Best Round Of The New Year

During the winter months it is always difficult to play as much golf as in the summer. Shorter days and worse weather make it harder and often less appealing to play which often leads to higher scores when we do play. This year I have taken a very different view of the off-season to that which I have taken in the past. I am viewing it as the off-season for competing but the on-season for practicing. I have probably practiced as much or possibly even more during this winter than I did last summer. I am delighted to say that I am seeing results from this before I expected to.

This weekend saw the best weather, at least for golf, we have seen for a while. There was no rain and fairly light winds combined with warmer temperatures making a round of golf an even more enjoyable way to spend a few hours. I am delighted to say I was able to take advantage of the better conditions and shoot 1 under par. However what I am more excited about than the score is that I had 7 birdies which is as many as I have ever had in a round before. As you can tell by the score I made plenty of mistakes in the round but I did not let any of them distract me. Being able to play this well in January is very encouraging for me because I did not expect to see any real improvement in score until the competitive season starts in April.

What is almost as exciting for me is that for the first time ever I had eagle putts on all three of the par-5s. This does not excite me because it is something I can boast about in the clubhouse, but because it shows the time I have been spending in the gym is helping my golf. I know I have been getting stronger but this is the first time I have seen serious evidence for it on the golf course. I am also pleased that I have been able to increase my power without losing accuracy or consistency of strike. I am not interested in just hitting the ball further because that is not going to improve my scoring. I want to improve my accuracy at the same time so I am very encouraged that I was able to hit 12 out of 14 fairways. For the record I had tap-in birdies on all of the par-5s which helped my score immensely.

What I am really excited about is that this round came in January and I still have a few months before the season starts. I have never really had any periods of regression during my time playing golf so I am looking forward to seeing where I can get my game to before the competitive season starts.