After 34 rounds of golf posted towards my handicap for the 2020 season, yesterday I post my worst score of the year. I am not really sure how it happened, but I could not seem to get anything rolling. I did not do anything incredibly poor, but I did not do anything brilliant either; it was a bland round that resulted in a very poor score. But not to worry, I am still a grateful golfer and I looking forward to teeing it as soon as possible.

After posting my score, I realized that there were two things that happened than I could have prevented, but did not. These two things would have lowered my score, if (and this was a big if) I would have caught my challenges early. To keep this in perspective, I am not fussed about the score, but it was a great learning moment and I thought it needed sharing.

First, I was ill-prepared for the start of my round. I was a bit late arriving. To make things more challenging, Rick and Blair were laughing because I was the last to show up and I was 15 minutes late.

On a side note, we have an arrive 30-minutes before tee off time rule and I blew that out of the water. Jokingly, they started with the needles (as I would have done to them) and did not stop until we tee off.

We rushed to the first tee and I never really calmed down until sixth hole. I felt rushed and only haphazardly went through my pre-shot routine. I did calm down later, yet I felt rushed for the entire round. This is something that happens rarely and I did not react as fast as I should have; c’est la vie!

The second thing that I overlooked was that the greens dried out since the last time I played. The greens were running at least a third faster, but the fairways were not. The dichotomy of the two speeds threw me at first. And because I was feeling rushed, I did not adjust properly. All my putts for the first 13 holes were long. Also, the subtle breaks were back and I miss read those as well. I am glad the greens are faster because I play better on faster greens. However, I need to adjust my approach shots and putting stroke to match the speed changes.

So, I posted my worst score of the year. Of course I am disappointed with performance; but I have to look at the big picture. I do believe that every experience is a learning experience and that is how I am approaching my last score. Now is not the time panic or try to make changes that are not required.

I am going to close today’s article by offering everyone positive thoughts during these challenging times. Times are tough and I hope that everyone continues to #staysafe and #socialdistance.

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