The Shire Pro-Am - Aaron Howard This week I competed in a Pro-Am at The Shire with David Lambert, Jonathan Jenkins and Jamie Price. With Seve’s influence, the course has plenty of risk/reward holes, a lot of water and Augusta style greens. The course has a trademark “S” design on the 18th hole with two sets of water sections to carry. David is pictured taking a drop to have another go at the 18th hole. The Shire was in fabulous condition and the severe slopes on the greens proved very difficult if you left yourself above the hole. The shotgun start allowed us a gentle start on the 9th hole. Jonathan’s big-hitting suited the yardage of the course but he was punished for going offline. Jamie was accurate but struggled to find his touch on the greens. David’s extra shots were helpful, but he couldn’t quite utilise them to affect and not knowing the course proved detrimental. With all our good play, we got to three-under-par through nine holes but the main issue our team struggled with was getting consistency on the pace of the greens and it halted any real progress towards the prizes. We did finish up under par but not near the double figures required. Individually, I had some great shots including an eagle on the longest hole on the course and several birdies but a few mistakes on the rapid greens put me just outside the top ten in the Professional event.
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