Hello and welcome to my golf blog!

My name is Teresa and I’m a beginner golfer.  I started playing at age 43 with my husband,  Matt,  who happens to be a professional golf instructor.  It took him over a decade to get me out on the course,  but once he did,  I had to admit – I was hooked!

This is the story…

As I said,  my hubby coaches golf for a living, so it’s not like I’ve never swung a club before.  Once in a while I’ll go to the range with him to hit a few balls just for fun – I’ve even attempted to play a round here and there – but I haven’t had the time or the desire to really learn the game of golf until now.

We had an early Spring this year in New England,  so I’ve been practicing at the driving range a few days a week.  I’ve also been out to play a couple of times already.  Matt and I decided we wanted to start videoing our rounds of golf – both to keep track of my progress and to give his golf clients an added medium for learning and instruction.

I was optimistic as we loaded up our cart with golf clubs,  water bottles,  and snacks.  I’ve been doing really well hitting the ball at the driving range and Matt gave me a great pep talk in the car on the way over.  But to be honest,  I was very self-conscious of the camera…

I wanted to be able to execute my swing on the course the way I have been during my practice sessions.  I also wanted to make Matt proud and give him some good material to send out to his students.  Essentially,  I just wanted to get through this first videoed round without embarrassing myself or my husband.  Learning golf is intimidating enough for me as a woman in a predominately male-oriented sport.  Adding a camera was nerve-wracking.

But,  I’m absolutely in love with golf this year  (and  I wanted to help out my hubby),  so I was willing to give it a try.

One of the things Matt’s been doing this year to help me out on the course is to play using a scramble format.  Basically, we both tee off at the ladies’ tee box.  Whoever hits the best shot  (yes,  that would be Matt)  uses their ball for the next shot.  I go pick my ball up from wherever it lands and drop it next to his.  We continue from there,  working as a team to keep one score.

This helps me out so much as a beginner woman’s golfer.  First and foremost,  I don’t have to worry about where my ball goes.  If it’s a good shot  –  great!  If it’s a bad one  –  oh well.  I’ll  bring my golf ball over to Matt’s and move on.  This allows me focus more on just getting used to being on the golf course and less on how I have to preform when I’m out there.  It also helps to make sure I’m not holding up the pace of play for the people behind me or tiring myself out so much I can’t actually finish the round.

Getting tired on the course is one of the reasons I haven’t taken up the game until now.  Whenever I would go out and try to play with Matt in the past,  I simply couldn’t physically get through 18 holes by playing my own ball.  I’m not a good enough golfer for that yet. With the scramble format,  however,  I’m getting more into this sport than I ever thought possible.

As you can see from the video,  I had a few good hits here and there,  but for the most part,  I hacked it up all over Crotched Mountain.  And actually,  when we looked back at the raw footage from the day,  I just sat there and cried.  It was humbling to watch myself on video.  I could see every mistake glaring out at me  –  which,  as a beginner,  if I can see it,  so can everyone else.  It was awkward to watch myself,  and Matt had to do some pretty sweet talking to convince me to publish this first golf vlog.

But,  I trust him as an instructor and I want to keep going.  So,  here it is….

I hope you’ll continue to check back in and watch my progress as Matt and I golf it up around New England!

Crotched Mountain Golf Resort – Francistown, NH