ConorHealy

Yeah, I take your point. Perhaps you've just identified the other side of the same coin: maybe there is very little to celebrate about pro golfers as people, so the golf media are clutching at straws trying to find something.

Potentially a grumpy old man reflection, but two recent events made me question whether PGA Tour players are being held to a disappointingly low standard. Nick Dunlap getting kudos for turning up and trying to shoot a decent score on Friday at the Masters: surely this is the minimum expectation of a pro who has agreed to play in any tournament. Some of the discourse I saw/heard suggested it would have been forgivable for him to phone it in or even not turn up at all. Leaving aside the argument that any round at Augusta is rare and should be treasured, it seems obvious to me that if you agree to turn up and play a tournament, you do just that, regardless of a shocker of a first round. JT being given a massive pat on the back for calling a one stroke penalty on himself at Heritage. Why is this praiseworthy? He's behaved as the rules of golf and of the tour/tournament indicate he should. There's nothing gentlemanly or admirable in not cheating. Maybe I'm tilting at windmills here, but it seems that celebrating these acts sets a low bar for what is noteworthy, and thus an even lower one for what is acceptable. A related point is that large parts of what people celebrate so much about the Masters — considerate crowds actually paying attention to the golf, no heckling, respect for tradition and other attendees — should be, in my view, standard features of live golf. Whilst accepting that certain events (LIV, WM @ Phoenix) cultivate their own atmosphere, it shouldn't take an explicit phone ban and threat of expulsion to encourage people to behave civilly at the majority of events.

Played Saturday and Sunday, both courses I had played just once before - Mangawhai and Waipu. A pair of 82s on fairly easy and short tracks. A lot of solid golf, but five DBs over 36 holes is enough to ruin a fairly clean card. PW and in needs work, especially on soft/damp turf.

Has to be the first one. As others have noted, most mistakes are capable of being fixed the next time round. At least you know you have enough good stuff in the locker to compete. And I guess you hope the scar tissue doesn't play too big a role next time you're in contention.

Next weekend myself and two pals are hopping on the plane to Queenstown with the following itinerary: Fri: Jack's Point Sat AM: Arrowtown Sat PM: Roxburgh Sun: Wanaka Other than the front nine at Wanaka, all will be new to me. Very excited to see them all and fingers crossed for good weather. A great selection of courses in the area - Millbrook, Hills, Queenstown, Alexandra and Cromwell will have to wait until next time! Someone might point me in the direction of the best place to post/view photos as I haven't yet encountered a dedicated forum for that (no doubt user error!).

Hello all My name's Conor. I'm from Scotland and have lived and golfed there and in Ireland for many years, but am currently based in Auckland. Have played golf for many years with periods of more or less activity/improvement. Keen to get stuck in to TST and thought I would say hi before I lean on your collective wisdom when I post the first video of my swing! Cheers Conor

I think this is key here. Being fully focussed for four hours is unrealistic. This makes a lot of sense, particularly if you think you are losing focus when you are distracting yourself between shots. You mention hydration and snacks so you maybe have this covered, but your focus/decision-making ability deteriorates rapidly without adequate hydration especially. In the case of both nutrition and water, a rule that is often applied in endurance sports is "If you feel hungry/thirsty, it's too late". I expect the best nutrition sources/pattern for golf are discussed elsewhere, but it sounds from your description like you would benefit from taking a look at what/how much you are eating prior to and during your round.