For the last three months, golf professional Jon Gomez has had the chance to see golf through the eyes of a beginner.

Gomez, a longtime teaching professional and the director of golf services at River Ridge Golf Course, spent that time trying to teach himself to play left-handed.

Naturally right-handed, Gomez took on the project in an effort to better relate to the fears and apprehension experienced by many of his students. He drew up a three-month lesson plan that included regular practice time. Gomez gave himself three months because that's a typical amount of time it takes for a beginner taking lessons to get comfortable enough to play on the course.

His ultimate goal was to see if he could get good enough to be able to break 90 on a championship course.

Two weeks ago at River Ridge's Victoria Lakes Golf Course, Gomez played 18 holes and finished with a score of 103, posting a 54 on the front and a 49 on the back. He didn't make a par and had two 9s and two 8s.

Gomez also played nine holes a week later at Victoria Lakes, shooting 55, a round that included both a 12 on the par-3 fifth and a birdie on the par-3 ninth.

Gomez said from a playing perspective, he did not come close to reaching his goals. He did improve and started to feel comfortable with the clubs. But as far as playing consistently well, Gomez was unable to master the challenge.

"I thought at first it would be easier than it actually was because I have golf knowledge and would be able to compensate for the non-physical part, but I was very wrong with that," Gomez said of the experience. "I figured natural abilitywise, I would find a way real quick to be comfortable with it that I could hit is straight enough, not just that far.

"But I really didn't take into account how nervous I would be. It's really like beginning golf all over again when you know if you go into a bunker, or the lake is over there, that those things will make your score balloon right away and you can't hit it long enough to make birdies and pars to compensate for it. It's like you know before you start I can't have that and if you do, I'm done."

Gomez said the experiment exceeded his expectations when it came to the teaching side.

"When my student says, I don't feel comfortable with this or I am a little nervous when I try to hit this shot,' I really understand where they are coming from," Gomez said. "Even though I had been there before as a beginning golfer that was 25 years ago. With me doing this, I know exactly how nervous they feel and what they go through."

Gomez said when he takes newcomers out on the course for playing lessons, he may play a hole left-handed so his students can see he is going through the same learning curve.

While it was a time-consuming project, Gomez believes other instructors could benefit from doing something similar.

"You do have to put in time to do this, but you're putting it in to become a better teacher," Gomez said.

While he's had less time to play or practice right-handed, Gomez said the left-handed experience has had a positive effect on his normal game.

Gomez said his enjoyment level has increased because he now has an even greater appreciation for hitting solid shots. It's also helped his course management. As a left-handed player, Gomez had to think his way around each hole to stay out of or reduce the amount of trouble. That mental caution has carried over to the right side.

"If the pin is on a tough spot on the left, I should be thinking enough to tee off on the right to give a better angle to the flag," Gomez said. "The last few times I played right-handed, I thought about those kind of things and it made a difference.

"I am hitting more greens in regulation because I am playing safer, smarter shots."

Gomez also discovered a renewed passion for the game.

"I would yell and scream every time I did something better, a good chip or driving the ball over 150 yards," Gomez said. "The first par I made I was literally jumping up and down. Doing this helped me experience the pure joy of the game again."