Our columnist and single figure golfer, Naga Munchetty, is feeling buoyant about her golf, but when it comes to matches with a partner, she believes there must be a mutual understanding to succeed.

As the next edition of Women & Golf is on the shelves NOW, here’s a sneak preview of what you can expect from columnist Naga Munchetty this month.

I think... and I write this tentatively... I’m getting my mojo back. I recently played in a scratch foursomes competition with a fellow female golfer who I don’t play with regularly. We were not very hopeful going into the match. It was away, the opposition had lower handicaps and my game hasn’t exactly been ‘on point’. Still we were representing our club and were going to do the best we could - that’s all you can really do when you’re playing alternate shots. 

We decided to play a couple of social games in the week before the match, to get a feel for how each other played and how we could best communicate with each other. This is important. I never like someone giving me advice unless I ask for it and I don’t want my focus meddled with. However, if I’m not sure about something, I do expect my playing partner to have an opinion, and have thought about the shot as if it were her turn to play it.

We won 4&3! A convincing win and one that came because we really did gel as a team. We encouraged each other, forgave each other and exchanged those grateful glances when we had won a hole because the other side had made a mistake. Fortunately, they made more mistakes than we did, and we triumphed. The best bit of the match was that we all got on really well and our opponents even treated us to lunch after we had played!

Of course, I’m feeling good because we won against the odds, but I’m also feeling good because I know that my match-play head is back. It’s a format I love.

Interestingly, I was talking to a friend who was severely beaten in a match recently and though she wasn’t bitter about losing, she was annoyed about the way her opponent behaved. She said that after the match she had begrudgingly offered to have a drink with her on the condition that it was a quick one, as she had to “be somewhere”. My friend said not to worry and secretly felt quite relieved that she no longer had to spend any more time in her company. This is a shame. I truly believe that whether you win or lose a match, the joy of golf means that people from all walks of life are brought together because they have a common passion, and if you can’t socialise over golf, what hope do we have?

This is just a snippet of Naga Munchetty’s full article in the latest issue of Women & Golf magazine. You can pick up Women & Golf, on sale NOW, or click here to subscribe now to read the full feature and enjoy W&G delivered to your door!

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