The joy of new experiences

While I was a big fan of putt-putt golf in my younger years, I never had a desire to play "real" golf; I thought that the only way to do that was to play on an expensive regulation 18-hole course where real golfers would be hurling curses at a totally green newbie like myself. A friend who is newly and passionately into golf told me about a Par 3 course near me that would be a great introduction to golfing. A par 3 course is a much easier, and smaller, course than those courses you see Tiger playing on TV. The cost is much more reasonable than a big course (this one was $13 per person), and they even had Sheri-sized clubs I could use. I thought "Why not? Aren't retired people supposed to golf?" :)


As with any new experience, there is a learning curve. Those first several holes, I was maxing out on strokes for every hole and not coming anywhere near par 3. My ball didn't even catch air until maybe the third or fourth tee--it's kind of hard to get to the green if you can't get your ball up in the air. :) I tend to be a perfectionist, so of course I was grumbling at myself every time my ball veered off course (though I only hit the trees once and never lost a ball). Because of my putt-putt history (though it's well in the past), I was generally better at putting than driving.

The experience reminded me of learning to bowl. I love to bowl, but I can be quite bad at it. I have a congenital bone defect in my arms that causes them to be off-angle at the elbow. It's not something you'd notice to look at me, but can be a challenge for me in carrying heavy objects or in sports or skills that require precision with your arms--like bowling, golf or billiards.

When I learned to bowl, I threw gutterball after gutterball until I learned to angle my body in a way that compensated for my "crooked" throwing arm. I started going through the same process the day I played golf for the first time, but it will take several more tries at golfing before I find "the sweet spot"--the right place to stand to get the ball to go where *I* want it to go.

Toward the end of the 9 holes (I figured 9 was enough for my first time!), I was really enjoying it and had improved in strokes. Did I ever get a par 3 in 9 holes? Hell, no! But I did get a couple of par 5s...and I was quite happy with that for my first time. It was good exercise and the course grounds are lovely (and thankfully shadier than most courses). I really enjoyed the experience and expect to be trying it again.