Golf can be an incredibly rewarding game when the weather is fine, you have the course to yourself, you’re in good company, playing well and hitting the occasional shot to remember. However, golf also provides plenty of opportunities for a long list of frustrations when things don’t go according to plan. Here’s a sample of some of the things that drive me crazy now and then. Thank goodness they don’t all happen in the same round.
- As a right-hander I only ever fade/slice the ball, unless of course the dogleg is left to right.
- The only time I can hit a 100-yard bunker shot is when the bunker is three feet from the green.
- The shortest drives I ever hit are on a ‘longest drive’ prize hole.
- The more I practice, the worse I get. After not playing for three weeks, I play great. Perhaps after a 6 week break I’d be brilliant.
- The moment someone says “You’re playing well today,” I may as well walk in as my round is ruined.
- My brand-new box of expensive branded balls will be lost in no time. Those cheap lake balls will be with me forever.
- The lay-up, with my reliable 150-yard club, to stop 20 yards short of the lake, will go 171 yards. I stand corrected. Those lake balls do exactly what they say on the box.
- Taking the sensible approach — laying up short of the greenside pond — just means I’ll be dropping after my next shot anyway. May as well go for it, save a shot and another lake ball.
- If someone warns me about the out of bounds on the right, I’ll go into the water on the left. If someone warns me about the water on the left, I’ll be making a contribution to the lake ball industry.
- When I hit the best shot I’ve ever played, I have no real idea why. When I hit my worst shot ever, my golfing partners suddenly become professional tour coaches.
I could add many more to the list but I’ll leave it to you to send in a few more observations that drive you mad on the course.
Play well
Send us the things that drive you crazy about golf. Email them to us at contribute@puttbandit.com and we’ll publish some of the best in our monthly newsletter.
Neil is a director of PuttBANDIT Ltd, and co-inventor of the PuttBANDIT ball marker. Neil currently plays off a handicap index of 16.1.