Search Nuggets

Featured Post

Paul Graham: The Top Idea in Your Mind (Do you have attention sinks?)

Hey girls and guys,  I found the space to dive into another powerful essay from Paul Graham. Please find 15 minutes to read and think about ...

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Dear Harvey: Chasing Scratch (in Cornwall) 🏌️‍♂️⚓️⛳️⛵️☀️

Harvey on the practice tee at Austin CC

Dear Harvey,

[See all my letters to Harvey at the bottom of the post, plus some other 'golf' scribblings.]

Okay, let's be honest. I'm not getting to scratch. I came to the game too late (age 42), and even so, I would need to be a better athlete. 

My current goal is to return to single digits (where I was before moving abroad). I've managed to creep back up to a 12. I'll cut myself some slack, as I had little opportunity to practice the first year in England. This letter should be titled 'Chasing 9 Again.' 

Thanks to a recommendation from Nick Lloyd, a talented assistant professional at The Richmond Golf Club, I've started thinking of the course in this manner. Make nine pars on the nine most scorable holes (handicap holes numbered 10-18) and make no worse than bogie on the nine most challenging holes (handicap holes numbered 1-9.) If I score better than what is needed on a hole, file that extra shot away for when I go over the limit on another hole. Play golf like that, and you become a 9 handicap.

Managing the golf course and keeping double bogies off the card is critical. I know you agree. The other key is to identify where I need to improve. And being realistic about how much time I can put toward each 'fixable' component. I'll share more about what I am working on soon. I am interested in your take.

Cathy and I made our second trip to Cornwall this past Bank Holiday weekend. It was as enjoyable as the first.

Dear Harvey: Trevose Golf & Country Club (Cornwall) 🏌️‍♂️⚓️🦈

Dear Harvey: St. Enodoc Golf Club - Church Course (Cornwall) ⛳️ ⛪️ 🎢

We took the train from Paddington Station to Truro and rented a car. We loved having our oldest daughter, Sally (pregnant and doing well), and her husband, Taylor, with us.

The plan was for the boys to play Trevose on Saturday morning as a two-ball and St. Enodoc on Sunday afternoon with my friend and Assistant Greenskeeper, Neil Robinson, and his son, Oban. The girls would hike the coastline and explore the villages. Great dinners at night in our base of Padstow.

The weather was outstanding on Saturday at Trevose and sunny on Sunday at St. Enodoc, but the winds kicked up from the non-prevailing direction. The Church Course, often referred to by Neil as the 'old girl,' showed its teeth. 

In Neil's words:

"It was our pleasure to take you both out on the tough links at St Enodoc. The golf course really showed just what a tough old girl she is to score on. I think on this occasion a little home advantage and certainly on my part being used to the raging winds that we can get on the North Cornwall coast worked in our favour. Taylor was a real pleasure to meet, and there is a very fine golf game in his armoury on another day for sure. I hope we get a chance to play again soon on a more benign day. I certainly saw enough good strikes from you to suggest a tight game in the future. But all great fun regardless of the match outcome."

Just how bad was it. Well, let me introduce you to a British golf term and one I prefer to never hear again! A 'Dog License.' When the winning margin in match play is 7&6, the victory (or defeat) is called a dog license. In Great Britain, until 1987, dog owners bought a license for their pet which cost 7/6d (pre-decimal currency = 37p). Ouch, but hats off to Neil and Oban, who showed Taylor and me how to play golf in the wind. The video below gives you a good sense of what we were up against, both the force of Mother Nature and the level at which Neil can play. He shot 76 on the day!


Practice green at Trevose. Another warm welcome to the club from Head Professional Gary Lenaghan was much appreciated.

Not a bad view for a post-round beverage after golfing the links of Trevose on Saturday

After golf on Saturday, we hiked to The Pig and their backyard Lobster Shed. Such a cool hotel.





The sea, the sand, the grasses, and the sheep. What is there not to like about hiking or golfing on the North Cornwall Coast

These stone walls are cool and everywhere! Not born yesterday.

Our 4-ball on Sunday at St. Enodoc.

View from the second tee.

Love these little paths between holes on links courses.

Pausing on the 10th at the Church. Great Tom Coyne article on Golfers Journal about this hole.

Good smash factor by young T here. The more important news, though, was Oban outdriving his dad (for the first time) on 18!

The smile of a victor on 18 green. Congrats Oban and Neil!

Over post-round beverages, Taylor and I settled our bets with the European side and were joined by Sally, Cathy, and Neil's lovely wife, Skye. Then, I learned two more things about the Robinson family, which we have in common. One, the best golfer in the family, is actually Skye. (Best in our family, of course being Emily.) Neil met Skye when he was teaching professionally, and at their rehearsal dinner, Skye's father explained how Skye told him shortly after they met that her golf lessons would start costing a lot less money. We also learned that Oban's drive on 18 was good for a one-time allowance bump of £100, much to the chagrin of his twin sister, who is a fabulous athlete but has not taken to golf as of yet, and thus is missing out on all the bonus money coming Oban's way. Sound familiar, Sally and Lucy May?

Keep in touch, Harvey P!

gPage

Letters to Harvey from The Kingdom:

Other 'golfy' scribblings:
"Millions of people were charmed by the homespun golf advice dispensed in Harvey Penick's Little Red Book, a sports classic that became the best-selling sports book of all time. Yet, beyond the Texas golf courses where Penick happily toiled for the better part of eight decades, few people knew the self-made golf pro who coaxed the best out of countless greats -- Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw, Betsy Rawls, Mickey Wright -- all champions who considered Penick their coach and lifelong friend." - Kevin Robbins, author of Harvey Penick: The Life and Wisdom of the Man Who Wrote the Book on Golf.

Posted by at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)