No. 32: Competitive Jitters
Dear Pards,
It finally happened—I lost sleep over a round of golf.
Here’s the story: I played in my first-ever Club Championship. This was also the first solo golf tournament I’ve ever played in.
Going into the weekend, my goal was simple: break 85 both days.
After Round 1, I shot an 81 and sat firmly in the top 10. Going into Sunday, I was excited and, admittedly, a little nervous.
There was a moment when I was standing on the putting green before my group’s tee time. It was quiet. I realized the top half of the field, and the better golfers at the club, were practicing around me, completely locked in and ready to go.
I thought to myself, “Oh s###.”
To keep a long story short, I proceeded to shoot a 97 with four triple bogeys—including one from inside 3 feet.
Pards, I had to be proud that I still finished in the top 20, but I can’t shake the disappointment.
Monday night, I literally had a nightmare about pumping my 5-wood out of bounds on the par-5 fourth hole.
Which has left me wondering: Will I ever be able to sleep normally again?
-Restless in Rocky Mount
Dear Restless,
Thanks for writing in. I want to start by congratulating you on entering the illustrious club of folks whose sleep scores are affected by a tiny white ball. Also, I applaud your willingness to step into the arena and have an elderly man scribe your name in Old English outside your club, with your score as the only story beside it.
As you learned, competitive golf is its own game. Without knowing your index, I’d say your biggest mistake was starting on the wrong side of the line of scrimmage. We’ve all done it. You try so hard to avoid posting the giant number that you forget to try and throw the ball downfield and make a birdie every once in a while. Before you know it, the clock hits zero, and you’ve run out of chances to make a tweeter. Unless you’re Michigan.
The profound modern-day major killer said it best earlier this year after the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach:
“If I’m out here to try and make cuts, I’m probably done.”
-Brooks Koepka
Keep putting in reps. You will soon add a few more plates to the bar and effortlessly lift a little more as time goes on. As for the lack of sleep, that won’t ever go away.
P╞r╠℮P.S. The stamp at the top of the newsletter is Roaring Gap Club, by Dave Baysden. It is also a sneak peek at September’s mail club, which will be sent out shortly.
Nothing beats laboring on the first–and maybe hottest ever–weekend in September. Whether that’s showing ten houses to buyers in town, installing an electric cattle fence for two new Angus beef heifers en route to our home, or crashing a three-year-old’s birthday pool party.
The only thing that might be better than Labor Day weekend is a buddies' golf trip. I wrote a letter to it that’ll go out later this week with the 6th edition of the mail club. You should subscribe if you don’t already. More importantly, though, message me if you need beef.
