As I mentioned a few posts ago, my mind is definitely on golf with this being Masters week. As much as I tried to not do another "golf wisdom" entry today, I can't help myself. This time, its a golfer I am sure you never heard of, on a course you most likely have never heard of either...
Sunol Valley has two nice little tracks in a pretty canyon area nestled between Pleasanton and San Jose, CA. When I lived in NoCal about 8 years ago, I actually turned into a decent golfer because the weather was so perfect all the time, I played once or twice a week. One day, playing there with my good friend Mat Caldwell (yes, one "t"), I saw the worst putt I have ever seen.
Mat was lying about 15 feet below the hole on the same tier of a two-tiered green where the hole was. It was a straight uphill putt...not easy, but eminently makeable for Mat, who regularly shot in the low 80's. (That's pretty good for those of you who don't golf!) For some reason that I could only attribute to a minor epileptic seizure, Matt hit it 30 feet past the hole, onto the top tier, and way off line to boot. It was the worst putt I had ever seen in my life, and my stomach still gets sore just thinking of how hard I was doubled over laughing at him.
But that's just part of the story. Mat stalked up to his ball, lined it up, followed his routine, let it roll, and about 7 seconds later, I saw maybe the best putt I have ever seen (that wasn't on TV). Making a 30 foot, left-to-right breaking, super speedy, downhill putt onto a lower tier hole is really something to behold.
But here's the thing. If he wouldn't have made the worst putt I've ever seen, he never would have been in position to make the best putt I've ever seen. The next time you blow it, and we all do, think about that putt that Mat made. You can do the same...no matter how hard people are laughing around you.
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