我回来到浪潮的一部分高尔夫COVID期间,部分由于接管的工作把我13州立公园的课程,我想我应该至少传递的知识。低,看哪,我喜欢这个游戏比当我还是一个青少年容易沮丧。快进几年,我变得更严重。采取一些教训,试图找到价格适中(使用)相匹配的设备我摇摆比旧衣服。加入了一个每周的男子在我的俱乐部联赛。建立了一个障碍,上赛季从39岁下降到24。所以我想是时候进入一个比赛在我的俱乐部,所以我进入相对低价个人比杆赛比赛成员和邀请业余爱好者,知道俱乐部的签名member-guest是没有地方给我。现在是时候做好准备。的淡季,我正忙着司机,这是令人惊讶的我在秋天打它。所以我开始安装到一个新的驱动程序(Ping G425 Max)。 After the sticker shock, I took home a used G410 with an aftermarket shaft for barely a third of the price and only about 5 yards difference on the monitor. Some range time and my casual Thursday evening 9s later, and I'd gotten my driver game more-or-less tuned up. My handicap increased slightly, but I chalked that up to playing aggressively on league nights. I had a different course management strategy for the tournament (hit driver, but if you chunk it, stick with middle irons until you can reach the green, advance the ball in the air). I had no hopes of winning, but thought maybe a net skin was a possibility (getting two strokes on most holes helps in that department). My club is known for its greens. A Champions Tour player recently disclosed he thinks they're the best greens in the state. They're bent and normally roll 11. Sticking approach shots has not been my strength, opting instead to aim in front of the green with the hopes of rolling up onto them. But putting has been a strength, averaging around 36 putts per round. Not bad for a high-handicapper. I show up for the Friday tournament to find completely different conditions than the evening before. The greens had been shorn tight and rolled hard. They clocked in at 13.8 that morning, and they only got firmer and faster as the day progressed. And here's a lesson I learned the hard way: if you're putting well, don't pick up the new putters at the shop and give them a try days before playing a tournament. Dance with the girl who brought you. Still, I wasn't doing terribly. I was sticking with my game plan and carding mostly doubles and avoiding huge numbers. At the last of my group's first nine, a par 4 with a big risk-reward opportunity, the tees were considerably forward. I played it safe with 4 iron I've hit well off the tee in order to avoid the mid-fairway tree 225 yards out, and the perpendicular creek bed just beyond it. Hit it well, straight, and right of the tree, just as I'd planned. But as we get up there, I can't find my ball. It should have been in the fairway, but where was it? Turns out it was in the creek bed, 245 yards from the tees. I wasn't mad; I was thrilled. I'd hit an iron a distance that is normally a good drive for me, and I had a lucky lie to boot! This was my turning point. I was going to have a great second nine! Two holes later, I stick the green on a 165-yard 3. Here we go! Pin is slightly below me, but in a little trough that I can use to roll it close for a chance at birdie, and a par at worst. But the ball wouldn't stop. It kept rolling. To the front of the green. Off the green. Another 20 feet past the green. Ugh. So I putt it back up to the ridge just short of the hole, but it doesn't hold and rolls back. Try again and same result. Finally I get it to stay, but a few difficult putts later, I'm reporting an 8. I stopped short of throwing that ball in the woods, but in retrospect maybe should have. The wheels came off on the next six holes. We'll pretend they didn't happen. On the final tee, I wasn't sure I had enough left in me to even swing the driver. With a goal of just advancing the ball through the air, I made contact. And boy did I. I piped that final drive over 300 yards, straight down the middle of the fairway. An 85-yard approach shot hit the green and helped me finish with my best hole of the day. My score was nothing to brag about, and was the worst turned in that day. Having intentionally avoided a running tally, I honestly expected it to be worse than it was. But I learned a lot about myself and what I could do better. The group I played with (another high handicapper and two senior members) was supportive. And we were constantly waiting on the groups in front of us, so I never felt I was frustrating their pace. I may not be proud of my performance, but I am proud I got out there and that I finished. And I finished on a good hole. I'll be back for more.