Golfing Despair to Golfing Ecstasy

Golf is a truly great game, it never ceases to amaze me how lessons learned on the golf course can be applied to many facets of everyday life.

I broke 80!! – 77 (+7) at Muang Ake Vista 19/08/07

Yesterday was a bad, bad day for me on the course at Windsor Park; I shot 53 for the back nine. Despite driving the ball well, I couldn’t hit an iron to save my life and it ended costing me quite a bit of money in lost bets.

Thinking about the round later, I realised that every iron shot I hit was slightly ‘fat’ (hitting the ground first then the ball). I figured out that this was probably due to my left arm not being properly straight at address, and thus when I swung, the centrifugal force of the swing lengthened the arc of my swing and thus the ground was hit just before the ball.

Today I was due to play at Muang Ake Vista with some quality players and I knew that if I continued my bad form with my irons it would be an expensive day. I needed to learn from my mistakes the previous day.

Fortunately, my swing thought for today of ensuring my left arm was kept very long and straight throughout the swing did the trick and I played my best round ever.

I got off to a bit of a shakey start with a bogey and a double on the first two holes but soon back on track with a birdie and 2 pars on holes 7, 8 and 9.

Surprisingly, despite this nice run, the back nine started in a similiar way to the first nine. I was 140 yard from the pin with water behind the green on hole 10, unfortunately I hit my 8 iron a little too well and it flew straight over the pin into the water. Despite this setback I managed to settle down and was soon playing par golf. Hole 13 turned out to be lucky for me, I hit what I thought was a good shot, but my caddy informed me it had rolled over the back of the green. On arriving at the green I was delighted to see my ball within a foot of the hole for a ‘gimme’ birdie. Things were looking good.

Four solid pars followed this birdie and I reached the 18th confident that this time I was going to break the elusive ‘80′ mark. The last time I had played this very same course I had stood on the 18th tee needing a bogey to break 80 for the first time… and subsequently hit my drive into the water, ending up taking 7 on the last for an 81. Surely this time I wouldn’t blow my chance.

The 18th hole is a tough driving hole, it’s a par 4 of 360 yards from the back tees and has quite a small target area with trees encroaching on the left and right side of the fairway. Today there was quite a swirling wind against and from the right so it was probably playing around 380-390.

I had plenty of time to calm myself on the 18th tee… almost too long… as the group in front seemed to be having difficulties. One minute, two minutes… five minutes passed.

‘Come on gentleman I have records to break!’

Finally my time had come, a few deep breaths, one last smooth swing… and the result was… ok. Not great but on the fairway, 145 yard from the green.

More waiting. Another five minutes passed whilst the group in front putted out, more time to worry about the small pond front left of the green. 7 iron? 6 iron? Water in front sealed the deal, 6 iron. A solid swing, a medium low draw tracking right on the pin, ACK! the ball pitched just over the back fringe and rolled into the bunker just behind the green.

Worrying walk to the ball… yuk, ball sitting in a small footprint in a badly raked bunker. Not ideal. ‘Lob wedge please krap.’ Nope not the sand wedge, lob wedge is what I need to get this fried egg lie up and down. Solid swing, big explosion of sand, ball lobs up to 10 foot short of the pin. Relief.

I missed the putt. Still I’d played the last 7 holes in par so no complaints there. 77 on a par 70 course. 7 over par, can even argue I would have broken 70 on a par 72 course. A very happy Dominic signing out.

So our motto for today is quite simply, ‘Learn from your mistakes’.

Bad things are going to happen, make sure you think about what went wrong, learn how to correct it and come back stronger next time you meet the same challenges.