Finally, A Breakthrough

You know what it's like - practice, practice, practice and practice some more. You expect results. You hope to be able to handle whatever level of pressure you are facing, hoping that the practice and past experiences will allow you to advance further than the previous effort.

In other words - after choking away prior opportunities, you are desperate to make progress. And today I did!

In the Qualifier for the GAM Net Amateur, yours truly shook off the bad memories of last year's horrendous performance (taking a 10 on a short par 4 tends to diminish the chances of advancing), to post a 75 gross, 69 net and advance to the finals in mid-September.

I'm not delusional enough to think the general public was waiting with baited breath for the bottom-of-the-screen ticker to proclaim the news of my round. I realize that very few care. But it doesn't really matter, does it? That's one of the things that makes golf special.

It's a showdown featuring you vs. you. When things go poorly, there's no coach to fire, no draft pick to select, and no lineman to blame for a bad penalty. It's all on your shoulders, good or bad. For anyone who has played the game over a span of years, my guess is that golf has more often kicked you in the teeth than it has patted you on the back.

So please forgive me for smiling a bit today. Sometimes it just feels good to play well, have a score to demonstrate that good play, and advance to swing again another day.