I was lucky to get to play one of the best golf courses in PEI last week, it’s just a shame I’m such a horrible golfer.
I was in the province to attend a wedding and played in the groom’s tournament at the Brudenell River Golf Course on the east side of the island on Friday morning.
It’s an immaculate course with a beautiful setting, winding through a forest and along the waterfront. Everyone there said it’s one of the best in the province.
We got to watch bald eagles fishing along the river on one hole, and then I sunk a drive right into a large water hazard in front of the tee.
I should have known things were not going to work out too well at the first tee when I drove the ball at a near right angle onto another fairway.
I hate to say I am one of the worst golfers you will ever meet.
I can’t remember ever walking off the 18th green with less than 140 strokes behind me.
I’ve taken to calling golf ‘bowling with a stick’ because I’m just as likely to send the ball rolling along the ground as I am to get it airborne.
It’s not just a lack of skill either.
There was a sign in my room at the hotel in Brudenell that said it takes luck to be truly great at golf. Luck, it seems, has passed me by on the links. Last week, I was in a sand trap and the ball ended up hitting the lip of the bunker and rolled into a second one beside it. It came to rest further back than when I started.
We were playing best ball at Brudenell, so I can’t say what my score would have been on Friday. I know I would have been assured last place, and the prize of a bottle of wine for the worst score. Instead, I was on the second place foursome and we finished second with 79 strokes, four strokes back from the first place prize of a bottle of wine.
I have to thank my teammates for being patient and trying to help me out. I learned I stand too far back from the ball. I need to keep my head down. I need to take more practice swings before I attempt to hit the ball. I also need to keep the driver in my bag. I tend to do better with a 3-wood.
We decided my contribution to the foursome last week was to be the first to putt to test the green and see how the balls would roll.
Despite my continual poor performance at the sport, oddly enough I still enjoy playing golf.
Yes, I get frustrated when I’m digging a hole in the fairway instead of hitting the ball on the green.
Mark Twain is often credited as saying “Golf is a good walk spoiled.”
Not so.
I enjoy getting outside. I enjoy the social aspect of the game and having a good time on the course. And, I think I like the 19th hole the best.
