A wonderful disaster

How can the same round of golf be wonderful and disasterous? How can I talk about it using the two contradictory words in the same breath?

Once you hear what I have to say, I think you will agree with me.

Me and a friend had gone to Batam to play at the Tering Bay course. We had decided to play off the blue tee, just for kicks. Sometime last night, I thought I knew what was wrong with my swing. It had mainly to do with wrist cock and I was not doing it right. I decided to correct it consciously during this round.

My tee shot landed far away in the center of the fairway and it was the best opening shot I could ask for. But as I stood and started my swing for the second shot, some idiot from the group behind me teed off when I started my back swing. And I flinched and hit left. From a terrible lie, I made bogey.

What came next was amazing.

Par. Par. Par. Par. Bogey. Birdie. Par. Double bogey.

I had just played my lowest ever 9 hole score at 3 over for a 39. I was ecstatic and thought this would be a good round.

On the back nine, I started off well with a par and then made a triple bogey. Then a par and a bogey again. And then we came to the 5th hole (we had started from the back nine). And disaster struck.

I hit two consecutive tee shots out of bounds!

I was so stunned with what I had just done that I hit my approach into the water. After taking a 5 stroke penalty, I finished the hole with a massive seven over 11. Until this hole, I had played seven over for the round, and here I had hit seven over in a single hole.

All the fight went out of me right there. I still managed to par the next two holes and then finish the round with a bogey and a triple bogey. But I realized that I had played the last 9 holes at 15 over with one single hole costing me half the number. Had I shot bogey at that hole, I could have shot a round of 84, one of my lowest.

But then, if wishes were golf carts, handicappers would ride.

So I slumped back to the club house in total disbelief, something that had been feeling since the hole that was.

So you see, the round was wonderful because I could play a round where I shot 3 over on 9 holes, where I made 8 greens in regulation, made 9 pars and a birdie and was pretty accurate with my irons.

It was disasterous because a single hole managed to take my focus away and also my score.

But I think I am taking this a lot more positively. That I have the game to shoot low scores. I just need to focus more and practice my driver a bit more than I have.

So it's back to the driving range.