Day 2 — Yas Links: I Shot 107 and It Might Be the Most Important Round of My Life

Yas Links Golf Club. Kyle Phillips Design · Par 72 · 66 Tee · Slope 134 · Rating 72.5

Score: 107 (48-59) | Stableford: 18 | Pro-Am Round 1

Playing with: Andy Carter (1 hcp)

I’m going to tell you something most golf content creators won’t: I shot 107 today.

Not on some executive par-3. At Yas Links Golf Club in Abu Dhabi. a Kyle Phillips links design on Yas Island, with a 134 slope, eight holes on the Arabian Gulf, pot bunkers, fescue rough, and Ferrari World literally looming in the background. Home of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. One of the most stunning courses I’ve ever seen.

And I played some of the worst golf of my life on it.

Yesterday at Arabian Ranches, I hit 86% of fairways and made birdie on the hardest hole. I went to bed feeling like the swing was there. like Year 2 was going to be the redemption story I’d been writing in my head. Today, the desert had other plans.

The First Swing Sets the Tone

We started on hole 10. Round 1 of the Skillest Pro-Am. First competitive tee shot of the tournament.

Smacked it left. Out of bounds. Just like that. Welcome to Day 2.

And it didn’t stop. I was hooking the ball hard. which is not my typical miss. When I’d adjust, I’d overcorrect into a push fade. The dreaded two-way miss. If you’ve ever had it, you know. you literally don’t know which side of the fairway to aim at because the ball could go either way.

I lost at least 10 balls. Maybe 12. That’s not a typo.

The Scorecard Doesn’t Lie

First nine played (holes 10-18): 59.

Second nine played (holes 1-9): 48.

Final: 107. Stableford points: 18.

Meanwhile, Andy Carter. a 1-handicap, Skillest coach with 250K+ followers and 20M+ YouTube views, and the guy organizing this entire event. shot 68. Sixty-eight. On the same course, in the same group, on the same day.

The Voice

Here’s the part nobody talks about in golf content.

Standing on a tee box at Yas Links Abu Dhabi, playing alongside someone who just striped it 280 down the middle, and you’re reloading for the third time. there’s a voice. It says: You don’t belong here. You’re a fraud. You’re embarrassing yourself.

I felt it. Deeply. I wanted to play well. not just for my score, but because I want to earn my place here. I want to come back next year. I want the people I play with to think “yeah, he competes.” Not “the guy who lost a dozen balls.”

Yesterday I wrote about the doubts on the range at Arabian Ranches. the pre-round anxiety, the voices that show up before you’ve hit a shot. Today was different. Today the voices came during the round, armed with evidence. Every lost ball was proof. Every hook was confirmation.

That voice is loud on days like this.

What I Chose Instead

I didn’t quit.

That might sound small, but if you’ve ever been 15 over through 7 holes in front of people you respect, you know quitting comes in a lot of forms. You stop trying on approach shots. You pick up your ball. You make self-deprecating jokes every hole. You bring the energy of the group down.

I chose none of that.

I stayed positive. I didn’t make excuses between shots. I didn’t dump my frustration on my playing partners. When the hooks kept coming, I started aiming right and playing for the miss. When I finally figured out the fade. aim left-center, commit to the shape, let it work into the right side of the fairway. things started clicking.

The second half was 11 strokes better. Not because the course got easier. Because I did.

The Stuff That Worked (Even on a 107 Day)

Even when everything was falling apart, there were pieces to build on:

Putting was solid. The greens at Yas Links are massive. Kyle Phillips designs demand good lag putting. and I rolled it well all day.
Sand saves. Ironically, the huge greens gave me confidence to take full swings out of the bunkers knowing I’d hold the green. It worked.
The fade. Once I committed to it and stopped fighting the hook, I found fairways. That’s the shot shape for the rest of the week.
The 59 → 48 turnaround. Eleven strokes. That’s not luck. that’s adaptation.

The Course Deserved Better

I need to say this: Yas Links is spectacular. Kyle Phillips. the same architect behind Kingsbarns in Scotland. built the first true links course in the Middle East, and it shows. Eight holes sit right on the Arabian Gulf, with coastal winds, firm running fairways, and pot bunkers that look like they were transplanted from St Andrews.

Except it’s 86°F and there’s a Ferrari theme park behind the 16th green.

The contrast is surreal. Fescue rough, links bunkers, ocean holes. all of it framed by Yas Island’s skyline and the Abu Dhabi coast. If you play one course in the UAE, this should be on your shortlist. I just wish I’d given it the round it deserved.

I’ll be back. And next time, I’ll be ready.

That Night

Back at the hotel, I sat with the day. I wanted to feel bad. I wanted to quit, feel sorry for myself, spiral into what’s the point of all this.

But I caught myself. That’s not who I am.

I don’t have it in me to quit. Things I’m passionate about, I pursue relentlessly.

I thought about my kids. I can’t tell them to keep trying when things get hard if I’m the kind of person who folds after a bad round. Integrity starts at home.

I thought about a school friend I found out had passed away. Life is short. I’m in Dubai playing golf. Complaining about a 107 is the height of entitlement.

Then I made a plan for tomorrow. Not mechanical fixes. feel-based. Go to the range, try to hook it on purpose, then slice it on purpose, then find the middle. Get power over the club face again. Don’t overthink it. Don’t prepare too early. Show up, warm up, commit.

”I get to decide who I am today.”

The Scorecard

	Holes 1-9	Holes 10-18	Total
Score	48	59	107
Stableford	14	4	18
Net	—	—	90

Started on hole 10. The back nine (played first) was the disaster. The front nine showed the swing was still in there.

Playing partners:

Andy Carter. 1 hcp, shot 68
Brian Park. CEO of Skillest, 19 hcp, shot 106
David Douglas. 16 hcp, shot 111

Even the low handicaps had rough days. That’s links golf.

What This Round Actually Was

This wasn’t a disaster. It was a forge.

I’ve read some of the best mental game books. Bob Rotella, Mark Broadie’s approach to shot analysis. and they all say the same thing: the rounds that teach you the most are the ones that hurt the most. Today, I proved to myself that I can fight through 9 holes of absolute carnage without falling apart mentally. That’s a rep that matters way more than a scorecard.

Tomorrow: The Els Club in the morning. a course designed by four-time Major winner Ernie Els. Then an AimPoint Express green reading clinic in the afternoon. Fresh course, fresh start, committed shot shape.

The two-way miss is gone. The fade is dialed. The mental game held up when everything else didn’t.

Tomorrow, I play like who I am. A golfer who’s in the game, positive, and not quitting.

That’s the 5 by 50 journey. Not every day is a highlight reel. Some days you shoot 107 at one of the most beautiful courses on the planet and learn more about yourself than any 79 would teach you.

Course Notes: What to Know About Yas Links Golf Club

Location: Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE (~75 min drive from Dubai)

Designer: Kyle Phillips (2010). also designed Kingsbarns (Scotland)

Style: True links. the first in the Middle East. Coastal winds, firm fairways, pot bunkers, fescue rough.

Par: 72 | Length: 7,425 yards (tips) | Slope: 134 | Rating: 72.5

Tournament history: Home of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (DP World Tour)

Signature features: 8 holes on the Arabian Gulf, pot bunkers, Ferrari World backdrop on back nine

Best holes: 16-18 stretch along the water is unforgettable

Tip for visitors: This is a links course. Club selection matters more than swing speed. The wind will add or subtract 2-3 clubs, and the firm fairways run fast. Play the ground game.

Book a tee time: yaslinks.com

This is Day 2 of the Desert Grind: 8 in 6. eight courses across Dubai and Abu Dhabi at the 2026 Skillest Pro-Am. Follow the journey.

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