As a general rule, the more things you break in golf, the better. As with everything involving this game, it’s harder than the Tin Cup temper-tantrum sound of it.
Most beginning players’ first goal is to break 100. The goal moves down from there steadily: breaking 90, breaking 80 etc. Maybe out of necessity or preference, your goals are focused on 9 hole segments of your round. Personally, my scoring goal this year is to break 40. Three times I have arrived at the last hole needing a par for 39, but so far I am much more likely to double bogey for 41.
The Golf Channel recently aired their legendary conversation with the 59 Club, players who broke 60 in a professional round. If you ask me, the nod for best 59 goes to Al Geiberger. He was the first to do it, he won the tournament, and remains the only PGA golfer to win a tournament without shooting a round in the 60’s.
Putts have breaks to the left or to the right, sometimes both ways, and sometimes it’s a complete surprise to me. Bounces off the turf can be good breaks or bad breaks.
It’s not a cheap game either, breaking the bank if you let it. Then there is the long overdue break (in half) to that $10 lob wedge I bought at the golf show coming very soon.
Speaking of 100, Tam O’Shanter‘s Facebook page recently marveled at 100 year old Walter Westermann’s devotion to the game of golf. He still loves the game and still tees it up regularly. In fact, Walter recently teed it up at Tam O’Shanter and … that can’t be right… he shot 43? I haven’t broken 45 in 3 weeks. This guy has been around for a century and would still beat me by multiple strokes? He’s been collecting Social Security retirement benefits for all of my nearly 40 years on this earth and he’s beating the snot out of me.
Throw in 11 year old Lucy Li shooting back to back 78’s in the Women’s U.S. Open and you have an 89 year spectrum of players that would thrash me on the links. That’s enough to make any rational person quit. Ah, but this is no rational love affair I have with this game.
There is no harder game than golf. You’ll never convince me otherwise. This game will break your resolve, break your will, and break your heart. However, as difficult as it is, all it takes is one great shot or one great putt, when the ball does exactly what you wanted it to do and stops exactly where you wanted it to stop, to keep the fire burning.
So let’s get out there and break something. My quest for 39 continues tonight at Raintree in Uniontown, OH. Golf course review to follow shortly afterwards. Good Luck.
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