One week in, but one week to go also!

I'm sitting in my living room watching the news and reflecting on the first week back playing golf. I played three rounds at my home club of Ceann Sibeal (Dingle Links) in lovely weather - Monday, Thursday and Sunday and shot scores of 76, 71 and 77 respectively. Lots of good stuff on display to be happy with, and of course plenty room to improve as we hope to shake off the rust and lack of match fitness moving forward. Despite the ups and downs - or lack of them! - over the first three rounds, the two words that come to mind to describe being back playing for me are 'happiness' and 'gratitude'.

It was great to see so many people enjoying a golf course in pristine condition whilst having fun with their friends - many of whom they may not have seen in weeks or even months. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed each of my three games and spending time in nature and having the craic with my buddies for a few hours. Bad shots - that may in the past have caused what I can only describe as 'emotional episodes' - were laughed off with barely a second thought and instantly forgotten about thanks to this newfound sense of context. This is a sentiment that was shared by most of the golfers I've spoken to since the restart, and is something that is only good for our collective game.

Apparently there's about 200k people who are members of a golf club in the country. I know lots of people who've made the best of our current 'bad situation' and the associated additional free time who've played four, five or even seven rounds in the past seven days. It's not unreasonable to estimate that we probably had a minimum of 500,000 rounds in the country during this period. Now whilst that's a lot of divots, pitchmarks and lost balls, it's also an awful lot of people who are hopefully in a much better frame of mind than they were over the past few months. All down to one weeks' worth of golf!

AND..... that's not even the best bit! In another week we'll have two more facets of life to enjoy; intercounty travel and..... much more importantly - fourballs! The fourball is the holy grail of social golf. I mean, what's the point of shanking one after the best drive you've hit in years if you don't have three buddies there to not only witness the atrocity, but also then remind you of it every time face a similar shot in the future. The banter, bets and belly laughter that make up a game of golf with the boys (or girls!) is something to relish - and all the better when we can get a cheeky away game lined up in the coming weeks.

May 10th will also see the return of one on one golf tuition in Ireland (outdoor only for now) and I - like every PGA Pro in the country - am very much looking forward to getting back helping players with their games. It's been a long off season and the extended lay off may offer an opportunity as our usually well grooved swing faults may not yet be bedded in for the season ahead. It's a great time to get a little tune up or to get help with a particular shot that's given you trouble since the restart/layoff.

The PGA used to have a marketing slogan that went 'those in the know visit their Pro'. Whether you plan to get a lesson in the coming weeks or not is your call - but if you can try to keep the context of appreciation and happiness to the fore whilst you play, you will enjoy your game more no matter how you're hitting it, and you might just notice a few extra birdie chances thrown in to boot!

Happy golfing.

Pic - 16th green complex Ceann Sibeal/Dingle Links with the 'Three Sisters' in the background.