Northbridge & Mona Vale

From the tee on #5 at Northbridge

That little pink dot at the back of the green is my ball

This weekend we played 9 holes on Friday evening at Northbridge, went to the driving range on Saturday morning, and then played 18 holes at Mona Vale on Saturday afternoon.

I played pretty well at Northbridge. I hit so well off #5 that I was on the green (just) for one! Then proceeded to stuff up my putting and still haven't got a par :(

At Mona Vale however I played terribly. I think I just freaked myself out thinking that it would be too hard, and that I can't play golf and I'm not good enough. So stupid! I was topping almost every ball, and just getting so frustrated. My behaviour wasn't very good, and at one stage I even chucked a little tanty and threw my club! Luckily Greg was so patient and nice! At hole 15 I decided that I was giving up and I would go sit in the car and I hate golf. Then I hit the best ball of the day and proceeded to play ok from then.

So... points to remember:

• Don't freak out! 
• Relax, I can do this!
• Don't overthink it - just step up to the ball and hit it
• Stand closer to the ball than I think
• Keep arms (especially left) extended
• Keep head down and don't pull up
• Once I'm striking the ball nicely, then concentrate on rotating the wrist to stop the slice

Also just need to remember we're playing this for fun! It doesn't matter if I hit crap shots, cos the next one might be better (or worse) and it doesn't matter! Remember that I'm outside walking in the fresh air with my husband, sharing something we enjoy together in beautiful surroundings. We're lucky to be able to enjoy it, so best enjoy it while we can!

Greg teeing off on #3 at Northbridge with fuzzy ducklings watching on