It’s not often you get a chance to tee it up alongside one of the best golfers in the world; even rarer still to play with two on the same day.
However, that was the good fortune I had when I received an invite to play in the pro-am with Linn Grant and Gemma Dryburgh ahead of the 2023 Freed Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald Links.
I’ve watched some of the best female golfers as a spectator in the past, but getting this close to see how they operate was incredibly eye opening and inspiring. Here is what I learnt on a very windy day on the South Ayrshire coast.
Consistency
As mentioned, conditions were really difficult at Dundonald during the pro-am. The wind was blowing at about 25 mph and gusting even harder, turning an already difficult layout into a brute.
Given the routing at this Kyle Phillips-designed modern links, it threw up every kind of challenge: crosswinds, wind straight into your face, even turning downwind was a struggle given its severity.
Yet the way Linn and Gemma were able to control the trajectory, direction and distance was something to behold. They never once even looked out of balance. Instead, almost every shot was struck as intended and flew to the desired target.
(Image credit: Future)
Only once did Linn find trouble when a good drive on the par-5 third just caught the burn that guards the right-hand side of the fairway and is a touch too severe in my opinion.
In contrast, I hit a few nice irons but was all over the place off the tee, losing I think six balls over the 18 holes. Despite being a scratch golfer, it highlighted the massive gulf in ability that exists between myself and the pros, who are able to stack good shot on top of good shot with the minimum of fuss.
Prepare, commit, accept
While the physical aspect of what was on display was highly impressive, especially watching Linn hit a driver which is as good as it looks on TV, I think there is an even greater disparity between amateurs and pros when it comes to the mental side of the game.
Granted, it was a pro-am so there weren’t any tournament nerves, but watching them both go through their pre-shot routines and dial in was something I hope to be able to implement…
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