A Golfing Tale of Two Halves
“Life is often a game of two halves: in the first half it lulls you, makes you think you’re in control; in the second, when it sees you’re relaxed and helpless, it comes around again and grinds you to a pulp” Virginie Despentes
As I recently teed it up at Celtic Manor Golf Resort for what would invariably be my last round of the regular season, I couldn’t help but reflect wistfully on a Golf season which promised so much, yet ended up leaving plenty to be desired.
At the beginning of the season, I bullishly proclaimed to anyone who would listen, that this year was going to be my year. I held lofty ambitions of bringing my handicap down from 20.7 WHS to single figures. If I could get to 9, then I’d consider that a very successful season. At the very least, I wanted to deliver a mid-table finish (i.e. a 14 handicap) to meet my own self-imposed minimum standards.
Short Game lesson with Neil Matthews
In pre-season, plenty of work had been put in with my Golf coach. The foundations were laid, with particular focus on my short game, an area of my game which had previously been my Achilles' heel and was proving a blocker to achieving my potential.
In the early months of the season, there were some morale boosting results, with rounds carded as low as +13. As you might reasonably expect, my home form was impeccable. At the sanctuary of my home course - the magical little 9-hole gem which is Brecon Golf Club - I was untouchable. I was regularly carding scores below my handicap and trending nicely, in pursuit of the stretch target I’d set myself at the beginning of the year.
Brecon Golf Club, Hole 9 / 18
Yet we all know that home form only gets you so far. This is a results business and it’s the points you pick up on the road, in unfamiliar and sometimes hostile territory, that really prove your mettle.
Indeed, a recent Golf society trip to Le Touquet promised to separate the wheat from the chaff. As is often the case with Scottish competitors on the European stage, it’s all well and good having solid domestic form, but it’s whether you can deliver on the big stage and on “proper Golf courses” that the critics really care about.
La Mer Course, Le Touquet Golf Resort
After 3 rounds at La Mer, Le Foret and Les Pins - with a meagre cumulative total of 80-something stableford points from a handicap of 21 - I’d been taught a valuable lesson in course (mis)management. Architecturally and layout-wise, these courses were no joke and nor were their greens. You cannot afford to be loose off the tee, else you’ll be kissing goodbye to your scorecard quicker than Del Boy can utter the words “Mange Tout, Rodney”.
More pointedly, my lacklustre showing did little for my confidence and self-belief. If anything, it made me question whether I’d ever get my handicap lower, if I couldn’t cut it in a competitive environment.
So, by the time I headed to Celtic Manor on Saturday 28th September 2024, I just desperately wanted to close the year out in style with a good score and go into the winter with my head held high.
Approach to the 13th green at Roman Road, Celtic Manor
Before proceedings got underway, there had been a few lingering concerns about whether I’d fully recovered from the bout of Coronavirus I’d contracted whilst playing in a European competition over in France. After passing a late fitness test, I rocked up at the 1st tee on the Roman Road course, full of hubris and selective amnesia about my showing in France. This was to be a fresh start.
So, out came the driver…only for me to get under the ball and sky it some 100 or so yards. Once the ball had come down from orbit - leaving a crater in the ground that most meteors would be proud of – I addressed the ball for my second shot. Confidence returned, with a solid punt up the fairway with my 4 Hybrid, a club I can rely on and one which tends to be the first name on the team sheet every week.
With a double bogey to start, followed by a few leaked tee shots out of bounds over the next few holes, my scorecard was in tatters early doors. All told, the front 9 wasn’t pretty. It was downright ugly at times. I figured that, if I could get in at halftime and regroup (get to the halfway house, eat a sausage roll and give myself a stern talking to), then I could treat the back 9 as the “2nd leg” and another fresh start.
When I eventually teed it up on hole 10, I decided to throw caution to the wind. I buried the hatchet and recalled the Driver to the starting line up. In the first three holes of the back 9, I carded a par and two bogeys, with the driver pulling the strings and back on song.
Everything was ticking along nicely, until the 18th hole, when it all went south again. A pulled drive out of bounds was followed up with a perfect provisional ball, which split the fairway. Typical… and so very annoying.
Signing off with a triple bogey seven, I headed indoors, placed my order at the bar and sat down for the post-match presser (a chinwag with the lads over a chicken burger and a Heineken 0%). I lamented my luck and blamed the officials for my downfall (the Head Greenkeeper for placing the flags in ridiculous positions on the greens), as well as publicly throwing my driver under the bus, for such an abject performance.
Celtic Manor’s culinary delights
Yet, despite feeling somewhat beaten up and downtrodden, I nonetheless felt resolute in the knowledge that my Golf is trending in the right direction. More importantly, I reminded myself that there’s more to Golf than just scorecards and strokes gained.
I reflected on how - thanks to the community I’m building through GYH - I’ve made some incredible memories this year. I’ve ticked off lots of new courses and made many new friends. Most importantly of all, I feel that Golf is continuing to help me on my healing journey, after the loss of my son, Innes.
Though the season hadn’t ended as I hoped it might, I’ve learned a lot about myself this year, both as a Golfer and as a person. As for my handicap…well, there’s always next year.
