Why is it that you can be playing your best one minute, and the next you play as if you've never touched a club?
That's what happened to me yesterday, and what's been happening to me for the past couple of weeks actually. I had a round going, it wasn't a great one, but I managed to hold it together for 15 holes. My driving and putting was off all day. I had given up par to bogey on more holes than I could count, but I was holding it together. But I reached #16 tee and all of a sudden I couldn't put club to ball. It was disasterous. I felt like I was 14 again and had just picked up a golf club for the first time.
It all started on #3 actually. I played the first two holes pretty well, and found myself behind some trees on the right side of the fairway on the par 5. I had a shot over the trees, which would have allowed me a realistic chance to get on the green in regulation, or I could have chipped out safely and taken probably a couple more to get on the green safely. I would have had a decent shot at par, and probably an easy bogey. I had picked up a couple of shots on my competitors on the first two holes though, so I decided to take my shot over the trees. I took an eight on the hole, and from that point on my game was in shambles.
I can't say that hole stayed with me mentally the whole rest of the round. I didn't consciously think about it. But once the round was over and I had lost, thinking back at my day, I could trace the wheels coming off to that one moment when I decided to go over the trees instead of taking the safe chip-out.
Golf is an evil game, but the evil comes straight from our minds. It's not the game's fault. It's not our equipment's fault. It's not our playing partner's fault. At the end of the day, it's our fault and ours alone.
That's what happened to me yesterday, and what's been happening to me for the past couple of weeks actually. I had a round going, it wasn't a great one, but I managed to hold it together for 15 holes. My driving and putting was off all day. I had given up par to bogey on more holes than I could count, but I was holding it together. But I reached #16 tee and all of a sudden I couldn't put club to ball. It was disasterous. I felt like I was 14 again and had just picked up a golf club for the first time.
It all started on #3 actually. I played the first two holes pretty well, and found myself behind some trees on the right side of the fairway on the par 5. I had a shot over the trees, which would have allowed me a realistic chance to get on the green in regulation, or I could have chipped out safely and taken probably a couple more to get on the green safely. I would have had a decent shot at par, and probably an easy bogey. I had picked up a couple of shots on my competitors on the first two holes though, so I decided to take my shot over the trees. I took an eight on the hole, and from that point on my game was in shambles.
I can't say that hole stayed with me mentally the whole rest of the round. I didn't consciously think about it. But once the round was over and I had lost, thinking back at my day, I could trace the wheels coming off to that one moment when I decided to go over the trees instead of taking the safe chip-out.
Golf is an evil game, but the evil comes straight from our minds. It's not the game's fault. It's not our equipment's fault. It's not our playing partner's fault. At the end of the day, it's our fault and ours alone.
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