I don’t know what to say anymore. It was a bad day.
The only bright spot was 17, a 175-yard par 3. I put it 5 feet from the hole and had a birdie putt. And of course I missed it. The hard part was done, the easy part was left, and I still couldn’t finish. That sums up my whole year.
Then there’s number 8, which I’ll be having nightmares about. I went a little left, down into the valley. I thought I hit the shot out of there well, but it pushed right and went straight into the trees. I dropped and hit again, and it went into the trees again. Two penalty strokes, and I never made it out. I don’t follow through when I know what I’m doing, and this time my hands just stopped. The face was probably open too, and that didn’t help either.
The putter is done. The Scotty goes in the closet for a while because I can’t get a feel for it. Nothing ever finds the sweet spot, so I leave putts short, then hit one pure and it runs 10 feet past. Maybe the smaller grip is part of the problem. I’m going back to the old two-ball Odyssey that i made longer and it has a much bigger grip. If I play again, someone remind me of this.
And what is the point of all of it? I’ve committed to golf this year. I bought new clubs and took lessons, and my iron play has genuinely improved 2 fold. Many more greens in regulation and additional distance on my irons. The driver, not so much, hitting it pretty well but distance feels the same. And the chipping is killing me, even more than the putting. From 50 yards in, a half swing and I’m fine. Right around the green, I get quick and I lift up. The ball flies over the back into the sand, and it takes me two to get out. It’s so fucking frustrating. I even took a chipping lesson from Chris, and my setup is fine. It’s something in the motion. Why do I lift up? Why? It’s so stupid.
So I’m done for a while. A couple of months off, then we’ll see. Honestly, I should probably take the rest of my life off.