What is it with Golf
2-13-13 WOSO Commentary
Although there are excuses for not meeting my 14 handicap golf
goal during 2012, the fact is that golf has been the hardest sport I have
played.
I was on the Harvard College varsity ice hockey team, one of
the few sports in which Harvard can compete with the best in the nation. If I could put a moving puck in the net while
skating, avoiding being hit physically, and avoiding the attempts by the
opposition to stop the puck’s flight to the net, then surely, I should be able
to hit from a stationery position, a stationery ball, to a stationary target
with only stationary natural beauty being sometimes in the way.
So why has it been so hard to go beyond being a good player
with an 18 to 20 handicap to a slightly better one with a 14 handicap?
There are more, but let me give you three reasons why golf
is so difficult.
1.
The golf swing is highly technical and varies with the
club. Mastering the swing with the different clubs takes study, practice and patience.
Minor mistakes in many aspects of the set up, club selection and swing will
magnify themselves incredibly, whether it is a 250 yard drive, a 10 yard chip,
or a two foot putt.
2.
Golf designers put hazards all around in every hole to
make you nervous regarding an errant shot, and to have you struggle deciding
whether to take the longer, safer route, or the more daring, direct one to the
flag in order to save a stroke.
3.
A really bad golf shot can ruin your score for the day.
That lost ball that went out of bounds into the woods cost you two strokes that
is on your scorecard for that day. Missing a shot in hockey or basketball will
normally have little or no consequence. This irreversible consequence of a bad
golf shot works on your mind in awful ways.
Stay tune to see if I reach my 14 handicap goal during 2013.
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