GOLF - 2024

[s94wht]

Having a little look at going away at the end of the month for some warmth and some golf. Anyone done that at this time of year that can recommend anything? Looking for a few nights between the 23rd and 29th (not necessarily the whole duration)

[s94wht]

bodhi said:

I'll do my usual trick and recommend Cyprus. Weather should still be good and they have some fantastic courses - especially Aphrodite Hills which is one of my all time favourites.

Cyprus can be a bit seasonal but Paphos (where the courses are) is typically open all year, plus the food and hospitality is top notch. Longer flight than Portugal/Spain but well worth it imo.

Nice one, had forgotten about Cyprus. Will add it to the list of places to check out.

Really just want to get away, haven't been on a "holiday" holiday for a couple years and some sunshine wouldn't go amiss. Would be a solo trip which means I don't have to please anyone else But have to find the right thing because I don't want to just waste a few hundred quid for the sake of it

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fat80b said:

We're off to Vilamoura at the end of the month and have 3 rounds booked in (2 x Dom Pedro courses, 1 twillight x vale de lobo ocean) - Weather can be hit and miss anywhere in Europe at the tail end of November, but hopefully it should be warm enough for t shirt golf like last year and there are plenty of nice evening meal options etc.

Turkey is popular in November - Look at Belek / one of the AI course hotels and you should be able to get one of the golf travel companies to book something (I use Kaden golf for the golf booking in Belek). Only challenge can be getting tee times at this late stage but you should be OK as a single.

The other popular place I see talked about at the moment is Morocco, although I've never been myself.

Have looked a little bit at Turkey and it seems incredibly good value. You can go all-inclusive for a decent amount of time for a lot less than Tenerife or similar. Just don't know what's good tbh so needs more research.

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Wills2 said:

Word to the wise don't swing your 8 iron in the lounge too near the fireplace as I've just taken a chunk (a rather large one) out of the mantlepiece and I'm currently on the virtual naughty step.

Oh st! Wood, presumably? (The mantelpiece, you clever dicks)

[s94wht]

Driver fitting part 2 yesterday. Still wasn't swinging my best, so how can we be sure if the fit is right? Will have to try it head to head with my current driver when it arrives. If it's no better I'll just sell it. A 2-hour drive turned into 3 hours on the way there so can't be bothered to go back a third time! I did learn that I don't like swinging driver indoor. Something about it messed with my head and I'm sure that's why driver was going right a lot. And I don't like not being able to see the ball flight right away! Will be trying to do outdoor fittings from now on.

[s94wht]

Also, just had confirmation from the final tee time for my trip to Cyprus next week, so I'll be playing Elea, Secret Valley and Aphrodite Hills

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bodhi said:

Excellent - had planned to reply to your question last week, but when I logged in again it had disappeared?

Great selection of courses - Elea is a Faldo Design, so quite wide open but lots of bunkers, really nice set up and some great views from the clubhouse. They'd just sanded the greens when I played but would love to go back and play it on proper greens.

Secret Valley is the tightest of the 3 - in fact I'd suggest keeping the Driver in the bag until the back 9 as there isn't much room out there, especially towards the end of the front 9. Brilliant little halfway house (which I may have appreciated more as it was in the shade and I was walking it that day) and a lovely little driveable Par 4 about the 11th iirc.

Apohrodite is my favourite of the 3 though, great layout, some impressive views, a couple of long drives between holes (1km between 2 and 3, then their own copy of the Stelvio to get to 7). Before you set off for the 3rd have a look at the small tee by the flats on this side of the ravine - that's the Championship tee

Great practice facilities at Secret Valley and Aphrodite if you get there early as well. Didn't try the ones at Elea as I was running a little late to that one...

Some great places around Paphos Harbour for when you're not golfing - The Wooden Pub is a particular favourite!

Yeah I'd got recommendations from people mixed up, deleted the message and then forgot to repost it. I think I'm the first time out at Elea so I don't imagine I'll be using many of the facilities before the round. Appreciate the notes. Saving Aphrodite Hills for last, and I'm just hoping that I don't run out of light, but it was nearly double the price to play really early, and it's supposed to be a holiday after all, I don't want 6am starts every day! Should be just ok at 12.30 tee time (sunset is supposedly around 16.30-16.40)

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bodhi said:

You should be fine starting then - I started at 10 and was done just after 2pm playing as a fourball - and the guys I was paired with weren't exaclty quick.

Plus iirc you should be able to play for a time after sunset - I recall when we went back a couple of days after I played for a drink there were still people coming down 18 after sunset.

Yes I noticed on some websites about sunset that they mentioned sunset time and then "last light", which is about 20 mins later. This matches up with what I see here in the UK as well.

Did you hire a car, or get taxis? Trying to work out which to do, that's the final piece of the jigsaw. Taxis are easier, and hire cars are cheaper... unless you get stung for damage, and there's the question of insurance as well - I have not much idea how that works. The hotel offers car hire as well, which I've emailed about but haven't received a response.

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bodhi said:

We were there for 10 days so went with a Hire Car - in Cyprus we tend to avoid the big names and go with one of the local companies, they tend to be cash only with no deposit. However none of the courses are very far from Paphos, so depending on where you are staying I can't see them costing too much. Taxis are also plentiful in Cyprus and normally easy enough to get hold of.

Whereabouts are you staying roughly? And are you planning on exploring the island or just focusing on the golf?

Don't think I'll do much exploring, just golf and chilling, but you never know. I'm not sure how to describe where I'm staying apart from "on the beach in Paphos", which I imagine most of them are! It's Aquamare Beach Hotel and Spa

I worked out roughly that taxis are going to be 100-120 EUR in total, so I may as well go with that as I don't imagine a car will be much cheaper. I'll get a taxi from the airport to the hotel and look at the options they have there.

[s94wht]

If I'd just won $5m I'd be bawling my eyes out.

[s94wht]

bodhi said:

s94wht said:

bodhi said:

We were there for 10 days so went with a Hire Car - in Cyprus we tend to avoid the big names and go with one of the local companies, they tend to be cash only with no deposit. However none of the courses are very far from Paphos, so depending on where you are staying I can't see them costing too much. Taxis are also plentiful in Cyprus and normally easy enough to get hold of.

Whereabouts are you staying roughly? And are you planning on exploring the island or just focusing on the golf?

Don't think I'll do much exploring, just golf and chilling, but you never know. I'm not sure how to describe where I'm staying apart from "on the beach in Paphos", which I imagine most of them are! It's Aquamare Beach Hotel and Spa

I worked out roughly that taxis are going to be 100-120 EUR in total, so I may as well go with that as I don't imagine a car will be much cheaper. I'll get a taxi from the airport to the hotel and look at the options they have there.

Ah you're just down the promenade from where we were staying (Olympic Lagoon), so unless you want to go properly exploring, there's lots to do down there. Paphos Harbour is around a 20 min walk from where we were, and there's loads of bars and eateries on the walk down if you fancy breaking things up.

Longest drive from there I had was to Aphrodite/Secret Valley which are right next to each other and took about 20 minutes to get there.

That's about what I expected.

I will definitely hunt down a bar on Sunday evening as my team (Ipswich) are playing Man United on the telly so hopefully there will be somewhere showing it

Appreciate the info

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DuncanM said:

Not my holiday, but I kinda love reading this, 'tis a great little corner of PH we have here

bodhi said:

Definitely agree - not sure where else you can get holiday and swing advice, plus lots of people to listen to you vent after another challenging/rewarding day on the links.

I'll try and remember to take pictures! I got an email today that my course is waterlogged and therefore closed, so now I'm looking forward to it even more. Just have the anxiety that I normally get before something like this that I'm going to forget something. Won't be truly happy until I've arrived in the room at the other end. I wish I could shake it but it's just something I have to put up with. As a plus, maybe it makes me extra vigilant in checking that I've got everything!

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bodhi said:

If it helps I used to travel all the time with work and still get that before I go away. Now I figure as long as I have passport, boarding pass and my wallet I can get anything else I need over there.

That's what I always say to myself as I leave the door flustered at the last possible minute. "Sod it, I have my phone and my wallet, that'll do" (and obviously passport and BP if going abroad)

[s94wht]

Anyone who's gone abroad with clubs, have you taken out special insurance for your clubs (lost or damaged on the flight) or just relied on home insurance?

As for liability insurance, I believe the £10m cover from EG can be used abroad if you have a travel insurance for your "golfing holiday". I assume this is just like the travel insurance I get through my bank?

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Wills2 said:

I happened across Dr Kwon's YT channel, some interesting drills and insight into the golf swing, some good analysis of swing patterns, speed drills and where we should be at transition etc...interesting stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/@drkwongolf/videos


I also watch this guy as he's been coached by Dana Dahlquist (Bryson's coach) the teaching sessions show you how bad you have to hit it in order to improve when I often want to hit it as well as I can with what I've got, rather than go into the deep water of "showing yourself up"

https://www.youtube.com/@JeromeRufin

Edited by Wills2 on Wednesday 20th November 10:36

I'm sorry but I don't have a fking scooby what that's supposed to mean

[s94wht]

Wills2 said:

s94wht said:

Wills2 said:

I happened across Dr Kwon's YT channel, some interesting drills and insight into the golf swing, some good analysis of swing patterns, speed drills and where we should be at transition etc...interesting stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/@drkwongolf/videos


I also watch this guy as he's been coached by Dana Dahlquist (Bryson's coach) the teaching sessions show you how bad you have to hit it in order to improve when I often want to hit it as well as I can with what I've got, rather than go into the deep water of "showing yourself up"

https://www.youtube.com/@JeromeRufin

I'm sorry but I don't have a fking scooby what that's supposed to mean

Interesting way to ask a question and I thought this was one of the friendlier threads.

Sorry, wasn't meant to come across as aggressive! I was laughing as I wrote it as I had genuinely no idea if it was just me being stupid and not being able to figure it out. Having said that, I'm still none the wiser, and I've had my coffee now. Care to elaborate?

EDIT: I've just clicked on the link, and I've realised I've seen one of his reels on Instagram which I assume was a cut-down version of one of his videos. I remember thinking the reel was totally unclear as to what it was supposed to explain, and judging by the likes I got on the comment I put, I wasn't the only one! I might have a dig through to see if I can find the video it came from and see if that sheds any light

Edited by s94wht on Wednesday 20th November 12:06

[s94wht]

Burny16v said:

From seeing your posts in this thread it feels like we're at a similar place with our games! A while ago I had a handful of lessons from a couple of pro's, but struggled to find a good fit. I've recently found a guy at the course up the road who's been brilliant.

The same place also has a good indoor Trackman simulator facility and outdoor practice area, and for a very reasonable annual fee you can get unlimited access to both. I've found the sim very helpful as, combined with guidance from lessons, I can see what I'm doing right/wrong in data form - out on the range I found I struggled to really understand what was causing certain things and I was just hacking away trying to guess. Plus in winter it's far cosier than a draughty driving range!

I had a good session in the sim on Monday and felt like I made some real progress, and I've got a lesson on Friday so I'll see if I can back it up then. I'm hoping to be consistent with practice through the winter, then get out on the course more next year. I think I struggled with the fact some of my friends who I got into it with me have given up, so I might look at trying to get some solo rounds in - I suppose it is a sport you can absolutely play on your own! I do have another friend who's into it but they're much better than me so thought I'd just annoy them, but they have offered so I make take them up on it.

Good luck with your journey!

Erm, excuse me, you can't just mention unlimited sim/practice and not say where it is!! I'm sure it's not near me though lol

[s94wht]

Wills2 said:

Yeah that's it, my pro is always saying forget about where the ball is going, we're changing things it doesn't matter, which when I'm with him is fine but we're so outcome orientated it's hard not to want to see a shot rather than a well executed move that might not present itself as the ball flying through the air when you're at the range plus you don't have the verbal feedback.

Alone on the practice green and chipping area at the GC I made so much progress but I struggle at a busy public range with the long game, I've started using the GC range at lunchtime as there is no one there and that is quite liberating in terms of what you care about.

I got it, I see. Yeah I can do that, go to the range to "work" on something, but in all reality, probably not improve much because I'm wanting to see a good flight so I'm subconsciously doing what has been working before

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LHB said:

Just got some pictures from my first lesson, went from that terrible follow through with my elbows all over the place, to a closed club face on the follow through… can’t wait for the next lessons!

LHB, it's an absolute joke how much better that second photo looks than the first. Keep it up!



I played my first round in Cyprus today, at Eléa. Very nice course, with great views that my golf did not do justice!! I ended up shooting 107 with 5 lost balls The very frustrating thing is that it wasn't (particularly) my golf, or ball striking, that caused the high score, but rather, just not knowing where to aim off the tee. I always find that on unfamiliar courses I find it so hard to judge distance. I'll look at a bunker and think, I can easy clear that, and then end up straight in it, or the opposite - I'll play for short and then realise it was comfortably in my carry distance. I have a real hard time matching up what I see on my watch (which gives a crude map and distances) to what I see in front of me. If it's a green I haven't played before, and I don't know the depth of, I'll end up short or long in the worst possible spot, sods law.

Thankfully I have an awesome course guide in Ashfordian! I'm going to try and do a bit more planning for tomorrow's round at Secret Valley with shot scope's strategy thing.

While it was lovely to be the first person out at Eléa, it did mean I had no-one to follow! Plus I was out of the hotel at 6.30am with no breakfast in me which meant I got pretty cranky when I was finding myself in spots I hadn't planned for

[s94wht]

Secret Valley is undeniably beautiful