Before you run off on a tangent about how to drop a golf ball, this article is about how I needlessly left three strokes on the golf course yesterday. I feel that I should have made those shots and my round would have shifted from mediocre to decent with respect to the score. I never stop thinking I should have shot a better score after a round, but in this case I definitely dropped the ball and there really is not fix to my dismay. As an amateur, leaving a few strokes on the course is not uncommon, but I will never accept doing it. It is not in my mental makeup when it comes to golf.

Interestingly, all three dropped shots were on the green. I recently indicated that I was going to be a bit more aggressive with my putting and it is definitely working. Unfortunately, it also shines the light on other aspects of my putting stroke that needs some fine tuning, but that is a story for another day.

The first putt I missed was from 10 feet. I was putting for birdie (actually, I was putting for birdie on all dropped shots) and left my ball on the lip of the cup in the heart. I realize this goes against my new intent of hitting the ball past the hole, however in this case, I did not hit the center of the putter. I hit the ball on the toe for some reason and this took a bit of power away, hence my ball did not roll out as expected. This shot was very disappointing and I am not sure why I hit the ball on the toe, but there it is – drop shot number one.

The second dropped shot was from 12 feet on very level putt. I lined up my mark about three feet from my ball on the line I wanted to make. I missed my mark to the right by one inch and as my ball rolled, I still felt that I was on line to make the putt. About four inches from the putt, my ball moved right and I watched my ball lip out on the right and come to rest about six inches left of the hole. I feel this is a dropped shot because if I would have hit my mark that was only three feet away, my ball would have dropped. This was not unlucky, just a poor putt. I expect shots like this to drop more often than not.

My third dropped shot has to do with the pin being left in. I was 10 feet away, again, with a slight right to left putt. This is the type of putts I like because I am right handed putter. I hit my line and watched my ball catch the right lip and expected it to fall. My speed was what I wanted, but as my ball caught the lip, it turned quickly, hit the pin, and came to rest about three inches directly behind the hole. I was in shock as I watched my first birdie of the day stay out. This is the first time this year where the pin prevented my ball from dropping. I am not entirely sure how it happened, but alas it did.

As you can see, I fell that I dropped three shots on the course during my round two days ago. Maybe if my first putt dropped I would have even greater fortunes on the links. I will never know, but it is something that I do wonder about. Golf is such a funny sport where a fraction of an inch here or there can make the difference between a mediocre and great round. I guess that is one reason why I love playing as much as I do; I am still very grateful for my round and I enjoyed looping the course with my friends. There is always a silver lining to every round, I just have to find it.

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