PGA Challenge at Murrayshall 2022
Another trip to the beautiful Murrayshall estate and I was looking forward to playing the course again. Lots of quirky short holes, but fair test. I had a reasonable start time of 10.10 am which meant not having to get up at the crack of dawn and that’s always a bonus.
I caught up with a few guys before I played, PGA officials and players, and exchanged the usual pleasantries. Nobody really asked me anything about LGMS but most of them are aware of what we do and appreciate the presence. My playing partners for the day were Player A from Glasgow and B from Edinburgh, who I’d never met before, and our ages ranged from 20 to 48.
Good Weather
With short sleeve weather and the course in fantastic shape, we enjoyed our front 9 together and chatted a little. It wasn’t till the back 9 that I got the chance to share a bit more with Player A about what we do and why. He seemed fairly intrigued but when I asked if he had a faith the conversation didn’t go much further. I respected that along with Player B not engaging much at all in the back 9 but he was struggling a bit with his game at the time. As we played the final few holes I was conscious that I’d played well up to that point without thinking, despite missing a few short putts. The conversion rate was much better though which made a massive difference. Overall it was a decent day’s golf apart from a bogey on the 18th which left a sour taste. The guys didn’t hang about afterwards but I wished them well for the next day and left shortly after catching up with a couple of friends on my way out.
Day 2 of the Competition
I was drawn out at 10.10 am again for the second day and I was playing with Player C and D who I both know really well. Both have attended events we have run but they admit that ‘God’ isn’t really their thing. Not much you can do apart from being there and seeing what happens. There was plenty of chat from the guys during the front 9 but nothing that steered towards LGMS and I was cautious to try and let them initiate so that they didn’t feel pressured. Even during the last few holes I was expecting something to present itself but it never did and although it was disappointing, not really a surprise. At times like these, I tend to say at the completion of the round that I’m always there for them anyway, which I did.
Although I played ok for both days (+5) it was a case of a few shorter putts missed which could have resulted in a better score. Definitely an improvement on the golf front but slightly disappointing that the conversations didn’t yield much. I suppose we can’t always expect something every time and we just need to keep ‘being there’ for when it does. I’m meeting Player C later this month away from the course for a proper catch up so we’ll see how things go.
Yours in Christ,
Vincent Brown, PGA Professional, Logos Golf Ministries Scotland Ambassador.