Hello Cage friends.
Today is a glorious day. I know its been a while since I have chosen to participate in this community but I am making an attempt at a return. Honestly I needed some time away to try and sort through some of my life.
This day happens to be the day I was birthed, three decades ago. So today was a day that I made the choice to celebrate myself. I spent the very early moments of my birthday being greeted with song and time with my family. They called me first thing in the morning to make sure I knew I was loved and that I was supported today.
I wound up watching John Wick 3 Parabellum on Netflix to begin my night, as well as half paying attention while I also played on my phone which happens to have a game boy emulator on it, in which I am replaying old games from my childhood. First up that has my attention is Fire Emblem. Its such a fantastic entertaining game. If you havent ever experienced the joy of playing Fire Emblem then I suggest you take a look. Although there are about 50 versions of the game now. Maybe a few less but it feels like they just keep creating newer versions each year.
I managed to actually sleep to which I was woken up with a phone call from my parents. It was perfect timing because I had plans and I couldn't sleep my whole day away. So I got up and went about taking care of my house, animals and self. I had to run an errand to renew my license. So I went to the store that we have in town and managed to get a new ID photo taken. Although I nearly broke the record for most attempts on the debit machine. It took 4 times and a reset to accept my payment. I stopped off and grabbed my mail from our post office and went on my merry way.
When I made it home I had begun preparing for my birthday gift to myself. A round of golf at the course nearby. I had to eat a little breakfast and get my animals ready to say good bye. After I grabbed everything I was out the door and on the road. After the short drive I managed to sneak my way onto the course. Because I hadnt made a tee time and was walking on I was a bit of an anomaly. So the attendant scurried me out the door and even told me to pay after my round because they were busy and she didnt have the time to try and set me up in the system.
So I made my way onto the tee box and set off on my first round of golf this season. I hadnt had the time or money to golf before today.
I honestly had the best round of golf in my life. I finished the day shooting 100 which Ive never reached before. I was pretty damn proud of my accomplishment although I had a monumental opportunity at the 18th hole to really save my round. But I always compete with myself when I play a round of golf. Its the front nine vs the back nine. Especially on small courses where you repeat holes 1-9 to play a full 18. One focal point of my game today had been about an "effortless swing". When you watch pros they dont even look like they are trying yet they can contact the ball over 300 sometimes 400 yards. So I wanted to be easy in my swing and make solid contact on the sweet spot of my clubs.
I definitely had some misses but I managed some beautiful shots as well. On the front nine I managed to par one of the longer holes making a reasonable 10 ft putt to find my fifth stroke. I had a glorious drive and second shot that set me up very well. I have to be careful though and constantly reminded myself that I cant do anything about the last shot. And good or bad, I just needed to focus on making my next shot as best from where it lies. I managed to also par on the front nine a second time but I cant really count it. There was construction on the course as they are trying to build up the creek shore and do some major landscaping to the gully that runs through the course. So they had moved up the tee box past where the construction was happening. It turned the par 4 into a par 3 based on distance. The scorecards didnt get changed and so when I managed to shoot 4 on that hole it appeared as if I managed a par but in truth it truly was a bogey.
The final hole absolutely screwed my front nine. So far on the day I had managed to keep myself from shooting any 8's. I had tried setting a goal, no 8's and no 3 putts. I failed a few times but thats always my goal. I can have a good round if I manage those two things. On the ninth hole I pulled and miss hit my drive into the water. I had to drop on the side of a steep slope. When I dropped my ball it nearly rolled out of bounds straight away. When I managed to stop it from rolling I wound up a practice swing and approached the ball. I completely wiffed. It went 2 ft in front of me. Now I'm vicious when I count my strokes because if you lie you dont give an accurate accounting of your skill. So that was 3 because of the penalty for playing out of bounds. My fourth shot landed me on the fairway but short 30 yards to the green. Now my short game is my weakest aspect of my golf game and I had been giving the wrong weight all day. I was shorting the greens or running well past. There were very few moments when my low irons really helped me. This was not one of them. I landed all the way past and when I finished my 3 putt I had my first 8 of the day.
I stopped in at the lodge to pay for my round and I bought myself a can of traditional ale as a small birthday gift. I never buy food or drinks when I go out, at least I try to avoid it when I can. But I was celebrating. So I went back out after my purchase and began the back nine.
Now the back nine is always more difficult. Because I'm competing with myself I tend to get worked up when I can see how much better or worse I'm doing. When I'm ahead I constantly think "dont do anything to fuck this up" but when I'm behind I'm just angry that I'm not doing as well. Today had its ups and downs. The funny part was I did the math and realized if I could manage to keep pace with myself for the first 8 holes then I could take advantage of my poor performance on the ninth hole and par it would save me 4 strokes and put me at exactly 100.
So I was chasing being even, and I managed to miss some golden opportunities to make par, but was still playing very well. The tough part was when I reached the first par 5. I had managed to make par here the first time around and yet I completely whiffed my drive. My second shot was decent but put me under a tree which made the next shot difficult. So I was frustrated when I dropped behind myself on the front nine performance. I kept trying to tell myself about making my next best shot. After that unfortunate par 5, I managed to help my situation by saving a tying score of double bogey on a long 20 ft putt. I had resigned myself to being even further behind and barely lined my putt. I just swung and managed to sink in the same number of shots on the first round. That helped spark a better attitude and on the next hole I managed some beautiful shots that earned me an even par on the second par 5 of the course.
After managing the first 8 holes it turned out I perfectly managed to replicate my score of 44 on 8 holes. All I needed was to par the 18th hole and I would shoot my best round of golf. So I waited on tee box for the group in front of me. When I finally stepped up and swung for real, I managed the absolute best drive of the day. I landed 15 ft from the pin nearly on the green in 1. I had landed just on the fringe and the pin happened to be on the front edge of the green. I had a chance at an eagle. When I lined everything up I missed by an inch to the right. The third shot lipped out of the cup, and the fourth par saving shot went in securing my best round. Now I was happy but there was something about just barely missing eagle to give myself a final scord of 98. The first time to have ever finished with only double digits. I had wanted it so badly. But still theres always next time, and really I cant complain about shooting my best round. Except for the weird intense sun burn and farmers tan that I now have along my forearms and nowhere else.
Thanks to all those who choose to read my words and those that have wished me well on my birthday. Which is now technically yesterday. I tried finishing this before midnight but I just wasnt quite quick enough.
