My Golf Game

Today I decided to head out on the golf course with three of my students. Now, this may or may not have been a good idea as the three players I decided to play with are the three top ranked players in Taiwan and we were playing on Sunrise Golf Course in Taiwan which is not exactly the easiest course in Taiwan. We were also playing from the back tees because the players were preparing for a tournament that starts on Wednesday. This combined with the fact that I haven't played a game of golf except for two rounds with borrowed clubs when I was back in Australia for Christmas and my total number of rounds for 2008 would be approximately six 9 hole rounds.

Standing on the first tee I (foolishly) decided that we should play for some money. I asked them to give me 4 shots start and we would play for $100 NT (approx $4.50 Aus) for every shot the winner finished in front. The players had the cheek to ask if 4 shots was enough!

We started on the 10th tee and as you can see from the picture it is not the easiest tee shot to face when the last time you played a golf course was two months ago. I managed to keep the ball out of the water and actually played some fairly decent shots for the first three or four holes. I was being accused of being a hustler as the players have seen my attempts to hit a few shots on the driving range this year.

Things were not going too badly until the first par 5 we came to. This is when I let my ego rule my brain and attempted a 250 yard water carry with my 3 wood and splashed in the water. I then proceeded to do exactly what I tell the Taiwan players to never do. Still thinking about how stupid my previous shot was I dropped another ball and, without thinking, dumped a wedge in the water as well. So I had just committed the sin of following one mistake with another. A score of 9 was the result and much laughter from my playing partners as we made our way to the next tee.

I managed to find the fairways and greens over the next few holes and made a few pars and even a birdie and as the rain and fog closed in on us as we headed up the 6th (our 15th) I still had all 4 of my strokes over one player, 3 strokes on another and 2 on the final player. I was also enjoying the fact that a coach who doesn't play anymore was keeping up with the top Taiwan players and I was letting them know! Actually, I shouldn't say too much as I think it was me dragging them down to my level rather than me playing to their standard.

It was interesting, from my perspective, as I found that my ball striking was not that much different from when I was playing more often but my chipping and putting was disgraceful! I think I had over 30 putts for the 15 holes we played and didn't hole a putt over 4 feet for the whole day. That being said, it was fun to get out there on the course again and I will try and play a bit more this year.

Until next time,

Brent