So I played golf yesterday as advertised and it was amazing!
Tried to get on at Greensmere but they were swamped and told me that not even as a single could I get on so I ended up at Pakenham for 11:21 AM and would be rounding out an existing two-some.
There are those days where everything seems to click and this was one of those days in terms of my golf game as I've never been in the zone like I was yesterday.
Maybe it was the weather, maybe the company as the two gentlemen (Kevin & Willy) I played with were both retired and really fun to be around, or maybe it was the culmination of a summer spent playing a lot of golf doing something I enjoy. One thing that helped was the new clubs as I finally started to feel confident in the distances I could hit each one and stopped doubting my selections like I'd been doing the first few rounds with them. I think it is safe to say I've gained between 10-15 yards per club which might not seem like much but trust me it is worlds apart from my old clubs.
Now my goal the past year or so has been to work my game to the point where I'm realistically able to make bogey on each hole and thus end up shooting an even 90, which would drop my handicap from mid to high 20's down to high teens :)
I really wasn't paying attention to the score other than to write down my usual information for each hole and it wasn't until I recorded a double bogey on the 7th hole on the Lake course that it dawned on me that up till that point I'd bogeyed the first 6 holes and one of the par 5's (Lake #5) should have been a par but I left a wedge short when I dipped my shoulder. Now the double on #7 was due to my getting greedy when I hit a sweet drive down the right side of the fairway nestled up to the edge of the pond and tried my luck with my Callaway No.4 hybrid - it's my go to club and probably one of my favourite of all time - and while my shot had the carry I needed to clear the pond at 185 yards I hadn't taken into account the small breeze that just carried my shot away from the green into the water.
I let the results on #7 rattle me enough that I hit a weak drive on #8 and barely cleared the gully and had about 190 to the green, which then saw me push my shot short left and into some rough about 45 yards off the green behind some trees. My first wedge was dead straight to the pin but I had to try and raise it over the trees and just caught the top of one and ended up still in the rough but with a shot at chipping to the flag and saving bogey. No such luck as the chip didn't get enough height and I was left with a long 25 foot putt, which I left short by 3 feet and tapped in for the 2nd straight double.
On the box at 9 I was looking at my bag and thinking how lucky I was to have such great clubs when Kevin asked me what was wrong, I asked what he meant and he said I'd been standing there staring at my bag while both he and Willy teed off. I smiled and said nothing, that my clubs reminded me of someone and he laughed and said which ones as I have four different brands in my bag. Ping I20 driver and G30 blue dot irons, Cobra 3 wood, Callaway 5 wood and 4 hybrid, and a Taylor Made White Smoke mallet putter.
I looked bag at them and softly said "the Ping's"....they were special and would remind me of someone very close to my heart for years to come.......and proceeded to take my Ping I20 driver and nail it almost 260 yards, hit my Callaway about 190 more, nailed my wedge to within 6 feet for a shot at birdie and complete the front nine in bogey golf. My putt was dead true but it crossed one of the aeration marks on the green and just slid past the hole leaving me a one footer for par that I sank to end 10 over through nine.
I won't get into details on the back nine played on the Canyon course other than to say that the feeling continued and I actually did shoot bogey managing once more to par the finishing par 5 9th hole.
As we walked off the course Willy looked at my score card and commented that if it weren't for the 6 putts I'd had impacted by the aeration marks I'd have easily broken 90! I stopped dead in my tracks and just looked at him not having realized how many putts that were dead on had been thrown off the line costing me a few pars.........We shook hands and he told me that his experience has been that when you get into the zone you don't notice your score but just move from shot to shot playing clubs instinctively and that was what he'd seen in me.
So what was probably my last round of 2015 was by far my best ever........and I do believe it was the weather, the course, the company, and the gift of love contained in my new irons. Clubs I'd have never bought for myself as I could never justify spending that kind of money on myself but have in my bag because someone found me more than worthy of them............
So I used these
Along with these
To shoot this
Making bogey or better on 15 of 18 holes and reminding me that anything is possible if you just believe in yourself and let it come to you naturally.
One added note....one of the first gifts I ever received from C is in the second picture and if she ever reads this entry I hope she recognizes it and knows I'll use it every round for the rest of my life <3
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