We all know golf is a game of inches. There have been many shots over the years where an inch off of my intended line cost me dearly. And during other occasions where an inch in just off of my target resulted in amazing opportunities. Regardless of which side of the fence you are sitting, I experienced a shot two rounds ago where just a few inches more on my tee shot would have resulted in my fourth hole in one.

I was playing the 17th hole at Osprey Links during my second round of the day. I was 157 yards from the pin and I selected my 7 iron. The tee shot looked something like this:

the pin was in direct line with the telephone pole in the middle of green and that was my target line. The wind was blowing about 1/2 club strength from the left to the right. So, it was helping just a bit. As I said earlier, I hit my 7 iron to this:

My ball came to rest 8 inches from the hole and I was slightly disappointed that I was left with a tap in birdie instead of a hole in one. However, being a grateful golfer I just smiled and walked off towards the 9th hole.

This was one of several great shots I made during my second round of the day. I ended up shooting and even par 71 with one double, two bogies, and 4 birdies. It was a stellar round and I had a chance to break par on the 18th hole with a 10 foot birdie putt. Unfortunately, I missed this putt a bit on the left and tapped in for even par.

During my even par round I had several positive instances where an inch made a difference. I can think of 4 birdies where an inch either way would have not garnered an under par hole. It really was a matter of inches.

Golf is a game of inches and depending if you are on the positive or negative side of the ball position, your score could make you happy or frustrated. Golf is just like that. Has an inch here or there impacted your game lately?

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