Scotland 2014 Part 3- Golf, what else?

My husband will tell you it is magical.
Here is photographic evidence.

The Grounds Crew
(Charming, right?)

It would be absurd to do a series about Scotland without dedicating an entire entry on golf, and golf alone since that is the reason we venture to Scotland each summer.  I often get asked if I play golf, and the answer is no, not yet.  I have been to the range, and have had one or two lessons, but I really need to take more lessons to go out and play.  I will admit that golf is not my favorite sport.  I do, however, have a tremendous amount of respect for golfers who play well though, because it is a very hard game.  Just making contact with the ball is a miracle sometimes, and to get it to go where you want it to...that's another story entirely.

I do tag along sometimes to watch, and to take photos of Nicholas playing, but to be able to describe it to you here in any meaningful way?  No.

So, I will pass the mike (so to speak) to our resident golf expert for full analysis and commentary on golfing with a five year old in the birth place of golf.  I did insert shots I took on the camera that (I hope) illustrate some of what is described below for those of you (you know who you are) who are interested in the stance, swing plane, moment of impact, etc. (I sound very knowledgeable) of a certain 5 year old-  ha, ha.

Nicholas on the par 3 course at age 3

Nick enjoys golfing, the gear, the process, the accoutrements.  He is not yet a disciplined, patient golfer.  He swings for the fences, never takes the same stance twice, and forgets to line himself up far too frequently.  But he makes up for these problems with enthusiasm and eagerness to play.

 He willingly goes to the net in Brora to practice his stroke and warm up prior to heading out to the par three course.  He has developed some unconventional habits there.  One of his preferred practice swings involves a real looking swing where he swings over a teed up ball, rather than the traditional behind the ball.  He also has a tendency to hit the ball off the end of the club, squirting shots to the right because he stands too far from the ball or adjusts his stance mid swing.






Practice swing



Enthusiastically hitting at the driving range.
Yep, this is the driving range there.

However, when he does make solid contact with the ball, the results are quite impressive.   During the trip he reached all of the par three greens off the tee on multiple occasions, and most days he played the par three course two or even three times.  The first par three is short and flat, so he can actually reach it with his 6/7 iron.






However, it is more fun to hit it over that green, since a deep bunker secretly lurks behind.  One particularly memorable round Nick hit it into the bunker on one hop.  He went skipping down the fairway but paused on the edge of the bunker.  A cow had sought refuge from the wind in this spot, and we left the ball and the cow alone.  When that bunker was unoccupied, Nick tirelessly practiced bunker shots with his sand wedge, eventually discovering that hitting backwards would at least allow him to escape the trap and finish the hole (after properly raking and dumping excess sand out of his "trainers").  One of the last rounds I caddied for him on the par three course included a beautiful shot off the second par three to within five feet of the pin.  He also crushed a shot off the third par three that bounced on the green and carried all the way to the putting green fence behind (a total distance of at least 90 yards uphill).


Yet the thrill of the trip for both of us involved the rare trip to the big course when I was sure we would not hold anyone up.  He played the first hole on the real course three different times.  The first time he hit a perfect 6/7 iron that attacked the hill in front of the green and climbed far enough onto the green to remain on the putting surface.  Unless you have had the joy of playing the course, it is difficult to explain what an achievement that is for a five year old, but my effusive excitement seemed to get through to Nick at the moment.  The second time, he sank a downhill 11 foot putt to one putt that green (currently, Nick does not gauge distance and force particularly well, so he often four or more putted the greens on the par three course which were longer and easier).  And the last time we wandered onto the big course, the opening was wider, so we also played the second hole.  Nick asked, "Daddy, can I be in a bunker?"  I said that if no one came along, he could throw one in the bunker after he finished the hole.  Skipping down the second fairway, he volunteered, "Daddy, I am so excited to be playing this hole with you."  He eventually finished the hole (with a six putt), dropped one in the bunker to the left of the green, took a tremendous cut at the ball, and hit it so hard that it climbed the face of the pot bunker and scurried out onto the front of the green.  Nick's response: "See, it's easy."  May he always find it so.




Age 3



Age 5