Each week this summer, Citizen editor Neil Godbout will share his experience learning to golf at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club. Want to get in a free round with Neil? Just drop him a line at [email protected]
Week 13
Golfed last week with Lauly and Darren, a fun couple from Fraser Lake I had never met before, who reached out to me about getting in a round at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club.
They taught me two valuable lessons as I stumbled my way around the course to another 65-64-131 score.
Things were going well for me until the par-5 ninth hole. I sliced my tee shot and since I’m a lefty, the ball curled to the left, struck a tree and came to rest in the grass to the side. The ball was sitting up (golfers call that a good lie) and all I had to do was punch a line drive, something I do a lot naturally, under the branches to get it another 75 to 100 yards up the fairway.
Darren wasn’t so sure.
“Take your medicine,” he advised, urging me to just turn right and use my wedge to gently get myself back on the fairway and out of trouble.
I didn’t take my medicine and paid dearly. My four-iron swing knocked the ball up, where it hit a branch and bounced back and further left, coming to rest directly under a small tree. Now I was in big trouble.
My third shot was simply to go on my knees and sweep the ball out about 10 feet. Now frustrated, my fourth shot from a terrible lie in thick grass only went about 20 yards. My fifth shot finally found the fairway but I was still nearly 250 yards from the hole. Angry with myself, I spent another four shots bunting the ball up to the green and then two-putted for an 11.
A decent eight holes for me, including a 4 on the par-3 third hole, wasted by one disastrous hole.
I recovered and played better on the back until the 16th, where I repeated my ninth hole score, thanks to sloppy swings and finding the water twice.
On the same hole, Lauly provided a good example of how to take advice. About 135 yards out but facing that small strip of water in front of the green, she seemed unsure which club to use.
“Just pull out your club that you always use to hit 135, forget about the water and drop it in,” he gently suggested.
All doubt erased, she pulled out a hybrid, calmly stepped up to the ball and her smooth, easy swing produced a beautiful arcing shot that dropped easily on the roomy green and left her with a decent 40-foot putt.
Lesson learned. When golfing with better, more experienced golfers, recognize their superior knowledge and heed their words. So when he told me to keep my head down so I would stop topping the ball and he and Lauly would watch my shots, I did and immediately hit better again, of course.
