Rest and recovery

I was about to give up golf after last weekend. I was south of Seattle in Olympia and we played Chamber’s Bay. The course absolutely kicked my ass. I had never played a links course before and Chamber’s was not a fun introduction.

The first 3 holes, I was going up and down the hills searching for ball. I never recovered after the disastrous start and everything was out of whack the rest of the round. I shot a 55 on the front 9 which is the highest score I’ve posted in a long time. The next day at Indian Summer was not much better except that I recovered a bit on the back 9.

Today, I played Harding with a partner. Everything felt different. I was well rested after a good night’s sleep. I felt loose and ready to go in the car ride over. It was far from perfect, but my swing felt good and natural from the minute I got on the range through the 18th hole.

Last weekend to today was really night and day. It reminded me of the importance of rest, recovery and how much alcohol impacts both of those things. I had flown into Seattle on Thursday night and probably had a few too many drinks. Despite sleeping in a bit the next day, I could definitely tell my body was still tired and a bit off.

I’m getting older now and my body can’t handle the booze like it used to. Sleeping 7 hours is a must nowadays. Getting rest after a hard workout or a long day is a necessity not a luxury.