December Golf Report: part 2
It was a great month of golf, with just enough birdies to win the right matches, closing out the year with three rounds at three fine courses in Thailand that I hadn’t visited before, and with the exception of a single round early in the month, lots of sunshine.
But I don’t think there was much sunshine in the eyes of my opponents. Let me explain.
On Christmas Eve I walked off the course with my head held high, even though I had no birdies. I’d had many fine chances, but a temporary deviation in my putting stroke (it would soon be corrected, as the pictures show) led to a lot of pars rather than birdies.
In fact, the rules for that match were fluid, one might even say ambiguous. Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase “neurosis is the inability to tolerate ambiguity”? Well I thrive with ambiguity, although for the next match I made sure that the rules were unambiguous: birdies to win, with carryovers.
I thought of Casey at the Bat:
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that [Micah] wouldn’t let that ball go by again.
So with 8 skins on the 8th, and another 4 at the island green 12th, I was the outright winner.
What does one do after such a victory? Take a short drive to my pick for the best 19th hole in Thailand.
It’s been a great year of golf, and I’m looking forward to many fun matches next year.