Blindsided VI

He starts on the back nine of his season opener, paired with a good friend. I'm not entirely sure why they insist on playing through the ridiculously high winds coupled with large patches of snow, but we're ready to tee off next. Everyone knows him, and they adore him. He's humble with his spectacular talent and like every other time we golf...they want to be near him. I can hear the whispers, see their expressions and know they too want to see him go all out. It's a competition, but not really, the men around him put their energy behind him and push with him. Of course they want to win, but they know the odds and his recovery game is unmatched, so until he walks off the course, he's always either in the hunt or sitting pretty on his throne. 

There's a little more sparkle when he golfs with his friends and on his home turf. He's never arrogant on the course, there's no need, his confidence is solid as he's steps into the tee box. He's going in cold with a new driver, well, he got it a year ago, but last minute, he swapped out two clubs...that's fucking gutsy, perfectly on brand for him. I held my breath because it felt better than questioning him. One thing I know for sure is that as a sports mom and a sports lover...I never question the athlete before they take the field. So much of it is a mental game and since I don't play...I don't say a word, not even out of curiosity. You can't get into his head, it's not available. His mental game is like his recovery game...unmatched. 

Sitting in the golf cart felt like being in a wind tunnel, standing outside of it wasn't any better. It didn't matter, he was hitting every fairway like the wind wasn't even touching him. Driving the ball over three hundred yards consistently is pretty incredible, but being accurate over ninety percent of the time is insane. There was a young man on his foursome who could drive the ball about forty yards further at times...but he's not hitting fairway...he was in no mans land several times. 

The first nine holes were brutal, between the wind, cold and snow it was absolutely miserable...for me. He was sitting nicely at the top of the leader board as we hit the turn to the front nine...