My Greatest Round in 4 Years...

Well folks, it happened. For the first time since 2019 (and only the second time ever) I have broken 80! With a score of 79 following up my 39 on 9 holes from the round prior, I feel amazing. Two great rounds in the books in a row after one of my worse on record. But what feels even better is how I did it.

The round started off rocky. I pulled my opening drive into the trees and had to punch out to the side - not ideal. But I managed to chip it in from beside the green, walk away with a bogey and felt alright about it. On hole 2 I 3-putted for another bogey. On the third hole I pulled my drive again and put it into a lateral hazard and had to take a drop. This hole was already hard enough and I wound up with a double and am sitting 4 over through 3 holes. I sit down on the way to the next tee box and try to collect myself. This isn't a tournament game, it's just my weekly skins game. And, yeah, I would like to have a good round to help lower my handicap but right now I just want to go out there and take it hole by hole. Get a few good hole scores and win some money - simple. I end up parring the next two holes and wind up with a 7 over 43 on the front. As I head in to top up my coffee I joke to myself "Hey, just par the back nine and that's under 80, buddy."

Something must have clicked and my brain must have thought that I wasn't just joking because I ended up getting 3 pars and 2 birdies on the back nine to start. After the birdie on 14, I felt great but the reality of what I was doing started to set in. We were about to hit the par 3 that starts the drive back in towards the clubhouse and here I was, 5-over par and 2-under for the back nine. I had a shot to do this. I had a shot to break 80 and maybe even beat my personal best of 78.

I head up to the tee with my 9-iron in hand, ready to play some smart golf and rattle off some pars on the way in. This hole and the last are already in my mind as I usually don't score well on those par 3s but I try to push it out of my and just hit the ball in front of me. And, I barely hit it. I didn't top it, just managed to barely get the bottom two grooves. I end up chipping on and two-putting for a bogey. The next hole, I plan on making that stroke back by birdieing the par 5 . But I do what has been hurting me all day and pull my tee shot again. I punch out from the tree line, have a long iron to the green and miss just right. Chip on to 2 feet and tap in for par.

I bogey 17 and now it all comes down to 18. I need a par and those are not easy for me to come by on par 3s. I head up to the tee and this time hit a well-struck ball. But, I hit the right edge of the green and bounce off. I chip up onto the green but I'm still left with an 8-foot putt for par to break 80. As I stand over the ball I take a few deep breaths to steady my nerves. I loosen and tighten my grip a few times and then hit my putt on my line. It doesn't move much until the end but finally, my ball drifts over to the left and lands right in the heart of the cup. I exhale a huge breath of relief as I stare at the hole for a few seconds.

I did it.

I pushed through and somehow kept it all together.

This round was huge for me. And not just because of the scoring milestone. Being able to regroup and save a good score after a rocky start felt amazing. Holding things together (for the most part) on the tail end of the round was incredible for me. And having to make that mid-range putt to save that par on the par 3 was intense but I managed to pull that off too. I feel like this game was a great step for my mental game and being able to grind out a good score after a bad start.

Here's hoping for a few more low rounds to start dropping that Index.