I’m playing golf with a friend. He has two birdies, a handful of pars, and one bogie through six holes. He’s a very good golfer, but this might be the best round of his life.
He can’t seem to miss.
On the seventh hole, from an elevated tee box, he hits the ball and pulls it left, launching it high and deep into the forest.
“There goes my round,” he says.
He tees another ball and swings. The result is identical. He launches it into the same spot in the woods.
He tees up another. Same thing.
Tees up another. Same thing.
I’ve seen golfers do these kinds of things in the past, and I have done things like this many times, but I’ve never seen this particular friend fall apart quite like this.
It was unprecedented.
Finally, he puts the driver in the bag and hits a 3-wood down the left side of the fairway. He continues to play the hole poorly and finishes the hole with a 14. I’ve never even seen him score in double digits before.
On the next hole – a par-3 – he puts a ball into the water before finishing with a 6.
It was pretty remarkable:
He had hit the ball about 20 times over the course of the first six holes. Then he hit the ball another 20 times on the next two holes.
All of this would be hilarious, except for this:
Our scores were tied at the end of the round. I went into the final hole with a one-stroke lead. My friend parred the hole. I played it well but still bogied.
We both finished with a 46.
He shot a 14 on a par-4, but I still only managed to tie him.
It somehow becomes a disappointing round for both of us.
And so, a lesson:
Even in your worst moments, when nothing is going well, you can sometimes find a tiny glimmer of light. A silver lining of sorts. Even when you’re failing miserably, you can still miraculously find a way to win.
Or tie, which on a day like that, can feel like a victory.
