Today was one of those days. It started off well, but ended with 91. My swing completely deserted me. I got a bit frustrated, but finally reminded myself that the score wasn’t why I played. I played because I enjoy golf. Things went a little better after that.
Really, today was not a good day at the course in general. I am the Tournament Chairman for our local association, but only because I wasn’t around when the voting took place. For the last year I’ve been on the receiving end of every complaint by anyone who felt they were mistreated in pairing, didn’t like the format of a tounament, didn’t like playing in a group other than their regulars, or objected to playing from a different set of tees.
I thought I was through with the job, but had to furnish a tournament listing for this year to the course manager so he could set up the schedule. I simply gave him a copy of last year’s with dates changed to reflect the new calendar. He asked if they were all on the fourth weekend of each month because one group has the second weekend, another group has the third weekend, etc. I asked myself why I even bothered if he already knew which dates needed to be scheduled!
It’s really quite pointless, regardless. The association is made up of the same guys who play every Saturday and Sunday. They have a “blitz,” which is a computer-generated teams event. Everyone puts $7 in the pot, and plays with any group they want. While they’re playing, the course staff puts the names into a program which picks teams of three or four players based on handicap. You don’t know who your teammates are until you finish playing.
Now, this is a group who complain about paying $8 for half a cart. They want to roll the ball around on every shot to get a good lie. And they just want tournaments to be very similar to the Blitz. They don’t like individual play, or even two-man teams. Scrambles are favored. They don’t like playing the back tees because it’s too long–6500 yards!
I like match play, and individual stroke play. I like to depend on my own ability. I’ve never won playing in the Blitz. When I play well, the partners I get don’t When I don’t play well, it doesn’t matter what my partners do. I got tired of simply donating seven bucks.
So, I played alone this morning. The guys I play with Sunday mornings didn’t show up today, as one or two occasionally do. So, I played the back tees, and finished in three hours.
I didn’t play well. I didn’t have a playing partner to tell lies with. I hit some really bad shots.
But I got a few pars, missed a few birdie putts, got out of the sand well, and even had one or two decent drives. It was golf, and I enjoyed my time in the cool January air.
It was golf. Life is good.