I am in that time of my golf season where I am starting to slump a little bit. I currently have 37 rounds posted at Golf Canada and have lowered my handicap index to 3.9, yet I find myself in a bit of a struggle. I seem to be shooting two double bogies a round during four of my last five rounds. I talked about no trouble doubles in an earlier post, but my woes are still hanging around.

It is a bit frustrating to be playing well, then WHAMO! A double bogey rears its ugly head. During my last round, for example, I was playing the par 4, 7th hole. I hit a great drive over the corner of the pond; hit my ball short left with my wedge; chipped the ball over the green out of the long grass; chipped on and proceeded to two putt. Talk about a smooth double bogey for no reason.

Fortunately I have been down this road before. It happens every year about this time and does not usually last for more than a week or two. I am currently at the end of the of 10 days, so I will not be surprised if I have a round or two left. Of course, I am trying not to let these pesky doubles happen, but what is a golfer to do?

A golf season is full of peaks and valleys. Currently, I am in a valley and it is time to start working my way up to the peak. It is all part of golf and as an amateur, I have learned to dampen the peaks and valleys as shown in the graphic below. My ups and downs now run in the 3-5 range with very little dramatic changes in score. However, it was not always like that; when I first started playing golf my score differential fell into the 0-2 range.

Have no fear, I am not in state of despair or anything. I am just talking about the trials and tribulations of playing golf and trying to post the best scores…..always. It will be great to shed those pesky doubles and I know it is a matter of time. I am hoping when I hit the links of Wednesday, they will have magically vanished for gool.

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