Please Help Me
Reach My Goal
Raised
$
My Goal
$2,000
I've helped fund 36 hours of a research assistant’s time to work on life saving cancer research.
Done!
So yesterday was the big day again and overall pretty good.
I didn’t play particularly well, and didn’t seem to have much luck but was able to be somewhat consistent shooting 86, 90, 89 & 84.
It started out pretty well but surprisingly slowly just by myself for about half of the first 18 before Vinny showed up. He apparently can’t read that early, accidentally playing the 9th instead of the 15th the first time round so played the 15th twice for round 2.
Also for round 2, there was quite a bit of maintenance work happening on the greens so we had to estimate our putting strokes after the approaches. Holes 4-7 were finally opened around now so had to loop through this twice also.
Andy came round about half-way through this round and proved that he’s still a great ball striker who had a handicap of only 4 back in the day.
This was also the time when I started suffering with my own head (probably lack of food related) trying to hit the ball too hard and losing 3 balls in 3 consecutive holes. I did manage to calm down a bit to finish that round but was definitely not my best.
After some food and a quick schooner, round 3 started well and was able to race through much faster as Bayview generously offered us an electric cart to use. Other members and guests were also very kind in letting us play through so we finished the 18 in less than 3 hours. Paige also had fun chauffeuring me and had Mum & Kees walk around with us for a fair while too which helped boost the morale.
Another quick put-stop at the club-house for another beverage and nibbles then back for round 4. I was definitely starting to tire by this stage and my back and feet not feeling 100% but played ok and managed to finish the final round bang on 6:30pm when the cart was due back.
Recovery today but will be back out on the course again soon, making the most of the sun and holidays.
Thanks to everyone who supported and I’ll probably be back at it again to complete the trilogy next summer.
Particular mention for donators, Bayview Golf Club staff, Mum & Kees for the morale boost, Vinny & Andy for smashing a few with me (and stopping me from completely exploding) and of course my spectacular wife Paige who put in as much effort as myself yesterday and is the reason I’ve done this challenge the last couple of years post her smashing cancers ass!
Final preparations
So the last few weeks have been good; had a couple of lessons and rounds before Xmas, zoomed up to Queensland to play The Brisbane Golf Club and Dorrigo (and escape for a holiday & see family of course) spent a couple of hours at the driving range, and then hit the course again yesterday for 30 holes.Yesterday was an interesting mix of brilliance and frustration. It was extremely slow going initially, stuck behind a ladies NSW comp (with 6 in each group) and so the first 9 holes took about 3 hours! Amongst the waiting I came my closest ever to a hole-in-one smashing the flagstick on the 8th and finishing about 15-20cm from the cup.
Thankfully it did speed up a bit after that and the back 9 was done in about 2 hours. Had some issues with thinning the ball but saw some improvement towards the end.
I popped into the 19th with the playing partners (thanks again Russell and Sean) before zooming back out again and played surprisingly good golf. I nearly dunked a blind 135m PW on the 5th, smoked a couple of my best ever drives on the 6th and 7th, again successfully navigated the 8th (about 3m away but was happy with the par), a great 3wood off the 16th tee and a 30m chip in on the 17th for another birdie.
I’ll be heading out early tomorrow morning (attempting to play in a comp for the first time in I don’t know how long) and feel like my consistency is definitely improving. Off the tee (usually attempting to hit the ball too hard) and short game are still the biggest issues but my confidence is growing.
Apart from my golf game, I think I’m nearly ready for the big day. Sorted out some hydration, spoken with the club (and hopefully we don’t get impacted with renovation date changes too much) got confirmation from some of the team mates and my body is in ok shape (if a bit rounder than I’d like). My biggest remaining concerns are my feet which are already quite badly blistered, and waking up in time since I’m not much of a morning person and we’re zooming too and from Canberra for the weekend for a friends wedding.
I’ll keep you posted (likely after the event itself) and if anyone still wants to be involved or is willing to donate please let me know.
Happy (slightly late) new year!
Back to the grindstone
If I’m honest, so far I haven’t put in as much effort for this as I was last year. Now that I’m done with work for the year though that is starting to change.In the last week (and a little bit) I’ve had a couple of lessons with the local pro at Bayview (cheers James) and played a couple of rounds trying to put some of it into practice. Major changes from this so far are:
- change to the grip and gripping the club a bit more softly.
- more hip rotation, especially with the takeaway but also with the follow through to try and avoid my left arm chicken-winging
- adjustment to my weight transfer
- trying to improve my consistency with the strike and minimising how often I hit it thin.
Breaking these habits isn’t easy but plan to play more consistently and try to get to the range a couple of times to ingrain these tweaks.
I still need to work a bit more on my long game too as I’ve recently been heavily reliant off the tee with my 2iron. When I crunch the driver I’m a decently long hitter but not utilising it very well as it’s more often than not glaring too far right.
I’m also a bit worried about my fitness & endurance. In the couple of rounds I’ve played I’m already tiring towards the end of the round and haven’t tried 2 rounds in a day recently.
More updates will be coming soon, but in the meantime Merry Christmas!
The sequel
Last year went quite well overall; I completed the 4 rounds before the sun went down, hit some half-decent golf shots and raised a bit of cash for the Cancer Council. There is still room for improvement though so I’m back again for round two!Since my last Longest Day in January a few changes have happened; most importantly Paige received a bone marrow transplant in February and thankfully responded quite well with minimal GVHD, and has since proven as resilient as ever getting back to working full time & even taking on additional work with ACU.
We also moved back into our own apartment, I upgraded my car and I got another group of year 12’s through their HSC course.
During this time unfortunately golf has taken a bit of a back seat and I only played once in about 6 months, however I still have a full blown golfing addiction and I’m getting back into it again.
With it being the school holidays at the moment, I have managed to play a few rounds again and while I still feel a bit rusty & lacking some distance control, there are some positive signs. I also renewed my membership at Bayview and will be finalising a date for the next challenge in the near future.
This year I have set a few more goals I hope to achieve; firstly I hope I can raise more money than last year for the Cancer Council given the help they have given us in the past it seems only fair to try and return the favour.
Secondly, is naturally to complete the challenge of 72 holes of golf in one day ideally in fewer shots than the last attempt but as long as it’s done before the sun goes down I’ll be happy. To try and achieve this I’ll continue putting in the hours and hopefully lowering the handicap.
Finally, cliche as it may sound is to have a bit of fun. Golf as frustrating as it may be at the time does help me unwind usually and is always better with company. To help with this last goal, hopefully I can have some support along the way whether that’s hitting balls out on the course with me, joining on the day walking the course or in the clubhouse for the 73rd, words of encouragement or financial support.
More updates will follow in the near future and if anyone wants to join for the day itself please let me know :)
I'm taking on Cancer Council's The Longest Day...
...the ultimate golf challenge to complete four rounds of golf in one day!
I'll be testing my skill, strength, and stamina to raise funds for life saving cancer research.
1 in 2 Australians will be affected by cancer by the age of 85, I want to help change this by making every hole count!
Please sponsor me today, because tackling cancer takes all of us.
Together, let's tee off for a cancer free future.
My Scorecard
Total Rounds
#
Strokes
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Stableford
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Thank you to my Sponsors
$520
Pacific Color
$312.90
Christine de Koning
Good on you Nick. ❤️ I’m so proud of your dedication to doing something to help and hope it goes well. Love Mum Xxx
$263.75
Lachie De graham
Go Uncle Nick and dada!!
$158.25
Kati Jones
Nick, you’re (almost, wink) as much of an inspiration as Paige is, and we love you both. Good luck on you Longest Day and so sorry we can’t be there to cheer you on.
$154.65
Kees de Koning
Great work Nick!
$100
Nick Kenny
$75.96
Louise
Way to go Nick and Paigy
$66.77
Leisa` Kenny
Big Effort for the Best Cause
$54.12
Valerie Harvey
Wonderful Nick. Love gran xx
$54.12
Cam + Court
You’ve done well to get to play golf for a great cause! Great efforts today
$52.75
Nana
Great job, Nick.
$33.15
From Lynette and David