First round is in the books and my, what a roller coaster ride it was. Writing my blog this morning, I forgot to describe the weather. This morning, it was a bit cool. I was wearing pants and one of the ICTSI polo shirts. Just your normal outfit but before warming up on the range, I was feeling a litle cold in the low 60s weather. The air was very dry, which reminds me of Arizona and we're also elevated making the ball go a bit further than usual. Once I finished my warm up session, I was feeling just fine.
I mentioned before about not boring my readers about a hole by hole description. However, the first 6 holes in which I took just 6 putts was quite an adventure that cannot-not be told. Hole #1 is the toughest on the course, playing 470yards into the cold breezy Guangzhou air. After a drive that found the fairway, I was left with 220yards. A chunked hybrid left me with 60 for my third which I played to about 18 feet past the flag. Downhill putt and I read the break perfectly, center cut and a par save early on. You would think that sinking an 18 footer would be the quota for the day. Besides, during the practice round yesterday, took about 38 putts and did not hole a putt past 4 feet. Then again, when it's game time, I have a knack for making putts when it matters. The very next hole, I holed a 33 foot left to right breaking putt for birdie. Pretty impressive to hole two putts in the first two holes right away considering how bumpy and grainy these greens are. However, lately, nothing has seemed to be impossible with how I've been playing and what I've been pulling off.
After a bogey on the 3rd and a nice save on the 4th, I once again struck on the 5th hole by holing a 25 footer for birdie down the hill. On 6, a drive that found the left rough, I was unfortunate to be put right behind a tree. A diagonal playout left me with 120yards to a blind pin. All I could wait for once I hit my shot, was the reaction of my playing partners on the green. They cheered and rightly so, the ball nestled less than a foot away for a tap in par. On 9, a short 500 yard par 5, I was left with 215yards from the middle of the fairway. A solid hybrid to the back of the green and two putts later, a nine hole score of
2 under.
On 10, another par 5, I set myself up with a 12 foot putt for birdie and made it again. 3 under thru 10 and at times like these, you just wonder why golf couldn't just be this easy all the time. But then... (play the suspense music they do in horror films) reality, or put it this way, a temporary night mare set in. As if a dry spell was cast on my game.
I went on to miss a birdie putt on 11 from 12 feet.
Miss a par putt on 12 from 10 feet.
Miss a par putt on 13 from 3 feet.
Miss a birdie putt on 14 from 6 feet.
Miss a bogey putt on 15 from 6 feet.
Miss a par putt on 16 from 7 feet.
Granted, I didn't play all that well through this stretch as evident by the putts I had left myself, however give me a break! Couldn't the golfing gods at least given me a few putts in that stretch to fall!
What I'm a bit upset with myself during this stretch, is the fact that I kinda got down on myself, almost as if I couldn't handle the failure, that I couldn't handle the stretch of bad luck. I know this is a horrible attitude to have, which is why I'm mentioning it to make a mental note in the future that no matter how bad things can get, it's imperative to keep a stable mental state to avoid any subsequent major crashes that could really put you in a position where recovery is out of reach.
Fortunately. on the 17th hole and I was 2over at this point, I made a 20 foot putt for birdie. On the last, I hit a solid drive leaving myself with 125 yards. With the wind blowing from my back, I thought I could muscle a 54 degree wedge up there however it can up short of the green. From just off the green from 30 feet and the pin sti in the hole, I made the putt for my 6th birdie of the day and took just 25 putts despite that cold stretch in the middle. Overall, I'm very pleased with a even par 72, which puts me in a tie for 5th overall out of 100 players, a familiar position of mine in recent months. One of the Filipinos, Art Arbole, is leading with a very impressive 5under par round.
I'm confident that tomorrow, I can put together another solid round. Today's roller coaster round reminded that invincibility is never permanent in golf and that dealing with emotions is more important than ever when the going gets tough. Today, I got away with it but in the future, I'll resolve to remain more stable.
Nap time!
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