// How it started
I rolled up to the course on a Thursday. I had taken the day off work to play a practice round for my Firecracker Open qualifier, but unfortunately I couldn’t get a tee time at the course where the tournament would be held (Lions). So I decided to play a tune-up at Avery Ranch instead. The back tees at Lions are only about 5800 yards, so the whites at Avery are pretty comparable — about a stroke easier in terms of course rating, with a little tougher slope.
I went straight from the car to the tee box with no warmup. After pulling my first approach long and right of the green, I was faced with a really tough pitch shot - downhill, from a downward-sloping lie, with almost no green to work with. Somehow, I pulled off an excellent shot with a 60-degree wedge that trickled down to about 3 feet, and tapped in for my par. I didn’t realize at the time just how crucial that up-and-down would be.
Avery Ranch starts with 7 pretty tough holes and then has a long stretch of easier holes before a difficult finish on 17 and 18. Most of my past efforts to break par had fallen apart with a double (or two, or three) somewhere in that first 7. But today, everything felt routine, and I was even par through four holes. My mindset was excellent: I was focused on my thought process and setting really clear intentions about where I wanted the ball to end up.
A bad tee shot on 5 and a mediocre chip on 6 cost me two shots, but I made a 6-footer to save par on the 7th. Two over through 7 wasn’t great, but it was a decent start on the hardest part of the course.
// Getting hot
I stuck it close on the par-3 8th and made the birdie putt. Then, after a mediocre approach on 9, I drained a 30-footer to get back to even par at the turn. The par-5 10th usually plays into the wind, but today it was straight down. I got it on the front of the green in two and converted the long two-putt for my third birdie in a row. All of a sudden I was 1 under par, with plenty of gettable holes ahead of me. The game was on.
After an up-and-down to save par on 11, I hit a great drive on the short par-4 12th and had only about 50 yards left for my approach. But I must have lost my focus, because I hit a clunky wedge shot that caught the lip of the bunker and rolled back in. I couldn’t get up and down. Bogey from 50 yards out, and back to even par on the day.
But on the very next hole, I rolled in a drippy 15-20 foot slider, and just like that I was under par again with 5 to play. That’s when I started feeling the pressure.
// Feeling the pressure
14 and 15 at Avery are both short par 5s. Usually, they’re good birdie opportunities. But knowing I was under par changed everything. I went for the green in 2 on 14, but instead completely cold-topped a hybrid. It ended up being a good layup that led to a comfy par, but it wasn’t how I drew it up.
On 15, the wheels really started to wobble. I blasted my second shot way left, almost into a hazard, but stayed on dry land with about 60 yards in. From there, I pitched just on to the front of the green, leaving me a 30-footer for birdie. I left that putt about 6 feet short - not even close. But my par effort barely caught the lip of the hole and snuck in the side door. I felt lucky to escape with a par on a hole that really shouldn’t be so hard.
So now I came to 16, still one under par. It’s a short, uphill par 4, and I stepped up and hit a great drive, leaving myself another 50 yard pitch or so. But again, whether from a mental or physical mistake, I hit a clunky, chunky shot that barely dribbled onto the front of the green, at least 60 feet short of the hole. A solid lag putt left me about 3.5 feet to save par.
I missed the putt. It was like I blacked out — I didn’t even have a spot picked out to aim. I was telling myself not to think, which I guess turned out to be a bad idea. So it was the second time in the last five holes I’d made bogey from 50 yards out in the fairway.
// Redemption on 17
Last time I’d had a chance to break par at Avery, I’d double-bogeyed the par-3 17th to shoot a one-over 73. This time around, as I walked off 16, I had that scar tissue in mind, and it felt like everything was falling apart. “Oh man,” I thought, “I’m not gonna do it. I had this perfect opportunity and I’m letting it slip away again.” I could feel myself spiraling, despondent.
But then, as I watched my playing partners hit their tee shots, I got mad instead. “Come on, let’s hit a great f***ing shot here,” I thought. “Let’s flex on these guys a little.” That gave me some energy and a bit of swagger.
I had only 118 yards from the whites, but needed to be sure to carry at least 110 because of the lake in front of the green. The wind was picking up significantly, so I decided to hit a knockdown 9-iron and committed to staying down on the ball. I struck the shot, looked up, and saw it was on a great line — the only question was whether it would carry the right distance in the wind.
It landed just a couple feet left of the stick. I walked up to the green and saw I had 4 feet for birdie. Drained it.
// The blender
Now I was back to 1 under going to the 18th. It’s a tough hole, but I only needed a bogey for my 72. I was just feeling the pressure start to ease a little bit when my phone rang. It was my wife calling to tell me she’d just gotten a job offer! “That’s amazing,” I told her, “but let me call you back. I’ve got more important things going on. I’m one under par with one to play!”
The 18th was an emotional blender. The hole only plays about 350 from the whites, but there’s a ravine about 200-210 yards from the tee that narrows the fairway considerably. Into the wind, I probably could have gotten away with a 4 or even a 3 hybrid, but knowing I only needed a bogey to shoot 72, I kept it very safe with a 5-iron.
Of course, trying to play it safe, I ended up hitting a kludgy low slice into the left rough. Worse, I’d left myself 185 yards to the green — a bit downhill, but still into the wind, with a hazard waiting all down the left. Not an easy shot at all, especially for me. I realized I could easily make double from here.
But just as I was getting nervous, I got mad again instead, and told myself to summon a great shot. I pulled 4 hybrid, committed once again to keeping my head down, aimed a little right of the green to avoid the hazard, and absolutely flushed one. As I walked down towards the green, I saw I was pin-high, just a few yards off the green, with a straightforward chip. All I had to do, I realized, was get this chip onto the green, and I would have a short two-putt to achieve my goal.
With that in mind, I chipped one up there three or four feet past the hole. At that point, I knew I had pretty much guaranteed myself an even-par 72. But suddenly, for the first time, I let myself think about something else: I had a four-footer to not just shoot even par, but one under. After studying the putt for what felt like about 5 minutes, I rolled it in the left side. 71. I’d done it.
What I learned
It felt amazing to finally achieve a goal I’d had for years. Various estimates indicate that less than 1% of golfers ever break par. Maybe a few more could do it if they played from the white tees, but it’s still a rare club that I am proud to be in.
Overall, my complicated journey to breaking par changed my approach to golf in a number of ways:
- Avoiding double bogeys is everything. In this round, I had 4 bogeys, but no doubles. And for me, eliminating doubles means keeping the ball in play off the tee. I’ve gotten much more intentional about playing away from trouble, even if it means laying up.
- When I finally broke par, my process was excellent. I was very disciplined about starting with the finish — where do I want the ball to end up after this shot? – and walking backwards from there to determine what club to use, where to aim, and what kind of shot to hit.
- I need to bring some confidence and be aggressive when I want to shoot a good score. I’m not good enough to break par just by trying to avoid mistakes. The good news is that the pressure taught me that even when I’m nervous, I CAN hit good shots!
With all that said, I’m still hungry to break par from further back. Breaking par from the whites was hard, but it would feel more “legit” to break par from over 6000 yards, or from the back tees at a course, or where the course rating is 72 or higher. I guess those can all be “mini milestones” for me as I continue to get better.
For now, though, I’m proud of an achievement I can enjoy for the rest of my life.
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