Did anyone catch any of the US Open golf tournament from Shinnecock Hills in Southhampton, New York?
If you missed it, boy did you miss out.
And if you caught it you would have noticed a slightly less professional feel.
Not saying the tournament itself was not run professionally, but the way the course was set up it almost looked like amateurs on the golf course.
Shinnecock played tough, and it showed.
The tournament marked the first time ever that the trio of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Jordan Speith all missed the cut.
Now admittedly, that stat is a little skewed with Tiger missing most of the last three years.
But the one thing that is indisputable is the way the course dominated that trio.
Typically a golfer is expected to golf somewhere around par, at worst. These three hit the links and combined to shoot an incredible 29 over par.
The cut line was set at eight over.
To put things into perspective, a professional golfer in 36 holes fired 27 over par, something a lot of Sunday golfers could do at any local golf course.
Now admittedly, Shinnecock Hills is a lot tougher than the average course, but these guys are not the average golfer.
And that’s what makes it fun.
I know a lot of people complain when we see bogies and high numbers, but to me that’s when it is the most fun to watch.
Watching guys like Woods and McIlroy saunter around the golf course making birdie after birdie can be exciting sure, but it gets old rather fast.
Golf is a mental sport.
Sure, golfers need to hit the right shot at the right time, but what happens if the shot isn’t hit right? Or the result is less than desirable?
All too often we teach our children about the need to overcome adversity.
Well this is perfect for the professionals.
It is also perfect for the amateurs.
When we think about professionals we expect these guys to shoot between five and eight under par on a consistent basis.
But when we watch them shoot over par, and not just one but literally all – the winner of the tournament was Brooks Koepka who finished one over – we learn they are human and in a small way we can feel better about our own game.
It is also fun to watch, in my opinion.
Like I said, life is about overcoming adversity.
Watching these guys try to overcome adversity is part of the thrill.
Some guys handled it well, while others struggled at times.
So the next time you go out on the golf course remember two important lessons: overcoming adversity is part of the fun, and professionals struggle just like the rest of us.
These are important lessons to learn in my opinion because it not only shows us about adversity but it teaches us that no one is perfect.
So the next time you shoot a round of ten over, just remember there were plenty of professionals who experienced the same fate, and not all that long ago either.
