What the F???????

I had the luxury this past weekend of playing golf on the East Coast for the first time in almost 5 years. I was so looking forward to this as it was a really nice course that my brother-in-law to be had picked out in Philadelphia.

My reaction to how this round of golf played out was disbelief. I had played steadily in San Francisco over the last 4-5 years and while I would never boast that I am good- I was shooting somewhat well and coming in around 100-105 by the time Megan and I left. I had the same set of irons that I had bought in New Jersey in 2002 and was capably shooting the ball WELL off the tee with my 4 or 5 iron. Again, not saying I was good- I was at least able to shoot my opening shot a minimum of 200 yards into the fairway or somewhere in the vicinity.

When the future Mrs. LCT and I moved to New Jersey I left my trusty irons behind and intended to buy a set of good irons on the East Coast. Things like furniture and utilities took precedence and I ended up buying a set of generic graphite shaft clubs (never having used graphite before in my life.) I took said clubs to the driving range and hit well.. Averaging about 180 yards with my 5 iron. I felt confident that I would pick up where I had left off and would play well in my first outing.

Saturday- June 23, 2007 was that day. Cobb Creek Golf Course: was the course, and lets just say that my game fell FAR below expectations. I had told future brother-in-law of my capabilities and that I was excited to get out and play.

If I tell you- that it looked like I had never picked up a golf club in my life- I am not exaggerating. I could NOT hit the ball. Not off the tee, barely off the fairway, and my putting (which is usually the highlight of my game- 2 putting AT MOST) was nowhere to be found. I shot a 130, and that score was not even true, it was a merciful rule of maxing out at double the hole’s limit. The clubs were awful- there was so much flex and drag in my swing – that the ball went NOWHERE. I could barely get the ball in the air, and when I did- it didn’t go remotely anywhere near where I was aiming.

While I am not a competitive person in the least- I was most of all embarrassed because I couldn’t provide the sort of game that I had claimed I was capable of playing.

Internally I looked at my game and said “Ricky… you got some splaining to do!” Having legitimately shot under 105 at Lincoln Park, Peacock Gap, San Geronimo, and other Bay Area courses- I was mortified at my playing this past weekend.