Hectic activities filled the work day for both of us, and we decided to play 9 holes of golf to unwind before a late dinner.  The golf was going pretty well and I was doing a good job focusing on one shot at a time.  On the 7th hole, it felt like I was playing well, so I asked my husband what my overall score was so far.   He quickly replied, “No need to worry about your score; just keep doing what you’re doing.”  “Worry?”  I thought.  “I’m not worried about my score; I was just curious.”  As he walked to the tee, I reviewed our scores.  I thought, “Oh, well.  I have 28 recorded as my score; who knows what it really is – I don’t have my reading glasses on and I must have missed counting a hole.” 

My husband returned to the cart and I told him it looked like I missed a hole because my score appeared to be a 28 and I knew that couldn’t be the case.  He calmly said, “Your score is 28.  Try not to think about it.”  That’s when it dawned on me.  He doesn’t want me to “worry” about my score because it’s really good.  He’s afraid I’ll choke.  (This is a legitimate concern because I have blown a good score in the past.  Once, I had a 39 in the bag and choked for one reason only…nerves!  I delivered such a choke-fest that day that we still laugh about it.)  So, I focused on the task at hand; my score was 28, but I still had a par 4 and a par 5 to play. 

I really wasn’t nervous; I just thought to myself, “No matter what I score on the next two holes, I just played seven really good holes of golf.  It was my turn to hit; the drive landed and my second shot would now involve hitting over or around a water hazard.  I took a deep breath and dropped a 6 iron shot within three feet of the pin.  The best way to describe my feeling was ‘matter-of-fact;” I was not nervous nor was I excited.  I made the putt for a birdie and said, “No matter what happens on 9, I just played eight really good holes of golf.” 

I played to the green on the 9th hole and was about to putt for a score of 4 on a par 5.  This would give me a total score of -1.  When that thought crossed my mind, the five feet to the hole suddenly seemed like 50 feet.  My putter began wobbling and I knew I was in trouble!  However, I tried to focus on pace and just get the golf ball close.  My round ended with a two-putt and my husband immediately said, “You just shot par!”

On the ride home from the golf course, I realized one of my long-term golf goals had been accomplished and I was so excited.  My scores since that day have been unbelievably bad.  Golf – you’ve gotta love it!