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Monday, September 3, 2012

From Par to 94

It has been a long while since my last blog post because I have been so busy golfing all summer! The golf course is where I spend a significant portion of my time during in the warmer months of the year. While I love training and helping others to reach their health and fitness goals with Surefire Fitness, I am still an athlete at heart and playing competitive golf allows me to do just that - be an athlete.



Teeing off at my new golf home - Elmhurst GC
About 6 years ago, I fell and destroyed my shoulder making it virtually impossible for me to continue playing competitive tennis. A friend suggested I take some lessons and learn to play golf. I had been introduced to golf when I was younger but much preferred the speed and action of team sports compared to the boredom of hitting a stationary ball around a field with a bunch of old people. Despite my hesitations, I took the golf lessons and it didn't take long before I was hooked. With each passing year since that time, I have worked hard to improve my game and despite all of the frustrations that golf can bring (I'll save that for another blog post!), I love the challenge that wanting to excel at golf presents to me each and every day. Golf is BY FAR the most challenging sport I have ever played...

This season started on a high note when I made the decision to join one of my favorite local courses - Elmhurst Golf & Country Club. I knew the difficulty of the course and the superb practice facilities would naturally help me continue to improve my game.

Unfortunately, early in my tournament season, I struggled and finished with very poor results which left me feeling tired and unmotivated. It's always difficult to put so much time and effort into something only to fall short when it counts - I really struggle with that! Knowing that I still had the MB Amateur (our biggest local tournament) ahead of me, I made some changes and scaled back my workout and practice routines - I wanted to avoid potentially burning out so early in the season.

I prepared half-heartedly for the Am, not entirely convinced I even wanted to play after the disastrous start to my competitive season. Not surprisingly, I had a very mediocre first round and thought to myself, "here we go again", which is a terrible attitude to have in the middle of a tournament.

Team Manitoba with the Royale Kittens
at Nationals in Lethbridge.
Somehow, I managed to pull myself together the next day and fired a solid 74 - one of my best ever tournament rounds! I brought that same mindset to the course with me for the final day of the tournament and birdied 3 of the first 5 holes - it was crazy! I stumbled a bit on the back nine but held on to shoot another 74 which landed me in 3rd place and qualified me to represent Team Manitoba at the National Amateur Championships - a first for me, I was super excited!

For Nationals,  I traveled out to Alberta to play a beautiful course called the Lethbridge Country Club. The course was tough with huge trees, narrow fairways, and thick, thick rough. Sadly, I missed the cut in the Mid-Am category by one stroke but I enjoyed the experience of playing with some of the top amateur golfers from around the world!

Managed to get up & down for par on this nasty
little hole at Midland Hills GC in Minneapolis
The summer was filled with smaller events as well but my last big event was a US Mid-Am qualifier down in Minneapolis. I felt great going into the tournament and played a very solid practice round the day before the event. Unfortunately, a good practice round doesn't mean a whole lot when things don't go so smoothly during the tournament round. I finished 6th and did not qualify.

So overall, it has been a very up & down season (not unlike every other season I have played so far!) with rounds ranging from even par to the tired and embarrassing 94 I fired the other day (yikes!). As I move forward with my golf training and practice as much as I can until the snow falls, I will try to focus on the positives and forget about the not-so-positives.
What a nutty game!

K


Kate is also a TPI Certified Golf Fitness Instructor which allows her to blend her passion for golf with her love of helping others achieve their health and fitness goals. Learn more here - http://surefirefitness.ca/golf.html