How a trip to Reynolds Lake Oconee taught me to appreciate the sport of golf

#3: You can make up for a few bad strokes with 1 or 2 great shots

Dealing with a bad shot at the Andalucia Valderrama Masters

Within the sport of golf, par is the pre-determined number of strokes that a golfer ought to require to complete a hole, a round or a tournament. For example, a par-hour hole at a course should be in four or less strokes.

Sometimes a golfer may have hit a bad opening swing or two at a hole. But with some luck, those opening struggles can be corrected with a spot-on stroke or two. This is comparable to how a baseball player is not expected score a hit on every at-bat, or even half of their at-bats; in fact, a baseball player with a career batting average around .300, or 30%, may be destined for the Baseball Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Luxury journalist Shaun Tolson, who frequently writes about golf, explained: "Sometimes, one great shot can make up for a couple lousy ones. That’s one of the great things about the sport. You can hit two or three mediocre -- even bad -- shots on a hole, but one great shot can make up for them. You can follow up a bad drive and a bad second shot, for example, with a great pitch shot that lands close to the hole for an easy putt."

Tolson continued: "Similarly, you could hit three straight bad shots, but if you hole a really long putt, you can still make par. If you can find your ball to hit it again, you always have a chance. Beginners need to remember that, because golf can quickly become a discouraging and unenjoyable pastime if players think that they need to hit most of their shots perfectly."