Two tweets by Chris Lynn in the space of 24 hours – and the reaction the Brisbane Heat superstar received – does so much to encapsulate the relationship most golfers have with the game.
“I hate golf,” Lynn tweeted recently after losing a dozen pills around Peregian Springs while on the Sunshine Coast with work commitments, his three simple words accompanied by an emoji of a man’s head exploding.
That tweet was liked 1,600 times and retweeted 30 times, cricket buffs with a love of golf either sympathising with or relishing Lynn’s struggles.
I hate golf 🤯
— Chris Lynn (@lynny50) May 13, 2020
The next morning, after amassing 36 points at Pacific Harbour Golf and Country Club and recouping the cash lost the day before, Lynn let the world know that his tumultuous love affair with golf was very much back on again.
“And I love golf again,” the tweet with smiling face with love hearts receiving 758 likes and 15 retweets.
And I love golf again 🥰
— Chris Lynn (@lynny50) May 14, 2020
“As everyone knows, when you’re having a bad day at golf you can get a bit emotional and get a bit short with people,” Lynn said of his Day 1 woes.
“Generally I’m normally pretty good off the tee. I can hit the ball a fair way and consistently pretty straight but on Wednesday I don’t know what the hell happened. The toys went out of the cot quite quickly and I couldn’t find a way to come back from that.
“I managed to bounce back the next day though and that at least gives me a little of confidence going into next week where we’ll probably play for a bit of cash.
“Golf’s such a funny game though. Hate golf, hate golf, hate golf, love golf, hate golf, love golf, love golf.
“When I tweeted that, a lot of people knew exactly what I was talking about.”
Like so many athletes stranded by the COVID-19 pandemic that has ground world sport to a half, Lynn is using games of golf to fuel his competitive outlet.
Mixed in with his own personal training regime and limited skills work to stay sharp for when cricket does start back up again, Lynn is regularly looking for games of golf throughout south-east Queensland, a game at Brookwater one of three rounds planned for next week.
How good is that feeling standing over the ball not knowing where the heck it’s going 🤣 https://t.co/XcdLyUeDPR
— Chris Lynn (@lynny50) May 15, 2020
The big-hitting batsman approaches his golf in much the same manner as he deals dismissively with T20 bowling attacks throughout the world, enjoying the competitive leg-up his power off the tee and current handicap of 16 affords him.
“I want to get better but I want my handicap to stay the same. That makes life easier to win,” admits Lynn, who is currently not a member of a golf club but has enjoyed recent visits to The Grand on the Gold Coast.
“Because I can drive it a long way I always feel like I’m in the game but obviously my short game isn’t there.
“I liken it to cricket in the way that the driver is hitting a six and putting is hitting a single. And hitting singles is not going to bring the crowds back.”
Quality round with the lads @93Cummins and well played @rtendo27 for taking the roups! #boulders pic.twitter.com/w8tWBBl2Oc
— Chris Lynn (@lynny50) May 19, 2014
Invited to play in the Australian PGA Championship pro-am at RACV Royal Pines Resort last December, Lynn turned down the opportunity when the prospect of teeing off in front of a crowd hit home.
He regularly opens the batting in arenas full to overflowing yet admits the prospect of playing golf with people watching in a professional environment instils a new sense of fear, promising to conquer that fear in December this year.
“I haven’t played a pro-am yet. I got invited to play at Royal Pines last year but I chickened out because I was too scared,” says Lynn, whose last competitive game of cricket was for the Lahore Qalandars in Pakistan in early March.
Chris Lynn has made a temporary shift from cricket to golfhttps://t.co/WOMCFjs2Yz pic.twitter.com/cZSRKoKzhe
— Cricktube.eth (@TacoCricktube) May 12, 2017
“You can play in front of 60,000 at the MCG but if there’s 10 people watching you on the first tee… as soon as you go outside your lane the knees start to wobble.
“I like Royal Queensland because it’s nice and wide. The visual of seeing some nice wide fairways… hit over a couple of shrubs on another fairway and hit back.
“It would be pretty cool if I got an invite there. I’d definitely give it a go that’s for sure.”