With the amount of golf I play, the odds must be in my favour that I will hit a great shot from time to time. Additionally, I spent a fair bit of time practicing my short game with the intent of lowering my golf scores. I have successfully improved my short game, but I still need to stay focused on my goal of being even a better player. Fortunately, there was a shot during my last round that greatly increased my passion for staying the course!
Continue readingEagle
When Your Round Of Golf Comes Crashing Down!
As I watched Chesson Hadley putt off the green on the 17th hole at the Waste Management Pheonix Open, I fought the urge to crawl up in a ball, lay in the corner and babble endlessly about nothing. We have all had bad holes and I can certainly relate to Hadley’s unfortunate results of turning a potential eagle into a double bogey! Unfortunately for amateurs, our damage would be in the four or five over, not just a double bogey. Continue reading
Golfers Love Lucky Bounces
I don’t know about you, but I love lucky bounces. It always brings a smile to my face because my bad luck turned to good fortune. I have written about lucky bounces before and the one of the top of the cart marker is my best. Regardless, lucky bounces are the best; just ask Jerry Kelly!
Continue readingThe Best Part of Playing Golf
Well it is 02 June and my scores officially start to matter. I have one game under my belt and I can honestly say that I am not near early season form. I have really struggled this year and I am not sure exactly what the problem is…..YET!
Today was a typical round. This is how my round went.
- 3 bogies
- 4 pars
- 2 bogies
- 1 par
- 2 bogies
- 1 par
- 1 double
- 2 pars
- 1 double
- 1 birdie
- for a grand total of 82!
I cannot seem to put a string of 6 or so pars together, I count of 2 or 3 birdies a round and I cannot stop shooting double bogies. I realize that…..wait, wait, wait.
Change your thoughts, Change your world!
As Norman Vincent Peale said: Change your thoughts and you change your world!
Well, as a grateful golfer, I need to heed this statement. Golf is about having fun, interacting with like-minded people, and enjoying my surroundings. Although my round looks bad, I actually played better than my score would indicate.
The best part of playing golf is remembering the positive things from each round. Today, for instance, I played golf with 3 nice gentlemen. One was a usual partner, the other two were strangers until, through chance, we played golf together. I hit my driver well and the last hole provided plenty of hope for my next round.
The last hole on our course is a 463 yard par 5 that plays longer than it is measured. I hit my driver about 260 yards, but was left with about 225 to the green. I hit my three wood into the wind and my ball rolled up to about 20 feet from the pin. I was putting for eagle! My putt was perfectly on-line, all 4 of us thought it was dropping for sure, but unfortunately it lipped out to 2 inches and I was left with a tap in birdie.
Golf is an amazing game. No matter how I play, I can always focus on something positive and build on it for my next round. I am officially changing my thoughts and changing my world on the golf course!
What was the highlight of your last round of golf?
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
Just One Shot!
If you are going to play golf; play golf!
Just one great shot can change a round of golf. The magical chip-in, 30 foot-putt, exceptional approach or a booming drive can turn a mediocre round into a fantastic round. On Sunday past, I was playing around of golf with the usual crowd. As I hacked my way around the course, I felt as if this was the worst round of the year….and it had the makings to be!
After a smooth 47 front nine (47 front nine….I still have a hard time saying 47; anyway I digress) I decided to change the way I thought. I focused on each shot and attempted to follow my new mantra of ‘less is more’. Swing smooth and watch the ball go. Well it worked quite well. After three bogies, I walked up to the 15th tee and hit a flat shot. Not to worry because it was a par 5. My second shot was very good and I was 100 yards from the green. This is one of my favorite distances so I was confident I could get it close. After a ‘less is more’ swing I watched the ball land softly on the green and roll in the cup for an eagle! Yup, I could not believe it either.
The next three holes I was smooth and back in form. I finished with 3 pars for a total score of 84. Normally, I would not be very happy with an 84, but a 37 back was something I was quite happy with. So, overall, I walked away happy.
The interesting aspect of that game was the last three holes. After the excitement of an eagle, it was if I was back in the right frame of mind to play golf. I was focused, read the greens well and displayed strong course management. Thinking back on the round, I realized that during the first 14 holes I was thinking of everything but golf.
So my lesson of the week is live for the moment! If I am going to play golf, play golf. If I am going to concentrate on other things, go do the other things. Golf is an amazing game, it continues to teach me important life lessons. I am a grateful golfer. See you on the links.
The Grateful Golfer 