Lost My Temper

Things were going OK - I was +3 and playing bogey golf before I hit the 4th hole, which I promptly tripled.

Took a deep breath and got it back together with a bogey on the next hole. Then things fell apart again - triple bogey and a hole so bad I just picked it up. The first night were up and down but not horrible, I shot a 51.

I should have sat down for a minute at the turn, but kept on going - it was getting late and I knew I was going to run out of daylight at some point. I would end up triple bogey on the last hole in darkness. Can I give myself a shot for that? Didn't think so.

Back to back double bogeys and I really lost my temper. Good thing I was all alone on the course. I cursed out loud in bad form and slammed my 3 iron into the ground in frustration. The darn club deserved it after what it did to me!

I took a deep drink of water and ate a bag of chips and felt a bit better. I promptly hit a totally crap shot... never mind, that's a mulligan. I'm allowed OK? C'mon. It didn't help and I ended up playing the first ball. Yea, it was that bad!

Then, on a hole that gives me fits I nailed a fairway and hit a magical 52 degree to within feet. Easy putt for par! Then more magic... another par, then a bogey.

I slowed down my swing and held my back arm in tight and started to really crush the ball like I know I can. I hit a 6 iron about 160+ which is way long for me. What was going on?

Don't worry though, it was fleeting. Triple bogey, triple bogey on the last two holes to limp in with a 50 and a total score of 101.

I am mostly disappointed in myself for actually losing my temper. Golf is supposed to be my "zen". I think the expectation of shooting in the 90's is getting in the way of my just swinging the club and relaxing. I'm getting better, but apparently I'm not so patient a person.

Read more...

Golf Galaxy Tour

I stumbled on to this earlier this week - my new goals include getting down to shooting 95 or better so I can qualify to play in what would seem to be a really cool opportunity.

Finally a Golf Tour of the Public Golfer, For the Public Golfer

The Golf Galaxy® Tour offers one day, 18 hole events open to all golfers (men, women and juniors welcome) who normally score 95 or less on 18 holes.

Played on the weekends at top local courses in your area, come experience the camaraderie and friendly competition of tournament golf. 2 person team, Best-Ball, and Scramble formats hosted. Sign up today and experience why thousands of golfers just like you nationwide are getting "inside the ropes."

Look up your local tournaments and get the scoop here.

Read more...

Natalie

Yes, she's got a pretty face, but this girl can play golf. I'm happy she finally won, I was getting way sick of hearing about how she's the Anna K of golf. No way. Rock it Nat.

Hmm.. have you seen her official site? Very slick.

She's also got a wicked sense of humor as this video shows.

Read more...

H. Smith Richardson - played 9

Played 9 holes late yesterday and despite hitting no fairways, I managed to shoot a 49. I only lost one ball due to the "big slice" which was great.

I keep hearing all the best players talk about a pre-shot routine, so I'm working on one. Two quick practice swings, focusing on my back elbow and hands in the slot. Step up and get aligned. 2 quick take-aways and hit it.

I spent 30 minutes on Sunday chipping in my backyard and lo and behold, it seemed to work well. Even my putting picked up.

Let's see what happens next time out...

Read more...

Swing Video

My lessons have been very helpful so far - I'm hitting the ball further and further and with a bit more accuracy. One of my biggest issues is my elbow coming up too high which among other things is causing me to not get the club face in the right position at impact.

Watch the video below to see what I'm talking about.




Yes, I realize I have other issues to manage - in particular my follow through and hips.

Read more...

Going "Low"

Who wants to go low anyway? Don't you get more for your money when you shoot in the 100's?

Think about it - I get mad when I pay $9.50 to see a movie that is less than 2 hours. I get angry when I pay a jazillion dollars at disney and only get on 6 rides all day long.

So why would I want to shortchange myself in golf? I'm getting 20% MORE value out of my greens fees than a player who shoots 80.

Right?

Read more...

Golf Lesson #2

I had my 2nd of 3 lessons last Friday before my round on Saturday. I ended up shooting a 101, which all things given wasn't too bad. I'm working on so many different things, it's hard to keep track.

The main thing we did in the lesson was focus on swing plane and impact. My swing plane is terribly steep, so I've been visualizing flattening it so that it feels almost completely flat. It's a totally new feeling and in order to feel it and get into the proper position, I need to open up my hips faster and keep my elbow down.

I'm a baseball player (or was one) - so my right elbow wants to come up. This may be my big problem. I used a nerf looking training ball in between my forearms and took a few swings - no way to raise my elbow!

I believe alignment is a huge issue as well - once I got my swing groove and was blasting away with no slice, I realized everything was going way, way left. I adjusted by laying down 2 clubs and immediately, I was on target.

The next day, I hit 6 fairways and came very close on 2 others. Getting there... slowly.

Read more...

These Girls Rock

We took my 2 girls to see the finals in New Rochelle today at the HSBC Women's Match play. First of all, the Wykagyl Country Club is simply gorgeous. The grass was so green it hurt your eyes.

Secondly, before even talking golf, the place was empty. No idea if this is because LPGA isn't a big draw, or because the top players were all knocked out early or because the Open (I knew Sergio couldn't go wire to wire!) was on. The good news was that we got close, real close to the action. The bad news was that it was QUIET, unlike when I saw Tiger last year at the U.S. Open. That was loud and exciting.

The golf however, was great. The accuracy and precision of the shots were stunning. The women were so athletic and solid looking in person - it always amazes me at how big athletes are when you see them up close.

Seon Hwa Lee of South Korea jumped out to an early lead and held on the entire way for the victory.

Afterwards, we got Maria Hjorth to sign my girls hats which was pretty cool. HSBC also did a great job with freebies (chairs, water, granola bars) and had a terrific spectator area set up with putting, golf simulators and even free lessons (no, I didn't get one!).

All in all, a terrific day! I just wish Natalie, Morgan or Paula had been playing.

Read more...

PGA Superstore

I had an incredible experience at the PGA Superstore in Roswell, GA this week. I took a break from my trip to check it out and ended up sending almost 2 hours inside the place. After wandering around for 30 minutes and seeing some incredibly cool things I asked how much the simulator bays cost. When I was told it was free, I was just about in heaven. With just about every club known to man in demo racks, I started right away hitting balls.







I also want to mention that the genius who figured out the licensing agreement to put sports teams and college logos on hats deserves a free round somewhere. When I first saw a Titleist hat with a Yankees logo, it never occurred to me that they might also be licensing colleges as well. They are!!!





After hitting balls for about 30 minutes, one of the store pro's came over and we got to talking. He offered me a free club fitting (wow!) and watched me hit some balls. I had no consistency hitting the ball off the sweet spot on the driver head. We tried a few different clubs and different shafts but still got very little. With my swing between 88-95 miles per hour I was only hitting the ball about 230 yards or so.

The guy grabbed a Ping and asked me to hit it. Straight shots every time but only 200 yards of distance. I looked at the club and saw it was a "2" - he told me that the club was basically a fairway wood with a driver head. Looking at the tape on the club head, I managed to hit the dead center just about every time. Hmmm...

Perhaps I need to add a fairway wood back to my bag and leave the driver at home. We talked a lot about how the longer shaft makes it even harder for high handicappers to get consistent shots. We both agreed that I should play my fairway woods or hybrids off the tee for now, presumably I'd get a ton more consistency and would not be giving up much distance. I'm playing on Saturday, so we'll see!

Finally - when I made my hat purchase, the PGA store even gave me a cool black bag loaded with golf tips!

Read more...

PGA Superstore

I'm in Atlanta a few miles from the PGA Superstore - anyone need anything?

Read more...

No Excuses, I Stunk

Shot 107 today. Lots of possible excuses: heat, humidity and more. Bottom line was I simply didn't drive well and lost tons of balls. It was very frustrating and I struggled to keep my zen on. I played the back nine first (54) and had a good run on the front, but 2 late disaster holes really killed me.

A guy we played with on the last hole took 4 shots just to get out of the sand trap. Whoo - he was so pissed! He tossed his club like 20 yards. If not for golf etiquette, it would have been funny. What can you do?

I have noticed though that with the lesson I took I am finally starting to drive the ball a lot further than ever before. On 2 different holes I really let it go - hitting one at least 250 if not further. With golf, there is always a silver lining!

Read more...

Golf is Hard is now on Squidoo

What? Never heard of Squidoo? Get with the program - the new Golf is "Really" Hard lens is up and running.

More about Squidoo:

A lens is one person's view on a topic that matters to her. It's an easy-to-build, single web page that can point to blogs, favorite links, RSS feeds, Flickr photos, Google maps, your eBay auctions, CafePress designs, Amazon books or music, and more. Then, when someone is looking for recommended information, fast, your lens gets him started and sends him off in the right direction. Win, win!

Build one lens, build a hundred. It's fast, fun, and free. (And you could earn a royalty--for you or for charity).

Read more...

HSBC Women's World Match Play

Yes! I got some tickets for this great event - and I'm taking my 2 young daughters to their first ever golf tournament. Should be tons of fun if it isn't too hot in New Rochelle on the 22nd. They have a pretty cool site with games and a golf academy as well - check it out.

In the meantime, as I was coming into Grand Central tonight, I saw that HSBC had a terrific interactive display promoting the event. I snapped a few pics, but didn't have time to try the simulator or the putting game because I didn't want to miss my train. In addition to HSBC and Golf info, First Tee was there promoting themselves - it's a terrific kids golf program. Check it out if you have kids.

Read more...

Check Out The Golf Space

I just signed up - seems pretty cool. I'm looking forward to seeing what the site has to offer!

Read more...

Personal Golf Tips

I found this great post on the Golfchick blog about personal golf tips. I've been developing one of my own, but it's not there quite yet...

G (grip)
A (alignment)
A (rotate Around)
P (pull it through)

My lessons bore small fruits with me shooting 100 the last full round I played. That's 10 shots lower than the last time I played!

I hit some balls on the range this week, but didn't have time to get on t

Read more...

52 Degrees of Separation

I recently added a 52 degree wedge to my bag and I can't stop hitting it. I hit it short, I hit it long and I hit it perfectly more often than not.

I have yet to figure out at what distance I should switch back to the pitching wedge - which has created a few problems (leaving the ball way short for example) - but overall, this is the best addition I think I've ever made other than the hybrids.

I seem to hit it from about 15-40 yards very well - it's totally changed my very short game.

Read more...

One Hundred.

I set a goal and I made it - though just barely. Played today and shot a an even 100 - which is supposed to feel great!

But not quite.

I want to go lower now (darn it!).

I chunked a 4 easy pitches and putted like garbage - I can do 95 - I know it :)

Read more...