Link to new blog

Hello again. Just to inform that comes to this page looking for my blog, I have begun a new blog under the following link: www.lewsblog2006.blogspot.com Happy reading folks.....

Lew's closing blog 2005.....

An excellent christmas was had in the Cains household this year. I awoke in typical fashion - with a blinding hangover. Every year I say to myself that i'll 'go easy' the night before but I guess I'm my own worst enemy. Rachael told me that apparently whilst talking to her on my way home, I stumbled over a wall and tripped into a bush. I have absloutely no recollection of these!!! Perhaps she's having a wee wind-up.
The highlight of my Xmas was having all the family at home, best of all, my little nephew Maxy:




He really is an amazing baby, and I feel very lucky to be able to watch him grow up and perhaps stick a golf club in his hands one day (if his parents permit me). At 6 months old, he is already a proper little lad and his smile is the happiest, cheekiest grin you could ever see.

This will be the last blog I will write in 2005 and before I go further, I would just like to say I hope this blog has been enjoyable and interesting to anyone who has read it. I have found keeping this blog to be particularly enjoyable and it will be great to look back on it in the future.

It's a shame that this blog didn't result in it's initial intention - me becoming a professional golfer but in some ways I feel that the experiences I had through the summer demonstrated how complacent I was really beforehand, and how it really is a tough obstacle to overcome. A highlight of my year was playing in my first test with my bro Sam and to witness him passing. Just wish it could have been both of us. I have certainly learned that nothing in life (and golf!) will come easy and how 'good things come to those who wait' (a mantra I have used repeatedly this year!) I have also learned that I certainly have a huge hunger for a future in golf (much more so than I even thought I did!), and can't wait to embark on it. I've improved so much over the year and I only have to learn to be better mentally on the golf course. This is when I will have truly earned it and how sweet it will be! To any of my friends who read this, thanks for your encouragement this year and I vow to thrust my efforts in to making next year a VERY different story!
I truly look forward to continuing this blog into 2006 and hopefully being able to braodcast better outcomes than I did this year.

In terms of my stats this year - I have played 71 rounds of golf and my average round for the year is 75.49. This makes me laugh and is a true illustration of how these playing tests were messing with my head. To have posted rounds including 85 and 86 in the tests only goes to show that the problem is between my ears. I certainly have no doubt in my ability - NOT ANY MORE ANYWAY!!!

Well anyways, to reflect in other ways on this year, there have been many highlights. Here are a few:

• getting my job and being in a position to begin my career
• having a good job with good benefits and great people around me
  
• finishing at college with a merit (very proud of this - 2 years VERY hard work)
• the birth of my nephew (by far the biggest highlight)
  
• a continued very happy relationship with my lady - 3 years now.
  
• A fantastic holiday in Greece.
• My bro Sam turning pro.
• Rachael getting her dream job (proud of you babe x)
• My other bro becoming a dad and being very succesful in his job too
• Having my dad caddy for me at Weymouth and showing him what I can do.
  

These are all things that I look back on very fondly from this year. There are so many more I could write about. There have also been some not so great times, which I too have written about along the way.

So, on to 2006. I have been wracking my brains on goals to set myself and resolutions. One thing I have thought is to not set unrealistic aims, but achievable ones. Here are a few:

• Get in to great physical shape. Commit myself to a fitter lifestyle
• Dedicate myself whole-heartedly to my golf game and work on all areas of it as hard as I can throughout the year. I want to be better structured this year and will set plans to stick to.
  
• PASS PLAYING TEST (my only goal in golf next year - anything else is a bonus!). The most important thing is ensuring I am fully prepared come May. A huge bonus is that I certainly know what to expect now and I will also know how to prepare better.
  
• Cut out bad habits (which I won't elaborate on)
• Make the Ryder Cup team and win the British Open (perhaps slightly less realistic!)
  

some non golf related ones:

• learn to sing and improve my keyboard and guitar skills. I am really keen on taking up songwriting as a hobby.
• Be better organised with money (never easy)
• Be the best friend, brother, boyfriend, uncle and son I can be to those involved.
• Don't write off any cars (haha!)
• keep my room tidy (thats for you Ma)

That's all I've got so far.

Anyways, I shall now close my diary for this year.
Its been a pleasure to write this blog and I look forward to next years blogging.

A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE,

Lewis Cains (still an aspiring golf professional 2005).

Satisfying round......

I had a good round today which gave me a lot of satisfaction. Score-wise it wasnt great (by my own standards) but I was pleased under the circumstances. I was invited to play in a competition for one of the member's brithdays at the club I work at. It was very nice to be invited but I was a tad nervous as I didn't want to have a nightmare round in front of them, which thankfully I didn't. 73 was a good score today (considering a bogey, bogey, bogey finish!) and I certainly didn't lose any face. I even won 3rd handicap prize! It was good for my confidence to have a lot of the members saying 'well played' to me as I suppose if I can create the image that i'm a good player to them, then this could well spur them to come to me for lessons in due course and praise isn't something I've been in over-supply of recently. I'm very lucky actually to be working at a golf club where the members have been so welcoming and friendly to me. This has kept me going at times! It's a very nice thing to have so many people interested in me and my golf and I hope eventually that this will transpire into me using my golfing knowledge and experience to help them improve their golf. I've certainly made many good friends and future golfing companions there.

The swing is actually coming along very nicely. I have taken on board a lot that I have learned over at Chichester which is working well but I am also addressing a few problems in my own way which are really starting to come together. I have had identified what the key faults in my technique are and i'm understanding it all very clearly and I think this is why I'm getting good results now - I'm actually applying myself correctly.
I'm getting excited now cos I truly believe that from these encouraging signs and my general form for the last couple of months, that I am in for a great year in 2006! I have only chipped away at working on these certain things and just feel like where I took a step backwards this year, next year I could two or even three steps forward. I'm honestly not one to tempt fate, I've just got a very good feeling about it!

That's all i'm gonna say for this one......

Self confessions.....

For some reason I've been feeling quite down for the past couple of weeks. It's kind of a vicious circle i've got going - get up, go to work, spend the day desperate to play and practise my golf (but I can't because either the weather is shite or I can't get cover), get home, lie on my bed for about an hour, go for a swim, then work my way through a couple of beers, then get the hump with myself for getting on the beers again.
It all stems from winter boredom and my intense desire to have some decent weather etc so I can start working on my golf again. I guess I'm just getting ultra-impatient now! Still, only 8 days now 'til the days start getting longer again.
I've gotten myself into a bit of a habit with beer (I say 'beer' and not 'alcohol' generally!) which to be honest has lasted quite a long time. I am fully aware of all the connatations of this:

- I am soon hoping to become a professional sportsman and a vice like this isn't the most suitable,
- It is a very high contributing factor to why I'm currently more than a stone overweight,
- Its not good for long term health.

There are more I'm sure but I won't list them. I guess its the same with chocolate and junk food etc - we know these things arent good for us but they do provide a source of comfort. 'Comfort from what?', you might say!! In my case I don't really know, but I do know that a drop of the old ale works very well at chilling me out at the end of the day. Is this such a terrible thing as I seem to be being made to feel by a very substantial hipocrite(!). Surely many blokes live their life in this way - although possibly to a lesser degree!!!

It's quite a funny irony, however, because whenever I go on a night out, I am usually the first one to hit the bottles of water and I also hate being really drunk, not to mention hungover!

So, to address the above mentioned connatations: I am even more aware and in full acknowledgement of each point and totally plan on addressing this in the new year. This is perhaps my most important resolution for the new year - cut out the booze (at least during the week!!!). I'm only 22 years old and certainly don't think of this as a big problem to address - it's just sometimes tough to break a habit, ANY habit.
I don't think there would be much point addressing this right now as christmas is just around the corner and unfortunately I think it'll take quite a lot of commitment and motivation to learn to avoid the stop at the 'Offy' for a crafty tin - not something thats easy around the festive period for anyone!! I have a vivid plan in mind for January onwards that is going to take real self-discipline (something I obviously struggle with). If I can keep the long term goal in mind and keep re-iterating the fact that it'll be worth it in the end then hopefully this'll keep me going.

Dont get me wrong anyone - this certainly isnt a cry for help. Just a bit of self-admittance that I've got to get my act together a bit in certain ways.

Till next time......

Night out.....

R and I went to visit her university mates over the weekend. I won't specify the place we went to, but I would definitely say that we had a great time with the exception of our night out on the saturday.

Now, I'm not trying to sound like an old man, party pooper or anything else to that effect, but I would have to say I was appalled by the scenes of drink fuelled behaviour that we were all unfortunate enough to be subjected to. I have never myself felt so unsafe on a night out, let alone the fact that I was trying to protect R from getting approached by anybody as well as her friends, all a very nice bunch of people. As the only guy with a group of girls, this was an uncomfortable situation and I drunk very little alcohol so that I had my wits about me.
The streets were basically lined with abusive, irritating and violent pissheads. The roads were lined with either puke-puddles or discarded rubbish, and it was just general carnage!!
I was in the gents of one place, and suddenly a security guard came bursting in to grab some guys who were snorting cocaine in there! I could hear the snorts!
The biggest thing to anger me was that after finally getting a taxi home, people kept throwing themselves in front of the cab and one guy even tried to open the door as we went past!!! WHAT THE F##K IS THAT ALL ABOUT???? (pardon the language but come on!)

I don't really know what the main point i'm trying to get to here, but I generally now and for quite a while hate going clubbing, wherever it is! It seems now that wherever you go, you are looking over your shoulder and trying your damned hardest not to look at someone the wrong way (ie not at all in some cases!) The way most people carry on through drinking heavily is something that I simply cannot handle now to any degree. Maybe its because i've witnessed certain things close to home, maybe its more out of fear for personal safety and those around me, I don't know. All I know is that it seems that less and less people seem to be out just to have fun (my main prerogative).
A current large problem is all the drink spiking that seems to take place. I thought it was just other people out that did this, but have recently learned that in a lot of cases it's the barstaff doing it too! What chance do you have??
I definitely am and always will be a 'pub-goer' but to progress on to any of these places is sadly something that holds no appeal to me anymore and I doubt I am the only one my age to hold this opinion.

Anyway, that's that rant over. We really did have a great time other than that.

Looking back, looking forward........

I'll tell you what, for a golfer who absolutely loves golf and being outdoors, I can't believe the amount of time I have spent indoors in these last three weeks. I have at most played 2 times in one week now for the last month and a half probably and I am getting very frustrated with not being able to play and get stuck in to working on my game for next year.
The fact is that it has just been literally too bloody cold to even pick up a club. On the occasions I have been out, my body has just been too numb to concentrate.

There are two arguments, one being that I should be forcing myself out to face the elements, whatever they be and get a head start for next year, the other being that I have enjoyed recharging the golfing batteries by having a break and also my personal view that any work I do on my game would not constructive in these conditions.

I decided after my last test failure at Weymouth that I was desperately in need of a wind-down and breather from golf. I have struggled to accept doing this however as I simply love the game too much. Thus, I feel I have found the right balance of playing whenever the right chance comes along and just enjoying it for what it is. Don't get me wrong, I've not lost any dedication to persuing this dream (i'm doubly dedicated if anything) but the breather has been much appreciated.
I'm at a stage now where I really want to get 'stuck in' to my golf again and facing the reality of an english chilling winter every day is starting to get to me a bit now!

This lack of playing and the greater amount of free time i've had has got me to thinking introspectively and retrospectively (this one more so) about the year I've had and the one ahead. It's very weird that although this year brought about many setbacks and disappointment, I have realised that I honestly dont regret one bit of it and I can really appreciate now how this year can only benefit me in the future. I have been given the opportunity to learn so much about my sport through these tests and I cannot believe how much experience and knowledge I feel like I have gained through this whole 2005 golfing journey and have undoubtedly emerged a far better player for it. Some key things I feel I have learned are:
- the importance of having a sound temporament, particularly in 2 round events (perhaps the reason I failed every time).
- the importance of nutrition and maintaining sufficient energy levels (a factor that let me down twice!)
- that I generally do have the ability to do this but have to learn how to sustain my concentration.
- that it is important to focus on every single shot and take in all the external factors.
- course management skills can save even the poorest of rounds (a biggie)!

Introspectively, I have decided that it is no good acknowledging the above factors if I dont implement them in the future.
I will continue to rest until January but come the new year, I will gradually begin to build the amount of work I put in to my golf and also begin a strong focus on getting in shape for the new year and getting stronger.
As I am still an amateur, I will also look to take part in some county tournaments to get myself into more of a tournament frame of mind and also it will be good practise on a 36 hole basis.
This will all hopefully aid me in my build up to what will be my first (AND ONLY) test in the year in May. My goal is to blitz my first test by more than 10 shots and come home laughing.

Only time will tell, but fingers crossed. I can only do so much......

Barcelona......

Hello again, the lady and I got back from Barcelona on Sunday and we certainly had a great time although from a personal perspective this was definitely a very unique place with some great elements and others not so great, as I think R would agree.

Barcelona was heaving!! I thought London was a busy place but I dont think it would come close to here. Everybody was on a mission to somewhere! The two aspects I didnt like the most were that the streets were laced with a strong smell of the sewers and that the spanish have a horrible habit of spitting quite grotesquely in any which way direction.

I really enjoyed wandering up and down the 'Rambles' which is the main shopping street in Barcelona. This road was lined with different stalls selling everything from postcards and magazines to birds, rabits and snakes! The street entertainment was fantastic. My personal favourite was a guy with one of those puppets on strings (the type with one string attached to each limb from a 'cross' shape of wood - not the best description). The puppet was a skeleton and the act was singing (well miming) to Jonny Cash style music and swinging hips etc. It was brilliant to watch and so funny! We could have stood all day watching that!
Barcelona aquarium was good fun too, especially the underwater tunnel where you are literally surrounded by sharks and eels. This was great and we rewarded our efforts with a well earned 'Maccy D's'.

The night life was an interesting experience. Due to the fact that Barcelona were playing a football match on the first night - we literally couldnt get our feet in the door of hardly any of the pubs. It was tricky as well because we couldnt find many bars where the staff spoke English, so in true 'Lew and Rach' style we made a beeline on the second night for every Irish bar we could find (there were quite a few actually!)

So, in conclusion it was a very enjoyable little trip that I think many people would enjoy. Thank you babe for the treat and I cant believe its been 3 years now! Long may the happiness continue x.

On a more humerous note, I was brought back the real world with a bang by being greeted by a parking ticket on my return. I think the new car must be a jinx.
Haha....