The writer shortly came upon why a member-guest golf match is a distinct sort of animal.
Nick Dimengo / Jake Paulson
Golf is exhausting. You don’t want a mid-handicapper with a elaborate job title like “GOLF Instruction Editor” to inform you that.
However simply because , big-picture, that it’s troublesome, doesn’t imply each bogey, double-bogey, slice, hook, shank, or 3-putt is any simpler to swallow. The sport humbles even the perfect gamers on the planet, reminding them that only one small mistake can result in a catastrophe snowball, driving up scores and crushing their confidence.
That’s a part of why all of us play, isn’t it? To attempt to seize magic for one spherical, one gap, or, hell, only one shot! I do know it’s for me, and it’s why I needed to check myself by taking part in in my first-ever member-guest match — which turned out being a harder tablet to swallow.
What I realized throughout my first member-guest occasion
It’s exhausting to complain if you get to play a former U.S. Open web site like Chambers Bay three days in a row. Add in the truth that it was 70 levels and sunny just about your entire member-guest occasion — a rarity for the Pacific Northwest this time of yr — and the setting couldn’t be extra gorgeous.
However golf is about extra than simply spectacular views and dreamy layouts: It’s about scoring low, and that’s why my first-ever member-guest match was an actual battle.
The format was fairly easy, with Day 1 being a 9-hole, 2-man greatest ball. Days 2 and three have been each four-ball stroke play, with the scores being added up from these two rounds on the finish to find out the winners.
Don’t fear, my associate and I didn’t sniff the highest of the leaderboard.
Now, look, my teammate for the occasion was a buddy of mine who’s an 18-handicap, so with my 15-handicap, it’s not like we have been sending the A-team to the rattling factor. Nonetheless, we have been hopeful that we might at the least compete. And like each delusional golfer, there was speak about “successful all of it” on the hour-long drive from Seattle to Chambers Bay.
Foolish mid-handicappers, we’re.
The outcomes have been so poor that I really debated whether or not or not I even needed to put in writing this story — however if you wish to see the massacre, you’ll be able to see the ultimate standings right here. To be frank, I’m embarrassed with how I performed, and comprehend it’s not the extent of golfer I’m. I count on extra from myself, however once more, golf is exhausting, so perhaps the golf gods have been simply being merciless to me as a “beginner” within the golf match world?
However my job is to be the voice for common golfers in every single place, sharing experiences with fellow amateurs to assist break stigmas and push ourselves to attempt new issues as golfers. So if a mid-handicapper like myself can play in a aggressive golf match, so are you able to. If I have to be the guinea pig, I’m as much as the duty.
Should you’re enthusiastic about taking part in in a golf match for the primary time, do it. Simply be sure you learn among the issues I realized throughout my first-ever member-guest match — they might aid you carry out higher than I did at Chambers Bay.
Nick Dimengo / Jake Paulson
Set sensible expectations
As talked about above, my teammate and I got here into the member-guest with false expectations. Neither certainly one of us had ever performed in an occasion like this earlier than, so we had no thought what to anticipate. We have been excited, anxious, nervous, and optimistic.
However with nice expectations can come nice disappointments, and we felt much more stress to carry out after each shot — each good and unhealthy. We didn’t wish to wreck an ideal drive, so we pressed on our strategy shot. Likewise, we needed to hit hero photographs if our tee photographs left us in bother, which solely compounded any points.
Keep inside your self and simply play your sport. It’s not straightforward to do, however to achieve success in a match setting, it’s a should.
Embrace your imposter syndrome
While you’ve received eyeballs on you, it’s straightforward for the golf nervousness to kick into excessive gear — which all of us expertise that at one level or one other. Now when these observers are golfers who occur to be strangers, properly, you end up urgent just a little bit extra.
Throughout our match, we discovered ourselves making an attempt to go shot-for-shot with the folks we have been taking part in with, even after we knew we didn’t have the identical capability.
So simply because a man bombed his driver 320 yards to hold certainly one of Chambers’ depraved bunkers, doesn’t imply we ought to be hitting that sort of shot. As an alternative, it’d be smarter to membership all the way down to one thing extra snug, poke a tee shot into the golf green, and keep away from errors that foolishly added strokes. Sadly, we didn’t do this.
Distract your self with actually something however golf (however know your viewers)
For me, this was the most important distinction between an informal spherical of golf and taking part in in a member-guest golf match — as a result of the competitors isn’t informal.
Once I’m taking part in with buddies on a random Saturday, we’re busy doing little facet bets or busting one another’s chops, protecting the temper mild, enjoyable, and relaxed. Whereas we by no means received paired with any jerks throughout this member-guest occasion, it was clear that these guys didn’t need any facet conversations. They have been targeted on their subsequent shot, or dialing of their mentality earlier than an enormous putt.
It was a serious change from what my teammate and I have been used to, and actually threw each of us for a loop. As an alternative of settling in and taking part in relaxed, we allowed that added stress to mess with our heads, which, finally, threw us off our sport. The rounds have been enjoyable, little question, however they have been definitely extra severe.
Make the most of any handicap strokes on a gap
One other troublesome factor to adapt to was the free strokes my teammate and I received on sure holes. For example, since he’s an 18-handicap and I’m a 15-handicap, there have been instances when an extended par-5 was really a par-6 for us (which means our rating could be a net-par if we scored a six, and a net-birdie if we scored a 5).
Sadly, our video games by no means actually tailored to that benefit.
As an alternative, we pressed and tried to play the opening as marked on the scorecard — an actual drawback given our talents. Should you’re getting free strokes due to your handicap index, adapt your sport to play safer and never so aggressive. You don’t want to take action on each gap, however decide your spots, use sensible course administration, and don’t get discouraged if it takes you an additional shot to achieve the inexperienced.
Preparation is nice, however execution is larger
“I really feel so good, man, I hit the ball glorious on the vary,” I’d inform my teammate earlier than every spherical of the member-guest occasion.
Now ask me how that translated to the course.
Don’t get me unsuitable, I hit some good photographs in the course of the golf match. However there have been method too many instances when the intimidating format that Chambers presents simply completely wrecked me.
Like many amateurs, I targeted on the outcomes of my vary session pre-round, slightly than the method. I bombed driver to attempt to give me confidence, however ignored practising the brief sport and placing — which is the place strokes added up in a rush in the course of the occasion.
I solely labored on the strengths of my sport on the vary, and dismissed the weaknesses. So when it was time to execute these powerful photographs on the course, I had little probability to see success.
The brief sport issues most in member-guest golf tournaments
Talking of the brief sport, boy does it make a distinction in a lot of these tournaments. We’ve all heard the expression, “drive for present and putt for dough” earlier than, and on the subject of aggressive golf, this couldn’t be extra true.
The pins at Chambers have been tucked in corners, and the slopes on and across the greens have been unforgiving, so the teams that had contact from 50 yards in have been those who excelled.
It’s enjoyable to attempt to exhibit your power from the tee, however if you’re placing from 20 toes to avoid wasting par and the opposite group’s received an 8-footer for birdie, just a little added distance with the motive force isn’t as cool.
So for those who actually wish to compete in a member-guest golf match, I counsel working in your brief sport and placing earlier than a spherical to essentially dial it in. Had I finished that, who is aware of, perhaps the disastrous outcomes would’ve regarded — and felt — just a little completely different?
Whereas my teammate and I each had our ups and downs all through — and yeah, extra downs than ups — general, it was an unbelievable expertise. It gave us an opportunity to play golf at a top-rated course, meet new folks, and take a look at ourselves as golfers.
And what? We’ll be again subsequent yr higher ready and able to really go win this factor. Name us delusional…however that’s simply a part of being a golfer.
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