One of Golfmagic's most popular and enduring forum threads was introduced by Jim Haworth in May.
The Shambles Club welcomes all those who suddenly discover a destructive aspect of their game they didn't realise existed -- until it's too late.
A player would be ambling along nicely performing to his or her handicap when… Bosh! A simple chip is flubbed into the ground, a three-putt appears from nowhere or a tee shot delivers a duck-hook into the weeds.
It proves a catalyst for disaster and the harder they try the more inept they become.
Why it happens, we don't know but welcome to the club - the Shambles Club.
So far Jim's post has attracted over 1400 responses from golfers sharing horrific experiences, desperately trying to get them off their chest in the hope that it will absolve them from further nightmares.
If you haven't already contributed, I draw the Shambles Club to your attention because while testing some new product recently I met up on the first tee with an RAF serviceman, just returned from serving his country in Afghanistan and whom it immediately struck me, must be a Shambles life member!
He explained that during his six-month tour of duty, helping keep Harrier jets airborne, he hadn't picked up a golf club. He law only low expectation but on his return had bought himself one of the latest
TaylorMade r7 3-woods to aid his integration back into the game.
I happily agreed to complete a scorecard for him, to help him toward his first official handicap on my local course and almost immediately revealed his Shambles Club credentials - a high, looping hook almost decapitating a golfer playing the 17th hole.
He eventually tapped in for an opening nine on this par-4, followed by a seven on the next and an eight on the par-3, after losing two balls in the forest. Though he was deeply embarrassed by his performance ('I can't understand it, I was only eight over for nine holes the other day'), I encouraged him to pressed on and, after advising on a minor grip change, eventually he totted up 64 shots for the front nine.
Fortunately his poor form was only temporary and it started to take a turn for the better, as the new grip became more comfortable (his right hand was too far under the shaft, encouraging a smothering of the clubhead at impact). Towards the end, he was a serious contender to relinquish his Shambles Club membership.
Indeed he finished with two outrageous birdies with putts that crashed into the back of the hole from 30 feet for a back nine of 41 shots (seven over par) - a total of 105.
The moral of this story is: "If your round starts badly and gets progressively worse, hang in there - it will get better."
And while the Shambles Club is a great place to come clean with your bad shots -sharing them with complete strangers - it will hopefully help you understand that there's more to this game than the one the pros play.
In a round peppered with disasters, one good shot will bring you back tomorrow
