Last month when I was in Australia, a friend of my daughters asked me if would like to join him and two of his friends golfing at the local golf course in Mansfield. I agreed as the weather was great and I thought it would be fun to go out and enjoy my first time out this year in another country. So the young man came with some old clubs, similar to the clubs I used when I first started golfing 30 years ago and away we went. The day was beautiful, the course was not crowded, which was a good thing.
I went out and my first ball went into the trees about 30 meters of the tee, the group was polite and no one laughed. My second shot was better and I ended the Par 4 with a 6. However, every drive off the tee for the rest of the game was not as good as my first drive. I was able to salvage some second and third shots, but at the end of the day I ended up with a score that was on par with how I had played 10 years ago when I re-discovered golf as a game. Australians are a fun and sport loving people, but I found out they were also polite and very forgiving, and at the end of the game, when I offered to pay for a round of drinks I was refused because I was a visitor.
About a week later, my daughter was out and we were babysitting and an friend of my daughters phoned and I answered. We talked and in our conversation it turned out that he was friends with the two men I had golfed with on the previous week. I mentioned that I my game was terrible and he said, I heard that as well. I also mentioned the fact I was impressed with how nicely I had been treated and asked him to pass on my thanks to his friends.
I went out again with a retired pro for four holes when we were visiting Adams mom who lives on a golf course in Melbourne. As we made the rounds his comment was that I should take some lessons as I really did not know what I was doing but that I had some potential. He was nice about it and said that if I took three lessons, one on form, one on driving and one on short game I could bring my score done to the high 90's. He gave me some tips but was clear that he was not giving me lessons and I should consider getting lessons when I returned to Canada.
My wife and I went back to the Mansfield golf course about two weeks later, again the course was not crowded and although we only golfed nine holes my score was 50, and I was able to use a few of the tips I had learned earlier. I think golf is a counter intuitive game, the harder I try the worse I get, so when I was out with my wife, I was relaxed and not trying hard so I did better.
So as I move into the next phase of my life, I will consider taking some lessons just to see if I can learn to break one hundred consistently.
I went out and my first ball went into the trees about 30 meters of the tee, the group was polite and no one laughed. My second shot was better and I ended the Par 4 with a 6. However, every drive off the tee for the rest of the game was not as good as my first drive. I was able to salvage some second and third shots, but at the end of the day I ended up with a score that was on par with how I had played 10 years ago when I re-discovered golf as a game. Australians are a fun and sport loving people, but I found out they were also polite and very forgiving, and at the end of the game, when I offered to pay for a round of drinks I was refused because I was a visitor.
About a week later, my daughter was out and we were babysitting and an friend of my daughters phoned and I answered. We talked and in our conversation it turned out that he was friends with the two men I had golfed with on the previous week. I mentioned that I my game was terrible and he said, I heard that as well. I also mentioned the fact I was impressed with how nicely I had been treated and asked him to pass on my thanks to his friends.
I went out again with a retired pro for four holes when we were visiting Adams mom who lives on a golf course in Melbourne. As we made the rounds his comment was that I should take some lessons as I really did not know what I was doing but that I had some potential. He was nice about it and said that if I took three lessons, one on form, one on driving and one on short game I could bring my score done to the high 90's. He gave me some tips but was clear that he was not giving me lessons and I should consider getting lessons when I returned to Canada.
My wife and I went back to the Mansfield golf course about two weeks later, again the course was not crowded and although we only golfed nine holes my score was 50, and I was able to use a few of the tips I had learned earlier. I think golf is a counter intuitive game, the harder I try the worse I get, so when I was out with my wife, I was relaxed and not trying hard so I did better.
So as I move into the next phase of my life, I will consider taking some lessons just to see if I can learn to break one hundred consistently.
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