A good walk spoiled

And that was certainly a good walk spoiled! What should have been a great afternoon at Woodlands Golf Club on the Signature Course with three top lads, I was embarrassed at quite how bad my golf was. Starting 8, 6, 14 – yes, 14! – was not ideal and apart from a brief rally towards the middle of the round it didn’t get much better.

Woodlands is not a long course. One “proper” golfer told me a few weeks ago told me it was more of a “beginners course” which puts my inept performance into grim perspective. He was being patronising and sneering when he told me, but he was also right! And what was worse for me that today was supposed to be a celebration of three years since I took up the game. I felt like I’d been to a walk driving home.

When I did get home today, utterly crestfallen it has to be said, my partner asked how I had got on. “61!” I replied. “Blimey,” she replied. “That’s good!” “Well not really,” I said. “That was only the front nine. I was better on the back nine with a much improved 59!”

120 is easily the worst score I have ever put together at Woodlands. I broke 90 a couple of years ago, but I’ve never got near a score as good as that since then. You’d think I’d be getting better by now, but I’m not. I always try as hard as I can, but the ball rarely goes where I want it go go. On the rare occasions it does, then it keeps me going for the rest of the round but there were times today when I just felt like packing up and going home.

I do wonder if when playing sports you reach a certain level and never progress beyond it. There was a time when I was on an upward trajectory but that was a long time ago. If anything, I am getting even worse now, carding scores like 132 at the Kendleshire and Bowood. But believe me, 120 at Woodlands is far worse than 132 at Bowood! It was shocking.

I will keep persevering with this golf malarkey but I don’t see anything improving any time soon. My coach has emigrated to America and when I had a lesson from another coach, he changed my swing and I played even worse!

What I really want is to be good at something, anything. I played with three guys today, one of whom is better than me, the other two are miles better than me. They have golf handicaps, I have a handicap which is golf!

I’m not giving up, though, because I’d have to do something more unpalatable like go to the gym for my exercise, but I was utter dross today and it fills me with utter gloom and pessimism for my next round on a big course which will be next Friday.