It is official, we resume our activities on May 20. As a golfer and professional athlete, I have lived with uncertainty for more than 2 months. What do we do? How do we maintain a positive attitude? How do we practice and move forward? How do we plan for the summer? I use “we” because I am not alone in making my decisions. I have a team that supports me and we are all in the same boat to overcome this storm starting with my coach Daniel Langevin.
There are many uncontrollable in this present life and I must constantly adapt. Several tournaments were cancelled and moved which always leaves us in uncertainty. So, thank you Mr. Legault for finally allowing me to play my sport in less than a week! I look forward to a ‘’sort of’’ normalcy. In addition, it will give me an additional reason if I find myself in the wood after a bad tee shot: “I protect myself guys, I aimed there to stay at 2 meters, what did you guys think…” 😉
Since April 13, I am back in Quebec and I made my mandatory 14-day quarantine in the apartment left vacant by my aunt Claire. How fortunate to have such a generous and accommodating family. Since that time, my practice has largely been done indoors. It’s too bad because the temperature was so hot and sunny…
For safety reasons and a big push from my national team coaches, I decided to return to Quebec. The situation in Arizona where I practice this winter was under control. The golf courses were opened with several sanitary precautions to prevent the spread of the virus. However, I felt that returning to Canada probably was safer.
The Governor of Arizona considered the practice of golf to be “essential to well-being.” In short, I could continue practicing my sport. However, my qualification for the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada, which I was preparing for, was cancelled. This was not a big surprise, we had to expect it. However, we do not know when, where and even how it will unfold. To be continued…
This is in addition to the cancellation of my qualification for the PGA TOUR-China in March. The global domino effect of this damn virus has far exceeded what was envisaged. My skills in managing uncertainty in times of crisis have been put to the test. One of the slogans on Team Canada is “learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable.” Every athlete must learn to accept the uncontrollable and focus on what he can control! In this case, I could putt on a small mat, work on my grip, train physically hard and intelligently, and then improve some mental aspects such has managing my emotions and my anxiety.
The COVID-19 is a golden opportunity to work on the technical and physical elements of my game in an uncomfortable situation. Astronaut Chris Hadfield gave a Zoom Lecture to all Canadian athletes to guide and encourage us. Since he explained to us his isolation of 6 months in space and his extremely difficult preparation to do this feat, I relativized my experience. For example, Chris spent two weeks in a single, isolated submarine to improve his management in times of crisis and tremendous stress. You know what, two months in his house taking care of his dog and doing push-ups, it’s not that unpleasant…
We keep morale! I have a family that helps each other and parents who let their 25-year-old son live in their house. I don’t know what I would do without them. I’m not complaining, and I keep smiling. Financially, I have a few sponsors and members of Pinegrove who helped me last year and continue to support me. But we are ready to resume the adventure.
Here we go again my friends! #may20th
