Addiction?

The week before last we were in the midst of a glorious Indian Summer and after having found myself on the golf course every afternoon making the most of the last of the Golden Weather I had to ask myself some difficult questions.

Is this golf thing becoming an obsession?

 Am I becoming addicted to the ping of my driver as I tee off?

Do I need to find a local branch of Golfers' Anonymous ?

Do I need to get a sponsor?

No No No
All  I need is a great golf buddy who is as keen as I am to go out as often as possible for a round.
And luckily for me I have just such a friend.
We both started playing golf at the same time back in April 2010 in response to a little flyer that came 
through my mailbox urging:

 "Ladies Give it a Go-3 Free Golf Lessons at Avondale Golf Club"

And give it a go  we did .

And we saw that it was good.

At the time I was needing something to get me out of the house and re-engaging in the world.

Gentle exercise and fresh air, but something new I had never done before so I would not be comparing my body

and its ability to perform with my pre-treatment self.

Something that helped me focus on the present moment and distracted me from the constant pain in my jaw and face.

After our three free lessons the Club Captain offered us a temporary three month membership at a very reasonable rate so we could see if we enjoyed golf enough to warrant joining.

 

Very canny plan! 

Well as we played a few rounds amongst the big trees and delighted in the monarch butterflies that festooned some of the trees on the fairways and occasionally alighted on our balls( the ones we did not loose!)we slowly became hooked.
At the end of the three months we signed up for a half years membership with the Nine Hole Ladies Club.
 And a steep learning curve began!

"Great Golf is a Matter of Club Selection"

proclaims an advertisement in the Golf Gazette.
And I found most of my clubs at The Super shed (-the recycling shop at the dump) for $2 .
Although putters were harder to come by and cost $10.
My golf bag was procured for $1 on special one lucky Thursday.

My assumption that golf was a snobby and expensive game was getting turned on  its head.

Lovely $1 Golf Bag

 Attached though I was to my Tartan Golf Bag(so fitting for the Royal and Ancient Game originating in the Kingdom of Fife,Scotland) this week I bought a new bag with birthday money.

Last week I played in the semi-finals of a Handicap Match Play game at Avondale.I was up against one of the best players in our club but because it was Handicap Match play my opponent had to give me 8 shots i.e. if she scored 50 and I scored 58 we would be even.
This is one of the great things about the Handicapping system in golf-all players can start from an equal footing no matter their skill level.
I told myself that if I won the game I would spend my money on the new bag I had been eyeing up at my favourite golf shop.


So I got lucky- I played a good round and with the 8 shot advantage I am through to the final.The new bag was purchased on Tuesday.

The Old and the New

 

 

A Hole for each Club

 Oh beautiful blue Shark bag 
with 14 separate compartments,
one for each club. 

This, as I discovered today, makes it so very much easier getting the clubs in and out of the bag and eliminates a lot of the clanging together of the clubs as you trundle around the course uphill and down through patches of liquefaction(yes I live in earthquake city!)


On a Roll....
My winning streak continued today when I scored the lowest round at club day.

-a 35 with the help of my handicap(which is now 20.2)

And my prize?
A golf ball of course.

But not just any old golf ball.
Very auspicious for the first day out with the NEW BLUE SHARK   

I win a Lady Shark ball.

It's Sharkeys day today