Declaring Open War on my Golf Slump

If you've been reading my fledgling blog, you may have noticed a mention or two of my ever-rising GHIN index during this slump I've wallowed in for 18 months. A blogger I admire gave me some good advice about how to climb out of it, but even more appreciated were his kind words about hating to see a good golfer with a passion for the game hit that long of a rough patch.

I can make light of my "slump:"

• I now know how many times the handiap-scoring machine will ask "This score is higher than your normal scores. Do you still want to enter it?" before it stops asking

• I get a couple of extra strokes in our Old Pal match (however, since I need them, the fun in that only lasts while I'm studying the scorecard on the first hole).


• I get to sleep in a little later on the mornings of competitive tournaments (for you non-golfers, that's because they send lower handicap golfers off first)


• I get alot more use out of my Bushnell rangefinder (because I keep re-measuring distances on the range to get past my disbelief that I only hit my 7-iron 115 yards!)

But the sad (and scary) truth is that I've begun to "expect" that I will score poorly every time I go out to play. I always try my best and but lately the high scores aren't "getting" to me the way they always have. Having spent months utterly frustrated and near tears, I find myself beginning to simply accept them. Until....

Got the new GHIN report this week. I've gone from a 3.2 in March (up from a 2.3 last year) to a 5.7 . Editor's note: for those who might think I shouldn't whine about being a 5 handicap, it's not the number that's relevant - it's the increase and the golf behind it . And while my beau doesn't have the GHIN system at his course, he dropped from a 6.8 to a 5.6 as of August 1.

Dayna 5.7 - beau 5.6. Hmmmm. Competitive juices are beginning to bubble.

I'm thrilled for him because he's worked so hard to make some big swing changes over the past 12-15 months and he's waiting patiently for it to become ingrained and translate on the course. But..hmmmm. Competitive juices starting to boil.

I sit here drumming my fingers on my keyboard and clenching my teeth. Dare I say it? No more excuses if I do.... Ok, here you go, world.... I am ready to expect more of myself. It's time to care again. It's time to get pissed off about shooting in the 80s. It's time to play the game I know I'm capable of playing. I can't run now - it's time to play.