When the stars align in golf magical things can happen! You can score a hole-in-one. You can have the opportunity to play St Andrews (like my friend in the UK who is teeing off on the old course as I write this article). Or you can put together a round of golf that is worth of mention. The latter happened to me yesterday at the Roundel Glen Golf Course!

In my previous post, I discussed how I thought my tempo was a little off. I thought it was time to go back to basics, slow down a bit, and focus on making each golf shot.  Brian Penn commented after he watch my swing on Youtube, that my tempo looked fine, but my lower body and upper body may be a bit out of sync. His advice gave me confidence that things may not be as out of alignment as I thought.  So, I focused on my pre-shot routine and staying in the flow of the game.

Well the results were amazing.  I shot a 1 under score of 71 from the blues. The round consisted of 5 birdies, 4 bogies and 9 pars. The success on the course was a bit of the stars aligning and by focusing on my strengths, which is chipping and putting, I was able to score low.

Two obvious changes occurred when playing yesterday. First, when I was aligning my shot. I stood behind the ball as always, but this time I took an extra breath and let my shoulders drop a little. This minor movement totally relaxed my body before I attempted the shot.  What a difference! I felt confident and focused when making every shot!

The second change was my putter grip. I loosened my grip so I was gently holding my putter. I found that by softening my grip, the ball responded better off my putter head, keep the ball on my intended line, and misses were tap-in range close!

It was truly a great round.  I was fortunate enough to share this outstanding experience with my friends Mike and Jean. They were a calming influence as the round progressed. I am grateful to both of them for helping me stay mentally focused for 4 hours.

This round did, however, open many doors for discussion at a later date. As I looped the course, I encountered other aspects of golf that just adds to our daily challenges:

• Scorecard watching
• The “What if” Syndrome
• Playing not to bogey
• Course management  – staying within my game

I will elaborate on these topics in future posts. But for now, I want to bask in the joy of breaking par for the first time in years and mentally visualize the positive aspects of my round!

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!