Tag: fun with friends

If you would have asked me 5 years ago if I ever envisioned myself being someone who enjoys playing golf, so much so that I would actually miss playing it during the winter months, it would have been a solid “no” followed by a chuckle or two. It’s crazy to think back, even that short time ago, and recognize how disinterested I was in playing golf; I had no real desire to get out there and felt it was far too boring. To be fair, apart from mini golfing, my experience and exposure to playing golf was very limited; no one in my household played golf, and neither did anyone in my extended family or even my friends. In school, while I was exposed to many different kinds of sports, golf was not one of them. Thus, many of my years were spent not even considering it as a hobby or pastime, there were plenty of other sports and things to occupy my time, so I didn’t give it much thought… until recently.

A few years ago, our good friends were living up in Port Carling for work (they were chefs working at one of the main resorts) and whenever we could, we tried to go up and visit them for a weekend. On one of these weekends, we decided to go to one of the small 9-hole golf courses up there; something to do for an afternoon and we figured we could entertain ourselves with how potentially bad our game would be. At the time, I knew very little about golf. The basics of the game and scoring I understood, but as far as what clubs to use or how to properly swing were totally unknown to me. In my mind, we were going golfing just for fun; this course was very inexpensive, so it’s not like this round of fun was costing us $50+ dollars or anything. As the day progressed, I was pretty much as bad as I expected to be, with the odds not in my favour, though I did manage to score a par, but overall I wasn’t going to be picking up the clubs again anytime soon. I don’t remember what my score was, but that was probably for the best. Nevertheless it was a fun afternoon hanging out with friends and getting to be outside for the day. After this, returning to the golf course didn’t cross my mind and it would be a number of years before I ever set foot on a course again…

In 2018, one of my very good friends was getting married, and if you’ve been following my previous posts you already know that I was the Best Woman in his wedding. To celebrate, myself and the other Best Woman took our friend to Myrtle Beach for a week; call it a bachelor week celebration but really and truly it was a perfect excuse for us to celebrate over a decade of friendship and go on a road trip. The groom being a golfer, we knew that hitting up a golf course in Myrtle Beach was a definite must-do for the trip. So that’s just what we did. Through researching the kinds of courses Myrtle Beach had to offer, we knew this wasn’t an experience we could simply wing, we needed to arrive to the course looking the part as if we had all been avid golfers for years (or at least trying). I took this task very seriously. I didn’t want to show up to such a fancy golf course and goof around. Of course, having fun was still the main goal, but if I was going to be golfing at a place like Myrtlewood Golf Club, I had to prepare. Not to mention, the groom really enjoyed golfing, so we owed it to him to be in the zone and willing to make the most of those 18 holes.

Months before the trip, I did my homework. I started to learn more about the game and I picked the brain of the groom to ask about his own experiences with golf. I kept an eye on a few shops to see if a good bargain for a set of golf clubs would ever come up, and had my friend looking out as well. I went to a driving range or two, trying whole-heartedly to give myself a better shot at performing well this time around. If I could score a par by fluke the last time, who knows what I was capable of doing on a 18-hole course with some legitimate practice. I knew that we were going to have fun regardless of the score, but I changed my mindset on the whole golf experience; I really wanted to focus on the skills and not just wack a ball around for several hours. Not to mention, I didn’t want my friend to be golfing with two people who were out there taking 8 to 10 strokes per hole; ain’t nobody got time for that!

A few days before we left for Myrtle Beach I was able to find a great starter set of clubs, and loaded up on balls and tees and some other golfing accessories. Before long, days into our trip had passed and it was finally golfing day. All of us were excited! The sun was shining, and we had such a stellar week so far, the golf was going to be another great highlight to add to the reel. With the guidance of my friend, coupled with my own intentions of tuning out any negative thoughts, being mindful of my swings, and focusing my attention on the ball, most of the holes were met with success. Don’t get me wrong, a few of the holes absolutely destroyed any confidence I thought I had about my game improving, I mean 13 strokes on hole 4 is pretty devastating. How does one come back from that? A par on hole 6 should do it! Despite what some may think, getting that par on hole 6 was such an electrifying feeling. Golfing on such a legitimate course, and coming back strong with a par after that horrendous 13-stroke hole 4, was incredible! The day was still early, but it was just the boost of confidence I needed for the remaining holes. Looking back on that game, there were definite lows and highs. Knowing what I know now (which still isn’t a great deal) I recognize where my shots got sloppy (probably due to fatigue) or where I didn’t think ahead of where exactly I wanted the ball to end up. The scorecard was pretty up and down; I did manage to get a few bogeys, but I also managed to get a few more 10 or 11 stroke holes *facepalm*. Overall, that 6 hour day of golf was exhausting. More notably, it left me thinking more about the game more than I ever had before. Now I was interested in getting out there again, and maybe getting another par or two!

During the trip to Myrtle, the three of us did a lot of vlogging, and when we got home and watched some of the footage from the trip, I was thankful that we captured some of the golfing trip so that I could really relive the fun and excitement. Each time I thought about that day on the course, I kept thinking over what I would do differently next time, and assessing where and how I could improve. Before long, I recognized that golf was going to be something that I really enjoyed and wanted to keep playing. Something about being outdoors, challenging yourself and your own skill, as well as the peacefulness of having nothing to worry about but getting that ball on the green was very satisfying. These days, it is so easy to get caught up in all the distractions around us, but when I was golfing, that was all I was thinking about. Going on the golf course allowed me to shut-out everything else going on and just sharpen my skill by defining my thoughts on my own game. Golfing allowed me to be really present in the moment, and to take my time; something that is really taken for granted. Not to mention, being on the golf course was a really great opportunity to have quality time with someone; being outside in a quiet setting has that sort of effect.

Coming around to golf and thoroughly enjoying it wasn’t years in the making. It’s safe to say that one experience completely changed my perspective. Despite having really crummy holes in some of the rounds, I continued to focus on getting better; hitting further, making better contact, having the ball travel straighter to where I needed it to go, and yeah, getting another par or two each round. Perhaps one day, even a birdie! As I said, it wasn’t long before I was back on the course. There were still crummy holes played, but there were many more improvements! I have my friend to thank for a lot of my progress, merely because he was very patient with me but also helped to pinpoint what little adjustments I needed to make to get better. When I would go to him for feedback, he helped me to recognize where I was right, and how I could move forward with my own critiques to ensure that I would get into the swing of things in no time.

So there you have it, a quick history on how I came around to enjoying golf. When I sit down to write these kinds of blogs, it always reminds me of how important it is to not only give things a chance, but how crucial it is to have the right kind of mindset, attitude, and presence while you’re doing these things. Don’t get me wrong, there was absolutely nothing discouraging about my friends the first time I went golf back in 2014, as those people are some of the best people to be around. I believe it is just about timing. There is a time and place for everything, and sometimes it takes some aged wisdom coupled with the growing need for one to unplug for an afternoon and just enjoy the great outdoors with some great company, playing a game that can be so great, and so greatly frustrating.