An unexpected tough day
 

Wow what a completely strange and unpredictable day at the golf course. I have played every day this week trying to get in as many rounds as possible before it becomes impossible to play here in New Hampshire. I played reasonably well all week up until today……TODAY, by far the nicest day that we have had in weeks I played worse than I have played all year!

The course was really crowded and I had tried to time my arrival so that I could get in a little range time as I sort of thought I would have trouble today. Trouble does not even begin to touch how bad I was. Keeping in mind that I had given up the game for sixteen years and there was that first round of golf that I played this summer, today’s round was the worst round of the year by far. Anyway I know a number of people tried to get out today. So I thought I would ask if any of what happened to me resonates for anybody else.

While it was in the low 60’s today, it was not low 60s’ like spring low 60s’. I took an electric cart today and I did yesterday as well. I usually walk but there were so many people out there and the course conditions are so unpredictable that I just have not felt comfortable walking although I did on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The course was pretty empty those days. While the sun was beaming down it was a winter sun. I worked up a sweat and had not worn anything that would wick the sweat away from my skin. Then I would ride off in the cart and that is when you really feel the difference in the coolness of the air this time of year as it made me feel like I feel sometimes on my mountain bike. Anyway as uncomfortable as it was to be drenched earlier this week and cold last week, this was different and I felt very uncomfortable.

While I had been wearing sunglasses (I had not been very successful wearing them until I got some G30 lenses for a pair of flak jackets that I own, this was the only day I can think of where it would have helped to have polarized sun glasses. I often struggle seeing the ball at address without some level of distortion if I wear sunglasses and the G30 lenses have worked well for me up until today. The low and bright sun combined with the really dry and close cut fairways had the effect of turning the fairways into big mirrors. The sun was just reflecting hard off of the ground. I probably should have just put the sunglasses away because they did not help one bit and in fact this was the only day since I have used them that they appeared to actually be making the situation worse for me.

The ground generally and the greens while being in excellent winter conditions were hard as rocks. While a more common condition this time of year would be for the fairways and the greens to have a little moisture in them, there was no moisture in them at all today and the fact that both the fairways and the greens were rock hard really threw me off.

On top of everything else I let all of the distractions get to me and my swing went as far south as it has been this entire season. I could not do anything right. The swing I had been using to make some headway during the days that I had been bundled up against the cold certainly was wrong for today and I simply did not adjust. My swing was so bad that I would have to compare it to the old, never took any lessons, never had a clue swing that has not visited me one time this year until today. So while this was by far the nicest day we have seen in weeks, I was hitting the ball into places where I had never been and was then stuck on hardpan that was now hardest-pan. I hit one 9 iron that went straight sideways on one of the holes where my vision seemed impaired along with everything else. I drove the ball reasonably well, and I putted pretty well especially when I consider the toughness of the greens but my irons, the usual strength of my game were so far gone that I lost complete confidence in what I was doing out there. Then again my biggest mistake was the first one, not getting to the course in time to get to the range and then make my tee time. I knew I would struggle today as I have never confronted this sort of condition and new it was going to be a problem regardless of how good 60 degrees in November sounds.

I should mention that golf balls were coming at us from everywhere today, so much so that it did finally become unnerving.

So did anybody else have trouble with the abrupt change back to such high temps and the impact it had on just about anything golf today? Did anybody have trouble with the sun, the hardness of the fairway and green surfaces? Generally speaking were folks surprised by how hard a golf day it turned out to be in spite of it being a pretty good weather day here in the Northeast? or, did folks have generelly good days out on the links today and should I just write this one off to being an odd day full of twists and turns as my first season back winds down.

I had a good case of the shanks yesterday, but I just brush it off. If I let every bad day get me down, I'd probably never play again. Then again if I let every great day pick me up, I would have such high expectations that I could never achieve them. Take the good with the bad, and be content with the middle ground!

I agree mdbuschsr. I am just trying to see if the extreme left turn the weather took (while in a good direction...warmer) was as much of a monkey wrench to course conditoins and peoples games as it was for me. I suspect folks went out with high expectations around here just based on the number.....60 degrees. In my case, it caused more problems than anything else. As much an anything the course was not ready for the day as we are into winter conditions maintenance around here. That is not a knock on the facility. There is no way to prepare a course for 40 degree temps and damp conditoins and then have a bunch of people come out to play on a dry as bones, 60 degree day. No maintenance crew and no course is prepared for that sort of an overnight change.

I have found that almost without exception... When I go out with super high expectations, I come home feeling depressed. My best (albeit unscored) round was when I went out knowing I wasn't going to practice anything, I wasn't going to track my score, I was just gonna play. I still wanted to do well, but I guess I set myself up for a day when I "didn't care". I'm sure I didn't break my measley scoring record that day, but I felt great when I came off the course.