I recently attended the first full-field Champions Tour event of 2012. The Allianz Championship, held for the last 12 years at The Old Course at Broken Sound, is in my home town of Boca Raton, Florida. The Allianz traditionally gets a strong field—held in sunny South Florida in early February—the guys get their “old bones” loosened up on a very playable course that usually finds the winner posting 13-15 under par for the three day event.
Typically, I do not follow one group out on the course. I jump from group to group perhaps going two or three holes with one and then dropping off to find another.
During this particular round, I saw something that is part and parcel of my One Thought Golf methodology: ”Do not allow a bad shot to ruin the hole.” If taken in the right context, the bad shot only challenges you for the next shot and makes you a stronger more confident player. It is entirely up to you.
I was following the grouping of Nick Price, Larry Nelson and Olin Browne – a couple of Hall of Famers (Price and Nelson) and a rising star on the Champions Tour. The three men were playing a traditional three-shot par 5 – the old fashioned kind and my favorite design. All three hit drives within the 275 yard range setting up fairly easy lay-ups to get into position to make birdie.
And then it happened. Browne nearly missed his second shot – hitting it only 50 yards and crooked to boot! I was taken aback—it is the kind of miss I hit virtually every round I play, but not Olin Browne.
I watched his reaction very closely. Browne took a short walk as the other two players hit their second shots. Then he approached what would now be his third. He was behind a group of trees, unable to get on the green because of the obstructions in front of him. I watched his demeanor carefully. He assessed the situation and engaged a strategy. Then, very effectively, Browne laid up to about 40 yards in front of the green. Now laying three, he needed to cozy the ball close to save par. Browne hit what was a very average chip to between 15 -18 feet from the hole. His turn came to save par. Browne knocked the putt solidly into the cup. I immediately thought to myself, he will not have a more significant hole all day. He kept his composure and the result was a very satisfactory par!
As Browne left the green, I caught his eye and said, “that was a great par.” He nodded in agreement. Browne had two bad shots on the hole and still made par.
The lesson is crystal clear. It is not the bad shot that will ruin the hole; it’s the next. Remember – you are in control.
Watching Olin Browne also reinforced my contention that the greatest players in the world are not so because they can make a bunch of birdies in any given round but because they can save strokes and stay alive in a round. By the way, Price birdied the hole and Nelson missed his birdie and settled for par.
I know who felt the best leaving that green, do you????