What I Learned from my First Time Shooting Even Par

It’s been below zero this week in Denver, making it feel like golf season may never come again. In order to channel good golfing vibes, I’m sharing this journal entry I wrote July 3rd, 2022 and previously published on ProGolfNow .

I enjoy meditating on life’s big accomplishments.

To create a mood for reflection, I might lay on the couch listening to some mellow classic rock, go for a walk in nature, or simply sit idly in peace. Whether it’s the aftermath of getting the job I wanted or moving to a new city, I take time to appreciate the myriad variables responsible for getting me to this point. 

Today, which happens to be the day before Independence Day, I’m carving out some time to reflect on a huge milestone that concluded three hours ago. 

For the first time in my life, I completed an 18 hole round at even par. 

The milestone occurred at Saddleback Golf Course in Firestone, Colorado - a beautiful pastoral course with plenty of fescue, barrancas, creeks, and one looming lake.

Playing from the second-from-back tees at 6500 yards, I was accompanied by my good friend Brad. It was just the two of us for our tee time - no pairing with strangers. Great weather, great vibes. 

And boy was it a glorious day. 

Before delving into the round of my life, let me share a brief about my golf game. 

I’m currently a 7 handicap, a figure which has improved over the past two years. When I departed from New York City to Denver at the beginning of the pandemic, I was a 14 handicap. I moved to Denver for the hiking, biking, and skiing, but I quickly learned that golf is also a significant part of Colorado’s culture of outdoor recreation. 

Due to the confines of social distancing, golf became an effective way to meet new people. I started to build a network of golf buddies, but found myself playing so often that I realized golf was more than an outlet to be social. It was a platform to turn a passive hobby, in which I had previously just dabbled, into an active craft. 

Contrasting my previous New York City life, where I satiated my golf appetite with bi-monthly commutes to Connecticut, I was now immersed with a plethora of accessible courses, practice ranges, and overall resources to improve my game. Within the last two years, I’ve been able to go to the range on average four times a week, mixing in a few lessons here and there. To ensure I could get my reps in during the winter, I joined a center with indoor simulators.

Throughout this hustle to strengthen my game, my scores had gone from high 80s into the low 80s with some medium-rare rounds in the high 70s. 

But today was the outlier. 

Today was the culmination of potential. 

Today was the moment where a string of superb shots and flawless putts conjoined long enough to guide me to the promised land. 

Today, I shot my first ever round of even par.

Still in awe and slightly stunned to achieve a feat of golf excellence, I want to detail the lessons that I learned today. In other words, what can a B+ golfer infer from an A+ round of golf?

Scoring is Boring

“Scoring is boring” is more than just a cute rhyme. It’s a philosophy that resounds with scratch golfers, but whose foundation I didn’t comprehend until I stepped into their shoes. 

The phrase conjures a conversation I had with my dad earlier this year. My dad, a mid-90s golfer, could easily be an 80s-player if he wanted. He hasn’t gotten a lesson in a decade and if he devoted a tenth of the time practicing golf as he does pickleball, he could probably go from a 20 to 12 handicap within months. Since I believe in my dad’s potential, I had asked him why he shies away from lessons. His response: “I like my game. The unpredictability makes it fun!”

It’s interesting that my dad associates fun with sporadicity. This means Cirque du Soleil-esque ball trajectories (including the occasional backwards shot) and scorecards which read like toll free numbers. But while I don’t necessarily agree with his ideology on what makes golf fun, it was in this magical round that I understood where he was coming from. 

To clarify, “boring” has a positive connotation in golf. It refers to pre-shot routines, mental approach, and shot-making decisions that don’t deviate. It's a golf strategy that’s consistent, calm, and conservative.

With regards to the actual scoring, the monotony of good play will make pars seem sterile. In fact the phrase “par for the course” refers to something that’s expected. And when things are expected, the lack of variety leads to boredom.

Given today’s round consisted of personal bests of 93% fairways hit and 78% greens in regulation, my golf game was indeed boring. I would hit the fairway, knock my approach onto the green, two putt, and move on. Wash, rinse, repeat. 

Since I was taking the trees, hazards, and obstacles out of the way, I eliminated any risk and the strategy for each hole became predictable.

I wasn’t adjusting or adapting shots. I wasn’t keeping eyes open for wayward drives or ears peeled for the echo of houses hit. No miracle putts or escape shots.

Boring, indeed.