Day Before:
I’m nervous for sure, but the bar is set very low for the boy! No practice at all this week and the one trip to his coach today resulted in the following feedback: Rob didn’t hit many good shots, so the yardages he gave you were basically from one good shot with each club. He was pretty tired and cold. He has been laid low by an awful stomach virus. Horrible. Horrible. Horrible. Out of school for 3 days and the rest of the week very weak.. Hopefully we can make it round the 9 holes ! And did I mention cold ? It’s freezing !! Tomorrow should be interesting to say the very least….
But we are prepared: clubs, cart, balls, towel, glove (both hands for the cold), hand warmers, bag for drinks and snacks, rule book, pencils. Plus we know what we are wearing – and I bought a hat today that goes with the blue PGA National windbreaker! As author and columnist Regina Brett says : No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. We’re looking forward to it !!
Day Of:
OK, when you have to sit for a while on the practice range – it is a little ominous! He is still weak from the stomach virus and it’s showing. It’s only a 9 hole walk in front of us though at this age so not too formidable, except that is very chilly (Rob wearing left and right handed gloves in warm up and complaining !)
Gratefully we are paired up with kids at much the same level as Rob. Nice kids, polite and supportive. Dads good guys too. The one probably a bit on the talkative side though. More on that later.
The front 9 is not too difficult (granted the 8 years old tee up from 1900 yards) and the hard Winter fairways are very very helpful – even a low flat drive runs forever. Our drives were pretty much all straight – which was our strategy setting out 🙂 . The one driving mess up was admittedly my fault. 70 yard par 3. Rob had the honors so was first off the tee. I had no clue how to tee up a ball for a 7 iron so I teed it up just a little lower than for a driver. It popped up and into a bunker. He then spent 5 shots getting out of the bunker ……
Of course as the round progresses, formerly easy going caddies tend to get more and more frustrated. Big lesson here: as soon as the caddy started talking to much, player got jittery and more inclined to swing the ball into the woods. From circa hole 4 the one dad never stopped talking to his child. Would be correcting him and telling him to ‘hit it straight’ even as he was set up and starting his back swing. The kid never really had a chance.
Wasted shots are very frustrating for player and caddie and often come following some confusion which tips the rhythm of the round. At one point Rob had an easy (well theoretically) chip on to the green. Playing partner was across the green in a bunker, probably a little further than Rob and so up to play. There was some confusion as to who was further off and as Rob was ready(ish) to play I hurried him into the shot which he duly basically missed sending it a couple of inches in the air and back into his impressive divot. Lesson : back off, don’t rush, stay in rhythm.
Probably because I don’t know much I don’t say much to Rob. For his personality this is probably best and makes for a happier experience out there.
At various times during the round he would ask about the score. Kenny Rogers’ The Gambler would jump into my head every time : you never count your money, when you’re sitting at the table, there’ll be time enough for counting, when the dealings done …… I don’t think its good to be focusing on the score during the round. It must be all about the next shot.
My instruction on hole 9 after probably his best drive of the round was “hit the green”. Hitting the green rake and having the ball bounce into another bunker was not quite what I had in mind and this time it took us 2 to get out!
Practice this week is SAND shots. Strategy is to be a ‘sand specialist’ – this way we don’t necessarily have to be scared of the stuff !