My efforts to be the club champion at the Mattawa Golf and Ski resort will end this year. I played my first round match against a great young player yesterday and he sent me packing. I lost 1 up and the match could have finished in my favour, but alas Alex emerged victorious. Having said that, it was the best match I experienced in years and want to congratulate Alex and wish him well in the next round.

Alex is a young high school player who can hit the ball a long way. He easily out drives my by 30 to 40 yards offering him a decisive advantage on approach shots. To go a long with his long game, his touch around the green is very good and putting is strong. He has a total game and works at improving all aspects of his game everyday. I am not surprised at his improvement over the past two golf seasons and he has a very bright future if he wants to continue with golf. To match his golf skills, he is a very nice young man. Playing golf with him is a pleasure.

Additionally, I have worked with Alex over the past two seasons on how to play golf. As a super strong ball striker, our efforts focused mostly on course management, how to approach some shots, and where to focus his training efforts. Overall, it was only a matter of time before took down the old guard.

The par for 18 holes at Mattawa Golf and Ski resort is 74. Having three par 5s, Alex had a distinct advantage on these holes. He was hitting an iron into every par 5 on his second shot and I was hitting my 3 wood hoping to finish near the green. My advantage was consistency and my short game. Alex won 6 holes and I won 5. He finished with a 75 and I with a 76 for total scores. So you can see, it was a tight match as we traded jabs for the entire round. That is until Alex landed a hook on the 16th hole to change the dynamics of the game.

To be fair, I played very well. My putting was the best part of my game. I sank three 50 to 65 foot putts, made most puts between 4 to 10 feet and left tap-in shots when I missed on the first putt. Hit the ball well and only had three wayward shots which Alex capitalized on by taking two of those holes. Overall, by game was very solid and I put up a great fight.

The turning point of the match was on the 16th hole. I was on the green putting for birdie. Alex, atypically, was chipping for birdie from 10 yards off the green. Knowing I had the advantage, I calming fixed my ball marked and waited for Alex to chip close to the hole as he had all day. Well, he pulls off an amazing shot and chips in! Yup, my thoughts immediately changed from thinking I had an advantage to realizing that the tides were turning in his favour.

Missing my putt by an inch, Alex went one up with two holes to play. On each of the last two holes I had a chance to tie the match, but I could not eek out a birdie on either hole. It was not that I was nervous or concerned, I could not close the gap to tie the match. Hence, Alex finished 1 up for the win.

Interestingly, we both had opportunities to close out the match early. However, when we thought we had the advantage, our opponent made an amazing shot to change things in their favour. Although there is a huge gap in age, our skills are very evenly matched. I am confident that the next time we meet in a tournament the results would still be a coin toss as to who would win. Talk about a fun.

When we finished, I offered a few suggestions on where he can improve his game. The most important on was to spend more time on his short game. With two thirds of our shots happening within 20 yards of the green, it makes sense for him to practice his short game more. Additionally, we talked about how to practice with focus. I explained how dialing in his understanding on how chipping the ball a specific distance was important as knowing how far he hits his clubs. After explaining the importance of this skill (and the same with his putter) he understands that practicing with focus will move his game to the next level.

I had a fantastic time during yesterday’s match. Although I did not win, great golf was still played by both Alex and I. I wish Alex good golfing during his next rounds and hope he wins the club championship this year.

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