Category: Blog

  Hi! Sorry that I missed a week, but my mom got sick on a trip to Albuquerque and couldn’t drive back to Farmington. Now I have a lot of material to write about. For instance, the high school golf season has ended with the shortest tournament I’ve ever played! So, the shortest tournament ever—all three holes of it! There were a lot of firsts involved. It was the first time I’ve had to pick up my ball because I had gone over double par, the first time a game has been cancelled for weather conditions other than lightning, and the first time I can remember when the creases of my bag filled with ice. Can you guess why the game was cancelled? If you guessed heavy hail, you’d be correct! However, the game was still a success because my friend and I found out which name came first—orange (the fruit) or orange (the color). The answer really surprised me. Orange the fruit predates orange the color by about three hundred years! I wonder what we called the color orange before the 1600s? I’m now going to elaborate on picking up my ball at the last tournament. In most Junior Varsity games, if you exceed double par (six on a par three, eight on a par four, etc.) you pick up your ball and your final score is double par. I think this rule is designed to improve pace of play and decrease huge scores. I have hit over double par during tournaments before, but not when the double par rule was being used. The last tournament was at Hidden Valley in Aztec, and on hole nine (a par four) I was on the edge of the green and lying nine. In previous posts I believe I have mentioned that I am a perfectionist. One would think that having to pick up because I “failed to do well enough” would be very upsetting for me. I thought so too, but, strangely, I didn’t care. I think this was at least partly due to the fact that I had hit a very bad tee shot that I didn’t think I could recover from (therefore preparing me to take the “blow”), and the fact that I couldn’t feel any body part that wasn’t covered in at least two layers of fabric. Therefore, I didn’t care about anything but indoor heating. So, obviously, these were not normal circumstances. I have slowly been getting better about maintaining my optimism when reaching new personal lows in my game. There was a First Tee lesson last summer in which I played three holes which were a par three, par four, and par five. I got a nine on the first hole, a twelve on the second hole, and a thirteen on the third hole. There was the high school lesson I mentioned in a previous post where I got a fifteen on a par three. There was the first time I touched the bottom of the deep end of the swimming pool. (Different kind of low!) In summary, I have slowly been improving my mental game using mind tricks I mentioned in previous posts. This post is proof that all the mental tactics I use actually work! Last fall, it would have been unthinkable for me to happily pick up my ball during a tournament—whatever the conditions. -Birdie

Wow, my sixth post already! Time flies when you’re having fun. This post is about my first Varsity tournament last Monday. My last post was about the worst and weirdest conditions I had ever golfed in. This post is partly a continuation of that and partly about how much harder it is to play when you are panicking. Monday, April 3, was rainy, cold, and just windy enough to freeze you to the bone without affecting the ball very much. Of course, there was no lightning, so the game never got called. By the end of the first nine holes, I couldn’t feel my hands, ears, and nose. That was actually an improvement over being able to feel them because when you can’t feel something, it can’t sting from the cold. By the eleventh hole, my hands were an interesting shade of red. I am so happy I had a warm, semi-waterproof sweatshirt to wear. Otherwise, I don’t think I would have lived to tell this tale! This tournament had many firsts for me. The first time I played an entire game from the turquoise tees at Riverview… the first time I have whiffed a ball in over a year (I whiffed it three times!)… the first time I have walked that far during a tournament (it’s way easier to hitchhike during Junior Varsity tournaments)… and the first time I have had to hold back tears at a tournament. Having to hold back tears is very unusual for me–as you may have gathered from my other posts. What happened was that I had been stressing out about this upcoming tournament for a week, and after getting a nine on the second hole (which is a par three) I panicked. I had constantly worried about humiliating myself, and when I messed up I felt that the worst had come to pass. This was not exactly an accurate perception, but the week of over-thinking had taken its toll. Luckily, my coach came by and saved me from myself. She told me that it was normal to not do as well at your first “big” tournament and that she had had me play this game for the experience, not as a test or even as a normal game where the goal is to play your best. I’m so happy to have coaches that know me so well that they know how I feel and how to make me feel better. Sometimes, despite all the mind tricks I have, life is still too much for me to handle. I didn’t get anything below a bogey, but taking the weather and my nerves into account I think I did pretty well! In the end, the worst part of the tournament was the fact that playing while panicking jacks up my swing. Now, I’m dealing with old habits I fell back into during that tournament! -Birdie  

  Hello, and welcome to my fifth post! This post is going to differ from my previous ones because I could not think of a mind trick to write about. Instead, I’m going to share stories about some of the craziest, weirdest, and most uncomfortable games or practices I’ve ever had. I’m going to start with a high school golf tournament that took place last fall. It was eighteen holes and a scramble. What made it unique was the fact that it rained the entire time. No lightning, just a steady drizzle from about 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Since there was no lightning and the rain was relatively light, the game was not called. Since the game was not called, I was out in it the entire time–except a ten-minute break for lunch. If you have never golfed on ground so saturated it’s spongy, here are some facts. If you happen to get under the ball–even a little bit–you are going to end up with a divot that’s about six inches by three inches and about 1\2 inch deep. The sand traps become like the sand at a beach that the waves have been washing over–hard-packed yet sticky. And here’s some advice–don’t try to wash the mud and sodden grass clippings off your shoes in a puddle. That was my stupid idea of the month. The part of this game that made it so unlucky that it was funny was that I could not golf and wear my rain jacket at the same time. By the time the game was over, I was soaked to the skin. Even if the rain jacket is awesome on hikes, it may not work for golf. This next one happened this week–Tuesday, I think–during practice. The weather on Tuesday was not pleasant to say in the least. It was cold, overcast, and windy. On the second hole I played, it started to hail! The hail was coming down hard, and when it hit you, it could really hurt. I didn’t even keep score because all I cared about was getting inside a car or building. Very soon the coach came and took the group I was playing with and me to the parking lot. Like typical New Mexico weather, it let up as soon as the practice was cut short and everybody was sent home. My last story takes place two summers ago during a First Tee class. The class started late in the first place because it was raining so hard. I don’t think we had even finished a hole before it started raining again. There was also a lot of thunder and lightning, so they took us in. That year, there was a young woman who was a kind of assistant teacher. She was the one with my group, and while she was driving back to the clubhouse, the rain started coming down harder. It was coming down so thick and hard that she couldn’t see through the windshield and had to lean her head out the side of the golf cart. I can remember laughing so hard I could hardly breathe while the woman kept saying that the rain was hurting her face, it was coming down so hard. It is one of my favorite First Tee memories. This last paragraph is not about weather and is more of something I have always wanted to tell the world. I get frequent bloody noses. They are completely harmless, and I have been getting them since I was three. They tend to happen when I am stressed or have not been drinking enough water. It also might be genetic, but I’m not sure. They barely even faze me at this point, but for some people it can be upsetting or worrying. However, when others around me get upset or worried, it stresses me out, which means that it takes longer for it to stop. So, if you are ever golfing with me, please do not get upset. It just makes things worse. If you have any “crazy conditions” stories you would like to share or also get frequent bloody noses and would like to tell people about it, you can post your story in the comments section. -Birdie

Hello! First of all, I’m sorry that this post is a couple of days late. I had no time to write it on Sunday or Monday. The reason I had no time on Monday was that I was playing at the second JV game. (My team tied for last–with three over par! Personally, I think it went amazingly.) Again, I can’t go into specifics because it was a scramble, but I got my inspiration for this post from the game. “The Value of Bad Shots” may seem like a nonsensical title, but it’s true–bad shots have value. Good shots are preferable, but if you hit a bad shot, you can use that shot to learn how to avoid hitting another shot like it. This is probably the hardest-to-perform trick I have written about so far because it requires you to be aware of and understand every shot you take. Also, it only works if you know how to alter your swing for the better. For instance, yesterday I hit a shot that came off the tee, hit the ground immediately, and bounced and rolled to a stop. I can remember how that shot felt and, because I have made so many mistakes, why it went so short. What happened was that I straightened one of my legs mid-swing, which caused me to hit the ground before I hit the ball. For the rest of the game, I paid more attention to keeping my legs bent. Even if you don’t know what is wrong with your swing, it’s still a good idea to pay close attention to how the swing felt. What I’ve found is that an uncomfortable shot is almost never a good shot. Also, if you know how it felt, it will probably be easier to compare it to other shots. That way, you know which shots to try and replicate. This tactic is actually an adaptation of The First Tee’s Four R’s– Replay, Relax, Ready, and Redo. Replay your last shot, Relax and don’t worry about the next shot, get Ready to hit and plan your next shot, and Redo–hit your next shot. It sounded tedious and kind of silly to me when I was learning it, but now I do it without even realizing it! -Birdie

Hello! I have some great news! The 16th was the first high school Junior Varsity tournament. It was a two-person scramble (meaning two people hit, and both people play from wherever the best shot lands), and my partner and I came in second in the girls’ section! However, I regret to say that I cannot write about the tournament because I did not remember to ask my partner if I could talk about her in my blog. Instead, I have more tips on how to enjoy golfing! As the title implies, this post is about knowing your limits. Knowing your limits is important–such as knowing when another helping of ice cream would be a bad idea and knowing when you’re going too far into the deep end of the pool. This is also true for golf. If you’re not having fun, struggling to stay awake, or something else like that it might be wise to call it a day. This is especially true if you’re struggling to stay awake. Yesterday, I had a bad day. I got in a fight with my mother and then went golfing before I resolved the conflict. This was a VERY bad idea. I cannot golf when I’m angry, period. This is not true for everybody, of course, but it’s true for me. I had no fun at all and didn’t get anything below a double bogey during the entire four holes I played. (Considering the circumstances, I was doing remarkably well. Normally I would be scoring double digits.) I skipped the fifth hole and then my dad and I went home. I was very unhappy with how the outing had gone, and I felt that I had “given up.” I do not like feeling like I’m a quitter. I am still a little sore about how the fraction of a game went, and part of the reason I’m writing this is to remind myself that it’s perfectly okay to stop doing something if you are not having fun and have no obligation or commitment to it. Everybody golfs for different reasons. Some people golf because others are doing it, some because they want to win, and some because they just love golfing. If you are golfing for yourself (and not at a lesson or a tournament) and the game is not satisfying you, just stop. You’re not quitting or being lazy, you’re doing what’s right for you. If you really want to stop but feel bad about it, don’t think of it as stopping, think of it as making a tactical retreat so you can have a better time another day. That’s what I do! -Birdie

Hi! Welcome to my second post! (For those who didn’t read my first post, I am a Birdie level First Tee participant who is writing about her day-to-day golf experiences.) I have been on the golf course a lot this week, and I am looking forward to writing all about it. High school golf has started, and I’m up to my eyes in water hazards. Also, chip shots and pitch shots are driving me crazy (almost literally). All in all, it’s been a great week! The first high school practice was just… well, practice. I simply went back and forth between the practice green and the driving range. I am going to skip over what happened on Tuesday for that reason, even though I had a lot of fun and hit some great shots. On Wednesday, I went out on the course and played three holes. The first hole I played started really well – it was a par four, and I was right next to the green in two shots! But my next shot went long and landed in a bunker. As a result, I spent my next four shots in futile efforts to escape. The first three shots took too much sand with them and fell short. The last one did not fall short. Yay! Then I had an uneventful two putt. I walked away with a grand total of ten.  So, in summary – my long and short game were good but my approach and bunker shots were not good. Here I’m going to insert a short history of Birdie and approach shots. I had a hard time learning how to chip and an even harder time learning to pitch. I have since gotten to a point somewhere between good and okay. However, I still freeze when faced with one of these shots. As a result, I can execute a practice chip with ease, but I struggle when faced with the reality. Water hazards also cause me to mess up, as the next paragraph will indicate. The next hole was a par three fraught with water hazards–two regular ones and a single lateral one. My first shot went straight into the first regular water hazard. The hazard was dry, so I retrieved my ball and hit a beautiful shot onto the grass on the other side. My next three shots landed in the second regular water hazard, although normally it would have been easy for me to hit a ball the distance I needed to. Once I finally reached the edge of the green, I chipped my ball all the way across twice and ended with a three putt. Counting all the penalty shots, I got fifteen. Remember, this is a par three. I think I deserve a reward for perseverance! The last hole I played went much better than the other two (I got a five), and this is relevant because in the past, I would have spent the entire time obsessing over the other two holes I had just played. I would have been thinking, “I’m doomed. How can I ever expect to hit a good shot again in my life? I bet every good shot I have ever hit in my life was just luck!” Which was definitely false, but an easy way of thinking after my first two holes. I have learned that the longer you believe in negative thoughts, the more likely they are to come true. Instead, I focused on how awesome my day had been, how much fun golf was, and all the GOOD shots I had hit that day. It made all the difference. This brings us to the conclusion of my post. During my incredibly poor shots on Wednesday, I did my best to maintain a good attitude. I consider this the most valuable lesson The First Tee has taught me, and the most important element of my game. As a perfectionist, dealing with anything I perceive as failure does not come easy to me. Here is some advice for anyone out there who is crushed by a bad shot: forget about it. Shots are like days–what happened last Thursday has no effect on today, and what your last shot was like has no effect on the shot you’re hitting right now. If last Thursday was a bad day, you might still be making amends. And if you hit your ball into a bush, you’ll have to hit out of that bush. But you can fix what went wrong. I’m not saying this is easy–in fact, it can be next to impossible–but once you get the hang of forgetting how that last shot went, you can treat every shot like a new beginning.   -Birdie