Playing golf is exciting, frustrating, gob smacking, and rewarding all at the same time. Depending on the round, sometimes we need that one shot that turns your entire round into something special. I have looped the course many times where nothing spectacular happens, but every once in awhile one shot turns a mediocre or poor round into something amazing. I have one round in particular that keeps coming back to the forefront of my memories. It was a round where I was playing on the poor side of my game until one shot flipped everything around.

In 2009, I was in the first round of a 54 hole stroke tournament. I was on the 6th hole and was even par. The challenge was I had only hit one green in regulation. I was getting up and down okay, but it was only time before my short game would hit a pothole and something poor would happen to my scorecard.

The sixth hole was an uphill par three with a very difficult green to hit. It was two tiered and being on the wrong side was a challenge. The pin in this case was on the left side and if you missed left the next shot was from death valley. The right side collected off the green and rolled back down the hill. Basically, hitting the middle of the green (harder than it sounds) was the only safe play. At 179 yards, it would take a 4 hybrid for me to safely hit up the hill. The challenge, my 4 hybrid rolls out a fair bit and this was a challenge on this hole.

Anyway, I decided to not think about what should avoid and focus on what I needed to hit. I stood of the ball and aimed to the right center of the green. I usually pull my 4 hybrid a bit and figured this was the perfect aim point. Clearing my mind, I hit a very good shot. The ball tracked on my line and hit just short of the green. As I watched my ball kick left towards the green, I hoped that it would stop on the green and not roll off into death valley.

Walking up to the green, I could not see my ball until I reached the top of the hill. I was amazed at the result. Sitting three inches from the pin, I had a tap in birdie to go one under for the round. Feeling very confident (and a bit excited) I strutted to the next tee box with a completely different mental attitude. Instead of feeling like I was grinding on every shot, I was swinging smooth with confidence. As the round progressed, I played two over for the next 12 holes. I finished one over for the round and had a two shot lead leading into the second day. I went on to win the tournament by 12 strokes and it all started with the one blind uphill shot.

Golf can be a funny game. One shot can make our break a round or tournament. In my case, great things happened after one shot and it is a highlight of my career. I have this memory that will last forever and hopefully you have such a shot in your memory bank.

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