Hello!
My name is Alex and this is a brand new
golf blog! I thought it was about time I set up some kind of outlet for
expressing my opinion on my long-time favourite sport. This is the first time I
will have ever written about golf. I also have a blog dedicated to music,
another passion of mine. Although I have never been ultra consistent in
updating it, I have made a fair number of posts. You can find my music blog at
MrDylanRecords.
Anyway, back to golf! I’ve been playing
this incredible sport for about 10 years now on and off. I am currently 20
years of age and in my second year as an undergraduate at Oxford Brookes
University. I am incredibly grateful for the life I have as a student. Living
in Oxford is amazing, but sadly I am currently lacking any golfing activity. I
went along to the golf society initiation at the beginning of my first year,
but shortly after it was mysteriously dropped. This has made it tough for me to
find a place to play during my months at uni. But I still play pretty regularly
during the holidays at Marlborough golf club in Wiltshire, where I have been a
member sine I was about 11.
Back in those days I was golf crazy, and I
mean CRAZY. When I was 12 I started playing for my county, something I would
pursue until I was 17. At points during this time I was playing almost every
day with my junior peers. I was getting better and better every year and at 13
I was down to an 8 handicap and one of the best players of my age in Wiltshire.
I was dreaming of big things. But in 2007 things changed for the worst, at time
in which I felt I was playing the best golf of my life. My closest friend at
the time and the guy that I was playing all day every day with was going though
a change and other distractions were starting to take his attention away from
golf. It wasn’t long until he’d given up
entirely. It was a tough pill to swallow and undoubtedly affected my own relationship
with the game. I toned things down and soon enough I found myself becoming more
and more involved in the same things that had taken my friend away from the
game. During 2007/08 I played far less golf and my progress slowed
considerably. I guess being a teenager got the better of me, but I have no
regrets. Nonetheless, by this point I had accepted that I would no longer be
pursuing the dream of becoming a tour golfer.
In 2009 I started playing more regularly
again and managed to get my handicap down to 5, the lowest it has ever been. I
was shooting great scores and even momentarily considered throwing myself into
dedicating myself to the sport for the second time. Unfortunately, education
had to take precedence and I found myself putting most of my time into studying
for A levels. Since then I have been nothing more than what I would call a
‘serious casual golfer’. Meaning that I still play regular club competitions
and put my all into the game, but I do not have the time or resources to play
nearly as much as I used to. This has definitely eased the pressure and made
the game much more enjoyable, but I will always have fond memories of my
obsessive golfing days. I like to think that one day in the near future I will
be free enough to start really improving my game again. I am currently a 7
handicapper. I would love to get down to 5 this summer and a long-term goal is
to be a scratch player.
Back to the blog! Basically, I am hoping to
use this to post a combination of ramblings on own golfing exploits, along with
opinions on the professional game. I am a big fan of watching golf on TV and
try to keep up with most of the golf on the PGA tour. Admittedly, I am a
massive Tiger Woods fan. Hence, I watch with a much keener eye when Tiger is in
the field. I know he’s injured at the moment, but I am still really looking
forward to the season ahead. I am planning to post everything from previews and
reports, to more editorial type articles about specific players and reflective
pieces. With the Masters just 4 days away, look for plenty of content coming in
the very near future.
I look forward to sharing my thoughts and
reflections on the game of golf and I hope some people will care for what I
have to say. Be sure to give me feedback on whatever I write, whether you agree
or disagree! You can also follow me on:
Twitter: @Balzo93
Instagram: balzo93
