A Golfer In Retreat

This phrase has been resonating in my head these last few days....a golfer in retreat. I'm so on again/off again anymore with my future as it pertains to the game I love--its maddening, really. But I'm starting to feel like its time to pull back. I wonder if I could rekindle my overall enjoyment of the game by going back to my roots, my humble beginnings in the game? Could I quit my golf club, and for all intents and purposes, quit playing the game with any regularity, and just enjoy the occasional trip to the range and/or the even less occasional 9 holes at dusk at the local muni? I think I could, but I can't be 100% sure. On the one hand, it might be a relief to no longer feel the need to constantly obsess over my path towards improvement and instead just enjoy the game for what it really is--a game. However, I may have spoiled myself a bit too much over these last five-plus years by playing in the relative serenity of a private course with decent enough conditions and anything but congestion on the first tee. More ruminating on this subject is definitely in order, but that might just be what I need to get away from doing in the first place.

2011 And Beyond

So here we are, two weeks deep in 2011 and golf continues to seem like its months and months away. The Tour starting up in Hawai'i has jump-started the interest meter at my house, but I'm still feeling like a long, lost friend of the game right now. Not the active and ardent participant that I'm used to feeling like. I got some sweet new Footjoy Icon golf shoes for my birthday/Christmas and I've been debating whether I should start breaking them in around the house? That might get my juices flowing a bit. But I'm sure I'd get scolded if I walked on the new carpet with them on, so I keep trying to not get too excited about them. They are beauties though, aren't they? I might be playing a round or two in Florida the first week of March, so I've kind of had that in the back of my mind as to when I should be ready to fire up the ole' game again. But then again, maybe that won't ever materialize and I'll be left waiting for early April to debut this year's game. I'm working out 5 days a week, light weight-training and running, so that my body will (hopefully) be loose and limber and ready to go come springtime. Let's just hope I haven't lost all my touch on and around the greens--that's where I make my money, after all. Don't we all?

The December Doldrums

It had been eight days since I last visited the Garage Golf Swing Laboratory when I made an appearance there yesterday afternoon...and I had nothing. I seem to have lost my thirst for the ecstasy that is solid contact and my pursuit of a good position at impact seems to have hit a major roadblock. It's cold in the garage and the two feet of snow on the ground outside make the Spring season seem like its many months and months away. I need to be re-invigorated and I know I will be in time, but it's not looking promising right now. I will try to hit some more balls again this afternoon while the kids are trimming the tree over at Gram and Pa's house, but I'm not going to hold my breath regarding any sort of positive results. Seeing the ball flight is such an important mental and emotional part of the process which connects the golfer to the game that I'm just not sure how much more I can get out of beating balls into a net five feet in front of me? I guess I just need to remind myself that the muscle memory that I'm storing up is a positive no matter which way I slice it, and that "not getting better" is analogous to "getting worse" in the Ben Hogan school of thought. And that's a School from which I hope to graduate someday, so I must soldier on.

Or Is It Really The End?

Somehow, after a "come to Jesus" kind of talk, we've decided that I can continue to play golf. I just need to not enjoy it so much? Or keep it in better perspective, or something like that...whatever the case, I'm back on the journey to the center of the clubface. Yippee! We've had snow-cover here in Minnesota for the last four weeks, so there's really no chance of me getting out and playing 'til at least late next March. My wife is teasing me with our trip to Florida in late February including some golf for Yours Truly, but we're going for her 40th birthday so, for some reason, I don't think bringing the sticks will actually be that good of an idea. I haven't really felt like playing much in the last month or so anyways, partly out of frustration with the current state of my game, and partly out of pure scheduling exhaustion. Having two little kids who are growing bigger every day and getting more and more into their own interests and activities makes pursuing one of your own passions seem that much less important, especially when you're not enjoying it as much as you have in the past. So I guess you could say this snow-cover/wintertime temperature drop has come at just the right time. I've made three brief visits to the Garage Golf Swing Laboratory so far and they've each been fruitful in their own way. As a result of them, these things I know for sure: 1) If my grip settles into my fingers and not my palms, and my left wrist stays "high" and slightly ahead of the ball at set-up, I'm going to make a good pass at the ball. 2) If my takeaway is slow and starts with my shoulders, and during which my mind is focused on NOT swaying off the ball and instead just shifting my weight to my right foot, good things will happen later. And 3) If I make an aggressive move toward the ball in the forward-swing, concentrating on keeping my right thumb connected with my left thumb-pad and getting both hands to the "aim point" in front of the ball, impact will be effortless in feel and powerful in its result. That's all I can really ask for right now.

This Is The End

Fitting my best round would be my last. My wife thinks golf is too expensive and time consuming. She's right because it is. But what will living with me be like when I can't play golf anymore? God only knows...I should probably start going to church right now.

Me and Old Man Par

I wouldn't normally write, blow for blow, about my exploits on the golf course on any given day...but today was something special. I shot even par over the 22 holes I played today, being 2-over after 18 and then birdieing 3 holes in a row to get to one-under. I had to play one more hole to make our game come out even, and of course I bogeyed it, but oh well. Even par!
So here we go: I started on 16 and three-putted from the front of the green for bogey. I made par on 17 after a nice chip shot to two feet. Then I birdied the 18th (for the first time) after making a nice uphill 12-footer to get it back to even. Ho hum 2-putt pars on 1 and 2 followed, with another nice chip leading to yet another par at 3. I hit the middle of the green on 4 and made an easy par, and then managed to get down from the front fringe on 5 for (you guessed it) another par. 6 yielded a bogey, and a lucky one at that as I chipped well past the hole and was lucky to make the comebacker for a 4. #7 was another two-putt par. Then on 8 I hit a terrible drive in the trees to the left, then hit a 3-wood to 100 yards out. A wedge to five feet and a nice right to left putt later and I had yet another par. On 9 I hit a hybrid to about 20 feet and rolled the putt in for birdie to bring me back to even after 12 holes. I made par again from the front fringe on 10, then hooked my tee shot up the hill and in the trees on 11, and was lucky to make bogey. I popped up my drive on 12, hit my second behind a tree and then punched a 9-iron to the back of the green. My first putt was lame and I missed the comebacker for 2 bogeys in a row (!). 13 I got the train back on track after bombing a drive over the trees, leaving me 80 yards for my second. I managed not to shank that wedge and just missed my downhill 20-footer for birdie. On 14 I hit the middle of the green and coaxed my first putt up to tap-in range. Then, on my final hole of the 18, I hit a nice drive on 15, followed by a smother-hooked four-iron into the trees to the left of the green. I pitched it nicely over the bunker and snuggled in a nice downhill 10-footer for par and a score of 74. And then it got interesting...I hit hybrid to 15 feet on 16 and drained the putt for birdie. Then I hit my second pin-high to the right of the 17th green, and of course chipped it in for birdie! On 18 I hooked my drive badly and was left with too much to get near the green in two. So I hit 3-wood to about 60 yards, then pitched it 10 feet above the hole and made another nice putt for birdie, my second one on 18 today. On the last hole (the first), I popped up my drive a bit and was left with a 5-iron into the green. I pulled it a bit left, then hit a timid chip to about 15 feet. And I missed that putt, leaving me with and even par score for 22 holes. Ta-da! If anyone besides me is still reading this I'll be shocked :).

The Game Is Played "Out There", Not Between Your Feet

This has been a tough post for me to write, but I feel its something that I need to come to grips with. When you're working on your swing (i.e. your game), I think its easy to become too focused on what's happening on the ground, between your feet, then where the ball is actually going and the target "out there" that you should really be focusing on. Like Peter Kostis likes to say about Tiger Woods sometimes when he's struggling, he looks like he's playing "golf swing", not golf. I think that is so true and it's something that I'm sure most of us (maybe all of us?) amateurs struggle with. The game is played out there, not between your feet.
George Knudson makes some really good assertions to this point as well in his book The Natural Golf Swing. He talks a lot of about the game not being one of hand/eye coordination, rather one of control, balance and fluidity. He's given me a helpful picture in my head of the clubface "collecting" the ball on its way through the ball's resting place as it (the clubface) travels to it's final destination, i.e. laying quietly behind my left shoulder. Taking practice swings in the rough sometimes helps me feel this impact position and I try my hardest to put that obsession with impact out of my head as I draw the club back for my next stroke. There's a lot to chew on here, and I'm not sure I've put this together in a succinct fashion, but it's something I had to bring up and I will continue to mull it over during the upcoming the winter months.