This blog is written for my own entertainment!
I play golf every Monday morning. The first hole at Chaska in Appleton is 385 yards long and straight. Truth is that I can not hit two good "wood" shots and reach the green. So for me, achieving a par of 4 strokes is difficult. My goal this day was a 5. I've been getting 6's and 7's all season. I was determined to change this.
So yesterday I was going to really focus. I hit two great wood shots and was 50 yards short of the green in two. I heisted a pitching wedge high into the air and landed 10 feet left of the hole. This was the day. If I made my 10 foot putt, I got a par 4. At worst I would "two putt" and get a 5. This "focus thing" works.
So I stood over my first putt for par 4. I kept thinking, don't leave it short and miss this great opportunity. I struck the putt solidly and it rolled toward the hole. It didn't break to the right quite as much as I anticipated and the ball rolled past the hole. Then the ball kept rolling. It rolled and rolled down the ever present slope. When it stopped, I was 7 feet past the hole. So I didn't get 4 on this nemesis hole. My next putt was makeable for a 5 but it "lipped out". 5 had escaped me. I tapped in for a 6. Of course, I always get 6 or higher.
How could this happen? I was 10 feet from the hole in 3 shots and I took a 6 on the hole!
My conclusion was that my game plan was flawless. I executed the first 3 shots flawlessly and I had a chance at incredible success. My mistake was that I got greedy. I wanted the first putt to drop so that I could gloat about a making a par 4. My decision "not to leave the first putt short" turned out to be super aggressive and I paid the price by running the putt way past the hole rather than "cozy" the ball towards the hole and getting a sure 5.
So what did I learn with all the dramatics. Nothing! It was fun to go for the par 4. Imagine if I had made it. I would have bragging rights for weeks. I had eight more holes to play and maybe I could recapture the lost strokes with stellar play. Yeah, right!
The fellowship was great. The weather was fantastic. I still shot a 45. But still I can't help but wonder how good everything would have been if I had parred the first hole.
My goal is to get a 5 on the first hole at Chaska. Next week! I can do this.
Love,
Dad