I guess my play during 9-hole Tuesday golf reflects the definition of small, incremental improvements. Two weeks ago I shot a 48. Last week a 45. Today a 44. Next week? I’m aiming for 40.
Really, I should have had 40 or less today. I was playing that well, at least compared to the last two rounds I’ve played. There were a few problems of course. If there weren’t then the score would have been much better.
One problem was that I couldn’t make my 4 birdie putts, ranging from 5 to 15 feet. Four birdie opportunities out of nine from a short distance like that is pretty good, I think. But that kind of statistic isn’t worth much if you can’t capitalize on it.
Another problem was the mental game. I hit a lot of good shots today. I also hit a few bad shots. The bad shots cost me. I scrambled pretty well overall, but when you hit a ball out of bounds on one hole and in the water a few holes later you’re automatically down 3 strokes.
As mentioned, the problem was the mental game. I can go through the scorecard, remember each shot, and know exactly which shots I did not concentrate on well – the ones that got me in trouble. Take those away, and I’m looking at a near-par score for the 9 holes.
Having played another sport at a highly competitive level (baseball), I can attest to the concentration and focus required to excel at sport. I know better than to lose focus. When I played baseball I had to be able to focus on every pitch, every inning, of every game. It wasn’t easy – in fact intense games can be downright exhausting.
From a mental game standpoint, my biggest challenge is going to be focusing on every shot of every hole throughout a round. I know I’m better at this since I started this journey a couple months ago, but this is an area that will always require improvement.
From a statistics standpoint, my GIR was 4 out of 9, although two of the misses were on the fringe and puttable. Similarly with fairways, I hit 4 out of 7, but all three misses were about a foot into the rough. The work I did last night at the range on my driver and 3-wood really helped.
Chipping and pitching were awesome. Because my shots off the tee were doing so well, I often found myself pitching onto the green from 50-90 yards out. Most of my chips and pitches were within 10 feet of the hole. Definitely can’t complain there.
But that’s why putting hurt. I had 16 putts for the 9-holes for a 1.78 average. Not bad, but it could have been better. As I already mentioned I had a number of birdie opportunities from short distances that I should have made (and barely missed).
Overall, it’s progress, and I’m happy about it. Still a long ways to go, but things are turning back around to progress.