I Already Miss The Game I Love

Okay, I admit it--I already miss playing golf. Just one month into our snow and temperature-imposed four month-plus off-season, I'm itching to get back out on the grass and pinch some shots off the turf and onto the greens. I want to swing hard from the tee box with a driver in my hands and stroke a delicate downhill putt confidently into the back of the hole. I want to try and bend a shot from the rough around a tree or two and splash one out of a greenside bunker that stops within tap-in distance of the cup. I want to walk purposefully down the fairway and enjoy the rattle that my irons make as they bounce off each other with every step I take. I want to hear the wind in the trees as the sun begins to set on a cool, spring evening, knowing that there are countless more rounds to be had in the long and adventurous summer ahead of me. I want to laugh with my buddies as I unexpectedly drain a 30-footer or chip-in from off the green and rejoice in the fact that I just made my wallet a little fatter. I want all the things that go along with playing golf on a regular basis. Instead I guess I'll have to settle for working out, getting stronger, improving the fit of my equipment, and gaining confidence every day that this coming year is going to be the one where I finally play up to my potential on a regular basis. Hope truly does spring eternal in the Great White North, where we can't play for an extended period of time and having nothing else we can do except dream of the golf that lies ahead of us.

My Off-Season

Three weeks into my official golf off-season and my preparations for the 2009 campaign are comfortably underway. I've started swimming at the local community center to build some muscle tone and stay in shape. I've been swinging my weighted club outside (in the snow!) to keep the swing loose and hopefully make it a bit more powerful. I'm re-shafting my driver to give me a lower, more bore-ing trajectory off the tee and I've been to the indoor golf dome twice to keep my passion for the game stoked and alive. Now all I need are some juicy after-Christmas sales to update my wardrobe a bit with some new shirts and jackets and I'll be primed and ready come April and the Masters this Spring and the beginning of a new year.

Are There Two Kenny Perrys?

I'm sure my eyes didn't deceive me but what other explanation could there be for what I saw on TV Sunday? I saw Kenny Perry participating in the Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge at some non-descript golf course in the Las Vegas area and I saw Kenny Perry participating in the Merrill Lynch Shootout at some non-descript Greg Norman-designed golf course in Florida...at the same time! Has the Silly Season of the PGA Tour reached a new low and actually aired two tape-delayed events that contained the same player at the same time? Or are there two Kenny Perrys? C'mon, man.

Harrison Frazar

Hardly anyone noticed but Harrison Frazar shot a 59 last weekend in the third round of the PGA Tour's Qualifying Tournament, arguably the most pressure-packed tournament a professional golfer at any level can play in. Literally playing for his job, Mr. Frazar did the unthinkable and went low, and I mean really low, in shooting his 59. I, for one, am impressed. Too bad the rest of the world doesn't really seem to care...If Tiger Woods would have farted in church I think there would've been more press coverage then there was for this epic round of golf played under the most-stifling pressure possible.

The Weighted Club

I'm swinging the weighted club every night this winter--every night. It was 17-degrees Fahrenheit outside tonight but I ventured out nonetheless and swung the weighted club. I can feel the muscles stretching and strengthening while I swing and the cool, evening air is invigorating to my lungs. Best part? I'm not just outside swinging willie-nilly, I'm swinging with a purpose. I'm working on a stable foundation in my set-up and take-away, rotating the hips and chest on the downswing and releasing the club in my follow-through. Its awesome! I can't wait for next spring and my stronger, more aggressive golf swing. No more hitting fairway woods into par-4s for this guy! I'm finally going to be an opponent to be taken seriously on the golf course.