It was a beautiful day; the sun was shining and it was about 70 degrees. Warning! When a golf story starts with a positive comment about the weather – the golf part of the story is probably going to get messy! And that it did! I was really excited right off the bat because we were paired with another couple so I was not alone on the front tees. The first few holes went pretty well – my driver was working; I stayed out of the rough and the bunkers, but I still wasn’t scoring well. “That’s okay,” I thought to myself, “it’s a beautiful day, the sun is shining, and I’m playing one of the nicest golf courses in the world!” It’s a good thing I was able to hold onto that attitude because before too long I found myself pulling shots (which basically means hitting them waaaaay left of target), and suddenly I was contending with very thick fescue, and veeeery deep bunkers. Made it through the front nine though, feeling pretty good about my 53. Yes, 53 on the front – so that means 61 on the back. Yikes!
As we walked along the path toward the 10th hole, Phil, one of our group’s caddies told a story about Gary Player (yet another incredible golfer – this time South African) being asked by someone at the 10th hole on Royal Troon what the toughest back 9 is that he’s ever played; his response, “I’m standing on it.” Before our round we had also read about Arnold Palmer describing the 11th hole as, “one of the most dangerous holes in golf.” That same hole dashed Jack Nicklaus hopes of winning the British Open in 1967 when he scored a 10. All that was missing was the dramatic dooming music as we made our way up to the 10th tee box. Well, once again, I now understand the quotes. My highlight from the back nine was actually beating Jack Nicklaus score on the 11th hole; my score – a 9! That 9 though includes one shot that I actually hit myself with accidentally (that’s a new one) so who knows if the USGA would actually penalize me another stroke for that so maybe I didn’t beat him afterall! The back nine was just so tough. Briefly I felt down about how I was playing, but then I stopped and reminded myself that I was playing a long difficult course and I was clearly tired and my swing was suffering as a result of the fatigue. And oh yeah - I was still playing one of the nicest (and toughest) courses in the world... so in short, my hurt... started to feel good.
(Above right - the "Postage Stamp" hole at Royal Troon; named for the very small green which is only 11 paces wide. Below - discussing club selection at the Postage Stamp hole with my caddy, John)
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