OC Golf Course

While I'm still waiting for my golf clubs to arrive (I recently got fitted and the shafts of all my fairway woods and drivers are being replaced), I couldn't help but go play 9 holes anyway.  To my surprised, I shot 44 on the front (for all you critics, it's a par-35 nine holes measuring 2724 yards) even though my average on the same tee is 44.6 (I don't play it that often though since it is shorter).

For someone who don't hit it far (my longest club went 180 yards off the tee), I was super excited.  If this doesn't convince you to try it next time, maybe the follow reasons will help.

1. It Was Something Different - Playing with irons was definitely something I don't do often.  While I've played at Aliso Viejo Country Club many times before, hitting a shorter club gave me the opportunity to be in different parts of the golf course.  I was hitting different shots into the green as well, which added to the freshness.  Next time, I may even just bring my 5 iron and up and try to play the front tees and see what happens!
2. It Made Me Proud - Playing with no clubs over 180 yards and still shooting a great round made me extremely proud of my game.  It made me believe that I can actually shoot a much better score than I normally would, if I can only concentrate!
3. The Bag Was Lighter - Half the time, I walk and boy was the bag much later.  Having less clubs also made the clubs bang against each other less!
4. It Creates Conversation - Once your player partners start to know you, they will all ask why you aren't bringing your driver.  There certainly are some funny jokes when you actually hit it farther than the others too.  (This also works the other way though because I was playing with a guy's wife and she was consistently outdriving me!)
5. I Wasn't Thinking About Hitting it Far - I was trying to make a smooth swing instead of trying to bomb the drive out there on every tee shot.  This help the rest of my game because my short pitches were much smoother as well!
6. I Wasn't Thinking About Shooting a Number - There was no expectation of shooting the best game of my life because I don't have all 14 clubs.  Instead, I was just trying to play one shot at a time with what I have.  At the end, this helped my score tremendously since I wasn't nervous.
7. I Lost Less Balls - Since I was only playing with short clubs, I didn't hit the ball everywhere either.  Even if I miss one, the ball would be close enough to be found.
8. It Made Me Concentrate on Placement Much More - Since I cannot get to half the greens in regulation, I instead tried to hit the ball to the correct side of the fairway for my pitch in.  I ended up getting up and downs much more than usual today.
9. Gives a Good Perspective to My Game - Doing this made me understand that I really don't need to hit it any longer to improve my game.  Instead of just hearing other people tell me how important the short game is, I can feel it now.

Not having my woods and driver turned out to be a blessing.  I think next time I will try it again.  What about you?  Do you try something like this regularly?