I was hoping to play better during the club championship this year. The feeling was that slowly but surely I was reaching an optimum performance, peaking out at the right moment in time. Last week I had some really good practice rounds and I was mentally fit. I was hitting the ball very cleanly and felt confident with my putting.

Unfortunately, playing under pressure in an important tournament is a whole different story. I ended up having three so-so rounds: 80+86+82=248. Only one birdie(!), too many double-bogies, and once even a nasty nine on the par five twelve hole (I crunched a perfect drive down the middle of the fairway and then proceeded to shank my second shot out-of-bounds). I missed too many easy putts and kept pulling the ball slightly to the left, especially on the short iron shots to the green.

That's why golf is such a great sport. Golf is not only about your skill and peak performance, but also requires a dauntless and fearless frame of mind to pull you through those difficult moments.

All in all I ended up winning third place, received a nice little trophy and gift certificate, as well as a polite applause. Better luck next year.