THE PROMISED LAND

Golf Monthly's Elliott Heath has been on a mission to break par for the first time, a feat he achieved towards the end of 2022...

I'd placed a proverbial monkey on my back over the past few years by giving myself the goal of shooting under-par, and I'll admit it had become a bit of an obsession. I'd come close numerous times but never quite got over the line despite knowing I was able to break 70, my course's par- and seen people I've known through the years go sub-par despite having higher handicaps than me.

One of my closest golfing friends has shot under par five times, but not for a long while now, and despite having a lower handicap than him, he always had this over me. Having shot level-par multiple times and given away a good few underpar scores, I had began to wonder if it would ever happen. I remember bogeying the last, albeit in near-darkness thanks to a late tee time, to shoot level-par, and another time where I was two-under after 12 in a competition before limping home. Another round, I left myself a short birdie putt on the 16th to go one-under, which I holed, and then remember barely even being able to grip my club on the 17th, a par 3, hoping that I wouldn't shank it.

Stupid right? More stupidity came just a couple of months ago at Western Gailes Golf Club in Ayrshire. Playing with two scratch handicappers - I think I was off 4 at the time - I was basically having the round of my life. I barely missed a shot for 13 holes to sit one-underpar, before we turned back to the clubhouse with the railway down the right-hand side.

Despite essentially flushing everything for the last two-and-a-bit hours, I was now doing everything in my powers to not slice or shank it. A shocking bogey followed at a par 5 (I did birdie the next though) and I ended up finishing bogey-bogey-bogey for a two-over 73. It really is incredible how your mindset can change in this game - from stress-free great golf to suddenly playing with fear, panic and negativity.