I’d rather be two strokes ahead going into the last day than two strokes behind. Having said that, it’s probably easier to win coming from behind. There is no fear in chasing. There is fear in being chased. – Jack Nicklaus
I have a confession to make — I once hated watching golf on television. I thought golf was boring. It usually put me to sleep.
Then I happened to watch as Jack Nicklaus come from six strokes back over the last nine holes to win the 1986 Masters with the greatest comeback in golf history — perhaps the greatest comeback in sports history, period.
Maybe I never liked golf because I never knew how to play the game. Because I play left-handed, no one seemed to be able to figure out where my swing would go wrong. But it would…
I used to admit that I owned golf clubs, but avoided using them because I couldn’t hit even a half decent shot to save my life. The game frustrated and infuriated me. If by some miracle I did hit a straight tee shot right at the flag with an iron on a par three, I’d somehow manage to blow the sure par by three-putting from less than two feet.
I truly sucked at golf. In epic fashion. So I stuck with playing tennis, until my left arm became so injured I could no longer play.
When I did try to play golf, my driver never left the bag — I didn’t trust anything except my seven wood on longer holes, even the par 5s.
One time I was playing so poorly that my friends deliberately aimed me 45 degrees from the flagstick in the tee box. They said that my slice was so bad, that angle ought to put my ball in the middle of the fairway. Naturally, that was about the only tee shot of the day that blind luck would have it that I hit my best tee shot of the day. The ball flew straight as an arrow right at the clubhouse, thankfully bouncing off the roof instead of breaking a window. I soon quit playing that day, I was so embarrassed by my incompetence at the game, which surprised me a little.
After all, I’d been a pretty decent baseball player in my youth and figured that it ought to be easier to hit a stationary ball than a moving one. It took me a couple of decades before I finally figured out the swings were the same and developed some sense of knowing where the golf ball should theoretically go, assuming I strike it properly. I’ve finally managed to play two consecutive holes under par on a real golf course. I used to only play on par 3 courses, if I played at all.
Many years later, I’ve finally found a way to enjoy playing golf. Unfortunately, I’m still terrible at it, however. I may never shoot a sub par round.
It wasn’t that long ago that I celebrated shooting under 100 for eighteen holes. I’ve yet to break 80. Yet it only takes one birdie over 18 holes to make me want to play another course on another day.
It is a great game to play. Golf is also fun to watch being played well, especially in the drama of the final round at the Masters.
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