The weekend before snow hit my neighborhood was a great time to get out and play a round of golf. It was freezing cold. As a result, it kept a lot of golfers off of the course, so my buddy and I essentially had 18 holes to ourselves. Before we bundled up and went out to the first tee box, the club pro had warned us that the course plays fairly long, but tee shots (the first shot of the hole) were going to play especially tricky because of the heavy wind. After hearing the wise man’s advice, I decided to leave my driver (the massive club that most players use to tee off) in the car. I figured that the pro knew what he was talking about; also, my last time using the driver was horrendous and I didn’t feel like walking around in the woods in search for my ball after each tee shot, especially because it was below freezing. We took our cart over to the first tee box (the area where players hit their first shot) and prepared to start our round. After a few jokes and insults towards one another pointing out how awful each of us will play that day in what seemed to be arctic conditions, my buddy teed up his ball and took his first shot. It looked good off the club, but sliced (when the ball tales to the right for righties, and left for lefties) into the trees. We both read this as a horrible omen for the round to come. After his series of curse words and walk of shame back to our cart, I teed up my ball. Following the club pro’s advice, I used my 5 wood (a club smaller than the driver, but still useful for tee shots, or long shots on the fairway). I reached back with my club and drove the ball about 215 yards down the center of the fairway. The distance is nothing to brag about in the slightest, but following the pro’s wise words of caution, I was not going for distance, just accuracy. I considered this an excellent start to the day.
My buddy had to take his second shot deep in the woods. Not only did he have several trees to avoid, his ball was lying on frozen dirt, not the best lie. Naturally, he shanked it once again. I, however, hit another beauty that landed about 10 yards from the front of the green. It took my, now extremely frustrated, friend another 2 strokes to get to the spot that my ball was lying. He took his chip shot (This is a shot using a wedge, a club that is ideal for short shots because the club has a high angle so a player can hit a ball high in the air to avoid a long role. It just lands and sticks.). My friend, despite the fact that he was fuming at this point, pulled it together and hit a beautiful chip shot that landed about 3 feet from the hole. I, thinking I was for sure going to walk away from this hole with an easy par (4 shots on a par 4 hole), chunked the chip shot (hit to much of the ground and not enough of the ball) and my ball rolled off the other end of the green. I was shocked. I felt silly for letting my hubris get the best of me. My second chip shot made it on the green, but did not leave me an easy putt for bogey (5th stroke on a par 4). I still had about 12 feet of green between my ball and the hole, which seemed like 12 miles that day. Skipping a few details that will only make me angry, it took me two putts to sink my ball. I walked away with a double bogey after a beautiful drive and second shot. My buddy also scored a double bogey because his chip game and putting saved him.
I will spare you some details because I probably am not allowed to repeat some language that was spoken that day, even on the internet, but the following 17 holes went exactly the same way as the first. My tee shot and second shot were works of art, while my chip game and putting was something out of a horror show. My buddy, on the contrary, did not have a single decent drive or second shot, but his chipping and putting kept our scores about even. My 5 wood and my mid irons (clubs that a player typically uses for his or her second shot) were working well, but my wedges and putter did not want to perform on this particularly frigid afternoon. My friend had the exact opposite experience.
At the end of the round we both were pretty satisfied with our play, despite that half of both our games did not show up; I was lacking in putting and chipping, and he, driving and mid irons. We walked off of the 18th green with pride and headed for the clubhouse for a well deserved lunch.
Discussing each of our rounds while hurling an insult or two at one another, we came to the most simple conclusion that our untutored minds could accomplish. It is as follows, there are four parts of golf: driving (first shot), mid irons (usually the second shot), chipping (using a wedge between 5-100 yards from the green, depending on the type of player you are), and putting, but the average player will probably only have two of those four go well for him or her on any given day, and honestly, that player has no idea which two of the four will show up. Just because the player only did well with two of the four, however, does not mean that that player should feel disappointed.
I have noticed a correlation with this golfing theory and my everyday life since that bitter day on the course. If I have a great morning: good breakfast, decent commute, then I might have a sort of crummy afternoon: burn my sandwich, lose my keys, but then I would look forward to a great night: good movie on tv, get to see a long lost friend. It seems that only half of the things in my everyday life seem to go my way, while the other half does not. But I am OK with that. I do not want anyone to think that I am simply accepting mediocrity; I believe I am picking my battles wisely, and knowing what is a victory and what is a loss and learning from it. And maybe, just maybe, tomorrow my chipping and putting will show up once again.
Hit ‘em Long, Hit ‘em Straight,
Sean
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