Yikes!!! This week I played one of the worst rounds of golf I have ever played. No matter how I tried I could not hit a fairway. Rough, sand and woods all the way!
At first I couldn’t figure it out. Just the other day I had played one of the best rounds of my golfing life. And I knew at last! I had finally figured golf out! At last I was on my way to lower scores and a lower handicap.
But that was last week. On this morning I got to the golf course early and hit about twenty balls to loosen up. I practiced a little chipping and some putting and was feeling pretty loose when I got to the first tee. I’d cleaned my golf balls, got my tees all lined up, my glove on my hand and my score card set to go, complete with sharpened pencil. Even the sky which had threatened to rain since dawn, began to clear. My mind was sharp, my focus determined and I was set for a great morning of golf.
And then all #$%@! broke loose. I failed. Miserably. I could not get out of my own way. On the second hole I lost my ball in the deep brush. Impossible to find. On the fifth I ended up out of bounds and had to take a penalty stroke before hitting back onto the fairway. At one point on the 10th hole I really felt like tossing every club and my bag into the woods and marching off the course. I was done. I’d had it. I was quitting right then and there. AAARRRRRRGGGH!
…. OOOOOOhhhhhhmmmmmmmmm. I tried to calm myself down. Humming quietly sometimes works… it didn’t. I stopped talking to my companions and attempted to refocus my mind. Nothing. The next hole was as bad as the previous. Finally, I realized it had to be the golf gods. It was just my day to get harassed by the powers that be in golf. That power that makes sure you never let your ego get the best of you. I’ve discovered that when I think I’ve got this game down and it is all finally coming together, I’m almost certain my next round will be a disaster.
But don’t worry. I’m not quitting. The golf bug bit me a long time ago and I’m infected. Sigh. But there are days….
What do you do when you just have “one of those days?”
Everything you described happened to me this past weekend. We took a weekend break in Breckenridge CO and I played the worst round. It didn’t help that we waited after every shot and it ended up being a 6 HOUR ROUND!! So that is what I’m blaming for my bad game…..slow play! We always know that everytime that we go out, we never know which game is going to show up, but we can always hope for the best!
Pat, I think we have all been there before. I think the important thing to remember is that us golfers never have it all figured out. Even after a good round there is always plenty of work to do on your golf swing.
I’m sure you’ll bounce back soon.
Cheers
Pat, The next time you have pessimistic thoughts, think Keegan Bradley. He refused to let a triple bogey define his experience in the recent PGA Tournament, so he birdied the next two holes and won the whole thing.
Pat, I feel your pain. I’ve tossed a few clubs into the woods.