Sport is a game of small margins. Fractions of second matter. Just ask any Formula One driver. Millimetres matter too. Just ask any footballer or rugby player who has a shot come back off the inside of the post and miss.
The margins are so tight, even in terms of whether you make it or not. So you're in the top 1% in the world at your sport of choice? Jog on. You're not going to be turning professional any time soon.
Those at that level across all sports are a very very small subset and it's unbelievably hard to break into that group. Just ask the millions of almosts and could have beens around the world. For every Messi and Nadal, there are thousands of Almost Messis and Nearly Nadals. That's sport, cut throat and extremely small margins.
It's not just elite level Sports stars who need to worry about small margins though. As you know I'm an avid golfer, and I've had my fair share of close calls on the golf course. Laser irons into par threes rolling past the hole, narrowly missing out on hole in ones, shots to greens that look perfect only to catch the very last foot of a bunker and plug in the face. Missed short putts or eagle putts that lip out inextricably. You get the idea.
Sometimes though the small margins work in your favour, for instance have a look at the photo below.
I was playing the Tuesday Open with my friend at my local golf course. I had just bogeyed the first, and pared the second, so my start was pretty decent, but the best was yet to come on the third hole, a par 5. The tee shot was actually a Pull hook but it went a fair distance but left me blocked out by trees. I had two options:
The conservative option - hit a gap wedge over a high tree back to the fairway and leave around 165 yards in.
The risky option - hit a 6 iron down the wrong fairway and hope that I leave myself a line in over trees with a wedge.
Me being me, I opted for the risky one, and in hindsight I'm so glad that I did! I hit a pearler of a 6 iron to 70 yards. I had a line in, but I was in lush rough and had high conifers to get over. I love my wedges though so the shot suited me. I pulled my 56 degree wedge for the job figuring that the lush wet grass would take a bit off it and it did. As soon as I hit it, I knew it was good, straight at the target and plenty of height to clear the trees. Ten foot birdie foot I was thinking as I held my follow through and then I heard the sound I'd only ever heard on the telly, an absolute clatter. I'd seen and played many balls hitting off flag sticks over the years but this sounded different! My view of the hole was blocked by the trees and a bunker so I didn't know immediately, but my buddy's celebrations soon told me I had just nailed a slam dunk eagle!! My ninth eagle ever and eight on a par 5, but my first ever slam dunk eagle! A little longer and it would have hit the pin and clattered away, a little shorter and it might have bounced on past or spun back.
Man it felt good and my friend Timmy who was with me, was actually with me for one of the other eagles too, which was pretty cool and we don't play that much golf together as he lives on a different continent! He was on hand to get a few pics too, which was great. He was as excited about it as I was!
I'm not sure how many more eagles I'm going to have in my golfing life, but it will be very hard to top that, perhaps only a hole in one or an albatross would better it. Such a good feeling, I was beaming. Here I am retrieving my ball.
Unfortunately my golf went a bit awry after that and I didn't seize the opportunity to go very low, there was a real opportunity to shoot in the 70s at that point (which I've never done, 83 is my PB), -1 through 3 meant that +8 for the following 15 holes would have done it, but if my Auntie had balls she'd be my uncle too!
4 really bad holes cost me, and mainly because of bad decision making and taking on the wrong shots, instead of taking my medicine. Oh well, that's how the cookie crumbles. Maybe next time I'll manage a good early score a bit better!
Here is my scorecard:
I'm buzzing to get out for my next round now and feel I'm swinging it pretty well. My handicap is gone out to 15.7 too, so Sunday's July medal is firmly in my sights, but that will be a strokes competition, so 18 solids holes of golf is required to feature.
The photos used are all my own captured on my trusty Samsung smart phone
