2021 season begins!

 Back in the 16th century, when I was a kid, I loved baseball (still do, of course, Go Sox!) and I wanted badly to be a bad-baseball-player. My poor long-suffering Dad tried to help me in this hopeless endeavor, coaching me on a good baseball swing, and he always emphasized a good follow-through. This made no sense to me, and frankly still doesn't. How can what happens to the bat after you hit the ball make any difference whatsoever in how well you hit the ball? I'm still mystified by this, if I'm honest. 

But it turns out the same is true in golf. Who knew? If you follow the impact of the ball with a full follow-through, the ball goes further, and it goes straighter. This I found out on the range, and it was confirmed the other day when I played my first round of nine holes of the 2021 season. 

It started off well. I felt confident, thought about my follow-through as I went through my pre-shot routine, and hit the first ball of the season with a satisfying thwack. It flew about the right distance, 180 yards or so just short of the stream that bisects the first fairway. Went pretty straight, too. Good for me! Woo hoo! We're off! Second shot, six iron, also well-hit, just 40 yards or so short of the green, just where I wanted. A fine wedge shot put me on the green in three, then 2 putts for a first hole bogey. Well then. 

As it turned out, I should have just stopped right there and gone to the clubhouse for a gin and tonic. 

The second hole is such a bitch, I hate it. It saps my confidence and puts me in a bad mood every time. Which, I've concluded, is fatal for a good golf game. The key is confidence, relaxation, sunny thoughts, visualizing the shot you want, and keeping your dang head down. My first shot went a bit to the right side of the fairway but looked from the tee box to be on the fairway, not a bad shot. So I trundle up the hill in my cart to look for my ball. I knew more or less where it was. On the way I passed a ball on the cart path, but thought it couldn't be mine because mine had gone much further, right? But mine was nowhere to be seen. I even checked the ball, and it was a TITleist, not the Callaway I was playing. Unfortunately a gremlin apparently ate my Calloway because it had disappeared. It's possible it bounced into the woods. Many things are possible in life. But I couldn't find it, so I lined up more or less where I thought it should have been, and took a six iron for my second shot. It went astray off to the left, a victim of my negative thinking and poor pre-shot concentration. So two balls lost on this second hole. Not the first time this has happened.  I played a third shot from where I thought it should be at, hit a pretty good 9-iron towards the green but short. Found the ball this time and got ready to hit a wedge to the green. From where I was, though, the green was invisible, hiding behind a rise on the very hilly second part of this hole. But I hit it with a wedge and a prayer, then went to the green and how about that, there it was sitting happily about 8 feet from the hole! Couple of putts drained it. 

The third hole is one I like a lot, a relatively short and straight par 4. Walking to the tee, though, I was unaware of the Golf Demon emerging from its underworld lair, cackling maniacally. Hit my tee shot into the fairway bunker about halfway to the hole. Grr. Tried to get out of the bunker with a 6 iron, and succeeded in pounding it into the far wall of the bunker so it slid right back in. Oh, man, how I hate that. So I try again to escape that cursed bunker, only to hit a tree and have the ball carom off to the left. 

As an aside, I am of the firm belief that trees should be forever banned from golf courses. You could put up holograms of trees so it looks pretty, but get the damn things out of my way! 

Eventually I got to the green, only to 3-putt and walk away with a pathetic, sad and embarrassing 8. 

At least, I thought, I won't have to change the name of my blog. That was some truly bad-golfing. 

The next par 3 was somewhat better. This hole I play a lot in my head trying to get to sleep at night, and I lose sleep frequently because I can't decide between a 7 or 8-iron off the tee. I go for the 7 and it's not bad; I hit the green but above the hole. I think it'll be the 8-iron next time, see how that works. Problem is with that hole is there is a gargantuan sand trap guarding the green. I mean, gargantuan. Humungous. Ginormous. Deep and scary, with dragons and other evil monsters living in its depths. So you don't want to be short with the 8-iron. 

I've always like the next par 4, a picturesque dogleg left. Played it ok except for an overeager approach shot which put me beyond the green. 

I have parred the next hole, a friendly par 4 that the description says is "drivable." Maybe if you can hit it 230 yards it's drivable, but I can't hit it 230 yards.  In fact, off the tee I hit it about 30 yards, though it went about 200 yards straight up. Gotta get those angles worked out. The rest of the hole went just as badly, and I think I ended up with a 7, or maybe a 70 on that one hole. Seemed more like a 70, especially when my approach went flying over the green into the deep thicket beyond. Pathetic. 

Faithful readers will know that the next hole includes a large pond which is almost filled to the brim with drowned golf balls which I have sent to their watery death. Pleased to report that I stayed out of the pond of death, but then got tangled up in the short game and finished it with an 8 or an 80, whatever. 

Eighth hole is a pretty par 3, hit it bad, then hit it bad again, then hit it bad a third time, then 3-putted. For once I was glad to be playing alone so no-one would laugh at my abuse and mistreatment of that mostly benign little par 3. 

Ninth hole I hit a towering drive with the 3-wood that felt very good indeed. Misplayed the rest, but that drive felt dandy. 

Ended with a 55, I think, maybe not counting a couple of really embarrassing shots. I want to be as honest as I can since I have signed up with the GHIN system to try and get a handicap this season. This wasn't the best start, but I hope things will improve. 

I did learn a couple of things, though. First, I love my 3-wood, but I have to be careful not to tee up too high or the club slips under the ball and the thing goes straight up in the air. Also learned the value of staying confident and focused. The bad playing I did on this round was mostly from frustration and trying to shoot before I was ready and quiet in my mind. Finally, I learned that I really must hit it straight. Even if it doesn't go very far, it's gotta go straight. When I hit straight shots I feel good about myself and that makes the whole game better. 

Last thing I learned was that gin-and-tonics are absolutely delicious after rounds of golf. (I knew that already but it's good to reinforce these things.) The bar at BCC has a really nice screened-in area with very comfortable chairs that look out on the 9th fairway. I hope the next gin-and-tonic I enjoy there will have the sweet sweet taste of a well-played round.