PLAYING golf in a competitive arena was something that I put off for as long as possible.

Playing badly against friends and work colleagues is one thing, but putting my complete lack of talent on display to total strangers always seemed a step too far.

However, towards the end of last year, I decided to take the plunge and go along as a guest to an event organised by a society that one of my neighbours is a member of.

Having enjoyed a bacon roll and a cup of tea before the round, I was thinking that I could get used to it ā€“ but after about 10 minutes I was contemplating the notion that the clubhouse food may well be the highlight of the day.

A sliced drive into the trees at the first resulted in a triple-bogey seven, while I then duffed my drive at the second and did well to rescue a double-bogey.

It was not the best of starts, but things took a turn for the better at the par-three third as I produced a good chip to give myself a tap-in par.

Sadly, this form did not continue as I struggled through the next four holes, with the lowlight an appalling nine at the par-four seventh.

I somehow managed to recover my composure, making par at the ninth to record a total of 15 points on the front nine, but the highlight of my round, year and quite possibly entire golfing career lay just around the corner.

The par-three 11th, measuring 179 yards, was one of the holes chosen for a nearest the pin competition. The thought of getting close did not enter my head as I stood on the tee, but I was delighted to see my slightly thinned four-iron run up to the green, curl round and come to rest 10 foot from the hole.

Of course, I missed the birdie putt, but at least I had got something right.

The rest of the round was a rather mixed bag, with a couple of decent holes interspersed with some rubbish, but I made it back to the clubhouse having shot 101 and amassed 34 points off a handicap of 27.

As it turned out, that was good enough to win the best guest prize. However, the icing on the cake was the closest to the pin prize at the 11th, meaning I went home with two bottles of wine.

All in all, my competitive debut was something of a success. Maybe I should quit while Iā€™m ahead.

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