As the Pumpkin Cup approaches, tensions are building. There's mild bickering and political maneuvering around the format: 2 18-hole matches vs 4 9-hole matches. Will there or won't there be an alternate shots format? And the ultimate point of contention: If we do singles matches, who will play Sandra, who's the closest to a scratch golfer?There's disagreement about practice sessions. There's discontent about the Saturday lunch menu. And we haven't even gotten to the pairings.
We managed to get through the uniform issue and the decision about ball markers -- we chose the smiley face pumpkin over the PC 2013 engraved marker -- before things began to get tense.
Do you think Meg Mallon and Liselotte Neumann went through this torment in the build-up to the Solheim? Of course they did.
Why do I think decisions about the Pumpkin Cup should and will be driven by purity of the competitive spirit? Why do I think Barb and I will always agree, and that if we don't, the world of women's amateur golf in which I spent so much of my time will implode?
I think family of origin issues are interfering with my ability to respond like a sane and compassionate adult to the perfectly predictable tensions that are a natural part of the run-up to any competitive event.
What is it about being female in this culture that fuels the anxiety that's beginning to bubble up to the surface as we get closer to the concede-nothing-take-no-enemies competitive moment? Why can't we embrace the exhilaration of the competitive encounter and rejoice in the empowerment that comes from a well-made golf shot, a putt that wins a hole, the triumphant joy of winning a match?
Come on, Team. Let's cut the crap, limber up, and plan to get out there next Saturday, and chew them up and spit them out!
I'll play Sandra. My handicap's so high she be be completely unbalanced by all those shots she'll have to allow me!
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