One of those Days
You wake up in the morning, the sun is shining and you are going to play well and win the weekly stableford.
Your first shot slices wildly into a water hazard, the ball semi-plugs when you take the penalty shot and you then thin the ball through the green into a bunker on a severe downhill lie and three putts follow two bunker shots.
Almost immediately you start to think that this is ‘one of those days’ and put yourself through torture for 5 hours wishing that you were anywhere else other than on the golf course.
Your body language changes, the head drops and the shoulders hump and this even applies to the words best.
David Feherty once described Colin Montgomerie as having the look of “a bulldog licking pee off a stingy nettle” after a poor round.
There is no such thing as ‘one of those days’ because each day is what you make of it and remember a bad day on the golf course is better than a good day at work.
You start the day intending to play well and win but once this possibility becomes remote change your goals and remain in the ‘present’ because you can’t influence or alter what has happened in the past.
Aim to play the next hole in net par and then the following three holes in net par and so on.
If you can get anything from the remainder of the round it will set you up for a better start to your next game.
Do not miss the opportunity to learn something from every round because bad experiences help you to enjoy the good times on the golf course.
If all else fails, enjoy the course, the company and the luxury that you even have the opportunity to play this wonderful game.