Poinciana Golf Club 5/4: Monday Reflection #3
Intro: Leading up to this weekend round, there was a different kind of buzz in the air than usual. Mentally I was a mix of curious, excited, and absolutely terrified. The reasoning behind this concoction of emotions, was the prospect of playing a solo round for the first time in months. Normally we opt for 2v2 scrambles which makes it substantially easier to hide behind the illusion of playing well when you can rely on your partner to bail you out of your mishits. I realize that the amount of pressure I place upon myself to perform does not match my current skill level and certainly not the stakes as I just play for fun, but that is also what motivates me to improve my game. At the same time, I am cognizant enough to not set my goals too high to where I feel like I’m not achieving anything. My goals for the round were to play bogey golf at worst, limit three putts as much as possible, and to stay within myself mentally.
The Front Nine: First tee shot and swing of the day, I stuck the green but on the opposite side of where the hole was, and left myself with a 25 foot putt on the side of a hill, sloping right to left. My first attempt at exercising my goal of limiting three putts was a success and I walked away from hole 1 with a par. We have a folklore about getting a par or better on the first hole, in that the rest of the round is bound to be cursed. Like clockwork, I stepped up to the second hole par 5 and hit my first two shots out of play. I managed to walk away with a triple bogey, feeling disappointed but also aware of how much worse it could have been. I quickly bounced back with an unconventional par, pulling my tee shot to the left of the cart path and hitting a chip shot from the boonies into tap in range for a par. Hole five, another par 5, would be the last time my driver made an appearance. Off the tee I hit a New York sized slice right into the drink. In frustration, I took my drop, pulled out my 3 wood, and striped the ball 220 yards right in line with the green maybe 3o yards short. On my fourth shot, I hit a near perfect pitch shot that almost went in the hole for birdie and secured a tap in par. I would go on to par the next two holes, and then get back to back double bogeys to finish the front nine, 8 over par. In total 6 one putts and 3 two putts, out of all that mess I still managed to not three putt yet. My goals were still attainable.
The Back Nine: Started off with hitting my 3 wood center face but pushing it slightly to the right, leaving myself forced to play smart and layup back into the fairway as the trees played defense perfectly blocking my line of sight to the green. I pulled my approach shot to the left of the green, leaving myself with a 20 yard shot over the greenside bunkers. I was hoping to get close enough to secure a par, maybe a single bogey at worst. I setup my feet, took dead aim, and hit my chip shot thin sending it right towards the flagstick. “Please hit it!!”…I exclaimed as the ball slammed into the flagstick, road it about half way up, and then dropped into the hole for birdie! I would struggle for what felt like most of the remaining holes however, getting a double bogey on the next, into a par, followed by a single bogey, triple bogey, and a double bogey. Still somehow managing to not have any three putts. I didn’t bother counting up my score quite yet and chose to just focus on the last three holes. Holes 16 & 17 I missed the green, but hit amazing chip shots to give myself short looks at par which I was able to secure. Adding a few more one putts to my round, I left myself with one last hole to go an entire round without a single three putt. Off the tee, my 3 wood left me about 60 yards from the green in the right side rough. From there I hit my approach shot and pushed it right but safely on the green. Unfortunately, the pin was on the opposite side. With all my being, I wanted to walk away with a two putt and a par. I was maybe 30-40 feet away and I knew speed was key. I stroked my first putt and ran it past the hole and left myself with a 4 footer that broke slightly left to right. I was one putt away from zero three putts, a par, and what I didn’t realize in the moment, breaking 80. I lined up my putt left edge of the hole, staring down this 4 foot putt like it owed me money. The time between me taking my putter back and making contact with the ball felt like it could have been 30 seconds. After the ball left the putter face, all I could do was watch. The finality of the fact that this was the last putt of the day and that I could do nothing to change where the ball was now rolling set in. I watched the ball roll end over end before reaching the hole, caressing the left side of the cup, and dropping in for a par…I did it.
Closing Thoughts: I ended the day with 9 total pars, 1 birdie, and only 26 putts made. The sad part about that, is that I somehow managed to still shoot 15 over par. That is the thing about golf, even though I shot a 79 which is amazing for my standards especially considering I do not play much solo golf, I know for a fact that I could have played even just slightly better in a few situations and I could have gone even lower. However, I met all three of my goals for the round and even surpassed them by going below bogey golf, not only limiting three putts but having none, and staying focused and grinding it out until the very the end. I refuse to be unhappy about how I played and I am eager to improve. Filled with motivation and fired up at the prospect of playing my best for an entire round.
