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カワナミゴルフスクールのアドバイザリースタッフであるJim　Fletcher氏
によるインターナショナルな話題を英文で皆様にお伝えします。

〈The biggest putt of my life 〉

Most of us will never understand the pressure some professional golfers are under when towards the end of a tournament they realize they need to make three pars to win after having seen the leader board and realizing that they were in the lead. First of all, nearly all of the tournaments we play in have no on-course leader boards so we never know how we are doing until after holing out.

However, I have had one such experience because of the policy for junior golfers at the Grange Golf Club in Dublin of which I was (and still am) a member. Starting out as a junior golfer, you could not receive a handicap greater than 18, no matter how bad your score was. So this was the first incentive to work on your game and try to be able to play to an 18 handicap as quickly as possible.

But even as an 18 handicapper, playing times were restricted, so we were not allowed to play on Saturdays, and could only play on Sundays after 4pm. As we were at school on weekdays, it was almost impossible to play golf during the winter season because of the short daylight hours.

However, a rule did exist that if a junior golfer could get their handicap down to single digits, then all restrictions on playing times were lifted. So during the summer months, we would play most days and return score cards in the hope of getting our handicaps down to single digits.

At the end of one summer, with my handicap at 10, I had the opportunity to play one more round of golf before school started again. I knew that if I played a good round, I could get my handicap down to 9 and play all through the winter. If not, then I would have very little chance to play at all during the winter. Now that is pressure!!

With three holes remaining I calculated that I needed three pars to get my handicap down to 9. Never before had I felt such pressure, but then I understood the pressure that top professionals have when they lead tournaments. I parred 16 and 17, and hit the par-4 18 th green in two. My first putt stopped about 6 inches from the hole. Tapping in for par was easy, but very emotional. That was, and probably still is, the biggest putt I have ever holed in my life!

それでは、皆さん次回をお楽しみに！　See You next！