Flickering hope is all that it is, you know.
Third hole, after a birdie, par, par start and I’m thinkin’ - “Damn, I own this game! I control the very destiny of my shots. Jump ahead why don’t you? Yeah why not, think about it. Sub-par round, baby. (Strolling down the fairway after a decent drive on the fourth) I am the living, breathing man of this course. You, over there, playing the fifth hole. Did you see that chip? Did you catch that approach shot on the first? What was that, five feet for the birdie? You saw that, right? Cause I sure as hell saw it….. Damn, I own this game!”
You can guess the rest….
But it was there, at least for a moment. The feeling that I was playing golf. That I was mastering par, the very yardstick of the game. I’ve played golf for 20 years, and I’m an average golfer, mediocre across the spectrum with the exception of putting, where I most humbly beseech you to know that I’m the nuts. Really. Well, better than Vijay at least. But my game is very “old man.”
I play bogey golf, but not “wild-ass I’m all over the course bogey golf,” more like “I can’t even make it to that 417-yard par 4 in two shots bogey golf.” Can you dig it? So while slow and steady may make for unspectacular low 90s rounds and a feeling of contented competence, it’s rare that I get the balls on feeling I’m mastering the course. It’s quite the jones, I must admit.
Nice post...enjoyable reading. Thanks.
Posted by: dave | August 20, 2005 at 06:04 AM