Trying to break 90 again: my return to golf Pt 2

After one round of golf in the last five years, Dave Tindall is trying to break 90 for the first time in over a decade. Follow his journey here.

August 14: Any article featuring the sub-title ‘what’s in the bag’ usually suggests we’re talking about a high-end pro.

When you’re like me and haven’t touched your golf bag since 2021, ‘what’s in the bag?’ is said with trepidation. Forget shaft types, the main consideration here is did I leave a banana in there?

Thankfully, a rummage through the pockets of my PING bag reveals no signs of rotten fruit; instead, just a combination of tees, random golf balls in various states of disrepair and a Jive (the Aldi Twix) wrapper.

There’s also some outerwear that smells a bit mouldy so I have the brainwave of whacking it in the wash. Forty-five minutes later, I’m picking bits out of the washing machine after the inner lining of my blue Nike waterproof top has perished severely during its 60 degree cycle. Sh*t.

Thankfully, giving my clubs a good wipe doesn’t inflict any further damage. In fact, they’ve buffed up quite well.

So, step one: if you want to be a good golfer, act like a good golfer. Therefore, I’ll get serious and present my own ‘what’s in the bag’. Yep, these are the weapons I’m going in to bat with.

What’s in the bag?

Driver: Titleist G25. I loved the G15 I had but snapped it when closing a cupboard in 2017. This one, which came out in 2013, I’ve never really got to grips with.
7-wood: PING K15. I used to like hitting this off fairways. Hopefully it’s still my friend.
5-wood: PING G15. Again, I used to get a decent tune out of this when I middled one. Both fairway woods are about 15 years old now I think.
Irons: Benross (4-PW). These are much newer. I bought them in 2018 after being told by a club pro that they were good value for money. The heads are a bit small but I like what I’ve seen in the 10 or so rounds I’ve played with them.
Wedge: Benross 56 degree MDR. No strong view on this.
Putter: Nike Method Model 002. Putters, like the pop/rock stars I like, have to look cool and this does. Some mallet/spider thingy may churn out more reliable hits but, as with Ed Sheeran, I’m just not having it.

There’s enough there to be happy with I reckon. Sure, I’d like to dip into the market and boost my squad but if I fall short in my aim of breaking 90, I can’t blame the tools. I’m the tool.

August 16: Clearly, I can’t just walk onto the golf course just yet not having swung a club in over three years. It’s time to hit the range.

It’s a good start to the day as my golf bag fits nicely into the back of my Mini Countryman without me having to faff about for three minutes before admitting I can’t defy physics and that my driver will have to be removed before I shut the boot/trunk.

Luckily, it’s only a 10-minute drive to my local driving range at Esholt in West Yorkshire. Fun fact: it’s just around the corner from the Woolpack pub where they filmed British soap opera Emmerdale Farm for 20 odd years.

Part of the plan with this mission is to do things better and more professionally than previously. To dip into instruction/advice that appears on the very pages of Golf365.com or elsewhere on social media.

I put that into practice by watching some YouTube videos on how to structure your range play.

Previously I’d have clobbered 80% of the range balls with my driver, fatiguing halfway through, and carving three of the final five 100 yards right of where I was aiming before walking off disconsolately.

But being relieved to have finally got rid of the damn things is no way to carry on. Instead, I take out five balls at a time and work through my routine methodically.

The first shots back

So I start with some half swings, move through the irons and actually start walking into each shot before hitting.

Having a measured, pre-shot routine on the range seems a smart idea rather than just fishing balls out of the basket at breakneck speed and bringing a twinged back into play.

And although the range is the range, the results aren’t too bad.

I can still swing the club and make it hit the ball and I even manage a few creamy ones that feel lovely off the face.

Of course, there’s a fair few squirrelly shots, but the fella next to me is hitting it sideways into the net so that boosts my confidence a bit.

I’m still losing lots of shots to the right – my biggest weakness from the past – but in general the short to mid irons are decent.

I only leave about 15 balls (five each) for Driver, 5-wood and 7-wood and this is where I do grimace a bit. About half of them come off the heel and scuttle apologetically 40 yards in a north-westerly direction.

I end with a 5-wood duff but maybe that’s no bad thing. It reminds me that I’ll need another range trip or two before I hit the course.

I put the first instalment of this diary on Twitter/X and have been heartened to get some good feedback. It seems others are in a similar position: once regulars who have somehow let playing the game disappear from their lives.

Enthusiasm and support will likely be needed here if I’m to break 90 and, right now, even beating 100 seems a bit daunting.

But as Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

He probably wasn’t talking about golf, but I’ll use it. My first step has been taken. Onwards!