Bye-Bye Balls

How is it that a tiny white ball can cause SO much frustration and angst?  I am of course referring to golf balls and the ridiculous amount that I lose on a regular basis.  When I took up the game of golf I knew it wouldn’t be a walk in the park, but sports have always come naturally to me so I was hoping for an easy journey.  My first experience on a driving range should have immediately told me otherwise.  Dare I admit that my first time swinging a club I let go of it in my backswing, catapulting it through the air and nearly decapitating the guy two slots down on the range?  Yeah…it’s true.  I wasn’t exactly committed to learning the sport then.  I signed up for Golf Class my senior year at Elon because well, I needed two credits to graduate, it was a no-brainer guarantee of an easy A and lets be honest…there was the potential for more men in the class than women.  (Something that didn’t exist at Elon).


My real interest in and desire to learn and play the game didn’t come until I started working for Doonbeg.  And while I am the token golfer who plays maybe 5-8 times per year and never practices in between, I still can’t get over the amount of balls that I lose!  My worst day came about two months ago when I was playing The River Course on Kiawah and I lost a record 12 balls in 18 holes.  I’m pretty sure the lost ball count could have even been one or two higher but we’re just not going to go there.  I mean really…who loses that many balls in a round of golf yet can still muster out a par or two & a few bogies in the same round?  (two par’s in one round might also be an exaggeration, but who’s keeping track).  It’s also extra depressing when I manage to lose box after box of really nice balls.  Being in the golf industry I manage to come up with free balls all the time.  Pro V1’s, Nike Platinum , etc.

Gmac shrine in my living room :) 

  I sure hope they are enjoying their new homes in the bottom of slimy ponds, the stomachs of Alligator’s and the razor sharp thicker-than-cement grasses of Ireland because my poor bag is now depleted of the “good stuff” and full of range balls I so indiscreetly hoard when I see them.  Those and the box of Srixon’s that G-Mac gave me but those clearly are going to be saved.  FOREVER!


I mean, sure the golf I am playing is on some of the most exclusive, award winning, World ranked courses on the planet so that's got to count for something, right!?  This is the year though; the year my golf game changes.  I've got two months of consistent play (and practice!!!!) under my belt so I'm at least moving in the right direction ...and not hurling 7 irons through the air like Russian missiles.  But really, what must it feel like to play an entire round of golf with the same ball?  Whenever it happens to me, rest assured I will be running into the proshop demanding the award they give to Hole-in-One achievers.  It’s an equally impressive accomplishment in my book!