Counting 'em all is a Cool Golf Thing

Tournament golf can be intimidating, but taking the plunge is one of golf's most rewarding experiences. Tim Gavrich/GolfPass

There's nothing like tournament golf to remind you what a loser you are.

Or what plentiful company you're in.

I recently had the chance to count 'em all in high-level tournament play at the 2025 Florida Mid-Amateur, held just 15 minutes from my home at The Moorings Club's Hawk's Nest course in Vero Beach, Fla.

I went home early, bowing out in the stroke-play qualifying portion after rounds of 77-78, missing the 32-man match-play cut by five shots.

I could write the world's most boring memoir about how I played (I felt like I couldn't drive a ball into the Atlantic while standing on the beach), but instead I'll use this space to tell you that if you have never played tournament golf, you are missing out on possibly the richest experience the game offers.

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Don't give me the excuse that your handicap is too high to make tournament golf feasible for you. The beauty of the game is how it accommodates all levels via the handicap system. Find a net tournament somewhere (like the fantastic Myrtle Beach World Am), tee it up and see what it's like to play without the security-blanket of wiping back a missed five-footer.

If you've yet to take the competitive plunge, you may think that the requirement to count every shot will send your score soaring. I'm not going to lie to you - that might happen (the good news: no one cares what you shot; they have their own score to worry about).

But you should also know that you will surprise yourself with some of the shots you pull off. The heady brew of nerves, focus and fight-or-flight responses wrings terrible and beautiful things out of golfers in the heat of competition.

2018 World Am pre-round — Each of the first four rounds at the World Am is a shotgun start. Each morning brings energy, expectations and possibilities. Golf Tourism Solutions

Even though my Mid-Am outing was ultimately a bust, I will remember forever the up-and-down I made over a bunker to a screaming-fast, marble-firm green on Hawk's Nest's par-3 11th hole the first round. I had to send the ball straight up into the air in order to get it to land tenderly enough not to roll into the water on the other side of the green. The shot was more about guts than technique, and when I executed it as intended and then rolled in the remaining 8-foot par putt, the feeling was twice as gratifying as any great shot I could ever hit in a casual round. In that moment, the self-confidence I gained was worth all the frustration that followed in the next 34 holes, where I just couldn't seem to give myself enough birdie opportunities to offset the inevitable setbacks from one of the tougher course setups I've ever faced.

Because golf hands us so many big defeats, the little victories that we can take away - like that crazy up-and-down - become incredibly potent, and propel us to the next struggle. I cannot wait to succeed and fail again at the next tournament I play.