Inside The Ropes With Gary Bos

[SirShanksAlot]

I've had the opportunity over a few occasions in my career to either be alone leading a tournament going into the final round or playing in the final group. The most recent was this past August at the Ontario PGA Assistant's Championship at the Peninsula Lakes Golf Club, not too far from Niagara Falls.

I was standing on the 17th tee in my opening round feeling great and everything was going my way. I was 4-under at that moment with only a short par 3 and a reachable par 5 left to negotiate. All day my thoughts were of nothing but the shot at hand and staying in the moment. I hit my 8-iron on the green in regulation on 17. Then, standing over my 3 footer for par after a lengthy first putt, a thought of realistically shooting 65 entered my mind. I proceeded to miss the putt and made bogey. Not letting that get the better of me, I hit a solid tee shot on the final hole and was on the green in two putting for eagle. The same thing as on the previous green happened again, only this time it was thoughts of 66. I hit a great first putt only to misread the final two feet and left myself another three footer for birdie. Needless to say, I missed it and wound up shooting a 3-under 68. All in all still a good round and I was the leader in clubhouse. I had shot 69 two years earlier in the same tournament and held the clubhouse lead overnight, so I thought it might be good enough once again. That hope was quickly erased as a 67 came in followed by a 65. I should have been tied for the lead I thought but as we all know, this is golf and all that matters is the number at the end of the day. When someone asked how I played, my answer was always that I shot 68, no explanation necessary.

I teed off the next day feeling great as I achieved what I set out to do, get myself in position and into the final group for the final round. I birdied the first hole and all of a sudden was only 2 shots back, only to work against myself on the next hole after hitting what I thought was perhaps the best 7 iron could hit, winding up flying the green into the back bunker. Chalk it up to adrenalin I guess! After the day was over, I didn't have my best stuff but looking back, I did grind it out and redeemed myself on the final hole by making a 10 footer for birdie and an even par 71 leaving me alone in 3rd place. The eventual winner shot another 65. To this day, I have never seen such an incredible putting display in a single round of golf. It was as though every putt, whether 5 feet away, or 30 feet away, was going to be dead center every time. Unreal in a way but when you think about it, that kind of thing is a weekly occurrence on the PGA and Nationwide Tours. That is what this game is all about. It is quite rare that the best putter for the week does not win the golf tournament. I congratulated him as he was a deserving champion!

Overall, the experience was great and that's what I take from it. My nerves were solid and I hung in there as best I could. The more I play myself into a similar position, the more I will be able to learn about myself and improve. If there is a lesson to be learned, it would have to be 'do not underestimate the power of the mind'! I will talk more about this and what types of things I incorporate into my own game to improve and give myself the best possible chance of success!

Follow CPGA Professional Gary Bos as he chases his dream of playing on the PGA Tour. Check out regular updates on SirShanksAlot.com and Gary's own website. Gary is the Head Teaching Professional at the Grand Niagara Resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

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