You Never Forget Your First Time

The first time I ever played a full 18 holes, I shot a 128. That was years ago, and I remember thinking how shooting 100 seemed impossible. But I did it. The first time I shot 100 was at The Crossings in Carlsbad, CA. Hubby and I played with a retired man and his middle-aged son, who were very nice, relaxed, chill kind of people. After we were done, a staffer at the golf course asked me how I did, and I said, “I just shot the lowest score of my life.” He looked at me like I must have broken 70 or something. Little did he know that 100 was the lowest score of my life at that time.

Today, 90 is the lowest score of my life. That’s right. I shot a 90 today, all by myself. (The 90 I shot when I played the bramble format at the Martha's Place charity tournament doesn’t count since I was assisted by hubby’s monster driving on some of the holes.) Over the past few months, I have been shooting in the high 90s, and once shot 94, but I was wondering when I would ever shoot lower than that. Turns out today was the day.

The location of this feat was Fox Hollow, which has become my favorite course. It’s where I shot a hole-in-one-last October, on the same day I shot a 99 and first broke 100. And now, it’s where breaking 90 will be my goal. My playing partners were Debbie Harry and Dodi, who are both super laid-back, good vibe kind of people. But out of sheer coincidence, the same OMG from last week joined us. He did some irritating things, including smoking a lot and marking my ball with a wooden tee, without my permission, when I couldn’t get to the green fast enough, but I returned the favor when I took the flag out of the hole on one of his long putts, and he wanted it to stay in (but really, you’re supposed to take the pin out once everyone is on the green anyway).

And, I am not ashamed to admit that I rode a cart today (or “rode the wagon” as Dodi likes to say). It is easier to play golf when sweat isn’t pouring into your eyes. Other thoughts: Driver wasn’t great, but it didn’t suck completely. I have learned when to hit my hybrid and when to leave the 7-wood in the bag. Also, even when I didn’t make greens in regulation, wedging it close to the hole and one-putting is just as good.

Here, for posterity, my scorecard:

In case you're wondering, the numbers in the first row of my scorecard are my "distances from the pin" on each tee shot. I put an X when my drive sucks so bad I don't bother recording it. Later, I subtract this number from the hole's yardage to get an approximation of how far I hit each drive. I put this number on the bottom row. The tick marks in the second row represent each shot I take to get on or near the green, unless it's a par 3 and I can keep track in my head. On par 3s, I also write "on" or "off" or "bunk" to indicate whether I made it on or off the green, or landed in the sand. 

I usually tally the front 9 before proceeding to the back 9, but today, I didn't want to put pressure on myself, so I waited till I got home to add it all up. I was pretty sure I did well (for me) since I didn't have any 8's on my card, and only one 7. 

90 is better than I expected for today. A lot better. I am happy tonight. And I will remember this day for a long time.