The day you realize the value of that one shot hidden in your score. To you, feeling small on the way home

A parking lot at dusk, the feeling of shrinking on the way home

The clubhouse at sunset.
The time when the setting sun reflects off the glass, making it a little dazzling.
The quiet lobby where the soles of your shoes make a dry clicking sound.

As I load my golf bag into the trunk,
I suddenly cast my eyes down at the scorecard.

“Over 100 again...”
I mutter softly, and a sigh escapes quietly.

Next to me, my playing partner is laughing, saying, “I shot a 95 today!”
Beside them, I somehow feel myself shrinking.

That feeling on the way home.
Surely, you are not the only one.

Frustration is proof that you love golf

The feeling of being down about your score.
I don't think that is a bad thing at all.

After all, feeling frustrated means you are serious.
If you didn't care, you wouldn't be feeling down in the first place.

The image of a missed shot replays in your head over and over,
and you find yourself thinking, “I should have aimed more to the left,” while driving.

That is all proof that you truly love golf from the bottom of your heart.

Those emotions are all real.
So, why don't you stop blaming yourself?

Even if your score is a mess,
there must have been a moment today when your heart was stirred, somewhere along the way.

I, the instructor, also get lost and feel down just the same

30 years of golf experience, 15 years as an instructor.
Even I, having seen thousands of golfers,
find myself smiling bitterly alone in the car after a round.

In last week's round, I hit three consecutive OBs with my driver.
“Why am I so bad at this?”
I thought, looking up at the sky from the cart.

Honestly, I didn't feel like teaching that day.

The person who tells others “It's okay” during lessons,
is the same person who gets lost, tenses up, and feels down in their own golf game.

I am not a perfect instructor.
I am just a golfer who struggles just like you.

That is what I suddenly realized one day.

If you only look at the score, you will miss the treasure

A woman in her 60s who takes my lessons once said to me, looking lonely,
one day.

“Teacher, I don’t think I have any talent. I couldn’t break 110 again today.”

But, on a long hole in the second half of that day,
her tee shot left a crisp, dry sound,
and was sucked straight into the blue sky.

In that moment, she shouted with a face like a young girl.
“That felt so good!”

And yet, the moment she finished the hole and added up the numbers,
she had forgotten all of that brilliance.

I was the same way.
Even though there is always a “treasure” of a shot mixed into those 18 holes,
in the end, I would judge the day only by the cold sum of the numbers.

The feeling of catching it on the sweet spot.
An approach shot that rolled further than expected.
The moment you escaped a bunker and muttered “Yes” to yourself.

If you count those little “that felt good” moments,
before you count your sighs,
the scenery of today’s round will change a little.

Today’s words

“The yardstick for whether you are happy lies within yourself”

Comparing someone else’s 95 to your 105 won’t give you the answer.

The scores of your playing partners, their driving distance, society’s standards of “good” or “bad.”
Before you know it, your own internal yardstick is being pulled outward.

But in reality,
the shot you felt was “good”
has the same value as the birdie of the person next to you.

Most of you didn’t start this to compete with anyone, I’m sure.

The smell of the grass, the sound of the wind passing through,
and that tingling sensation that remains in your hands when you hit the sweet spot.

Being able to feel those things itself
is a very luxurious and irreplaceable happiness, isn’t it?

Please try just this one thing in your next round

After you finish the hole, stop for just three seconds.

Close your eyes,
and search in your heart,
“Which shot felt good today?”

It doesn't have to be a nice shot.
Something like, 'I managed to hit that trouble shot exactly as I intended,' or
something small like that is enough.

You can look at your score after that.
Those three seconds will become a quiet hint for your next shot.

Deciding on your target and hitting again,
the more you do it, the more chances you'll have to feel that sense of satisfaction.

Let's go meet that feeling again.

Long shadows stretch across the fairway at dusk.
The wind has turned a little cold, and crows are calling in the distance.

That one shot you hit during a time like that.

It doesn't remain on the scorecard, but
it remains firmly within your body.

Don't be bound by numbers; just chase that 'comfort'.

Why not relax your shoulders a little,
and head out onto that green again?

Waiting for you there is the best blue sky,
and the 'best shot' that only you know about.⛳

What was your 'unforgettable shot'?

It's okay if it wasn't a nice shot.

A shot where you thought, 'That felt pretty good.'
Please, tell me about that feeling that remains within you!