While everyone who plays golf can enjoy the feeling of hitting their longest drive, getting up and down from an unexpected place, holing a long putt or experiencing the many mental health benefits the game can offer, players of different skill levels undoubtedly go through contrasting emotions and challenges on the course.
A 20-handicapper who’s never broken 80 clearly isn’t going to understand the pressure associated with shooting par or better for the first time. Likewise, a scratch golfer can’t relate to the little joys experienced by someone in the high teens, like breaking 90.
Three-putting from ten feet or making a rules mishap that costs you shots will irk everyone from professional to complete beginner, but some specific scenarios are more relatable to certain handicap groups.
Below, I’ve listed 12 things you’ll only understand if you’re a mid-handicap golfer…
Stress from the 5th hole
If you’ve started uncharacteristically well, it will be almost impossible to maintain that for a whole round – you’re acutely aware over every shot that you’re playing good golf and could be on for your best ever round. Cue the inevitable meltdown.
Bye bye, balls
It’s virtually impossible to make it through a round of golf without losing at least one golf ball. If you do, it’s nothing short of a miracle. And if you somehow finish up on 18 with your original ball, you’ll almost certainly have chipped and putted appallingly.
The waiting dilemma
On occasion, you’re capable of driving a short par 4 or attacking a par 5 in two, so you have to wait for the green to clear in both scenarios. But if you wait, you know you have no chance of pulling off the shot. Paradoxically, if you don’t, you will almost certainly flush it.
Do you wait or reach for an iron?
(Image credit: Howard Boylan)
Second shots into par 5s
Similar to the above, second shots into par 5s cause you real difficulty when you’ve hit the fairway and are in range. You rarely find yourself in this position, which adds pressure as the thoughts of ‘wouldn’t it be amazing if you made an eagle’ infiltrate your mind. Cue a top, thin, slice or duff.
Failure to reset
If you don’t feel comfortable over a shot, you know you should reset and start the process again… but for some reason you…
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