Tournament Golf

I participated in another golf tournament yesterday.  This one consisted of a large Ryder Cup-style competition between the "Northern" and "Southern" members of the club.  (The quotations are there because the categories were pretty amorphous; there are more Southerners at the club because of its location in Georgia.  "Northerners" included the English and German guys, etc.)  We had a team competition on Saturday and an individual match on Sunday.  

I played pretty badly on Saturday, as my transition to a "better" swing sometimes left me exactly halfway between the old and the new golf swings.  This, as anyone who has tried to play the game seriously will understand, is death.   Especially in competition.  

My teammate and I struggled valiantly but lost all three points to the Northerners on Saturday (we took them to the last hole, anyway).  I then proceeded to lose all three points to my Northern opponent on Sunday in singles (while again reaching the last hole).  Considering my 0-6 lifetime points record, I will never again mock, from my couch, any Ryder Cup golfer with a bad record in competition.  This stuff is hard.

While I can honestly say I didn't feel much more pressure than I do in an ordinary round of golf before I teed off, my frustration level certainly spiked higher during the round.  Maybe it's the feeling that "this matters to other people, not just yourself".  When I can't execute the way I want to in an ordinary round I can fall back on the thought that "this will help my handicap" or, "it's just one hole, and 7 is a high as you can record anyway".  But when you're in a competition these consoling thoughts aren't available to you because every hole matters.  I found out that when you get down a few holes, it almost feels like suffocating - especially when your opponent isn't making any mistakes.  

The South lost the team competition as well, overwhelmingly as it turned out, after a victory the year before.  My only consolations were that my dismal showing did not represent the margin of victory for the other team, and that I met some really nice guys during the tournament.  It's hard getting to know a membership of a club so far from your home, and these tournaments are a great way to interact with other members in a way that you wouldn't get to ordinarily.