"Great experience though..."

One guy thought I was 25. Another thought I was 17 and shrieked when someone told him I have been happily married for almost four years.

I definitely didn't have the playing resume most players in the field had, but I know I prepared hard enough and I know the courses were set up to favor my style of play. The two gentlemen forced to watch my ugly slice for two days had several PGA Tour appearances to their credit as well as distinguished collegiate and mini-tour careers. They both missed the cut, too.

No doubt the worst part is always calling home to get the "I know you didn't play as well as you wanted to. It was a great experience for you though."

Ah, the "great experience" speech. Friggin' hate that speech. It's almost worse than someone asking you "What happened?" after a bad round. What do you mean, what happened? I played like shit. That's what happened. What do you want me to say? Got a bad draw? The pin sheet was wrong? A horrible bounce? Prepared golfers don't pay attention to any of that crap. Unprepared golfers get bad bounces, lip outs, bad breaks and a shag bag full of excuses. I digress...

I understand fully that to be great at anything, golf especially, there is a process required of most participants. You have to learn to swing the club before you learn to play. You have to learn to play before you learn to score. You have to learn to score with your friends before you learn to do it in competition. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. No disrespect to the process, but I don't have the patience for the process to run its course. I'm not better than the process, and I don't think I'm exempt from having to persevere through it. Just don't have the patience to wait until the next National Championship so I can cash in the bucket of chips I accrued from this experience.

As I sift through the wreckage, I think most of the fuselage is still in tact. My ego and humility have spilled out all over the place, but determination, hard work and desire to be better at a younger age than everybody else will act as the glue to piece everything back together. Now that I am thinking about this situation rationally, it may be possible that each time you get the "great experience" speech, and you pick up all the pieces, assess the damage, and re-assemble, the greater whole is way stronger than before. It will also be able to withstand more pressure than before.

After missing the cut, I was texting with a good friend who has been through all of this ten-fold. I told him it was a tough week, didn't play well, but it was an awesome experience. After a few witty exchanges typical of our written communication, I made clear my distaste for "awesome experiences". He responded: "Awesome experiences lead to victories." His response is one reason he is such a good friend, it is another reason he is such an accomplished golfer. However, it is THE reason becoming successful at anything requires an outside perspective to point you in the correct direction, especially when you do not have the patience to do it yourself.

So, there. That's what happened.

Final Tune-up Before New Mexico

Hopefully this is a sign that we are peaking at the right time!!

http://tinyurl.com/lnw5yw