I shot an 83 today!

OK, I've been playing golf since I was 9 years old.

I can probably count on both hands the number of times I've broken 90.

Today, I beat my best score ever by about 5 strokes.

I birdied 2 holes and made 4 pars for a 38 on the back 9, which is by far the best 9 holes I've ever played. That's only 2 over par.

But, it actually started when I pared the last 2 holes on the front 9. So really, thru the last 11 holes I was just 2 over, which means I hit a bunch of really nice shots.

I sank some long puts. I made a few up and downs. I made a few nice recovery shots. I lost it and double bogeyed a hole. I played stronger than I've ever played.

I also could have achieved another long standing goal of 3 birdies in a round because there were at least 3 more puts ranging between 8 and 20 feet that I could have made for birdie, but I just barely missed them. So, the score could have been much lower.

What's more, I really see how I should have broken 80 today. In a weird way, shooting 83 proves I can play much better because I can point to some really simple mistakes. (If you take 38 on the back 38 + 38 = 76 because I now know I can shoot 38 or better)

In another weird way, I also realized how important "believing in yourself" is because I would say the thing that fueled my score was my confidence. If I had been just a little bit more relaxed and confident, I could have focused just a little more intently, which would have translated in about 5 birdies.

But, knowing that I can shoot 83 makes me very happy. It means I'm starting to understand something about the game of golf. I've been able to take all the little things that I've learned over the years and piece them together to create a round of golf that I'm proud of.