What parent has not wondered about their young child, why won't they listen? What made them do that? If only, she had, or he had listened to me! I have many times told my players, you can't fast forward experience. We just returned from our second tournament of the spring and as much as I remind my team, play like it's only a one-day competition, it is sometimes hard to believe that will be true. Ideally most tournaments last for 54 holes which helps to allow the best teams to rise to the top. I like to remind my players when they ride the high wave on one stellar round or wallow in the doom and gloom space due to a bad round that, "one round doesn't make you, and one round doesn't break you." It's what you do over a space of time that builds you into the player you ultimately will become. How you react to those experiences is more a test of your ability and character as a player than the score itself.
Sure enough, we faced adverse conditions on our second round of the Columbia Classic. The high winds that sustained over several hours finally made the course unplayable and eventually resulted in the cancellation of the entire round. I asked my players at the end of the day what they learned from the experience. Everyone agreed to the difficulty of the day and that shots were tough to control. No doubt all of that was true. However, as a coach you are hoping that they would be more interested in how they can be a better "wind" player. Ask more questions. Realizing and admitting they need to practice knocking the ball down and not fully releasing the club so that the spin of the ball is minimized. They did a good job managing the day, however the real lessons are learned when you step back, turn off your ego, and reflect a bit more on how to manage it even better. To believe you will not have to do that again or think that future rounds will not present similar conditions is not realistic.
After round one we were ten shots from the lead. A reasonable margin to close given two more rounds to play, but a bit more difficult with one round to play. Our final round began to close that gap as most of the team was under par, we climbed into third place. We started to lose some ground in the middle of the round and fell to a tie for sixth. I mentioned to a few of my players to hang tough down the stretch as the scores were very close and this could go either way. They responded and showed strong competitive spirit. Leading the way was Taylor Waller closing out her final holes one under par! Isha Dhruva bounced back from a tough hole and closed out her final holes one under par to finish even on the day. Mathilde Delavallade who was tied for the lead individually had a tough time getting things rolling but hung in there on the final stretch capitalizing on some difficult up and downs staying even par and finishing three over on the day. This helped the team climb back into fourth place and stay ahead of chasing opponent Notre Dame by one shot. These are the experiences I hope they learn from. These are the experiences that strengthen your competitive edge. These are the things that you can say, but are much better learned through the "doing". I am proud of the finish! I am proud of this journey they have chosen to be on with me. It is not easy, but we would not want it that way.
As my friend Grandma Rose, who I must add was as dear as the day is long, always would say, "you can't put an old head on young shoulders". It is my job to help them develop and grow in the hopes that one day they will recognize the lessons and change their approach. One of my favorite quotes from a trainer I once worked with, "If you want something you never had, you have to do something you've never done." As we prepare for our next tournament in Phoenix at the end of the month, we will approach our preparation differently.
