[16. A sequence of accurately applied forces” ]
The penalty drop is obviously disappointing but you cannot afford to let it affect the next shot. After the penalty, the ball is in position A and needs to get to desired position B; how it got to position A does not have any effect on it getting to position B, unless you let it have an effect!
Your frustration at having plugged into the face of the bunker is understandable but probably means that you were unsure about your choice of second shot all along and you have ended up also feeling cross with yourself for having chosen the unsafe option. All these emotions are filling your head when you are attempting to hit an accurate chip. It is no wonder that your “timing” isn’t quite there and you leave the chip short.
The challenge of golf is to see it for what it actually is – a sequence of accurately applied forces – and leave others to do all the emotional stuff. Emotions such as anger and frustration just take up the space you have available for vivid imagery.
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So, the first two shots of the round are wholly successful. This can only have happened if your “timing” was near perfect. You would have been acutely aware of this given that you are “looking” for the rhythm all the time; plus you would have been a little relieved that the excesses of the previous day were not having the effect you were expecting. My guess is that, given your competitive nature, after these first two shots you would have been looking to start the round with a birdie.
You missed the birdie opportunity and that would have been disappointing. A putt missed from 6’ is likely to have been mis-timed. Six foot is close enough to say that a perfectly timed putt would have gone in. You would have been aware of the mis-timing, doubts about your putting will have surfaced again, disappointment in missing the chance would have been flowing freely, and you would have reconciled yourself to the par with thoughts such as: “it’s only the first hole”; “it’s nice to start off with a par”; “two of the shots were great” etc. And then you mis-time the drive off the next tee!
The drive is likely to be . . .
