We all have been in situations on the golf course when disaster strikes. Be it a bad lie in a bunker, a complete and total swing breakdown, or a well struck ball that ends up in the drink, it is tough to get those bad shots out of your head. We may be tough on the outside, but let's be honest - too often when it comes to the mental side of the game, we come up awfully small. This got me thinking - what are the toughest shots we might face in a round? The ones that are truly cringeworthy? For me, these are the five shots that make me think that even in smelly, oft-worn by strangers multi-colored shoes, bowling might have been a better pick for a hobby.
5) The 50 yard bunker shot: Regular shots out of the bunker are hard enough. And for many people, so is the type of flip wedge required to knock a 50 yard shot close enough to have a reasonable chance to sink the putt. But combine to two, and it is knee-knocker time. Do you try the super long blast (hello fat city!)? Do you try to hit only the ball and no sand (hello skull city!)? And whatever you do, you do not want to be in the same position for your next shot.
4) The fried egg in the bunker: It is bad enough to have a shot end up in the bunker. You are mad, but it is not the worst thing in the world. Aside from your friends making the old, "You spend more time in the sand than David Hasselhoff" joke, you generally won't find anything in the bunker you can't handle. Except for when you walk into the trap, rake and wedge in hand prepared for battle, and discover that you can only see a piece of your ball peeking out at you - mocking you, really - with the rest submerged below sand level. That hurts. Thanks for the stomach punch, sand.
3) The forced carry: Golf is generally won or lost on 1 square foot of real estate - the space between your ears. That is what makes this shot so difficult. It can be a tee shot that requires a 150 yard carry to safely reach the other side of a valley, or a 175 yard shot over water to the green, visually, this shot is a knee knocker of the highest order. It is a shot that just messes with your head, even if you have plenty of club to carry the trouble. You know you have the distance to make it safely to the other side, but staring out at the abyss in front of you, it looks like trying to carry the Atlantic.
2) The 4 footer to win a match (or a 5 dollar nassau, or just to beat your friend Doug - yeah, you know who you are): I am not breaking any news when I say that most of us are not going to have a 4 footer to win the Masters, but that doesn't mean that a short putt to beat your buddy on 18 doesn't inspire the same type of pressure the pros face on Sunday. You know how bad you want to win, and how good the beer will taste afterwards when it is on your friend's check.
1) The shot after a shank: It is the dirtiest word in golf. And some would argue that the scariest shot in golf is the shank. But I disagree. The scariest shot is not the shank itself - after all, most of the time the shank comes out of nowhere, so you don't see it coming until you are standing there after the shot in stunned silence while your partners are looking around trying in vain to beat that image out of their heads for all of eternity. No no, friends - the scariest shot in golf is the next one after the shank. Because the shanks are a disease. They are a virus that are a living, breathing organism that get in your head. One shank thought meets another shank thought between your ears and they make little shank thought babies. I fell disgusting just writing about this, but the truth must be told.
5) The 50 yard bunker shot: Regular shots out of the bunker are hard enough. And for many people, so is the type of flip wedge required to knock a 50 yard shot close enough to have a reasonable chance to sink the putt. But combine to two, and it is knee-knocker time. Do you try the super long blast (hello fat city!)? Do you try to hit only the ball and no sand (hello skull city!)? And whatever you do, you do not want to be in the same position for your next shot.
4) The fried egg in the bunker: It is bad enough to have a shot end up in the bunker. You are mad, but it is not the worst thing in the world. Aside from your friends making the old, "You spend more time in the sand than David Hasselhoff" joke, you generally won't find anything in the bunker you can't handle. Except for when you walk into the trap, rake and wedge in hand prepared for battle, and discover that you can only see a piece of your ball peeking out at you - mocking you, really - with the rest submerged below sand level. That hurts. Thanks for the stomach punch, sand.
3) The forced carry: Golf is generally won or lost on 1 square foot of real estate - the space between your ears. That is what makes this shot so difficult. It can be a tee shot that requires a 150 yard carry to safely reach the other side of a valley, or a 175 yard shot over water to the green, visually, this shot is a knee knocker of the highest order. It is a shot that just messes with your head, even if you have plenty of club to carry the trouble. You know you have the distance to make it safely to the other side, but staring out at the abyss in front of you, it looks like trying to carry the Atlantic.
2) The 4 footer to win a match (or a 5 dollar nassau, or just to beat your friend Doug - yeah, you know who you are): I am not breaking any news when I say that most of us are not going to have a 4 footer to win the Masters, but that doesn't mean that a short putt to beat your buddy on 18 doesn't inspire the same type of pressure the pros face on Sunday. You know how bad you want to win, and how good the beer will taste afterwards when it is on your friend's check.
1) The shot after a shank: It is the dirtiest word in golf. And some would argue that the scariest shot in golf is the shank. But I disagree. The scariest shot is not the shank itself - after all, most of the time the shank comes out of nowhere, so you don't see it coming until you are standing there after the shot in stunned silence while your partners are looking around trying in vain to beat that image out of their heads for all of eternity. No no, friends - the scariest shot in golf is the next one after the shank. Because the shanks are a disease. They are a virus that are a living, breathing organism that get in your head. One shank thought meets another shank thought between your ears and they make little shank thought babies. I fell disgusting just writing about this, but the truth must be told.
Ryan,
ReplyDeleteWould have to agree with all of those. Especially after shanking one.
The sound and the feeling seem to stick in your head for a few minutes. Tough to shake that off!
i think the worst one is The 50 yard bunker shot which i hate most because this shot strike end to be biggest disaster for me always
ReplyDeleteAll shots of golf is amazing.I will try fried egg in the bunker.
ReplyDelete