Golf etc.
I think I've decided I'm not very good at golf. My problems seem to be in the areas of driving straight, hitting good iron shots, my short game, and putting. Generally, it seems that I have no idea what is going to actually happen when I swing a club and try to hit my ball with it. I think my course management is good...I have great ideas about what I intend to do. Really, the problem is in the execution of those ideas. I chalk all of this up to a complete lack of athleticism.Take as an example the way I played the 14th hole yesterday, a relatively straightforward par 5 at the Riverside Golf Course. My tee shot started out beautifully. Somehow the ball decided, at its very apogee, to turn right. Thus my second shot was from behind a tree. I hit out into the fairway and grabbed my trusty 3 wood. I like to see where I'm going, so my eyes were firmly on the faraway green while my clubhead was attempting to make solid contact with the ball. This, they tell me, is improper form and it was justly rewarded with 25 yards of a bouncing ball. Happy that this saved me from having to choose a new club, I walked up to my ball and repeated my previous swing. Since I only have to learn a lesson twice, I hit my next shot looking straight down at my ball. My body took this as a sign to pull the ball into the trees on my left which, fortunately, saved me from going out of bounds. I hit out again (5 and counting) and examined my approach shot. I had 150 yards to the center of the green. I chose my iron. I took my time. I visualized the end result. I recited my mantra. I took two perfect practice swings and three deep breaths. I kept my head down, swung easy, hit down at the ball. I shanked it way off in front of me. I smiled and whistled as I returned to my cart (I did! I Did! I DID!!) and drove off after my ball. From there it was a simple matter of rolling into the bunker, hitting out of the bunker, chipping onto the green from the other side, putting, putting, and putting for a par 12.
I'm sort of ready to get back to work.
After golf I showered up and headed out for my CAT Scan, giving myself permission to say the oldest line in the book: Hey, I had a brain scan and they didn't find anything! Ba dum bump! (sound of cymbals) All of this biopsying and brain scanning has me curiously unconcerned. I would like to have fewer headaches but I'm not sitting by the phone waiting for bad news. I have the greatest Healer in the world working on me.
I'd write more today, but I still don't have a single thing on paper for Sunday's sermon. I've been rolling the text around in my head for a few weeks and I know a few places I'll go. But I'm still missing that vital word on what the central message is. Time to pray and focus.
Hey, maybe if I quit golf the headaches would go away. Just a thought.
posted by Thurman8er @ 11:11 AM
4 Comments:
Among the few friends that I golf with we like to refer to our exercise as “Landscaping.” Besides, only “Golf Sissies” (Like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickleson) play in the fairway. “Real men” enjoy a panoramic view of the course as we’re looking for our errant golf shots.
Glad the scan was “negative” now stay positive.
A PAR 12??? you must mean a septuble bogey....
Get some lessons, my brother....
After I get this back fixed, I want to try my hand at golf. I LOVE the game...
...that should have read "septuple"
If I started up golf again, I would for sure take lessons. Then I'd follow Greg's advice and stop keeping score.
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