I golfed a 51 the other day! A 51 on a 35 par golf course! And I only lost two balls!
While most of you would probably cringe at the thought of that, I was actually quite pleased with myself. Let me explain.
You see, I have only ever golfed three times in my entire life. The first time I golfed, I was a teenager. Heading out on the golf course was a new excursion for me. My cousin, a 'serious golfer' at the age of 13, had agreed to take me out on the course with him. To be honest, by the second hole, boredom had set in and my desire to chat overcame my desire to golf. So chat did I ever! I think it was about the fifth hole that my chatter got the best of him and I was informed that that would be the last time I would ever accompany him to the golf course.
Oops
It was only last year that I decided to pick up a set of clubs and try my luck again. You see, my guy is an avid golfer. And the truth of the matter is, I have always thought that golfing might be something I would enjoy. There's something about being outside, soaking up the sun, and playing a game you can play right up until the time you grow old.
So last year I decided, it was now or never.
We golfed as a foursome at Echo Ridge with one of my best friends and her guy. You can't get much more comfortable and relaxing of a setting to learn how to golf than that. Or so I thought. It's not that I could have had a better group to golf with, I couldn't have. It was the setting that posed the challenge.
You see, we had a tee time for 2 p.m. and apparently there had been a senior tournament during the morning. As we waited at the first hole, all I could hear was the grumblings of two seniors waiting behind us. They had paused for lunch and were waiting to continue their back nine. And one of the female golfers in front of us was not a professional. She was driving the ball a total of 20 yards every hit if she was lucky. As I listened to the grumblings and grouchings, all I could think was "oh my goodness. . .that is going to be me in about 10 minutes." Talk about a "pressure" environment.
Unfortunately for the golfers behind us, everyone has to learn at one point. And unfortunately for them, that one point was right then, for both the golfer in front of us and the golfer in front of them.
So, as I teed-up in front of them, I thought, "oh this is going to be bad." I hadn't swung a club since I was 13, if you would have even called it that then. Regardless, I took to my new golfing motto of just 'gripping it and ripping it', and luckily for me, I can actually hit a golf ball. And luckily for me, it goes straight most of the time. I don't know what I hit that day, but I was informed that it was really quite good for a first time golfer.
And while that was all really great and dandy, it was probably one of the most stressful ways to learn how to golf I can think of. I couldn't believe the 'seriousness' of the golfers behind me and I realized right then and there why so many people would rather not learn to golf, than give it a try.
Luckily for me, during my second 'grown-up attempt,' we only had to let one person through. Scoring a 51 was a great feeling and what was even better was that I hardly felt one ounce of "push" from the friendly individual that we let by.
I understand that there are some 'serious golfers' out there. I get it, I really do. But for those of you that are out there, understand that there are some of us that are just starting to learn. And honestly, I am out there as much for the visit, as I am to learn how to golf. So, I promise to keep off the prestigious courses, if you promise to keep your grumblings and grouchings to yourself and remember that at one point, you too, were in the same situation.
