GOLF!

I played golf yesterday, my first (9-hole) round of the season and definitely the earliest I've ever played here in Minnesota. I took an 'X' on the first hole, tripled the second hole and then finally, and mercifully, made par on my third hole. Looks like all that practicing in the garage over the winter was officially a waste of time! :) For some reason I felt really stiff the whole time and I even stretched out before going to the course. It was 36-degrees, I guess, and playing with other people is always a bit more anxious of a "golf experience". Oh well, I'm still excited for Kansas City next weekend. I just hope by Sunday I've got a little more pop in my swing. I think I have the tools to hit the ball better in my mental golf bag--I just need to LET GO TO GAIN CONTROL of my game. Easier said then done, for sure...

Tiger Woods' Return

I'm sure everyone in the world (including the Dalai Lama who, by the way, claims to not know who Tiger Woods is) has heard that Tiger Woods is planning to return to competitive golf at this year's Masters. Assuming that is true, does Tiger have any reason to be concerned about playing the minimum number of events (12?) that he needs to keep his card for next year? I know it sounds ridiculous but doesn't the Tour have a minimum number that players must play to retain their playing privileges? He plays a pretty sparse schedule to begin with and having missed 2-3 events he would've normally played already, might this become an issue? I would love to see him have to play, like, the Frys.com Open in late October to keep his card. That would suit me just fine. Whatever the case, I'm glad he's coming back sooner rather then later, if for no other reason then we, as golf fans, can finally get past this "when's he coming back?" banter and get on with rooting for the best golfers in the world.

The "D" Plane

Many thanks to Richie3Jack for posting this picture of the "D" Plane. It's something I've been working on visualizing/ feeling/understanding for a long time and it really helps to finally have this image to consult. And even better, it's a picture of Sam Snead on Augusta's par-3 12th--two of my favorite things to boot! So what is the "D" Plane? It looks like a description of the shape formed by the lines of the swing path and the clubface when connected at their (infinite) ending points. Most importantly, though, this image also shows how the ball flight results from the given angles of the clubface and swing path. Awesome! I will burn this image into my mind forever.

Golf and Archery

We all know this winter I've been on a quest to drastically improve my golf swing. I've spent hours hitting balls into a net in my garage and I've certainly stumbled upon some (at least to me) earth-shattering revelations along the way. Recently, I've begun to feel the unwinding of the downswing starting before the end of the backswing and, when timed properly, the amazing feeling of stored-and-released energy pre-and-post impact. As always, I've been trying to come up with a visual image that would relate to this "experience" and I'm starting to think it's a lot like pulling back a bow string in an attempt to fire an arrow.

When I was in junior high school, we had a unit in gym class that was devoted to archery. It seemed like a bad idea at the time and, come to think of it, it still seems like a bad idea. A bunch of knuckleheaded 12 and 13-year olds on the football practice field with bows and arrows in their hands? Yes, it was a disaster waiting to happen. But more importantly to this discussion, it was also the last time I pulled back a bow string and attempted to fire an arrow towards a target. Now that I'm playing golf, I'm thinking there is a similar sensation in the golf swing. The first 80% of the pulling-the-bow-string action is done with little or no resistance. It's when the string is almost taught that the hardest part begins. Continue to pull the string, however, and you'll feel the bow stiffen and know that you have a legitimate chance of firing that arrow far and true. Stop pulling the string when it gets hard and you'll likely fire a weak dribbler of an arrow a meager distance towards the target.
Similarly, take the club back in your backswing and until you get to at least halfway there is little or no resistance from your body. However, once your hands reach your shoulders, if you begin to unwind your lower body and start to shift your weight towards the target, you've essentially "tightened the bow string" and are ready to fire the golf ball far and true. Again, stop the backswing before you've become fully coiled (or even worse, don't begin the unwinding of the lower body before the backswing is complete) and you'll likely hit a soft, weak shot that comes up well short of your desired target.

Interesting, huh?

Work of Art

You'll never feel anything better in your hands. Seriously, why would you want to swing anything else?! If Monet was re-incarnated as a clubmaker, I'm sure he'd making something similar to this Hogan blade.

Piece of Sh*t

These things suck! It's like trying to swing a small, dinner plate and feels like one too. Ick. Look down at it at address and nothing but feelings of unrest and potential disaster will fill your head. Avoid these "clubs" at all costs.