Seignosse golf course

Day three and the final two rounds will be played at Seignosse GC.  We'll be kicking off with a fourball and then finishing with an alternate shots greensomes.

Seignosse is one of europe's outstanding golf courses with the immense pines and oaks creating a cathedral like atmosphere.  With rolling fairways and immaculate greens it should be a true test of our abilities.

At 6124 metres it's not a monster but it does have a tremendous finish.

The 17th is a short (365m) dog leg and the green is pretty much surrounded by water.  It's here that the trophy will be won or lost.  The afternoon round in particular will be highly charged.  Alternate shots means that someone will have hit a decent drive down the 17th but it will be their partner who plays over the water to the green.

It's imperative here that the encouragement is positive.  "aim for the centre of the green and let the slope bring the ball down to the hole" will go down far better than "don't go in that ******* lake whatever you do".

We'll be looking to hold them in the morning and go into the afternoon with a clear point advantage.  The pressure will be on and the lake at the 17th could just prove a bridge too far for them. 
So, who will be enjoying the champions dinner one week from now? 

Tune in to Canal Plus or Eurosport (France) to see the action live or come back here for daily updates from 21st October.

Statto says: There has only ever been one tied match (1999) in three peaks history.  This year things will be close too. I see a halved match in the morning but the 17th proving decisive in the afternoon with the low handicappers winning out. Morning match halved, afternoon 2 & 1 to Chris and Graham who will retain the trophy.

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Moliets golf course

Day two will see a different style course (both links and woodland).  Moliets is considered one of the top ten courses in France and was designed by the brilliant Robert Trent-Jones.

It's 6173 metres from the back so Chris & I should have a slight advantage as we're a little longer off the tee. This will be negated by the fact that there are three "blind" holes and Tim, in particular, seems to play his best golf on links courses.  His game is suited to picking long irons cleanly off the tight fairway lies and we'll do well to hold them both here.

A half would be a great result for us.

Statto says: When Tim played a French links course for the first time he went four down with four to play but played brilliantly to snatch a half.  I can see this course suiting them so Tim & Steve to win a tight match one up. Surprisingly, 20 matches have gone down the 18th yet only seven of them have been halved.

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Pessac Golf Course

This is the course we'll be playing a week today on the first morning of the 2009 Three Peaks Challenge.

We're opening with a fourball and the course is set among the vineyards, yet with a staggering 250 acres of pine woods as well.

At 6056 metres it's not particularly long but there are plenty of water hazards to gobble up those wayward Titleists.

The opening shots of the competition will be full blooded as the first is a tempting par five of just 481m from the back.  A drive, long iron and two putts would certainly set down a marker for the week.

It's important to get off to a good start and with just four rounds this year Chris and I will be looking to go into day two with a resounding victory under our belts.

Statto says: Graham hasn't lost an opening match since 2001 and I don't expect him to do so here, Chris & Graham to win 4/3.

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Fourteen days to hone my golf swing

The 2009 Three Peaks Challenge kicks off two weeks today. I always get so excited in the run-up that I'm sure to post more stories over the coming days.

It's an event steeped in history that has entailed thousands of holes over 34 different courses in England, Ireland, Germany and of course France.

The protaganists are:

Chris - big hitting, wild, competitive with a solid short game.

Tim - wonderful long irons, prone to the odd air shot with an air of "bad boy" Sam Torrance about him.

Steve - consistent, likes coming down the 18th all square, sartorially elegant.

Myself - fussy, easily distracted, good out of bunkers.

Our thoughts always seem to turn back to the great match of 1998. We were based in Chantilly, a beautiful town on the outskirts of Paris.

I was paired with Tim and we stormed into an early lead.

We held this throughout and going into the last day we had a one point advantage. We decided to take the short journey into the capital for a quiet dinner on the eve of an important last two rounds.

France were hosting the world cup and the streets of Paris were full of football supporters from all over the planet. Brazilian beauties were doing the samba while scandinavian blondes looked on and four (married) lads from England tried to keep their eyes from bulging too far out.

The last train back to Chantilly was around 11.30pm.

On our way back to the station Tim & I looked at each other and decided we simply had to stay and continue partying. The other two opted for an early night and a knowing smile.

The rest is consigned to the history books: a 6.00am taxi ride back to the hotel, straight out to the course for an 8.00am start, 36 closely fought holes and one missed eighteen inch putt on the last meant we lost by three and a half points to two and a half.

We'll never know if our late night antics cost us the match but it certainly brings a smile to my face every time I think about it.

I'm still owed 60 euros for the taxi fare home mind.

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