Most golfers have one.
Not always the hardest hole on the course. Just the one that seems to get in the head before the tee shot is even played.
You remember the last poor score there. You start thinking about the trouble. And before long, an ordinary hole begins to feel bigger than it really is.
That is often where the real damage starts.
The trouble with these card-wrecker holes is not always the hole itself.
It is the baggage we carry onto the tee.
A poor memory.
A bruised bit of pride.
A picture in the head of where the ball must not go.
That is a lot to carry into one swing.
A lot of bad holes begin before the club even moves.
These days, I try to give that hole a smaller job.
Not beat it.
Not make up for last time.
Not prove I can still take it on the way I used to.
Just get the ball in play, aim for the easiest part of the hole, and leave myself a next shot I can deal with.
That usually helps more than I expect.
When I get to that sort of hole now, I try to ask a different question.
What is the simplest version of this hole?
That might mean:
There is nothing glamorous in that.
But there are a lot of steadier scores in it.
One thing age does teach you is that a hole does not need to be attacked to be handled properly.
Some holes are better managed than challenged.
That is not negative golf. It is sensible golf.
And sensible golf usually travels much better over 18 holes.
At our age, one of the handiest things you can do is stop treating one awkward hole like a personal argument.
If you have a hole like that at your course, try this.
Stand on the tee and forget the card for a moment.
Ask yourself where the easiest first shot is.
Then where the easiest second shot is likely to come from.
Then play the hole in that order.
You may still make a five.
You may still come away muttering a bit.
But you give yourself a far better chance when you stop letting one hole become bigger than it needs to be.
The aim is not to conquer the hole.
It is to keep it ordinary.
That is often enough.
That sort of thinking often suits the game you have now,, rather than the one you used to have.