I pray that I never forget the round that changed my golfing life, or the feeling I get when I think about it. Going in to the position week (1st plays 2nd / 3rd plays 4th and so on) Jim and I were well behind 3rd place, we needed to beat them 14 to 6 to be able to take over 3rd (which in our league is a beat down). When I walked into work the day of the match I had so much confidence and I told Jim that all he needed to do was get 4 points and I would take care of the rest. That meant I needed to win my match 8 to 1, which just doesn’t happen. I shot my career low 9 that day with a par/par/bogey/Eagle/Double/Par/Par/Bogey/Par/Par = 38. The Eagle was on a really short and quirky par 4 that is only 220 yards to the center. There is a very small alley to get to the green that most can’t hit into because you have to hit a towering shot due to all of the trees on the way. This isn’t too bad of a shot for me since I hit my irons very high. I put on the center of the green and sank the 12 ft. putt that followed. That for sure wasn’t the highlight though. Brockport’s 9th hole is a 310 yard par 4. The green is elevated and there is a good size pond that starts at about 250 and continues to 275. Not to mention you can only see a small corner of the green from the tee box. Without much wind you have to hit a high long draw to make it to the green and I am known in our league to hit the ball far. One guy in the league is on me every time we play that side to go for the green but I hadn’t had the confidence to give it a go. But there was something different about that day.
From the tee box you can see an area where most of the guys in the league sit out at after their round and have a few beers as it overlooks the 9th green. I could see that pretty much the whole league was out there as they wanted to see everyone finish as it was the last week. I knew I had to at least try it. So I teed my ball up as nervous as I had ever been and hit a damn near perfect high draw that landed pin high just off the green in the rough. I can still remember hearing the murmurs from the 9th green and the one guy who had encouraged me to do it say, “That had to be Brian.” As we approached the green they were all in awe, in awe of me. They knew that no matter what, never in their lifetime had they done anything like that or ever would be able to. Sure it was just a drive that thousands of people could do, but it was just the fact that there was a group of 20-30 guys that for just a moment wished that they could be me. Yea it may sound like the biggest ego filled story in the world, but unless you have that feeling you have no idea how good it feels.
When I was riding home after the round I had to call Katie (the girlfriend) and let her know about what happened. It was then that I vowed to myself to give myself to the game, only in an effort to have that feeling once again. I don’t care if I make it in the golf world, but I do care that I give everything that I have to try to make it. Sure I have everything stacked against me: 22 years old, no money, beat up clubs that are fit to me, and no swing coach. Not to mention I have a girlfriend that I would do anything for, I am trying to get my Masters, trying to work enough to pay bills and play golf. There is no time limit on golf which is what makes it such a perfect fit for me. I will get to scratch and I will get good enough to compete in the regional amateurs, and then I will get even better than that so I can compete in State Amateurs, and then I will get good enough to compete in the U.S. amateurs. And who knows what after that, all I know is that I will give it everything I got.
The Izzo Big Daddy Insta-Net does however keep the balls in the net as long as you hit it there. It just takes some getting used to and you have to play with the positioning of the net. All in all, for the price you can’t beat it.
