I played my third round of golf today since lockdown was eased. The first two rounds were good and I played to my handicap, which is not bad considering I had not touched a club since November. Today was not so good as a persistent fault got into my driving for whatever reason. Was I upset. No but I was concerned about my lack of control. There was no point getting upset and emotional as there were obvious things I could fix. I improved towards the end of the round as my confidence improved.
I remember playing a round of golf on a beautiful afternoon a long time ago having teamed up with a stranger for the company. He played beautifully and was keen to impart his knowledge to me who was struggling. There is nothing like friendly advice when things are not going so well. Then we got to the twelfth hole at which point he was 2 over par playing off a handicap of 12. He was so happy. His tee shot on the 12th was miss hit and splashed into a pond. You could see the sudden change in demeanour. The 2nd attempt was no better. On the 3rd attempt he missed the green and ended in a sand trap. By this time his face was going red with rage. He hit his ball out of the bunker so well it sailed deep into the rough. There was an outcry of swearing and he stormed off to the club house without saying a word, not even good bye.
The point of these two stories is to show how important it is to manage your emotions. If you let them, they can get the better of you and ruin a perfectly nice day. If you are sailing in a race and things go against you, rather than getting heated and upset, blaming everything, other than yourself, try focusing on a new goal, like trying to pass the small gaggle of boats in front of you. Firstly you will be much happier, and secondly, if you succeed in passing the boats, it will feel like a win to you and remember there is always another race and the minor win in the last race will set you up nicely for the next.
Life is too short to ruin the things we love doing. Smile, be relaxed and happy and win races.
