Dundonald Links 36 Hole Golf Event
13th and 14th April 2022
The first main event of the 2022 summer season was at Dundonald and I was eager to play around a top-class course with some good players. Due to the data protection laws, and being a registered charity now, we need to be more careful when mentioning names so going forward we will only mention individuals as either Player A, B, etc or a Pro Colleague. It keeps us right and protects all concerned.
I caught up with one of my Pro Colleagues in the clubhouse before play and we chatted for a half hour about life in general. Various topics came up such as rising costs, family, changing social habits and a little faith. He has always been a good supporter of the work I do with LGMS and always offers to help in any way with future events we look to hold. Always good to chat with him.
As this was a 36 Hole event I was paired with Players A and B for day 1 and knew both guys from many years past. Both were very good players and reached the top of the tartan tour in their day, and can still play. Right from the start both asked about my attachment so it was nice to share the vision of Logos Golf Ministries, Scotland (LGMS) before we got going. Player A chatted about some conversations he has previously had with Christians and although he respects the views its not really his thing. I agreed that nothing comes from forcing anything on anybody but reinforced my role of being there for anyone who wants to know more if they desire. We also both agreed that in regard to faith it’s really between the individual and God and they have to want it.
Apart from a few poor club selections I played reasonably well but learned a valuable lesson that I really should already know – a bogey isn’t necessarily a bad score. I’m more aggressive now in my play and striking the ball better than I have in a long time but there is a balance of knowing when to accept a dropped shot rather than trying to save par with a ‘Hollywood’ shot. Player A said to me during the back 9 that my game was not far away at all and it was a really encouraging moment from such a good player. It’s probably ironic that on the next hole, I made a really poor decision which cost me 3 shots. It was about 10 minutes after that happened that I realised the mistake and was a little too late.
Despite not reaching my target for the day I took a lot of positives from the round. I was looking forward to the next day to improve again. On leaving I bumped into another couple of Pro Colleagues who I’ve not seen in a while and it was nice to touch base with them briefly.
On the second day, I was playing with a couple of younger Pro Colleagues, one of whom I’d played with before. Nothing was asked about my role and I didn’t want to push anything so I left it to see where the conversation would go. Nothing really came of this and I simply tried to be the best example. I played very similarly to the day before and despite a poor swing on the 3rd and a slack pitch on the 4th I was a few shots better off by the middle of the back 9. My target for both days was to shoot 4 over each day, which although not very ambitious, was a reasonable target for me around what I think is a tough course.
The back 9 was similar to the front 9 as I had a difficult pitch that was not played well and a poor swing on my last approach shot which cost me my only shots of the 9. I reached my target for the 2nd day but couldn’t help feeling a bit down because of my last swing. After we finished I went to the range and spent a half hour working on the exact shots that cost me. While there I came across another couple of Pro Colleagues and we exchanged pleasantries for a while before I left. It also gave me the opportunity to share a bit about the potential ProAm we may hold at Dundonald later on in the year and what we would be looking to achieve. Small bites at different times.
I’m looking forward to the rest of the season and I feel stronger, both physically and spiritually. I used to fear certain situations when playing, but now I look forward to being put into these scenarios as it gives me the opportunity to overcome and solve the problem. The fact I’m playing with more freedom is really helpful and coupled with remembering the intelligence of the game can mean only more improvement. We only fail when we stop trying.
Yours in Christ,
Vincent Brown, PGA Professional, Logos Golf MInistries Scotland