Delaney Shah
Nine months after my knee surgery, I have officially started to play tournament golf again!
It has been a busy past few months with strengthening and rehabbing my leg, as well as working in the golf shop to make some extra money, and practicing to gear up for this season. I decided I was ready to try and play competitively and with the ok from my physical therapist, I signed up to play in late July for my first event in Conway, Arkansas.
As my first event back, it was very nerve-wracking to say the least. Even though I had been practicing, I had yet to actually walk 18 holes. So my first time attempting to walk 18 holes came at the first round of the tournament. Luckily, my dad flew down to caddy for me which was a big relief and a big help. As I walked up to the first tee, I was filled with a lot of nerves and anxiety. Those feelings quickly diminished after I stripped my first tee shot down the middle of the fairway. I played pretty solid for my first round. My leg started to really get sore around hole 15, and it was a struggle, but I finished my round and I ended up carding a round of 77. After the round, there was a lot of icing, elevating, massaging, anti-inflammatories, and rest. For my second round, I was playing pretty solid and had it going being -1 through 12 holes, but my body quickly began to tire which resulted in some poor golf swings and ended the day shooting a 74.
Having learned a lot during this first tournament, I had many positives to take away. I had three goals going into this first event trying to maintain my expectations. 1) finish all 18 holes walking, 2) break 80, and 3) not make any doubles. Having achieved all three of those goals both days was all I could ask for, making the cut would have been icing on the cake but I ended up missing it by 3 shots. Knowing everything I went through for the past 9 months, I am very positive moving forward.
The swelling in my knee lasted about a week after my first event, but I had no sharp pains throughout the whole tournament, so my physical therapist was pleased with that. After having a week to recover back in Louisville I headed to Wichita, Kansas to compete in my second event.
This second event I also had a caddy because this course was way hillier than the first one. The first round I shot 75, just making some simple bogeys due to not having played competitively in a while. Again, after a lot of icing and elevating, I shot a 75 for the second round. I had it going making the turn at -1 before my body got tired. This time I was able to recognize the tiredness and was able to make the adjustments in my golf swing to continue to hit good shots. This was a good learning process for the future to be able to realize when I am getting tired and how to adjust to make up for my body not being able to move as fast as it does when I start the round. Having the same three goals for each day I was able to achieve all three the first day and 2/3 the second day having made a double bogey on the back nine.
All in all I am very happy with the progress that I have made. My surgery is a year and a half to full recovery, so to be able to walk 18 holes and play in 2 tournaments in just 9-10 months is amazing. I had a lot to take away from these two weeks and am motivated to keep getting better. I feel really good about my golf game, and my struggles are the results of still recuperating from my surgery.
Up next, I will be traveling to Palm Desert, California at the end of August to compete in the first Stage of Q-School. The positive about playing in this event is that every player gets to ride in a golf cart, so I won't have to worry about my leg getting tired and that affecting my golf swing, I can just play freely. This will be a huge advantage to me compared to the last few weeks. However, I was glad to play in the 2 tournaments as I wanted to get some competitive rounds in before the most important tournament of the year.
As always thank you for your continued support and I will update the website after Q-School.