A Grand Day Out

Three days ago I played my first full round of golf in over 9 months and needless to say I was apprehensive about the concept at first. After all, 9 months is a long time for your body to forget how to swing a golf club. Having previously played to a scratch handicap and won my fair share of tournaments, I was worried that my ability had faded and my round of golf would serve no purpose but to put me off the game entirely. But despite my doubts I drove off the first tee of the New Course in St. Andrews at 10:40 in the morning and embarked upon a 4-hour endeavor to determine if golf was still something I enjoyed.

Standing on the first tee I was nearly as nervous as playing in the 2007 U.S. Open qualifier, every practice swing felt alien and I felt like I had forgotten on the most fundamental level how to play golf. But there was no turning back now, with 20 members of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews watching I watched my own tee shot sail 280 yards down the right hand side of the first fairway, I was on my way.  Miraculously I managed to par the opening hole. Not a particularly noteworthy accomplishment as the first hole is a 310 yard par 4, but a good start none the less. 

The second hole played out much the same way, another decent drive and approach led to another par.

And then something special happened; my mind and body flicked a switch and picked up right where they left off 9 months prior. With no conscious effort I remembered how to play without having to think. Engaged in vast conversations about anything but golf with my playing partner my subconscious did the rest and par after par followed. Every drive was acceptable, every approach shot felt like it used to and every putt within 15 feet fell – every last one.  There was not a single birdie on my card, but it also contained no notable failures and after what seemed like only a few minutes I was standing on the 18^th green signing my card for a 74.

74 is by no means the best score I have ever shot, my low round was a 63 back in 2007, but this 74 felt like the best round of my life, possibly because during this 74 I rediscovered the allure of golf. Low scores, while fun, are not necessary to enjoy golf. The pleasure one takes from playing is not in the scoring, but in the hours of peaceful isolation one experiences, and the momentary successes that always leave you wanting to play another round. 

This round was special, it instilled a feeling that none of my previous rounds ever did. Nothing seemed to go particularly well, but nothing (and I mean nothing) went wrong. After 9 months away from the game I feel I finally understand it after all these years of playing. And that truly made it a grand day out.