The Final winter event was at The Open Qualifying course of Kilmarnock Barassie. A golf course that I’ve got some good memories of, and the greens are usually decent.
I had to pick my teammate up on the way as he didn’t have transport for the day, but not too much of a detour was added as East Kilbride is kind of on the way. We got to chat quite a bit during our journey and we’ve really built on our friendship this past year.
I’m glad I can help him out when needed and he always offers to get me on the launch monitor to check my swing speeds and spin rates. It’s been a great help recently and I’m hitting the ball as well as ever, just need a bit more work on the short game.
We didn’t waste much time on arrival, and after a quick roll, we started with our playing partners who I played with a few times since the start of last season.
One of them asked me right off how things were going with LGMS as he’d noticed I’d been doing it for a while now.
After a couple of holes, I filled him in on where we’re at and mentioned I was hopeful of more support in the future. He liked the fact we were there for people and wished us well in our future endeavours, but not much else developed from that conversation.
I suppose I should be glad for something rather than nothing, and who knows where it could lead in the future.
We all played pretty decently and the guys even commented on my improvement. I’ve been trying to put into practice what my teammate/coach has been telling me and he could see it for himself.
The short game however needs a little work and this is where I’ll place a bit more focus this week. It was pleasant though to play with good players and I felt not too much out of place.
Golf can be a lonely sport at the best of times but when you’re not playing well can be very isolating. I didn’t feel that at all, and a testament to the improvement.
We didn’t hole many putts, which didn’t help the score, but we enjoyed the game and some friendly banter with our partners.
Each of us hit some great shots and this would have been a good Matchplay game to watch but the main difference was the putter, and they were using it more effectively.
I learned a little something however and tucked it away for next time.
After a breezy but pleasant day of golf, we thanked each other for the game and it was nice to hear the words, “Hope to play with you again soon, really enjoyed it.”
I do feel we have laid a decent foundation with a number of players and I now need to start visiting them 1 to 1 to bring some of this to fruition.
I pray for more time to do this as the next step in the ministry and welcome the new journey ahead.
Please pray for the next chapter with LGMS and the means we require to do the job. Next Stop, Dundonald, and we keep going!
Vincent Brown, PGA Professional and LGMS Ambassador to the Tartan Tour