"I can play better than this. I just never do."
- Dave Campbell, Pinehurst, NC, golfer
This afternoon my wife and I went out to play nine holes of golf. It was a beautiful day and neither of us had any expectations as far as our scores were concerned. We just wanted to enjoy the few good shots we might hit, take in the beauty of the day and possibly get to be with some people we'd enjoy.
Well, things went better than expected. We were both in sort of a groove, maybe because we weren't taking ourselves very seriously, and found we were scoring pretty well. We also ran into a couple of friends on the fifth hole and they invited us to join them, so things were working out nicely.
We finished our first nine, me with a 39, the wife with a 46. Our friends dropped out for more pressing activities and the wife and I decided to continue and see how things would turn out. I was thinking I might have a chance to break 80, a very rare occurrence these days, and she was thinking that breaking 90 might be possible, also a rare event.
Thinking like this was a big mistake. In this game, you should never get ahead of yourself.
The back nine started with four straight bogies for me and two double bogies for my partner. She got herself back on track with a couple of pars and bogies, but I didn't. I finished the side with double bogey, bogey, double bogey and a 45 on the back, my hopes dashed once again. She hung in there for another 46 which gave her a 92. Not bad really, and I think she was pleased.
I've played this game for over 45 years and it is always lifting me up and slamming me down. I think, "today might be the day," and it hardly ever is. I'm beginning to think that the harder you try, the worse you do, and the less you try, the better you do. Isn't that the way Tiger does it? I doubt it, but it's a thought.
Oh well, I'll try again later this week. Who knows? I may really get it going and shoot a 79...if I don't get to thinking about it too much.
1 comment:
You know, your body and mind already got it down to a tee. (Playing golf) I think you're on the right track about letting your game just flow.... I'm a guitarist, and I find that I always play my best when I don't think about it mentally, just emotionally. Enjoy yourself and the game will come. (you would probably score higher, if you let someone else keep score, and don't pay attention to that.)
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