P.G.A. - Pretty Good Afternoon
If I was some really geeky techno-dork who could've live broadcast some kind of webcam (a la ED TV) on Tuesday, you probably would've seen me smiling from ear to ear. Here's why:
Scott's brother Jeff was in town, and we decided to get together and play golf Tuesday afternoon. Golf is a funny, funny sport. Not ha ha funny, but funny in such a complex way that I can't think of any other sport to compare it to. You can go out, play the crappiest round of your life. No decent drives, horrible putts, etc etc. But let's say that on one hole (out of 18), you make a perfect, sweet-spot drive down the middle. Or make a 80 foot putt for 9 on a par 3. If you carded a 123 for your score that day, logic tell you that 122 shots were horrible, and that one was not. But that one shot keeps you from putting the clubs up on eBay and calling it quits.
And it's a catch-22. If you play once a week (we call them "weekend duffers", because most folks with a normal schedule can only play on Saturday and Sunday), you really don't get to practice enough to get good. To be great and consistent in golf, you have to do it a lot. But yet when you go out and play, it's so easy to get frustrated because you aren't any good!
For golfers, it's about reaching milestones. First, it's probably breaking 100. And then 90. And so on, and so on. All things even--playing conditions, difficulty of the course, etc--most golfers maintain a pretty steady average (bowling is a similar example). I've broken 100 a few times in my life, but never really been able to shoot decent enough scores on the front and back 9 to do much better than that. Sometimes it's a 56 on the front and a 47 on the back (geez, 2 47's would've given me 94, but it took me 9 holes to warm up, apparently). I consider anything 46-49 (for 9 holes) decent and 41-45 great for my skill level. I've shot 42 or 43 a time or two, but again, never twice in the same day). My previous best round, at Orgill Park, was 90.
Tuesday was my day. I started with a 6 on the par 4 1st. No big deal, just don't get frustrated and "trust your swing", as the TV announcers say. Avoid the bad holes with a 9 or 10 that pretty much screw up a otherwise decent round (ask John Daly). Bogey 5 on the 2nd. Par 4 on the 3rd. Sweet drive on #4, and a 2-putt for bogey. Tee shot on the green on # 5 (a par 3), and a 2-putt par. Don't look now, but I'm having a VERY decent 9. After all was said and done--a 41. Hopefully the PowerAde in the clubhouse at the turn won't put any bad karma into me. I was thinking to myself, "Even a 45 on the back gives me an 86--my best round ever!" A par on #10, and mostly bogeys on the back nine. Once I hit a decent tee shot on #18, I started to feel like I was Phil Mickelson at the Master's. I wish I could've made a few more par or birdie putts, but I was ecstatic. The result--a 42 on the back 9, for a total of 83.
Not only had I beaten a personal best, I had done so by shooting an 83. It felt great. Maybe I've found something about my swing that allows me to duplicate consistency. Or next weekend I may go out and shoot one of my famous 106's. Time will tell. But for now, I'll keep playing the game, and remembering how it felt to shoot the round of my life.
Scott's brother Jeff was in town, and we decided to get together and play golf Tuesday afternoon. Golf is a funny, funny sport. Not ha ha funny, but funny in such a complex way that I can't think of any other sport to compare it to. You can go out, play the crappiest round of your life. No decent drives, horrible putts, etc etc. But let's say that on one hole (out of 18), you make a perfect, sweet-spot drive down the middle. Or make a 80 foot putt for 9 on a par 3. If you carded a 123 for your score that day, logic tell you that 122 shots were horrible, and that one was not. But that one shot keeps you from putting the clubs up on eBay and calling it quits.
And it's a catch-22. If you play once a week (we call them "weekend duffers", because most folks with a normal schedule can only play on Saturday and Sunday), you really don't get to practice enough to get good. To be great and consistent in golf, you have to do it a lot. But yet when you go out and play, it's so easy to get frustrated because you aren't any good!
For golfers, it's about reaching milestones. First, it's probably breaking 100. And then 90. And so on, and so on. All things even--playing conditions, difficulty of the course, etc--most golfers maintain a pretty steady average (bowling is a similar example). I've broken 100 a few times in my life, but never really been able to shoot decent enough scores on the front and back 9 to do much better than that. Sometimes it's a 56 on the front and a 47 on the back (geez, 2 47's would've given me 94, but it took me 9 holes to warm up, apparently). I consider anything 46-49 (for 9 holes) decent and 41-45 great for my skill level. I've shot 42 or 43 a time or two, but again, never twice in the same day). My previous best round, at Orgill Park, was 90.
Tuesday was my day. I started with a 6 on the par 4 1st. No big deal, just don't get frustrated and "trust your swing", as the TV announcers say. Avoid the bad holes with a 9 or 10 that pretty much screw up a otherwise decent round (ask John Daly). Bogey 5 on the 2nd. Par 4 on the 3rd. Sweet drive on #4, and a 2-putt for bogey. Tee shot on the green on # 5 (a par 3), and a 2-putt par. Don't look now, but I'm having a VERY decent 9. After all was said and done--a 41. Hopefully the PowerAde in the clubhouse at the turn won't put any bad karma into me. I was thinking to myself, "Even a 45 on the back gives me an 86--my best round ever!" A par on #10, and mostly bogeys on the back nine. Once I hit a decent tee shot on #18, I started to feel like I was Phil Mickelson at the Master's. I wish I could've made a few more par or birdie putts, but I was ecstatic. The result--a 42 on the back 9, for a total of 83.
Not only had I beaten a personal best, I had done so by shooting an 83. It felt great. Maybe I've found something about my swing that allows me to duplicate consistency. Or next weekend I may go out and shoot one of my famous 106's. Time will tell. But for now, I'll keep playing the game, and remembering how it felt to shoot the round of my life.
posted by Eric C at 5:57 PM
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