I love golf, but I’m still a relative beginner, considering that most players at my club have been at it for more than 20 years. I have no idea why I waited so long, but one weekend in the Algarve the hotel offered a free lesson to guests. A friend and I went, and I fell in love with the game straight away. Of course several years followed with basic lessons and lots of whiffs. And then I met Fernando, the gold star caddie from our club. Fernando taught me the subtle points of the game, and most of all, how to putt. There’s a saying in golf: “Drive for show and putt for dough.” Today in the tournament I must have been on a putting streak. Except for a few holes, I became the designated putter because I manged to sink more putts close up and at a distance than the others. Of course that ingratiated me to the three Portuguese gentleman with whom I was paired. After my first few duffer shots I imagine they wanted me off their team. But then I got warmed up and managed to connect decently with the little white ball. And most of all, I manged to clinch many birdies and pars for our team with my putts. So by hole 10, I was no longer shunned by my team mates, and they even started to joke with me. Then I know I had made it. After we finished, we all went for the Pai Natal ( Father Christmas) lunch. The food was delicious but even better was the prize-giving ceremony. I had the sense that we had done fairly well, but when the Chair announced that our team had come in second, out of 20, I was truly thrilled. We four walked to the front of the room to receive our prizes, but best of all came with the Club photo taken with the three guys and me. Finally, I felt part of our team, even if only for the day.
Tags: Putting for Dough
