A good walk...and a first step.
I like to get to the course about 45 minutes before a round of golf, at least make some practice putts, maybe hit a few balls on the range to see how far the slice is going to be straying off the tee box that day. Now, I'm about as ready as I'm going to be. The last thing I needed to do was to start another blog...but here I am, on the first tee, wishing I had a mulligan, but my old friend Rick says that's not the right way to play.
I have been playing golf off and on for about 25 years now, mostly off. I wish I could say I've improved a great deal in that time. I've gotten better and learned a lot since the first time I played a round on a municipal course in New Jersey with my best friend, Rick, from high school. He was a much better golfer than myself. I learned about golf etiquette, a few tips about my swing and reading putts, but that day was more about fun than getting into golf. I had not intended on getting hooked. no pun intended.
Let me preface this with the fact that I am fairly athletic. I played baseball and soccer growing up. I have a decent jump shot and can throw a nice spiral, even take a slapshot or two and can skate backward with some skill. That means nothing when it comes to golf and, quite frankly, the swing is unnatural. I mean, not Jim Furyk unnatural, but the difference between striking a golf ball and striking in the way it needs to be struck doesn't just happen. The only thing that translates to golf as a sport is body knowledge. Knowing the motions, trying to make your hands and hips and proper foot placement where they are supposed to be...and then knowing where they're going to be, and making the necessary adjustments in order to get the intended result is what it's all about. So, I thought, hey, I can do this.
My next experience wasn't until several years later. It was a captain's choice event through work. I was a late addition, meaning I was not going to be included but somebody got desperate and I was at work that day. I only got to the driving range once before the event day. I was extremely nervous but fairly certain that I wouldn't totally embarrass myself.
So, I got to the course early and headed to the driving range. I usually work my way up in my bag starting with the short irons and skipping my way through, so I go with a 9-iron or pitching wedge to start and hit about 8 to 10 to "groove" my swing (as best I can) before moving to 7-iron, either 4 or 5, a few with my 3-wood and then a couple with the driver.
I was hitting some nice, and fairly straight, long, lopping shots off onto the range and was beginning to gain a little confidence. That was a short-lived as Steve and Tony showed up.
I'm not sure what I was expecting to see. I hadn't had much experience on golf courses and watched a little on TV here and there, but back then, the television coverage didn't really do the game justice like it does today. Steve and Tony were just regular guys, salesmen at work, and good people to have a conversation with at the office, but clearly, they had some sort of special clubs or something.
Easy, almost effortless swings. Weight shifting ever so slightly as the hands came down, snapping through with the swing as a solid click came from perfect impact with the ball. The air around the ball struggled to get out of the way, ssssssssssssss, sizzling as it rose like an aircraft taking flight, before finally being deposited with a few short hops to the earth, well beyond where I was hitting. I believe Tony gave me wry smile between a couple of swings as he noticed me watching him.
I was considerably more nervous than a person should be in a Captain's choice event. Now, for those of you not familiar with the format it is the ideal setting for a beginning golfer. Each of the foursome takes their shots, the captain selects from all of those, which ball to play, and each of the foursome play from that spot, and so on. Being new to the game, no matter how poorly my shots were, I got to play my next shot from a clean lie on mostly short grass...instead of the woods, or underwater, or sand traps, which is where many of my shots ended up.
To make a long story short (too late) I had a great time playing golf that day. My team only used 3 of my shots, 2 putts and a beautiful 5-wood from about 180 yards. I was satisfied with that, although I think we shot a combined 65, so, not a lot of me in that result, considering I lost most of the balls I came with, I took it as a small victory.
Yes, I finished the round with one ball. Stop laughing. I began the day with a brand new 18-pack, which, incidentally, is a "hacker's pack." It allows for you to lose one ball, every hole and still finish. Most golfers buy their balls by the dozen and the really expensive ones are sold by the sleeve (3 balls) at most pro shops in the clubhouse.
I was 22 then, so half a lifetime ago. It would be about 5 years until I would play again. I never really found the right people to learn the game with where I was living at that time and it was still a little expensive. It was a good step for me and a chance to get a feeling for the challenge of golf. I learned some more of the rules, since this was a less than formal introduction for me. But it would be several years until I would learn and begin to employ the most important rule of the game...The Uncle Dennis Rule. We'll address that next time.
I have been playing golf off and on for about 25 years now, mostly off. I wish I could say I've improved a great deal in that time. I've gotten better and learned a lot since the first time I played a round on a municipal course in New Jersey with my best friend, Rick, from high school. He was a much better golfer than myself. I learned about golf etiquette, a few tips about my swing and reading putts, but that day was more about fun than getting into golf. I had not intended on getting hooked. no pun intended.
Let me preface this with the fact that I am fairly athletic. I played baseball and soccer growing up. I have a decent jump shot and can throw a nice spiral, even take a slapshot or two and can skate backward with some skill. That means nothing when it comes to golf and, quite frankly, the swing is unnatural. I mean, not Jim Furyk unnatural, but the difference between striking a golf ball and striking in the way it needs to be struck doesn't just happen. The only thing that translates to golf as a sport is body knowledge. Knowing the motions, trying to make your hands and hips and proper foot placement where they are supposed to be...and then knowing where they're going to be, and making the necessary adjustments in order to get the intended result is what it's all about. So, I thought, hey, I can do this.
My next experience wasn't until several years later. It was a captain's choice event through work. I was a late addition, meaning I was not going to be included but somebody got desperate and I was at work that day. I only got to the driving range once before the event day. I was extremely nervous but fairly certain that I wouldn't totally embarrass myself.
So, I got to the course early and headed to the driving range. I usually work my way up in my bag starting with the short irons and skipping my way through, so I go with a 9-iron or pitching wedge to start and hit about 8 to 10 to "groove" my swing (as best I can) before moving to 7-iron, either 4 or 5, a few with my 3-wood and then a couple with the driver.
I was hitting some nice, and fairly straight, long, lopping shots off onto the range and was beginning to gain a little confidence. That was a short-lived as Steve and Tony showed up.
I'm not sure what I was expecting to see. I hadn't had much experience on golf courses and watched a little on TV here and there, but back then, the television coverage didn't really do the game justice like it does today. Steve and Tony were just regular guys, salesmen at work, and good people to have a conversation with at the office, but clearly, they had some sort of special clubs or something.
Easy, almost effortless swings. Weight shifting ever so slightly as the hands came down, snapping through with the swing as a solid click came from perfect impact with the ball. The air around the ball struggled to get out of the way, ssssssssssssss, sizzling as it rose like an aircraft taking flight, before finally being deposited with a few short hops to the earth, well beyond where I was hitting. I believe Tony gave me wry smile between a couple of swings as he noticed me watching him.
I was considerably more nervous than a person should be in a Captain's choice event. Now, for those of you not familiar with the format it is the ideal setting for a beginning golfer. Each of the foursome takes their shots, the captain selects from all of those, which ball to play, and each of the foursome play from that spot, and so on. Being new to the game, no matter how poorly my shots were, I got to play my next shot from a clean lie on mostly short grass...instead of the woods, or underwater, or sand traps, which is where many of my shots ended up.
To make a long story short (too late) I had a great time playing golf that day. My team only used 3 of my shots, 2 putts and a beautiful 5-wood from about 180 yards. I was satisfied with that, although I think we shot a combined 65, so, not a lot of me in that result, considering I lost most of the balls I came with, I took it as a small victory.
Yes, I finished the round with one ball. Stop laughing. I began the day with a brand new 18-pack, which, incidentally, is a "hacker's pack." It allows for you to lose one ball, every hole and still finish. Most golfers buy their balls by the dozen and the really expensive ones are sold by the sleeve (3 balls) at most pro shops in the clubhouse.
I was 22 then, so half a lifetime ago. It would be about 5 years until I would play again. I never really found the right people to learn the game with where I was living at that time and it was still a little expensive. It was a good step for me and a chance to get a feeling for the challenge of golf. I learned some more of the rules, since this was a less than formal introduction for me. But it would be several years until I would learn and begin to employ the most important rule of the game...The Uncle Dennis Rule. We'll address that next time.
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