I Tried a Decade Golf Strategy at Vilamoura Old Course…. Dit It Actually Work?

I Tried a Decade Golf Strategy at Vilamoura Old Course…. Dit It Actually Work?

Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the channel. The stunning, one of my favorites, the old course at Villora. I feel like this golf course owes me something. I really do because every time I come around here, I feel like I play quite well. I never quite get the job done. And to be fair, I always come here for proams. There is a prom going on today, but it’s behind us. But I’m going to do a break par around here. But with a slight twist. I recently heard on Decade Golf that you shouldn’t be focusing on trying to make birdies, but actually trying to focus on not making bogeies gives you well gives you the opportunity to score better. Well, today we’re going to have a little look at that. So, my objective off every approach shot is how do I avoid making a bogey and do the birdies naturally come? Let’s get out onto the golf course and see how I get on. So, normally I would go with driver down here because I’d normally have a little pop at it, but it all does massively neck in, bottlenecks in. So, I only want to float it down there to about well 225 off the tea, but it is downhill, which will leave me my sand wedge in, which which uh is in the sort of fattest area of the golf course. The other thing we need to notice as well is because I’m out here doing loads of filming, I’ve only brought half of my set out. So, I’ve got no 3-wood, no three iron. So, I’ve got fivewood in my hand. Right, Joe? Come on. That is way too many coffees this morning. That fired up like a bloody trooper out the flag. Hold it up. There we go. That should be about 225. Nice and steady off the first. Let’s see how we get on. No bogey today. Come on. Okay. Bound to get snags early on. I hit that a little bit softer than I um than I planned or probably Well, first swing of the day, isn’t it? So, uh I’m actually only got it down here about 210 yards. So, I’ve left myself about 118 to the flag. So, a little bit longer than I was kind of hoping for. Uh 118 to the flag. I’m just going to try and thump a 50 cuz I haven’t got my pitching wedge. Should be about right. Just pulled that a little bit. Come on. Down they go. Oh, plenty of club, wasn’t it? Absolutely plenty of club. That got to remember as well the uh over here because it’s it’s going to be a hot day today. We’re going to get up up in the 20s, 25s. Um ball just seems to fly a little bit further when you’re abroad, doesn’t it? So, one of the things that um when I went to tour school with my brother, one of the things that I really that jumped out to me, this is years and years ago, was that all these top top players, cuz that’s what they are when they go to tour school. They’re pretty much top players. Um it’s amazing how how good they were from for being pin high. And in that shot there, what I had 118 yards, um I got it to pin high, which is never feels like you’re that far away from the from the actual hole. if you can get it to that position. So, it’s just something for you to think about if you want to try and focus on lowering your scores. Distance control really important. Okay, greens were quick on that putting green. Very quick. Going to go uphill and then downhill to that hole, isn’t it? Swing hard. Swing hard. Okay, not bad to get us going. Well, that was pretty stressfree, wasn’t it? Could be something in this decade golf thing, you know? I don’t know much about it, but one little Instagram story and we’re off creating a video around it. Level par just shy of 500 yards. The second hole, par five. If you can just see that overhanging tree there on the the left hand side. I just want to kind of avoid that. First impressions got to say like I know this has been a bit of a takeover for the old course, but it just feels more premium already. The cart path has been redone. Everything just feels clearer, cleaner. I can see a little bit more around the place. Get a good bounce forward then. That’s running, isn’t it? Considering it’s quite damp this morning, we’re up there. So, two 238 to the middle. Two, actually 238 to the flag. Um, but playing probably 10. It’s saying it’s got about 10 yards uphill on my kind of slope system, but it feels like, well, it’s longer than that. It’s a perfect 3-wood. I don’t have it. So, I’ve got my fivewood. I’m going to get it to I’ll get it up there as close as I can really. Um, I’ll talk you through an interesting stat that I saw the other day actually as well. Trying to hook out as much as I can. Get up the didn’t see it down on the light. I couldn’t see much. It’s okay. Just up the right hand side. Slopiest. Literally the sopiest green in uh in Villora. This one you kind of want to try and keep yourself a little bit on the low side of this hole. Um, I think I had a sneaky little eagle here in the proam when I played here last. I think it all went a little bit downhill after that. Probably got a bit too excited as I do. Oh, a little bit of root action. Sit down. Sit. Sit. Sit. Don’t go too far past. A bit of root action there. It’s okay. We’re all right. Everyone’s okay. Hands all right. Got to be careful. Good little tip for you actually. If ever you get around because obviously there’s roots around here. Um something Joe the pro taught me is, you know, don’t be afraid to round the golf ball. Just dig in where you are. So, uh just to see if you can feel a root or anything like that because you don’t want to be hurting yourself smacking into roots. Obviously, lots of trees. So, this one here, I mean, you you want to think because I could reach it in two pretty much. you kind of you got to get your mind away from thinking about the birdie and thinking about okay let’s just cozy this up and if it drops in then it’s a little bit of a result I think um we’ll kind of go into a bit more thought on what what I think about and how this is so different to how I think when when I’m playing and probably this is going to resonate with so many of you but we’ll we’ll get get this hole over and done with and maybe have a little bit of a buggy chat about Ah, steady, quick down the hill. Very quick. Okay, at least I got it. Well, we’ll talk about that later as well. I got it past the cup, didn’t I? But that was so fast down there. I did say I didn’t listen to my own advice though, did I? Because I did say this was the sopiest green in Villora, and it is. That’s why it was so quick down there. Anyway, tight T- shot coming up. 300 about 350 360 off this back tea. This T like a like literally like a like a runway. Um, but it’s playing up massively uphill. So, it’s going to play probably closer to 380. So, I’m going to hit driver and it does is I should hit it into the widest part of the of the hole and then hopefully not leave me loads in, you know. Not getting the cut this morning. Go on. Up you go. Don’t get tucked in behind that tree too much. Okay, it’s a fairway. We’re off and running. Hopefully I don’t have to deal with that tree up there. It’s quite big. So, just wanted to come back to you about emotionally because ultimately what you what what I think what dis disappoints me or frustrates me maybe a little bit with all the stat guys out there and like the game of golf is now built on statistics, isn’t it? Paul McInley and people like that Brando over in America, they don’t help that situation. However, um, everybody wants to talk about a stat and with obviously with Decade Golfer focusing on more of a u you could say it’s more of a negative approach, isn’t it? Playing golf in a in a don’t do this approach rather than a do this approach. Um, which I’ve got to get my head around because ultimately I would have walked off that hole there feeling a little bit distressed, should we call it, stressed more than anything of the fact that I’ve not made a birdie on a par five. And for me, I always think about trying to make birdies because I know that I’m going to mess up holes. I know that I don’t play enough golf as in like competitively um to be able to go out there and know that I’m going to play a round of golf without making bogeies. So, I know that I’m going to make, you know, statistically, let’s go statistics, I’m going to make four or five bogeies in a round. Um which hopefully if this approach changes that and makes me shoot only two bogeies around, well, I’m always averaging around two birdies around. So, that equals out to around level par, which for me is very good golf. Um but it’s just a different mindset. I walk off that green a little bit disappointed I’ve not made birdie. So this is a very different approach to what I would be normally thinking about. I mean I got to say like um because obviously it’s improved around here. The people that own the properties around here must be um I mean not like making it sound like it was really bad before. It was never bad before. It was a beautiful golf course but it just seems cleaner. And you got to think when you’ve got a house like that sat on this prop on this property you’re quite happy that it has improved. Um cuz everything just goes up in price, doesn’t it? 110 yards. This is playing. I got about 105 yards. We’re playing 5 yards uphill. This for meh. This is like 110 yards is my 50. So I’m going to go with 50° wedge, but I need to hoist it a little bit. My window is just a little bit below the top of that tree. So I need to just probably open this up a fraction. Make sure I get it in the air quickly. And if I give it a bit more of a thump with an open face, it should then go roughly that yardage. Just short of this hole is probably not a bad thing either. Oh, go a little bit. That’s a bit hoisty. DH, go with it. Okay, we’re on the literally on the edge. I just opened it up maybe a bit too much thinking I was going to clip that tree which obviously as you know if you add loft you’re going to add or take yardage off and uh that’s why it’s come up just on the front edge. Cool. That was nice. Stress free, wasn’t it? That kind of felt stress free. I’ve made some big numbers on this hole over the years. I don’t know why. It’s all about your T-shot. If you get your T-shot a little bit out of position off of here, you’ve got where you’re blocked out a lot of the time and then you’re trying to hook things or go under trees and things like that. So, you end up literally all over the place. But, um, stress-free paths I’ve had so far. I feel 169 to this flag. Now, if we’re talking about not making bogeies over the back of this green is not particularly pleasant. So, I have don’t have a six iron, which that would probably be just a smooth six for me. So, I’m going to thump a seven. 7 iron is a 160 club. Um, so if I can get it on the front edge or around the front edge, it’s not bad. But also, if I go in the bunker short because of the seven iron, um, I don’t think that’s as bad either than than certainly hitting five iron over the back. So, uh, remember we’re trying to play for no bogeies. Desperate need strike here to get it all the way back to that that green. I’ve not got it. So that’s got to fly on that line. Go. It’s on the front edge. I think that’s okay. I’m I’m actually relatively relatively happy with that that result really. Right. I electing to put because obviously I’m literally like 3 or 4 cm off the edge. And there’s the grass is uh is all lying kind of that way towards the hole as well which makes it a lot easier. So just again the focus really is for me here it’s a pretty flattish green. It’s one of the flatter greens on the course if I remember rightly. More subtle brakes than big brakes. So it’s kind of just like just like the last putt. Just trying to get that pace right. Slightly uphill. That’s going to be a bit slow. Keep going ball. Keep going. Pretty good for line, wasn’t it? Just a fraction shy. It was You kind of notice it more when the ball’s rolling of how actually uphill that is just here. And uh puts the first little bit of pressure on me for the day. I think that one definitely feel it. You know, so many thoughts going through my mind over that part. It’s just like just got to the point where I was a little bit on the negative side there. I was just saying to myself, all you can do, you’ve read the part, all you can do is put the best stroke you can on it. And whatever the result is, you have to accept it before you hit the putt. Just kind of calms you down a little bit. Got a little bit fortuitous on this tea because there is actually a back tea right back there. Um, but it’s out of play. They’re obviously just doing some work on it, recovering it. Just shy of 500 off this tee. So, you’d like to think with a decent drive, we could look at getting there hopefully in two. Keep cutting, baby. Oh, that’s such a good hit. Go on. Get the car path or something. Oh, it did. I think it’s just down the left side. I I think that’s hit the car path and given us maybe a little bit of a hopefully a kick forward. Do you know when I played PJ Cataloonia right in the proam there we used to go there every year for a proam and um for a couple of years I took a you know a couple of couple of old boys from and um because we’re off the back te’s proam they couldn’t get to a lot of the fairways so I used to say to him you know aim for that cart path and I promise you right in one round of golf I asked him to hit four cart paths he hit three of them and he got the bounce onto the fairway that’s talent I would say so we’ve hit the cart path. We’ve clipped this tree and we’ve dropped straight down just off the edge of the path here. Um, interestingly, I’ve got 208 y. I’m not really too concerned about the trees in front of me. I’m sure I can hoist it up and over the top of those. But like now, I would if I was playing probably a proam, I’d be thinking birdie because it’s a par five. I want to try and get it there. So, I’d be like trying to hit possibly a high cutting um fivewood or something like that, which is what I would probably try and play. However, because of we’re focusing more on, you know, not making bogeies because, you know, you get it slightly wrong with a fivewood. Pull it slightly. There’s cart paths kind of everywhere around here. So, you can end up in the clubhouse before you know it. Um, so I’m going to hit five iron. Still hoist it up. I know I’m going to come up probably just a little bit short. and um then hope for the chip and putt if we can. Uh but try and avoid that bogey. I mean, it’s come out like a knuckle ball. Just don’t get caught behind that tree up there. Well, that could have I tell you what, it flew out of there. That’s just going to be kind of just short a pin high, just short of the green. And it may be in that trap, which is not a bad thing either. Right. This is nice actually because I’ve come up just shy of that trap. Got loads of green to work with. It’s all about strike. Ball’s not not in a bad spot. Probably normally use a 60 from here, which I haven’t got. So, I got my 56. I’m being quiet cuz I t off the first. Come on. and the H. Hop, skip, and a jump forward. Okay, first chance. Real chance for a birdie. I don’t know how to feel right now. Do you know, normally I’d be like, “Come on, let’s get excited. Birdie time.” But I’m just I’m kind of trying to get into more of a chilled out state, you know, of not not not trying to make birdies, but not trying not trying to make birdies, but not trying not to make bogeies. It’s a very different way of thinking, I’ll tell you. That is a birdie. I’m not getting excited. Next T’s a toughy little par three which we got to avoid the bogey on one under. Who would have thought that? Eh, playing negative what feels like negative golf and half a set of clubs. 236 off this back tea. Playing downhill. So playing about 215. So it is trusty. To be fair, if I had it, I’d probably hit my three iron down here. I think that would be the number really. Two 205 207 club. But we’re going to just play this just like I played off the first T would be a nice little nice little swing. DH slide hard. That’s probably trapped by the look of that. Go on. Never saw it down. Probably not the miss if I’m honest. It’s probably a little bit right of that would be ideal, but I think we’re bunker right. We did. We I couldn’t see it down, but it did just hop into the trap on a slight downs slope. Um, so it’s going to land. When it lands, it’s going to want to shoot forward. And obviously, we’re a little still a little bit dewy this morning. So, it’s going to definitely not Well, I’m going to struggle to get the spin, but I need to leave myself a little bit down the right hand side of this hole cuz that will leave me the best opportunity to make make the path. That is really well played. Go on. Up you go. Get up there then. Stop there. Stop. Big big swing on the screen. Stop. To be fair. I don’t think I could have played that much better other than aiming a little bit further to the um left hand side to play for that slope. But when you’re coming off a bit of a down slope, ball below your feet at the same time, you’re going to probably get a little bit of a shoot to the right, which is what we got. Anyway, it’s a chance, isn’t it? I don’t think I got this far in the uh in the chitchat with the old ideas of trying not to trying to avoid making bogeies. But now I’m in a position where I’ve got a part. What am I thinking? I’m supposed to think not don’t make doubles. Um anyway, just should move. Well, I don’t see a great deal in it now. I’m over the P, but should favor the left side a little bit. I just pushed it. I didn’t trust the original read. I kind of felt like it was maybe a left after left edge put and I didn’t quite trust it once I was over the P. Anyway, I mean, think about it. That’s a 236 yds on the card. Path three. I mean, you know, bogey is not a bad score, is it? It’s warming up, everybody. It’s warming up. I don’t know if it’s the bogey or it’s the uh or it’s the fact that the temperature is just rising slightly for us. But you think about it, we were just talking about off camera, you know, when you’ve got a par three of over 200 yards in length, you know what what am I going to make par maybe 50% of the time? Probably maybe 236 yard par three. Um anyway, moving on. Uh we’ve got a par four wraps round from right to left just about position off the tea really. I mean, they have opened it up, so you could try and hit driver and cut cut a lot more of the corner, but I’m going to go with fivewood cuz remember, we’re trying to play more strategic golf and fairways and greens. Fairways and greens. Avoid the trap. Uh, bogeies. Go on, chase ball. Go, go, go, go, go. Bit spinny. Kind of a longer shot in from there. That’s a lot shorter than I was thinking that one. Right, this is where I get myself into a bit of a pickle because I’ve obviously only got half a set going on. I’ve got 207 on the slope, 200 y to the middle. Um, to the front of the green, we’ve got 180 to 1995. So, do I just do I play for a little bit of a flyer with a five iron out of that lie? Because the ball’s wet. It’s out of that sort of bermudory grass. And you saw it knuckle ball on the par five a couple holes ago. And I’m going to try and play the five iron and play for the knuckle ball. It’s different, isn’t it? But again, just short the green. Rely on your rely on your bunker or rely on your short game. I just think fivewood fivewood’s a lot of bat out of here for an inconsistency of coming out of the rough, you know. I mean, it has knuckled, but it’s knuckled a bit right on me. That could be trap. It could be in between the traps. That’s why you need a good tall caddy, you know. I wonder what Alex Evans would have told me there. He’d have probably said, “What? What are you doing this far back down?” Okay. Again, just on a slight down slope, which makes this shot a little bit harder. Coming down to up, which again, you got to accept that you’re not going to get a great deal of spin, which means it’s so important to execute this one perfectly. Oh, spin, spin, spin, spin, spin. Oh, it just bounced on me. club just I dug the club in a little bit early on that and it just bounced which is a bit of a shame because uh you could probably hear from the strike. It just wasn’t the beautiful soft. It was a bit of a clunk which is why that ball flew out just a little bit further than I was planning. Another lengthy one for for me path. Keep rolling ball chances of me percentage chance of me holding that putt are extremely slim. Um so I think probably what what kind of the statistical side of it would say is that actually just nestle it down there. Take your bogey. You know you got yourself out of position off the tea by not being far enough down. And then certainly that left me to be out of position with my second shot. Not the best bunker shot in town. So all in all, it probably deserved the bogey that that we got. So we’ve got a bit of a longand coming up here. It’s a great hole. You need a good drive away really. A good strike. Um leaves you with a kind of well it’s an uphill shot all the way into the green. But um so I remember it being kind of a longish second shot in 420 m. So what’s that? 460. Then playing slightly uphill. Missed that car path, please. That’s going to hit it. Little left. Caught that bit out the toe. That one. We’re going to have a long shot in there if we’ve got a shot. So, it’s an interesting thought, right? And this is where I always kind of argue with statistics and things like that is like emotions come into it. So for me there, instead of just standing there and lashing at it and hitting it as far down there as I possibly could, I’m focused so hard on trying to hit the fairway. So it almost feels a bit steery when I’m hitting the shot, which is which is negative because when I get steer, I get a little bit ahead of it and then I smother it, which is why you’ve seen a lot of my drives so far where it feels like it’s come out a lot lower. That’s when I get ahead of it. That’s me trying to hit fairways, which is not relaxing and letting go. Can’t have it any better than that. Go up there. It’s 280 odd yards up there. So, we’re not getting there, but it’s a really good recovery. And hopefully we can get up and down. Right. An interesting stat for you. From 30 yards in, the best players in the world, so the PGA Tour players are up and downing it 86% of the time. You take them out to 50 to 80 yards and they’re up and down’s dropped to 30 about 31% or something like that. So, it’s a big, you know, it’s only what 20 paces back that way and they the statistics drop massively. Anyway, wouldn’t this be a nice up and down for DH just off the edge of the green? Little 56° wedge. Push it forward. I need that to skip forward if it can. I don’t think that’s bad actually. I think maybe a little bit shy. Going to swing a little bit off that high side to downside here. So, I’m seeing it a little bit off the right side. This would be a little little clutch Brucey bonus if this pops in, wouldn’t it? Stay. It was moving. I’m not sure if I pulled it slightly, but it definitely moved all the way there to be fair off the T-shot being as I had 280 odd yards into the green. Um, you know, it’s not a bad recovery. I had a chance for a par, didn’t I? Anyway, that’s a birdie bogey bogey bogey. Trying to keep these bogeies off the card. Expect some birdies. Come on now. I would say we’ve got green light here. If you’re playing playing with amber lights, yellow uh green lights, amber lights, red lights, I would say green light. This is 265 m playing well probably off this tee playing pretty flat playing uphill with our second shot, but I’m I’m going to hit driver. Back in the day, there was a lot more trouble down the right hand side as in they they haven’t they cleared it out and it looks beautiful now. So, it gives you a sense of freedom a little bit more. I need to just see if I can just stay behind this a little bit more. If I get ahead of it, I get smothery. Just get lucky with that tree up there. Never sort it down. I hit it all right. Just bit bottom, but little cuty. Just get lucky with the trees, I think. Really happy with this. Feel like I played more my own golf there rather than be defensive. Felt like I’ve played a little bit more aggressive. Probably not got the memo right, have I? With regards to this. We’re going to have a debrief after this hole, but pretty straightforward. I feel like up and down from here. I’ve landed on the up slope. Go. Oh, that’s so weak. That needed a foot and a bit more. And that was that was absolutely stone dead there. Disappointing. Right. Slightly disappointed with that shot if I’m brutally honest with you. Got to be swinging a little bit out of that that right hand side there. Keep traveling. Keep moving. Stress free, wasn’t it? Stressree par, but a complete giveaway in my mind. that one. Anyway, so head over here for a little debrief, should we? Well, interesting, isn’t it? I’m too overpower. I’ve had one birdie. If I’m honest, maybe I’ve probably overthought it slightly. Certainly off the tea box, because I always have this sort of thought with me is that you got to make a decision off the tea. Are you going to be more aggressive with your T-shot or more conservative with the T-shot? Are you going to take the risk off the tea or are you going to take the risk with your second shot in? And I probably feel like I’ve maybe been a little bit negative going out off the T- box, which has then left me with some trickier shots coming into the holes. So, I’m going to play a little bit more, not I wouldn’t say aggressively, but I’m going to play a little bit more positively off the tea boxes. Um, remember, I’ve only got five little driver, so uh I’m going to probably hit driver a little bit more. And that’s a good weapon for me driver. I can hit fairways driver. The putting I feel really happy with because I don’t feel like I’m I’m I’m uh I’m I’m I’m not stressed with putting. So, I’m not wrapping it past the hole. Whereas sometimes you’d see me sort of get past the hole and then I don’t hold the one coming back or whatever. But I do feel that from a putting point of view, one of the reasons why I’m a good putter is because I do get it past the hole. So, it always has a chance of kind of going in, should we say. So, trying to get the balance of both. I’m probably going to stick with the putting technique as in trying to keep it nice and nice and steady but be a little bit more positive off the tea. Cracking path three again. Really tiny green, but you got to make sure you try and hit the green as best you can. Really 160 yards. I’ve got seven iron. Uh again, I’m not really looking at the flag. Looking more just center of the green. Wind feels now. I can feel it a little bit. It’s slightly into Oh, d so bad. So bad. Okay, we’re okay. Don’t know what happened there. I wasn’t expecting to go that far right, but might have just got my alignment slightly wrong. Chipping apart. Okay, kind of bounced and then bounced down here. So, it’s not the toughest shot in golf because I’ve got a bit of green to work with. So, green’s pretty, I think, pretty flat once you get it on there. Probably missed my spot. Bit right. Sit down. Sit. Sit. Sit. Sit. Sit. Sit. Sit. S it. Wow. Oh, I just thought that was going to grab a little bit out of there. Yeah, that did actually swing in that way as well, actually. So, quite glad I missed it a bit. Right. Stay up. Do you know what I thought then? Right. just put our order in with the uh the bar over there, the buggy buggy bar. Trying to get my head away from food. But I was just thinking to myself, why am I putting pressure on myself for this round of golf? This isn’t actually about me. This is about the guy who’s told me that you need to play like this in order to shoot better scores. So, actually, the pressure is on him. So, I need to just chill out a little bit more. And as you can see, when I chill out a little bit more, we make some putts. 11th hole. Didn’t spot this little hanging tree here. I’ve got to now peg it up. I just felt like that was going to be my line just down the left hand side with a little buttery buttery fade. Come on, D. Stay behind it. Get the height. Get the carry. Miss this tree ideally if we can. Oh, I took it over that trap. over that a buggy. We’re just praying on that one because I can’t see that down. It was a little bit It was more of a braver option, but then again, we said it, didn’t we? We’re going to play more positively off the tea. We’re in the rough down the left hand side, but we’re actually a really good angle. We’ve managed to I reckon we definitely have clipped the tree. You look up here. I think there’s no way my ball is not cuz it’s ended up right there cuz I did nut it. I reckon that was um that was the perfect line with a bit more height, you know. Anyway, 155 y to that um flag, but really that pin is tucked in on that um right hand side. So, you don’t really want to be uh messing about with that one too much. So, center of the green and one scrubber in golf. This Bermuda, it’s funny grass, right? It really sits up on you like it’s set up so much. You got to be so careful not to hit it at the top of the club too much cuz it really will um it will kill the ball speed. But then on the flip side is you got to understand that you’re going to hit up on it a little bit more because it’s set up. So, you’re going to take a little bit of spin off of it. That has flown. Oh my god. Sit down. sit. Okay. It may like really a 99 for me is a 140 to 145 club. So I reckon being as it’s just jumped a little bit out of that lie. I’d say catch it off the top of this grass. It’s going to fly. I would say we’re not far away from pin height there. So interesting. I’ve just wandered down to have a little look and just to get a read from the other side and you get a real sense of how downhill this putt is and past the hole as well. else. It’s one of those that you don’t want to get too excited with. Travel. No, it’s going to straighten up there. Look, that’s a decent part. It’s one of those that it had double brake. It was massively downhill, so you don’t need to be messing about with them too much. I think it was one of those that chances of holding it are tiny. Even more so the fact that it’s a bit of a double breaker in it, you know, stressfree par ish 490 yard or meter par five. So what have we got then? We got 490. So we got 540 yard par five. I mean, this is this is out your boots drive, out your boots, 3-wood to get it just short for me. Um, dog leg round from left to right. Certainly off the tea box. I always kind of hug the left side because I don’t really want to be overly flirting with that that trouble down the right hand side. Keep right. Kick right. Yeah, that’s fairway, I think. I mean, it’s where I wanted to go. I didn’t want to cut off too much, you know. So, that’ll give us an opportunity to knock one up there and chip in a putt maybe. So, good drive. Just want to try and get it up there as far as we can really with this fivewood. Oh, go shoulder gone. That’s fine. It’s just on the right edge by the bunker. Oh, this is I’ll tell you what’s interesting is how the the grass kind of changes a little bit as you go around. So, in some areas you get like a little bit Bermuda. We’re now moving into what I would call kind of the normal grass. The kind of maybe a bent, maybe a fescue. I don’t know exactly what it is. I’m sure there’s someone in the comments will tell us, but gotund 120 yards to that flag, but playing a little bit uphill. So, probably playing closer to 125. I don’t really want I don’t trust the nine iron because I think I might just get a little bit of a popper, a little bit of a flyer. So, I’m going to go with 50 and try and hit it. Be positive and hit it hard. Go, go, go, go, go, go. You see the size of this divot? Let me just grab that. Got a bit excited with that one, didn’t I? I knew I had to lean into it to get it there, but that was a bit a bit hefty, wasn’t it? Little bit hefty. And our breakfast is here. The old buggy bars here. Let’s just make that better, shall we? Breakfast time for me and Joe in the buggy cuz we’re out nice and early. We get a little bit of We didn’t make breakfast at the hotel. So, we’ve gone for a little Oh, a little cheesy warm cheesy pastry to keep us. Look at that. Something between like a pano chakala with cheese. Don’t know pasti with cheese. Going to be nice though. Dear diary, that is delightful. I got to say the level, the step up of this place is phenomenal. Doesn’t get a lot closer than that, does it? Hey, it does not get a lot closer than that. We need to make sure we get this one absolutely beautifully done because it’s right next to the cup. We’ve got a proam kind of wrapped in behind us. So, we got to make sure that’s absolutely perfect. And I would say that’s not bad. Never even knew I was there. I honestly saw that break in a little bit more than that and that just just caught the left edge. Anyway, I normally get two average about two birdies around and we’re on two and we’re back to one. Definitely feeling a little bit more positive at the moment. 348 yds we’ve got this 13th hole off this back tea uh meters sorry yards meters. So um just shaking up towards the 400 yard mark. So it’s not a long hole. Uh what am I doing here? I’m going to hit a high cutting driver ideally is the shape. I cannot hit it any better or in a better line than that. I think that’s perfect. Absolutely perfect down there. I’m glad I went with driver than the fivewood. I tell you, I got a wedge in my hand now. I think being rung answering that spam. Get so many spam calls at the moment. Okay, 100 yards. Bang on. Which is the which is the 56, isn’t it? It’s 100 102 yards slightly downhill. to playing 100 56 degree wedge. I’m so glad I’ve taken that on because you know five would puts me I mean I’ve hit that really well but fivewood puts me 150 in 50 yards further back. So, which you got to decide, haven’t you, whether you’re taking the risk, like I said, off the tea, or are you taking your risky second shot? And I’d much rather be going in with here with a sand wedge than a than a seven or an eight iron because it’s a tiny little green. Giddy up. Go on. I’ve just gripped down a bit. Go. Ah, I just didn’t want to go long. That was my thoughts there. So, I just gripped down slightly. And uh I’ve just come up a smidgen shy. Anyway, was bang on line. It was a lovely strike. Take the positives. The sun has just popped out for us. It’s getting warmer. The old sun cream probably coming on in a minute. So interesting this one now. Now I’ve come down here. I honestly thought that flag was a little bit further back and I didn’t think I had much room behind the pin, but that pin is absolutely right in the middle of the green. Um, so I had a I could have just hit that sand wedge just normal I think as I just took a bit off of it too much uphill. Little out the left there. Not a lot of positivity in that stroke if I’m honest with you. It was one of those where I was like, “Oh, don’t go whacking this one past DH.” Remember, we’re trying to make pars and eliminate bogeies. Anyway, I The good thing again, if we think about the stress stressfreeness, it’s just a standard two putt chance of holding it. We’re probably quite slim, I would think, from that that yardage. So, still a par five coming up then. 471 we believe yardage wise. That’s what the buggy’s telling us. Anyway, great par five. We got a par five, par three, par five. So, you you feel like you’ve got a chance to get kind of up in two on the par fives and then give yourself a chance. Uh just wrap one down there. Try and avoid the traps, I suppose, is the is what we’re talking about, isn’t it? And the diggers go. Oh, hit the tree. Hit the tree. Oh, I’ve got a long now. Anyway, I I done that last time, didn’t I? I still managed to make birdie on the par five. So, you get it wrong around here. You clip these trees and it can make you look very silly cuz I’ve now got about 400 yards still in. Embarrassing. Very embarrassing. Clip the tree. Drop down. 317 yards left to play. Let’s get the fivewood up there as best we can. Go on the knuckle ball and go. Go on up the fairway. Up. Miss the rough. Miss the rough. That’s really good. Very happy with that. It’s a three shotter, but I’m happy with it. 114 yards on the up on the slope on the up. 108 but playing 114. Um, it’s just a nice I think it’s a nice 50 whereas I battered the 50 out of the last par five. I don’t need to quite hit it that hard. I’ve got a feeling that flag is more on the left side. So maybe just slightly right of the flag would not be a bad position to be in. Oh, was a bit helpy out right there. Drawing in. Is that only just got the front edge? It was a little wafty, wouldn’t it? But okay, we’re putting after the T- shot. You’d be happy with a birdie putt, wouldn’t you? So, a little bit negative on that approach shot there. That’s why I’ve come up a bit shy because I thought that pin was tucked more in on the left hand side, which it is to be fair, but I kind of just wafted it out to the right to avoid hooking it left or pulling it left. So, a little bit of negative, but I was off a bit of an ups slope, which does promote a little bit of a draw. Okay, I don’t see a great deal in this. More just straight kind of up the hill if I’m honest. I could hear it snag up. Could have probably chipped that. Oh, it just snagged on me. Oh. They are not what we want, are they? Oh, that was just I don’t know how I feel about this system, you know. I just feel like it’s so negative. It’s so negative. Got to press for birdies. You got to press for birdies. 170 yards to that flag. However, that flag is right at the back of this green. Path three. H. Oh, that they just feel like a little puff of breeze there. Yeah, a little bit into 165 to the middle, 154 to the front. Don’t want to go long. So, five iron out the equation. It’s a perfect sixiron, but that means we’re going to have to hit seven. I’m actually going to just see if I can just close the face down a fraction and uh try and turn it into a bit of a six iron from here. That would be the ideal shape. Got the draw, haven’t I? Just grab a piece of that grain. That’s pretty good. Little I manufactured that shot, haven’t I? I’m going to get a bit bit of sand for that divot, though. A putting for birdie. Oh, I’m loving it around here. Absolutely loving it around here. You know, when I first came to this golf course, oh, probably five, six years ago, I really enjoyed it, but it was always a little bit rough around the edges, you know. Um, whereas now it just it feels like a proper setup, like a really really feelood factor to it all the way around the golf course. Okay, outside chance leaving the flag in so you can all see what’s going on. Got to hit it again, DH. Go, go, go, go, go. Oh, I read it, didn’t I? Absolutely read it. That was a good two putt. Really, to be honest with you, didn’t have the right club. You could see that you do not want to go long here. So, five iron would have been landing around here and skipping on through. Hooking in a seven iron, two putt from there. Par five coming up. Let’s see if we can get one back. Par five. 525 yards we’ve got down this. This is a great hole. Gorgeous hole this one. Get a good drive away and it all kind of feeds down and runs down, but you got to get the line absolutely spot on. You get it wrong and you you’re just left with a long long shot in down there bit left. It’s not my greatest drive in town, but it’ll do us. I think won’t be getting there in two, but Joe and I have been on having a little chitchat off camera there, which probably the camera should have been on cuz that would have been you’ve enjoyed that. But it started off with me going, do you know what? I could get fivewood out of that position. And then I’m thinking about the the the strategy that we’re trying to play, which is avoid hitting silly shots that end up in some serious trouble. Then I thought five iron. Then I thought actually with five iron, the problem with five iron is if I don’t quite get it up, I’m stuck in this I’ll be stuck in this grass and this lip. So, I’m now going to trap try and trap a seven iron. Try and put it back in my stance and just try and get it down there to about 150 yards out like that. It’s going to end up in the rough, I think. Maybe just short the rough. See that? Smart play. Absolutely smart play. Um, it’s got the right angle down to that flag as well. I’ve got a longest shot in, which isn’t great for a par five, but at least I’m trying to do as we talked about, trying to eliminate that bogey. Give yourself a chance to hit the green, hit the putt. You never know, you might get a bird. Considering it’s like a hole, which if you get it a good driveway, you can get it on the down slope and really run it down and and actually have a chance of getting on the green to now left with my third shot with a seven iron in my hand. Somewhat disappointing. That pin is at the back. If I’m honest, it’s a perfect perfect eight, but I’m going to try and just cut cut a seven iron in just to take a little bit off of it. You know, I tried to turn it over on the last shot and draw it in to take loft off and get some more yardage. Now, I’m going to go the opposite. Try and open the face up. Swing a little bit left. Chop it in. That’s too wy. Started it too far right. Come down. Face is too far open. I’m hoping that’s not a bunker there because that is that is going to be a bit of a pickle. Drama, isn’t it? Absolute drama. That got lucky. That got so lucky. That caught that fringe and then kicked it forward. You lucky boy. DH. I’m out with the green staff at the moment, so it’s a little bit noisy around us, but let’s just get out of their way. That is a frighting par, isn’t it? In the end, definitely a par, was it? One, two out of the trap. Three onto the four to five. A lucky five, I would say, in the end. Should have been a straightforward birdie. Was a lucky path. The property around here, Joe, is absolutely amazing, isn’t it? Looks like they’re building one just there. But these ones here, I mean, this this one here looks like a scene out of um Star Wars. Remember where Luke Skywalker came from when he was a youngster? That uh dome up the top there. And look at that. That’s that there on the right hand side is a um it’s a barbecue. That’s what that is. Little barbecue. Anyway, back to our hole, which is the 17th. Beautiful hole. Dog leg round from right to left. 390 yards. You want to wrap it right around the corner. Right to left over the bunkers would be the ideal scenario. See if I can finish with two really nice drives. DH, come on. Two nice drives. It’s a little straight. It’s a great hit, though. It might be It might be good. It might just be in the right rough. But all in all, it was a great strike. Perfect drive, but I’ve got 130 yards into that flag, which is Oh, my 50 is not getting there. My wedge is what is really required here. So, we’re going to go with a little nine. 138. Yes, it’s 139 to the back edge. My 99 goes about 138 to 140. Come on. Be the number. Be the number. Birdie birdie finish. That’s I think that’s my my thought is don’t bogey don’t bogey finish to birdie birdie finish. I prefer the birdie birdie finish idea than the don’t bogey don’t bogey finish. Well, I might have to rewrite what’s written on the bottom of that 9 iron because I say 138 to 140. 138 to 140 is there to there. I’ve landed it 133. To be fair, I’ve just turned 44, so I’m just getting a fraction older, a little bit slower. Uphill park, a little out the left. My knees went. I thought it was going to really drift off to the right hand side there. It’s a birdie. Feel like I was really positive with the T-shot. Really positive with the N iron. Positive enough to get the ball in the hole with the putt. It’s a birdie. It’s not a bogey. It’s a birdie. Just one more. I can hear them now chanting it. Just one more. Just one more. Just want to take this opportunity to thank the old course at Villimura for hosting us here today. amazing. So good to see the improvements that they’ve done to it. So I do absolutely applaud them for all their efforts cuz it takes time. It takes a lot of money to invest into a place like this, but ultimately if you get your investment right, you’re going to get it back hopefully with the the the visitors that come here. And I looked at the t-shirt. It’s fully booked today. So um just want to thank him to let us out. Also just want to take this opportunity to make sure you check out Locker Room Golf. If you’ve not checked out Locker Room Golf, it’s our kind of hub. It’s our website of what we do, written articles, there’s going to be the society will be brought into it. Loads of little things going on there. Weekly newsletter. So, make sure you sign up for that as well. The 18th, the final hole, 400. It’s about 450 off this back tea. I don’t remember it playing this long, but um it’s requires a really good drive and a really good approach shot. Not that same shot, DH. Not the same shot. Oh, it hit the tree. We might have got a little bit lucky there. It’s hit that tree down there and kicked it right, but it’s going to be a long shot in tree. I think I hit that that tree to come in and that tree to come out. So, got 168 yards. I’m going to have to play this with a seven iron. Very similar to the path three. I think 15th where I have to draw it in because it’s a perfect six. And it allows me to keep the ball flight down under this this tree that’s really looking at me. Fly the trap. Fly the trap. Fly the trap. Sit down. Sit. Just one more. Just one more. I can hear them. Let me hear. I can hear you on the couches, everybody. I can hear you. Just one more. Come on, DH. Come on. Let’s not make a bogey. I don’t remember a lot of golf shots, you know. I don’t you the amount of people that say, “Oh, I don’t remember a lot of the golf courses that I go and play to be honest. And I don’t remember holes and things like that.” A lot of people remember more than I do. But that one, that shot there, that goes in the memory bank, that one, because yeah, that’s back to my youth of learning how to whack it around trees and playing different shots with different clubs and, you know, cuz normally I’d have had I would have hit six iron. I’ve 100% hit six iron there on that yardage. It just makes you think about different types of shots, doesn’t it? Wouldn’t this be a delight? That was pathetic. That is a poor poor finishing putt, that one. Well, that is one over par. I think I finished there. Um, what do I think of that concept? I think it’s very negative. I think when I get emotionally driven to make a birdie, I generally play okay. I’m not somebody that needs to concern myself about making too many burgers because I know I’m going to make them. But if I get the chance to make more birdies, I will do. Not sure about that. I think probably more needs to be discussed around it because maybe I’ve just interpreted it slightly wrong as to playing a little bit more conservatively. Trying not to make bogeies is definitely not something that I want to think about when I’m out on the golf course cuz it emotionally makes me a little bit more anxious when I’m playing. But I’d like to hear down in the comments what do you think about that. As I said, a big thank you to Villora for hosting us here at the old course. It’s absolutely stunning. And I’ll see you again on the next video.

The time has come to take on Vilamoura’s Old Course in Portugal, however I will be using the Decade Golf Strategy of trying NOT to make Bogey’s….

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