Hosel Rockets for the Win!

WHS Scores

SOW: 24.7

EOW: 24.7

So this week, I’ve managed to play a fair bit of golf, as well as testing some new golfballs from Hosel Rocket.

Welcome to 54 to Scratch, my personal blog documenting my rise from terrible golfer to something hopefully resembling a better player.

The week has been quiet on the work front, which has enabled me to play a fair amount of golf mid week, which has certainly increased my confidence, particularly with chipping and putting. My handicap has actually dropped below 25 now, which is really positive.

The focus of this blog today though will be on the round I played this weekend at Kingsnorth Golf Club. I went with the aim of hitting 88, which would be officially under handicap as Kingsnorth’s course rating is 64.3 meaning I need to be 20 over actual par to be playing below my handicap.

So essentially, this meant hitting bogies on every hole except two, which I applied to the 2nd and 11th respectively. Weather wise, things weren’t great, with a cold snap coming and quite a bit of moisture on certain fairways, there was still a lot of room for error due to underhit shots or too much turf being taken.

Armed with my new Hosel Rocket Parachute balls, I wasn’t sure what to expect - would they live up to expectation or would I struggle having gotten so used to using Callaway Supersofts? Initial impressions were that they felt nice and soft in the hand, packaging was good too.

So off to the first tee. My 5 iron tee shot was a little thin, but carried a decent distance and crucially stopped on the fairway. Unfortunately, my next shot was fat which meant I needed to get my third onto the green, but left it short meaning a chip and 2 putt had me rounding out the hole with a 6. So one over target already, not the best start.

My tee shot on the 2nd went straight and landed on the fairway, but required a PW over the trees to cut the corner (it’s a right angle dog leg left). My third shot went to the rough on the back of the green, leaving me with an up and down for 5. So back on target!

On the third, I recorded the hole (you can see it here). My tee shot went short and slightly right of the green. Unfortunately, my chip that looked to be on line took a nasty right turn on bouncing which left me with a trick par putt. I missed but got the bogey I was aiming for.

The next 2 holes really well, with 2 pars, with another 2 up and downs to achieve them. On the 6th, I unfortunately came up short on approach with my third shot, but another up and down got me the bogey.

On the Par 3 7th, I came up short with my tee shot, but a decent bump and run chip left me with a very makable par putt which only missed by the smallest of fractions - if the wind was blowing the right way, it probably would have gone in!

A par on the 8th, thanks to a GIR for the first time on the round, left me 6 over par going into the 9th.

Unfortunately, this is where things unravelled slightly. My tee shot went very right, nestling behind some bushes, meaning I could only chip sideways to get back on the fairway. My next shot went down to the corner of the dog leg and then my 4th shot went to within 100 yards. Unfortunately, my 5th landed short of the green and my 6th went too short, meaning a 2 putt for 8.

Despite this, I was still one shot ahead of target!

A par followed on the very short par 4, with me almost hitting the green in one. Unfortunately, my chip came up too short and 2 putts left me with the par.

The 11th didn’t go well at all. My tee shot was fine, going onto the fairway, but unfortunately my second was fatted into the bushes. Luckily, the ball didn’t go out of bounds, but still meant I had to chip to the corner for 3. My next shot went long and right, requiring a chip on and my first 3 putt of the day left me on 8.

My problems continued on the next hole, going into the deep rough on the right, before then going to the exact opposite side thanks to that rough pulling my club face over. I scrambled to a 5.

On the 13th, I came close to driving the green again, once again getting an up and down for par. A couple of double bogies effectively put paid to the goal of 88, but I recovered to a couple of bogies.

The final hole went similarly to the 9th, with the main difference being a straight drive. This meant I finished on 91 for the round, which has improved my handicap.

Overall, I’m really happy with how I’m playing after a couple of uncertain weeks and I have to say the Hosel Rocket Parachute ball played it’s role superbly.

Obviously, with the cold weather, it’s difficult to give the best review, especially around the greens as with the ground still so soft, there are a lot of occasions where the soft landing is responsible for the ball stopping as much, if not more than, the ball itself.

But I really like using them and would certainly recommend them. For a 3 piece ball, they are very well priced at £24.99 and I almost guarantee I’ll be investing again once we get to warmer times.

Goal for this week is to continue with the practice and play as much as possible to continue to increase confidence levels! I also want to spend some time practicing lag putting - it would be great to remove the 3 putts almost completely from my game (as they have been creeping in recently…)

Thankyou once again for reading this - happy golfing everyone!

Gear Check

Driver - Callaway Rogue ST

Irons - Taylormade Stealth

Wedges - Taylormade Hi-Toe 52, 56, 60

Putter - Scotty Cameron Squareback

Shoes - Adidas Tour 360 22