was, I have no clue..

Back to the game. Easter Monday and beautiful sunshine. Fream was in great condition, on few places a little bit wet, but the greens have gone better in the past weeks. Last year GoGolf organized fun and relaxed competitions for Twitter users. You tweet and golf. Now we did it by ourselves. #minitwittergolf will show some of the actions.

The beautiful Club house

First lost ball the 8th as I tried to hit the green from too far away. I did not learn anything from the last time. This time the ball was in better position, but still...

Then on 14th a truly bad tee shot merely passing the red tees. From very bad lie skanking it to the water hazard on the right side. In the last time I hit the green and made it par. Not this time.

On the 17th very bad drive just passing the water on the right. By this hole the wind has taken up a little bit, but should not have played such a huge role. Played the second shot safely to 110 meters. Duff and in to the water it went... Walked the 15 meters closer and after the drop I tried to play the ball with the pitcher to the green. Not enough carry. What do I do? Drop a ball and try to hit it again with the same club! What an idiot. You all can guess the result... After three balls in water on the same hole it was time to walk to the 18th tee box.

Juhla olut

The 18th was then FIR - GIR and par. I missed the birdie with centimeters. The same happen on the 5th as well. On two difficult holes I could have done a birdie and the rest was just madness. Thank God they had good beer in the Club house.

Number of lost balls: 5

In total - shots.

Season best in Fream: 99 shots 

Suicide on Easter

Coffee and red wine as starters

The weather god played the cards last evening in an odd way. We got some snow and the early morning Tweet from Pickala Golf was not promising. Courses were closed due snow! An hour later the releafing news; the courses are opened, but take your rubber boots with you. :) The game was on!

The game was pretty solid, not much to say about any spectacular shot as there were not many of those. As far as can remember, this was the first time as I played Seaside through with the same ball. All in all I did a good job hitting the fairways from the tee boxes. The cold temperature made sure, that the ball did not fly far. The wind calmed down a bit after the first 12 holes, but is was cold anyway.

Great put on the 13th from 30 cm off the green, probably 2,5 meter in total in the hole saving a bogey. Another great shot was the second shot on the 16th. Semi-bad drive almost to the water and then with spoon all in and landing it on the middle of the fairway with 100 meters to go. Great put for birdie and misses the hole with a few centimeter. Nice par anyway.

From here to middle of the fairway with 100 meters to go. (16th)

Number of lost balls: 0

In total 96 shots.

Season best: 94 shots

Vuosaari opened today!

More courses are opening in Finland. After a few weeks of cold, rain and last week also snow the spring is trying to come out again. Today Vuosaari Golf opened for the season in great condition. The tee times started at 10:00 and 10:10 was my time to hit the ball in the air!

The coolest thing happened at caddie master while paying the green fee (48 €). I have been complaining on Twitter that there were no Kinder eggs in my closest grocery store and also placed a question, if they would have any for sale at the club. Well I got one for free! :) I just love that kind of spirit from a golf club. Little extra for their customers, whether it is Easter or not. And they did have great doughnuts and coffee, so the start for the day could not have been better.

Back to the game. They have changed the back and front nines for this year and I think it was a good idea. It went smoothly and the start could have been easier. Getting to know the speed of the greens with two three putts as a starter. All in all no spectacular shot or huge misses. Quite solid game with a second best round I have played there and now the balls do not even fly anywhere in the cold air. It just on the plus side and no wind. No lost balls either.

2nd shot on the 18th hole. The weather was better than the picture shows.

Number of lost balls: 0

In total 97 shots.

Season best: 97 shots

The final round for the week; Fream

What a week it has been! The beginning of March and six rounds of golf! In Finland! Unfortunately this fun will end as the working starts on Monday. So Sunday makes it a perfect day to drive to Nordcenter Golf & Country Club. Lovely weather and challenging course, what else do you need?

9th hole on the left and 18th on the right. Enjoying the view with coffee before the round.

The green fee is only 50 € including lunch at the club. Money well spent and the smoked salmon soup tasted delicious. I will be coming back here several time this year. My previous visit here is a few years back. Nordcenter has changed their concept for this year, welcoming more players. Here is an article on the changes made in Finnish.

Back to the playing, this was closest to the playing golf in summer conditions yet. The fairways and greens were in great conditions, tee boxes were still bit icy so sometimes it was difficult to get the tee deep enough into the ground. The scenery is wonderful and I dare to say Fream being the most beautiful course in Finland.

View from the 6th tee

I did lost one ball due stupidity on the 8th. Coming from way too far and trying to hit the green on 3rd shot. I hit the spoon almost perfectly, but the distance was too much and the ball landed in water before the green. I would have needed 20 meters more distance in the air and then the ball would not have stopped on the green anyway. Mental note; do not do it the next time.

7th green, the Baltic Sea on the background

Number of lost balls: 1

In total 99 shots.

Season best in Fream: 99 shots

Back to Tapiola on Saturday

The amount of open courses are limited this time of the year and everyone is trying to get out, so Tapiola it is for the second time this week / year.

Playing felt good, still some challenging with the greens, but from the result better than on Wednesday. I realized that my new office building can be seen from the course. So I will be close to the course, but yet far away.

Number of lost balls: 0

In total 99 shots.

Season best in Tapiola: 99 shots

Strong winds on Seaside

And my journey countinues to Pickala as they opened the Seaside on 12th March. I was there on the next day. Beautiful weather, but windy. The first nine holes were somewhat safe from the winds, but the back nine you could feel the coldness.

All in all the game was quite solid through the round, but ball did not fly far. Not even, when you had the wind from the back. Putting game was not good today, but I am happy with the round. First one this year scoring under 95.

14th tee box

I lost the first ball on the 10th (as usual). Playing the 22 degree hybrid from 150 meters should have carried the ball to the green, but no. In to the water it went.

The second one I lost on the 14th, skanking the 3 wood from perfect spot to the water hazard on the left side.
Looking forward to play the renewed 1st hole during this year and I hope the renewed green on the 2nd will also be playable later in summer. All in all, it felt good to be back at home.

The beautiful new 1st hole, seen behind the green

Number of lost balls: 2

In total 94 shots.

Season best: 94 shots

Porkkala, the roller coaster of Peuramaa

Snow before 1st green

The third round of the year was played at Porkkala course on Peuramaa Golf.

I do like the challenging course and it showed toughness yet again. The slight hang over from the night before did not have anything to do with the result. The course was in good condition, at some locations there were still snow to be seen and the ground was still quite hard just underneath the surface. Cannot complain about the weather, the sun was shining and there were almost no wind at all.

Greens were to some extension sanded and holed, so that made the putting bit difficult, a few putts less would have given a better result. The first 9 holes included typical action and some unfortunate putts.

The 11th hole, first of the nightmare ones, started well. The drive on the left side close to the water hazard and from there a safe shot to around 80 meters to the middle of the fairway, "just"  over the ditch to the green. Topped that shot and of course the dropped one landing two balls on the same hole to the water... Well done...

13th green with snow-
hazrd in bunker

The next drive costed also a ball. Opening bit left and the ball went swimming. The same story on the 15th as well :) A total of four lost balls is a few too many, but yet quite normal for Porkkala. Without penalties the score do look totally different. I used to have a playing right at Peuramaa, so through out the years few balls have been left behind.

Number of lost balls: 4

In total 104 shots.

Season best in Porkkala: 104 shots

First to tee off in Tapiola for the season!

After a day’s break in playing Tapiola opened for the season. At 11^th March at noon my drive was in the air! That was the first official tee time for the season, but there were quite a few ball marks on the greens, so somebody have been playing there before us.

I did pay a visit to my “golf doctor” Gyltsi at Golf Center Lauttasaari on the the previous day.  Along came Cobra’s Bio Cell Spoon and Amp Cell Hybrid. These were also put into the action today. The Spoon showed it character from the first shot onwards. I had a change to make a birdie on the 1^st hole, but missed the putt with a ball length. The same on the 11th. 

11th green and the possible birdie putt.

Slow greens and timely strong winds characterized the round. The bunkers were partly filled with soft sand and partly still covered in ice. Most of the tee boxes were still frozen and I did have difficulties to put the tee into the ground. 2 hours and 30 min of sunshine and winds was all it took to complete the round. The fast pace at Tapiola is what I like about the course among the closeness to home and the future office. Here is post I wrote in Finnish last year.

Number of lost balls: 0

In total 104 shots.

Season best in Tapiola: 104 shots

Off to Hanko!

I have never started my season this early in Finland. The buzz about Hanko Golf’s condition was going around during the golf fair. From the fair I did also pick up a few interesting locations and this year’s Bägilätkä along with a #forthewin beanie.

Steigenberger Hotel Treudelberg will be on the agenda for this year. The place has good offering and located convenient close to the Hamburg Airport, so there will not be any additional cost for transportation.

But back to Hanko. Leaving home in darkness and arriving at the club in sunshine. Please note, that it was the 9th of March and as I was not aware of the weather “all“ possible gear was taken along. But the weather was great, as was the company! The play was looking for its track and the fact that I had not touched the clubs during the winter showed.

1st tee

The very first drive was a banana-candle-to-the-right. (That must be the right term.) Just missed the players on the third green and with very unusual Mulligan the game went on. Normally I play the ball where it lands, but this time the Mulligan seemed like a great idea. The result with the spoon almost as great… After a struggling start the game was on!

I like Hanko’s cosy atmosphere and the friendly girls at the caddie master. It just puts you into good mood, no matter how it goes in the game. The course was also in good condition and the greens were a bit on the slow side, but nevertheless evenly fast throughout the course.

The action with the driver continued on the 4th hole. Breaking hard to the right, but hitting a tree, the ball landed on the water hazard on the left hand side of the fairway! Since it was still frozen, I could find the ball and continue with a drop. Much better than being o tog bounds. I did however loose a ball later on the hole…trying to hit the perfect shot with the spoon from around 220 meters, the ball got a little bit of tail to the right and landed in the woods. That marks the lost ball numero uno.

Most of the time, when you tried to play it safe, it does not work. The drive on the 9th was on the right edge of the fairway. As it is a dogleg to the right and I did not have any change to hit the green from where I was, I thought that it would be a great idea to play it safe and took the nine iron, just to play around 110 meters. Well should not have done so… Skanked the ball to the forest. Second lost ball for the round.

On the way to the 7th green. Notice the balls on ice. (not mine)

The back nine was more solid game. Managed to play three pars (11th, 17th and 18th)  and a birdie on the 14th. It seemed that I did have some kind of idea of the game again.

19th hole, after a good start for the season.

Number of lost balls: 2

In total 99 shots.

Season best in Hanko: 99 shots

Round up for 2014 and targets for 2015

2014 marks the best year in golfing for me so far and I try to make this year even better!

I played 65 rounds on 29 different courses last year and all of them were played in Finland. The year before the numbers were 49 and 31. My average score sunk from 100.4 to 98.4 between these years and putting average from 2.0 to 1.9.

Most played courses were at Pickala, where I will most likely also play much during this year as well. Forest and Park tie the first place with 10 rounds each followed by Seaside with 6 rounds. The constructions made last year for the course will indicate an increased number of rounds there during this year.

During 2015 my focus areas will be in increasing both FIR and GIR. Making more Pars and Birdies in order to lower my current HCP from 15.2 to 12.9. I except to play 80+ rounds this year. I hope the season will be great!

Go low and fight for the glory.

The last lost balls for the season!

The Canadien geese marks their territory

The two last rounds of the season were not dokumenteded that well on a timely wise. But never the less in late November (15th & 16th) fun golfing was done in Pickala on two following days. First on Park in rough conditons and then on Forerst in great weather.

Not much to share with the future kiddies, but there were lost balls on both rounds, as one would expect.

I played the Park from red and got into the trouble anyway:

On the 5th hole my drive broke out to the left and the ball went swimming.

5 iron towards the green and the ball touched one of the trees on the way. I not see where it landed and the walk of shame was on the agenda.

View from 1st tee / Forest

Forrest on the next day was even worse. On the 7th 22 degree hybrid did not make all the distance over the water to the green. That marks the first lost ball in the series of three.

On the 11th a totally fucked up 7 iron from the teebox. I have no idea how I managed to hit it to the wasteland/waterhazard on the way to the green. Did not even look for it and a new ball in the air and roughly a meter left from the pin for a bogey.

Hole number 12 always creates same action. This time the spoon was on a perfect spot, but the second shot towards the green with 22 degree hybrid got an unlucky bounce at landing and in a high curve to the water instead of the green.

All in all the year was a good one. Thanks for that!

Number of lost balls in these two rounds: 5

Park:
In total 95 shots. (Red)
Season best on Park: 91 shots

Forest:
In total 103 shots.
Season best in Forrest: 92 shots played twice 2014