The final Winter 4 Ball event of the year was at Kilmarnock Barassie, a venue home to several well-known Walker Cup players, one of whom I was playing with that day.
With my usual playing partner, we arrived to another glorious day on the Ayrshire coast and we’ve been spoiled with the amount of settled weather recently.
After a quick warm-up, we started our game with only one of the group I hadn’t met before, however, he’d played in the 2016 Walker Cup as an amateur.
It took a while for any conversation to begin, but after half a dozen holes, the player I’d never met asked about my attachment.
It provided a good opportunity to discuss my story of how I got involved with LGMS and my care work.
Although he confessed to having no faith at all, I emphasised the fact that I was changed by my faith and would not have been able to do many of the things I now do had it not been for that change.
It gave him something to think about, but he didn’t ask too much else after that. The hope is always that seeds are sown and can bloom later on.
Although enjoying the course, we struggled to get anything going and couldn’t capitalize on any chances we created.
Barassie always has fantastic greens, but the birdie putts wouldn’t drop. We kept plugging away, but as the holes were running out, we could see it was to no avail, and finished with a very average 1 under par.
Neither of us had played exceptionally well, but I wouldn’t say it was poor either. Sometimes the putts drop and sometimes they don’t, depending on what side of the hole you’re coming from.
The only thing I needed to look at was my driving. I lost a couple of tee shots to the right, which I wasn’t expecting and would have cost a few shots if I were playing on my own. Some hits into the net to check the movement before dinner that night helped, and it was nothing major.
As we headed home and analysed the game, we realised that without doing much different, we could have easily reached 5 under and been closer to the top.
It got me on to chatting about fine margins and how everything is set up just right for our planet, the solar system and even the galaxy. I’d done a bit of research on this and it’s quite incredible how fast everything moves but yet stays under control.
My playing partner does not really go into anything religious, but when I explained this, he did say that the Universe being so big that we’re maybe not alone.
To this, I replied that from a creation point of view, we’re not alone.
He knew what I meant but left it there for now.
My next tournament was supposed to be the PGA Stableford at St. Andrews on April 17th, but this has clashed with the funeral of one of Scotland’s well-known PGA Professionals, and as a mark of respect has been postponed. He was only 58 when he passed and reminds us all how we are not owed tomorrow and need to make the most of the short time we have on this earth.
We keep going and trust,
Vincent Brown, PGA Professional and Logos Golf Ministries Ambassador.
To get in touch with Vincent click here