Over the past weekend, I met up with some former work colleagues at an old job I used to work at. We normally meet once every 2-3 months or so, that number increasing due to life commitments, distance and flexibility, etc.
We played some golf, and I became a golf monster!
We headed out onto the small Pitch and Putt golf course and approached the first hole with confidence; well, I did anyway, having played a little bit of golf in the past, not enough to say I'm good but enough that I won't miss my swing over and over. We placed our balls in different areas. I managed to find a smooth bit on the artificial tee-off spot, but the 2 newbies opted for the real grass. I let the two newbies hit first, and after a couple of swings without hitting the ball, when the sound of the club hitting the ball finally came, their balls surprisingly stayed relatively straight and kept on the fairway, albeit a hundred yards short after only managing to hit it 15–20 yards. Furthermore, I stepped up for my shot...
I had my golf ball on the tee and held my breath as I began my swing, I come down hard with power and get an incredible connection with the ball generating so much backspin. At first, it looked like I had overhit it. The pitch-and-putt course holes are only 80–125 yards max. My friends looked concerned as the ball kept getting higher and higher the further it went, but then, when it finally began coming down, it came down quick and like a dart. It lands on the green on the very edge, and the backspin gives the ball an aggressive whiplash, pulling it from the edge of the green and rolling to a respectable distance of around 8–10 yards from the hole. I felt great has the Alice cooper book really helped me, has playing golf+ on my VR headset helped me and did watching beginner swing techniques help me. The answer was yes, or so I believed until the second hole. Again, the two friends on the second hole kept the ball relatively straight but lacking any noticeable distance or height. I place the ball on the tee for my second swing the confidence fairly high at this point. I swing back this time a little higher as I only do half swings for now. Furthermore, I come down hard on the ball and I hear the same satisfying contact of club to ball but as the ball leaves the tee I watch in regret as the ball slices horribly wide over a tree and if there were rules probably out of bounds. I didn't even bother looking for the ball; I took another out of my pocket and went again. I later found that ball whilst going round the course; it was actually on the green! Just on a different hole to the one we were currently on.
You would be pleased to know that after the 18 holes I won by 7, but I won't brag; it was the first time for these guys other than struggling for distance they didn't seem to struggle with slices.
I don't play golf much, price and dress code being the biggest barriers to entering this slow but fun sport. Luckily, Pitch and Putt offers the golf experience for a low price, a smaller course and no golf etiquette.
Normally my chosen sport to play would be football, tennis etc but as you can see by the photos the grass is in a poor state even on golf courses. It is just too dry and with no rain in months I think it is a write-off for any decent grass sports for the month unless we get huge amount of rain, which looks unlikely.
I wrap up today's post here. Thank you for reading.
