Humbled at TCI

I finally had an opportunity to play my home town golf course and in the end I snuck back home with my tail between my legs. For some reason I have been on a golf binge the past week and a half. I have been to four different courses and shot pretty well on 3 of them. Of course, those three have wide fairways, little water and a lot of room for error. So the tendancy is to get a big head and to think that this game is not so hard after all.
But that all changed this afternoon when I played a real man’s course. At the Tournament Club of Iowa you can’t go left, you can’t go right, you can’t go short and yes you guessed it, you can’t go long… You pretty much have to put the ball in one place the entire course.
Number 2 at TCI
It is without a doubt the most beautiful golf course I have ever played and second only to Pebble Beach in terms of asthetic beauty. I did have a few highlights: I pared number 2, sunk a 50 foot putt on number 8 and hit a 300 yard drive on 18. Those are the shots that keep you coming back for more.

I was recently discussing with one of my Pastors why golf is such an addicting game. We came to the conclusion that every time you play, the average golfer has 80-100 chances to be a hero. Every shot is a new opportunity to do something great. Whether it’s a huge drive, an amazing approach, an incredible save from the sand, or an impossible putt, no matter the situation you can always hit the shot of your life. Case in point: I was burried pretty deep in the sand sitting about 20 yards from the pin with only a sliver of landing area. Not only do I have to get up out of the sand I have to land it in an area about the size of my big toe. And at that moment everything came together as I plucked it from the sand and set it gently 8 feet from the hole. Of course I missed the putt after, but that sand save overshadowed my horrible putt.

That is why golf is such a great game.