Saturday Fourball

Got out yesterday, despite the fairly terrible weather, to play 18 holes. Tees off at 8.40 and had to to contend with rain for the first 7 holes. But by the time we hit off on 8 it had dried up and remained rain free for the rest of our round.

Myself (16) and Ian (6) V Ronan (8) and Adrian (2). With not alot of golf played lately the odds were very much stacked against us. We had a great start when I stitched my second to about 8 feet, and while I missed the birdie put, the par with a shot was good enough to win the hole. With the second halved in pars, we won the third thanks to a birdie from Ian. We went on to loose the 4th and half the rest of the front nine leaving us 1 up at the turn - and also winning the first fiver.

We lost the tenth only to win the 11th and regain our narrow lead. Ronan had done well to get a par on the 11th after finding a bit of trouble off the tee. I'd had reasonably decent tee shot and had left my second just short of the front of the green. I went for a bump and run with my 8 iron but didn't quite hit it hard enough. I'd left myself a nasty 12 footer with a good bit of left to right in it. Ronan looked on in horror as in it rolled. With a shot it was good enough for the win.

It went back and forth until the lads took the lead on the 16th. After being up for most of the round we were now looking like we could be bet. On the 17th a par for Ian halved the hole and brought us to the 18th still alive.

All four of us hit, probably, our best drives of the day. All four were is great positions for their second. I was up first and pitched on. Over hit it slightly and it ran about 15 feet passed the hole. Not too bad considering I had a shot on this hole too. Ronan hit his in and it went short and right - but not much. He finished in the first cut about 10 feet from the pin. Ian hit his in and left it about 6 feet right of the hole. Great shot under pressure. Considering that Adrian was 1 under so far to think that we were still alive on the 18th green was a good achievement. He hit his in - came down about a foot from the pin but didn't check and ran about 20 feet passed.
I rolled my put up and narrowly missed the birdie but had hit it a little too hard. Ran about 5 feet passed. Ronan's put scrapped the edge of the cup but didn't drop - gimme par. Adrian's put was right on line but stopped about a foot short. Another gimme par. We had two puts to win the hole and level the match. Ian was up first. Hw didn't dwell on it too long. He decided on his line and hit it. In it rolled. I had the pressure free put and in it rolled too. Match halved.

Great result for us and very enjoyable day on the course.

Golfing Again

Got out for a few holes at the weekend. I really enjoyed playing. I've only managed to get out a few times since last September with the house move, weather and spending time with Cillian.

Only managed to get 9 in as the weather when we were heading out was pretty atrocious. Because it was so bad we started on the 10th but by the time we'd got to the 11th it had eased up a fair bit.

Didn't go too bad. Bogied the 10th, 11th. Doubled the 12th after knocking first ball out of bounds. Got another bogie on the 13th, parred the 14th, doubled the 15th, parred the 16th and 17th and finished with a bogie on the 18th. 8 over for the 9 holes so net level par.

Playing again next Saturday morning so am going to try and hit the range a couple of time before then.

Going Alright Again.....

After my last post I really didn't know what to think about Rafa. I would be known for my unrelenting loyalty to Liverpool regardless of whether it might actually be the case. I was one of the people who though Diouf was alright, I thought that Cisse would come good. I still think that if Kewell gets enough games under his belt he might actually get back to the player he was for Leeds. So for me to be doubting Rafa, even slightly, I wasn't sure where I was.

But this evening I think we're back on track. I put this down mainly to the fact that he hasn't changed the team much. The core has stayed. I still think he changes it too much overall, but he left Gerrard and Torres in the team. And we have reaped the rewards. We're 2 up against Inter, and have 4 league wins on the trot in the bag.

Long may it continue.

What to do???

Where has it all gone wrong? Has it gone wrong? I simply don't know what side of the line I stand on.

Rafa's arrival was heralded as the start of the return to the old days. Now I'm not saying that we should be winning title after title by now but we should be competing a hell of a lot more. Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea are them teams we need to be challenging - not Everton, Man City & Villa. But that's where we find ourselves.
It's hard know who to blame - Rafa, the new owners or the players themselves. The new owners obviously have an affect on the team. There loose comments can not have done much for morale at the club - but they have stumped up the cash for the players Rafa wanted. They have just sanctioned the £18m signing of Mascherano. But I do think the sooner they go the better. It' a pity Moores didn't have the cash to move the club along. There was a good chairman.

The players have to stand up and start to perform like we know they can. They've made a start - let's see if they can continue it.

I'm starting to loose faith with Rafa. I have a lot of faith in him but it is starting to diminish. While I admire him for sticking to his beliefs that squad rotation is the way to go he has to be able to see that Liverpool's best runs all occur when the team stays the same for as long as possible. I know keeping so many top players happy is tough but playing them for the sake of it is wrong. For me, the back 5 should remain the same. Pick your best 5 and let them play.
Trying to keep the 4 central midfielders happy is, in my opinion, Rafa's biggest problem. Obviously Gerrard is first name on every teamsheet. Changing the team to suit the others has cost us valuable points this season. I think Alonso should play. Mascherano and Alonso are of a similar type but I think Alonso uses the ball better. He can also put in a tackle as good as the Argie. Lucas is a talented player but ahead of the other three - I think not.

As long as Torres starts we will never do too bad up top but again I think he needs to decide who partners him and let them at it. The wingers, I suppose, are the most interchangeable but how can a player remain in good form if he plays well one week and then is dropped for the next game.

Rafa has to sort it out. Managing a top team is not easy - but if Liverpool don't improve dramatically by the end of the season then it most likely something he won't have to worry about.

Barcelona - Here We Come!!!

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One of my good friends, Donal, is getting married to Sofia in Barce later this year. Just got hotel booked so we're all sorted. All that's left to do is wait for it to arrive.

Gettin Big!!!

Soon be eating us out of house and home!!! Not to mention terrorizing the dog. Homer's gone into hiding.

Back in One Piece

We made it back without any casualties - well a couple of sore heads. Skiing conditions were great. Took a few pics with my k800i during the week. I left it till Friday to bring up the camera - and predictably the fog was out in force. Still managed a few decent pics. Here are a sample.

More posted on my Flickr page.

Later

Skiing

Nearly that time of year again, when we head for the slopes of St Johann en Tirol in Austria. Was sorting out all my gear last weekend and am now really excited. 9 days and counting!!!

Cillian

Cillian's been flying it lately. He's started moving under his own power - he's stared crawling backwards. Into any sort of divilment he can get into in. If there's something there that he's not supposed to be at then you can be sure that's where he'll be!!

Broadband

I got it. I ordered my broadband connection just over a week ago and was not surprised to be told I'd have to wait until 6th Feb for a connection.
By chance I connected my router to the phone socket to see if there was a light chance they'd have it connected early. And when I spotted it today the dsl light was glowing back at me. My 3MB line is up and running so I have no more excuses as to why the blog can't be kept up to date.

Got my golfing year off to a decent start Saturday week ago. 32 points - so overall I was happy. Played another 18 holes yesterday and to say the golf was up and down would be an enormous understatement. Playing again next week but am going to try and hit the range before then.

Skiing coming up. We head off the St Johann en Tirol in less than 2 weeks for our now annual ski fest. Am really looking forward to it. Maire is getting back on the skis this year and we have 3 first-timers so it should make for an exciting week. I've all the gear found so I'm pretty much set. Even collected the tickets last weekend. Austria here we come......

Update

Hey,

I know blog's been quite fir the past few weeks, ...eh months.
It's mostly down to the lack of broadband, but partly duw to a lack of 'couldn't be arsed' ness.

It will improve.

OK Donal?

Move Is On!!!

Finally....at last....we have a definite date.
The last of the work is being completed this weekend. We can start cleaning and moving stuff in next week.
It's been a long wait but we're finally there. It looked like another postponement was on the cards as the painter was late getting to house but he got there so all is good.

Links

my del.icio.us

Howya now

I know the posts have slackened off over the last couple of months or so but with good reason. I've been busy. That and the fact I've had no internet connection at home.

There's a few things I've wanted to write about. First, is my new house. It's nearly finished. After nearly 20 months of slogging at the weekends, of deciding what colour kitchen to what colour paint for each of the rooms. The last decision was made last week and that's it. No more changes or looking at something else, or being asked for my opinion on whether this unit would look better in this room or that room or will we change it altogether. I know I'm whinging and sound like I didn't enjoy being so involved the the building of the house but I actually loved it. There is something very rewarding about looking at some part of the house and know that I had something to do with getting it done, however small it may be. Hoping to move in Friday week. I'll post a few pics in a bit.

Next on my list is the Vodafone 3G Broadband modem. On their website they have a map of the coverage that they provide a service for. Athenry, where I live, is supposed to have their 3G broadband speeds. I say supposed. No where near broadband speeds. I've tried the modem in a few different locations around the town and I can't get speeds anywhere near what they say is available. I got the modem last week but only got it hooked up on Thursday last. I have to contact them regarding it, because it's not cheap.

Next up is my golfing. I got to play the Monty course at Carton House a couple of Sundays ago. Class layout, course a bit dull but very testing. If you have the misfortune of finding the bunkers you'll need a ladder to get in and out of them. I had only managed 18 holes on the course and 45 mins on the range since the Cecil Ewing final. The 18 holes I played were an awful mixed bag, ranging from ok to dreadful. So to be honest I actually thought about pulling out of the trip to Kildare. Was I glad I didn't. I managed to play pretty good for the day. I had 21 points at the turn, and although I only managed another 10 on the back 9 it wasn't solely because of bad shots. I did have a few bad ones, with my short game really showing up my lack of regular play. I hit alot of good shots only to find bunkers or a bad lie. All in all I was very happy with how I played and was glad I went. I'm really looking forward to when my time i my own again and I get get back out playing regularly. (House nearly finished so I'll soon have my weekends back).

Last but not least, if you know of anyone looking to buy a house in the West of Ireland you could do alot worse than the house I'm moving from. Up for sale now with Remax. If you know of anyone interested mail me at pleader@mac.com

Later

Been a While

I know it's been a while since my last update but I'm in the middle of moving to my new house.
As a result I have has to cancel by broadband connection while Eircom gets me set up.

Hopefully it won't be too much longer......

Connaught Champions

We went down to Carrick-On-Shannon yesterday for the 2nd leg of the Cecil Ewing shield. We had a 3-2 advantage from the 1st leg and were looking to win at least 2 matches to make sure we could go to a play-off.
Myself and Jim were up in our match from the 2nd hole. And bar 2 holes that we halved when we should have been lost them we were never in any danger of loosing the match. (We kept our 100% record together. The 5 matches I played with Jim and the match win in the first round gave me a 100% record for the whole competition. )
We were well beaten in the first 2 matches and were down in the other 2 after 10 holes. A come back in both of the matches before mine gave us a 3-2 win on the day, with a 6-4 win over the 2 legs.
It was a great feeling to win. Well worth all the time spent traveling and preparing for the matches.

Athenry Golf Club. Cecil Ewing Shield Champions 2007.

Class

iPhone gets launch date for UK

Apple and O2 have revealed that they are to release the iPhone in the UK in November. Apparently O2 are taking a big hit to be the ones who carry the iPhone. No word of when it will hit the Irish market yet, but with alot of unblocked phones readily available to buy on eBay and run on any network in Ireland it can't be too long before Apple cop that they are loosing money.

I've bought one of the new iPod Touch's so I'm not in as much of a rush to buy one of the phones but if it were to launch here next week chances are I'd be in the que to buy one. Can't beat a good gadget and the iPhone is THE gadget.

My New Ping Raptures

I recently aquired a set of Callaway X20 irons. I got them through my uncle. I hit them ok but wasn't really tempted to leave Ping irons.
The option came up to trade them in against a new set of Ping Raptures. I've been hitting my G5's really well lately so the raptures had to be at least as good before I'd consider changing. I hit them at the range and I could definitely see an improvement. At least 15 yards longer.
So the decision was made - the x20's for the raptures. Still have my G5's and I'm not sure that I'll start using the raptures till after the final next Saturday. I'm going to play 9 holes tomorrow evening and see how I get on.

Cecil Ewing Connaught Final

Well, we won the home leg 3-2. It gives us a slight advantage to bring with us to Carrick-On-Shannon next Saturday. I won my match and played fairly well doing so. Bar on duff chip and a couple of wayward drives I was very happy with how I played.
Hopefully we can get the result we want on Saturday and bring the title back to Athenry with us.

The Captain's prize presentation as held on Saturday also. For my 4th place finish I won a nice set of cutlery. Very fancy indeed!!!

New Taxi Service for Dublin