The power of grey goose

I was reminded this past weekend of just how stressful the game of golf can be. We were playing a nice club and my swing was off. We were paired with another twosome that clearly had some serious game. I had zero confidence in my swing, and to make matters worse – I had switched golf bags and so I only had 4 balls in my bag!! Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t worry about having only 4 balls in my bag, but between that and my overall lack of confidence in my swing, it was a recipe for disaster! Stepping up to every single shot was nerve-racking! And sure enough – the disaster started to unfold on the second hole…

My drive landed in the middle of the fairway…. The fairway of the third hole that is!!! Walking to the fairway next to yours to hit a ball is like the walk of shame in golf. The only thing worse might be when you hit a putt so badly that you’re still further away from the hole than everyone else and you hear the two worst words in golf – “still away.” At any rate, I made my walk of shame to my ball, and after waiting for the group on the third hole to make their tee shots, I finally got the chance to hit my ball and proceeded to shank it into fescue. I was down to 3 balls in my bag.

On the third hole (which you could argue I should play better since I had already had a sneak preview of the fairway), my drive was decent. My second shot was another story though… this time I hit a duff… right into the fescue again! 2 balls down, 2 left in my bag.

On the fourth hole I stepped up to the tee and thought to myself, “oh boy, where is this drive going to go??” On the far right of this hole were train tracks and all I could think was that I was going to lose my 3rd ball on train tracks. “Why on earth do I play this game,” I was thinking! This is supposed to be a fun way to spend your day!!

On the fifth hole – everything started to turn around for the better. The beer cart arrived, complete with grey goose and Arnold Palmer mix. Let’s be clear – I am not going to say that alcohol solves all problems on the golf course… but sometimes I think you just need some way to step back for a second and realize you’re out there for fun…. You’re spending time with people you love (or at least like a lot usually!) The sun is shining, and you’re just lucky to be out in the fresh air living your life.

The rest of the round was entirely different. I hit some bad shots; I hit some good shots… and I even managed to keep my cool when I lost my third ball. I finished the round with the last ball in my bag, and a smile on my face.

Beating the first tee jitters

Playing golf in Scotland over the past few weeks took me back to the days when I was starting out with the game. Every first tee felt to me like the first tee at St. Andrews did last week. I had forgotten how nerve-racking an experience it can be when you’re starting out. It’s particularly difficult if you’re playing with complete strangers. I still get nervous still sometimes and I’ve been playing for 15 years now. So here are my tips for getting through it:

1. Look good! I thought of this one after we bought our argyle sweaters at St. Andrews; our thinking was, “hey, at least if we don’t play well we’ll look good!” Plus of course the more confident you are the better!

2. Use the club that you are most comfortable with. If your 7 iron is the club you always hit well, and you’re nervous – hit your 7 iron!! It doesn’t matter how long the hole is – you just want to get a nice shot into the fairway right?

3. Keep your head down. There’s an expression that says, “Never rush to look at a bad shot” and its so very true. When you lift your head in golf to turn and look at your shot… its never going to be good! Plus, if you’re nervous you’re more likely to have multiple swing shots in your head, and that’s not going to help anyone. So while you’re taking your shot – keep an eye on that ball the entire time; you’ll be amazed by the results!