Driver and 3 wood are on the naughty step in the garage, waiting for the longer days to return.

To be clear, they don’t deserve to be on the naughty step – they’ve done little wrong, at least little more than usual – but in the rain they were making it hard to get in and out of the bag and when you’re teeing off in the first light of a winter’s day (and fog and rain) you want to be reasonably confident where the ball may have ended up!

It’s one thing to walk 150 yards up the fairway after a mid iron (not always guaranteed but more likely) and rely on ‘the Force’ to find your ball, it’s another thing to be rummaging around further up in the rough having no clue how far you’ve hit it this time because you couldn’t see the ball flight.

It’s a different game played this way I find. Very enjoyable even if the scores aren’t always the best and even though it means there’s even more pressure not to 3 putt.