This was the final day of the golf trip and by far my favorite day out of the three, as we were allowed to go on the golf course and play a few holes, but first, we started off the day learning how to do pitching shots and learning how to hit the ball out of the bunker.
The pitching shot was like the chipping shots in that it involved using the iron to hit the ball, however the pitching shot was from much farther off the green and involved much more force and a different technique. I did surprisingly well at this, considering how much I was struggling with the chipping shot the day before. I think this was due to the fact that during chipping I would sometimes end up hitting the grass instead of the ball. With pitching however, you want to hit the ground as you swing (or as Hung put it "hitting the small ball (the golf ball) before you hit the big ball (the earth)
The pitching shot was like the chipping shots in that it involved using the iron to hit the ball, however the pitching shot was from much farther off the green and involved much more force and a different technique. I did surprisingly well at this, considering how much I was struggling with the chipping shot the day before. I think this was due to the fact that during chipping I would sometimes end up hitting the grass instead of the ball. With pitching however, you want to hit the ground as you swing (or as Hung put it "hitting the small ball (the golf ball) before you hit the big ball (the earth)
The rest of the morning was spent learning how to do bunker shots (the bunker being the sand filled pit) as well as the etiquette and rules involved with the bunker (rake the sand after you are done taking a shot, don't drag your club in the sand before you hit the ball etc). This felt very similar to the chipping shots and pitching shots we had done before, so I was able to get the hang of it relatively quickly.
Right before lunch, we had another competition to see who could pitch a ball from on top of a hill down to the green, with the person getting closest to the hole being declared the winner. My single stroke was pretty good, as it flew straight down toward the green, before rolling and stopping just outside of it (where if I was playing a real game, meant that I could get it on the green after a single reasonably accurate chipping shot). After we finished our pitching shot, we stood off to the side to watch the other try. Coincidentally, we also formed a rainbow with our polo shirts.
Also, you may have noticed the golf gloves I am wearing in this photo that I wasn't wearing on the previous day. Well, that is because I originally thought when I started that because the golf clinic trip was only three days and I would probably never pick up golf again, it would make no sense for me to spend money on gloves (which were optional) that I might only use a few times.
However, the day before, due to all of the half and full swings we did at the driving range, I got a blister on my right hand, so bought the gloves. They actually made quite a difference by making it easier to grip the club, were surprisingly comfortable and well worth the cost (also, since I have the gloves now, I might actually go golfing more in the future)
After lunch, we went on to do what I thought was the highlight of the trip, playing on the actual golf course! We were split up into a few different group (4 or 5 groups I think) roughly by skill level (i.e. more experienced players together etc) and each went with a different instructor to the course. Eddy wasn't available that day, so we followed another golf instructor, Kenny.
We played a total of 4 holes as a group. With each hole, we took turns hitting a single ball, until we got to the 3rd hole, which was over a river to the green on the other side. We each took a shot with the driver to try and get it across the river (none of us were able to, though some looked really close)
For our final game of golf on the trip, we split our group into 2 and competed with each other do see who could get the ball in the hole with the fewest strokes. Kenny also warned us that at the end of the green at this hole, there was a bunker on the other side of the hill that had a lip around 10-feet tall (which would pretty much mean that if it got in, we wouldn't be able to get it out with our skill level), and that it was better to hit the ball too short, than to hit it too far and have it go over the hill.
In the end, our team won with about five fewer strokes than the other team. I was quite proud of my pitching shot with the iron, as that stroke went pretty far down the course and was pretty straight. However, my final putting shot was just barely short of the hole, which I found very annoying, as our team had to use one more putting shot to get the ball into a hole, as opposed to me getting it in on the first go. Our team at the end of this final hole got 9 strokes for a Par 4 course, which was very good for only having played golf for 3 days (well, I only played golf for 3 days, some of my other team mates had played golf before)
Overall, this golf trip was very exciting and interesting, as it got me to learn and try out new things I would have never done otherwise.
Reflections HERE
-Rebecca
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| Promise this was not pre-planned (even the instructors' shirts fit in, which is awesome) |
However, the day before, due to all of the half and full swings we did at the driving range, I got a blister on my right hand, so bought the gloves. They actually made quite a difference by making it easier to grip the club, were surprisingly comfortable and well worth the cost (also, since I have the gloves now, I might actually go golfing more in the future)
After lunch, we went on to do what I thought was the highlight of the trip, playing on the actual golf course! We were split up into a few different group (4 or 5 groups I think) roughly by skill level (i.e. more experienced players together etc) and each went with a different instructor to the course. Eddy wasn't available that day, so we followed another golf instructor, Kenny.
We played a total of 4 holes as a group. With each hole, we took turns hitting a single ball, until we got to the 3rd hole, which was over a river to the green on the other side. We each took a shot with the driver to try and get it across the river (none of us were able to, though some looked really close)
For our final game of golf on the trip, we split our group into 2 and competed with each other do see who could get the ball in the hole with the fewest strokes. Kenny also warned us that at the end of the green at this hole, there was a bunker on the other side of the hill that had a lip around 10-feet tall (which would pretty much mean that if it got in, we wouldn't be able to get it out with our skill level), and that it was better to hit the ball too short, than to hit it too far and have it go over the hill.
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| So close! |
Overall, this golf trip was very exciting and interesting, as it got me to learn and try out new things I would have never done otherwise.
Reflections HERE
-Rebecca
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