Old Fat Golfer

My story is simple, I got to be a golfer first, fat second and old last. In fact, I’m 5′10″ tall and 270 pounds, and I’m 65 years old.

I’m going to share my journey through life from hacker to Club Champion and back down to duffer. I’ll also let you know what I’m doing about my game and my weight. I think I’ve a few things to share that will help some of you, maybe a lot of you. I think the main message is, that no matter how you play, if you really think about it, you can improve your game.

Chuck Cook

, the man who taught me how to play so many years ago (early ’60s), has a fix for the “toe hit” on page 98 of the May 2010 Golf Digest. Chuck Cook, for those of you who don’t know, is one of the top five golf teachers in America, and probably the world.

Back-story is last entry now.

Back on April 3 and April 6th I talked about a new swing that nearly eliminated my legs and hips from the swing. It is amazingly close to this video I found of Chuck Cook, talking about creating torque by not turning hips in the backswing. Watch the video.

1 Sep ‘10 Two days of working on the new stance. Some success, more drives in the fairway and more consistency in short irons. I had five drives today in the fairway that went 206, 216, 210, 224, and 225 yards. Problems are unrelated: poor putting and spotty short-game. Yesterday had an 87 and today an 86. Couple of three putts each day, and a water ball today. High points today were 4 chips to within 2 feet, one went in for a 40 yard birdie. Yesterday had two hit pins on chips. Putting is terrible right now, in 35 holes of putting in last two days, the longest putt that went in was a two 4-footers. That is not good, but the bright side is that I rarely (only 4 times) hit the ball too far from the hole to miss the second one. Being a good lag-putter is one thing, but it is sort of like being the best runner-up. I hate to change putters, but it may be necessary.

28 Aug ‘10 Is the new stance working? Absolutely it was today. After a miserable start with a 10 (four shanked shots) on number one, I had four pars and four bogies on the front nine. That included two 3-putt greens for bogie that should have been pars. I hit five fairways on the front and four greens in regulation. On the back I started with four pars including two fairways and two GIRs, and then fell apart with two doubles before getting two more pars and another 3-putt double. Total score, 88. I did have ten pars plus the two I should have had with the 3 putters on the front. A good day after number one. Most of my drives were very straight and those that missed the fairway didn’t miss by much. My irons were super today, almost every one heading straight for the green if not the pin. Distance was increased on my short irons by nearly one club difference. It all felt pretty good. I’ll keep working on this new stance (ball forward to left toe) for my drives.

The difference in my short irons was just a simple adjustment. Instead of focusing on a spot just in front of the ball during the swing (in order to get a descending blow) I have begun to focus on a spot just behind the ball, just a couple of millimeters. This has allowed the ball to get airborne with good heighth and distance. The increase in accuracy has been amazing, and I’ve had to drop down a club on most approach shots.

27 Aug ‘10 Obviously, it still needs work because it doesn’t work every time. Of course, if we could swing the same way every time we would be much better golfers. However, there were some great drives today using the new stance. I also tried it on my irons with mixed results. There was improvement, though, in the ball flight. This is encouraging. More work to do.

Today, shot a 92 with a 49/43. Had a chip in birdie (50 feet), and putting was better. I DQ’d myself early in the round. We were playing low individual net, and after three bad holes to start, the OB on my second shot on #4 convinced me that I was not in contention. So, instead of going all the way back to hit the ball, I just dropped one, hit 5, and told the score keeper to give me the DQ. Took all the pressure off after that, made some good putts. Need to relax more often.

25 Aug ‘10 Played in a lot of rain the last couple of days, more than 2 inches of rain per day. Monday and Tuesday we played a “Cross Country” type of fun tournament with nine holes draped across the regular course; i.e. from the 12th tee to the 2nd green, from 4th ladies tee to 17th green, etc. Most holes required the crossing or going around two belts of oak trees. Trying to hit a long fade around trees, I made a startling discovery. If I play the ball nearly off my left toe, and use a two-foot wide stance, I can get a really nice fairly straight shot way down the fairway. Tried it again today before I got rained out and it worked! Guess it forces me to shift that weight all the way forward. Fun thing to learn, and will keep working at that this weekend if the rain stops. Next scheduled round is Friday morning.

21 Aug ‘10 Played out of the park with good friends on Thursday and Friday. One of them, A Canadian (he doesn’t say “eh?” by the way) had flown in for the weekend for some golf and a taste of the heat down here. Anyway, heat was oppressive, but play was fun on good courses that were a bit longer with bigger greens and greener rough. Worked hard on my drives ( better ), and on my longer irons (getting better). Problem was the heat. By the 13th or 14th hole, we were pretty much whipped; concentration was gone. Shot a 90 and 92, then today, got up after four straight days of golf and my lower body felt totally separated from my upper body. Lots of doubles, some pars, putted well, for a 93. Just went through the motions, pretty much.

18 Aug ‘10 Well, an 87 yesterday and 86 today. Both days hampered by 4 strokes of waste. First day, OB (remember the smart shot and the dumb shot?) and Lost Ball cost me 4 strokes. Today, 4 three-putt greens messed me over. Only thing I could not have avoided was lost ball. Hit in trees I’ve hit a hundred times before, but this time, no ball anywhere. Ball striking was better today, especially in the long woods and irons. I sure do envy those who consistently strike the ball solid. It takes a rare discipline to keep the head down and the swing rhythmic. Great time as usual with my friends. Golf is a great social experience.

14 Aug ‘10If we were consistent, we wouldn’t need to worry about our game. Today, I followed up yesterday with 41/42 83 with only one double bogie, and only 5 fairways and 3 GIRs. Difference between yesterday and today? Beats me! Things just seemed to work. I did find that on putts of 6 feet or less that I could see the line better if I didn’t look at the hole, just addressed the ball and let my peripheral vision show me the line. These putts always went in. I could have had two birdies on the first two holes except the first birdie putt (8 feet) was two inches short, and the second one (14 feet) was six inches wide. Had fun, good friends, hot weather, and a bit of rain, but an all around good day on the links. A whole lot better than yesterday!

13 Aug ‘10 I don’t believe in Friday the 13th Superstition, yet today, I started with three double bogies, a bogie, a routine par, two OBs on the next par 3 for a seven, and then a double. Seven holes down, a total of 40 strokes, and two tough holes to finish the nine. Well, a driver into the trees, two three woods and a chip shot later, I left the putt six feet short. I made it for a bogie and celebrated. Ninth hole (par 4)saw my best drive yet in the middle, a good approach that narrowly missed the green, a timid chip, a close miss, and then another bogie. A nice round 51 which really tries my patience.

Then on the back, what would you think? Par, Par, bogie, birdie, bogie, bogie, par. I was on a roll!!! So much so I scuffed my 6 iron on the par 3 17th, left a wedge short, left my chip short, barely missed the 20 footer, and drew a 5. Pissed off again. On 18, a straight away, wide fairway, par 4, I hit a decent drive and was only 135 yards out from a decent green. Shank went the 7 iron over behind the 12th green. A trap between me and the hole, careful now, chip a 56 degree wedge high over the trap onto the green, steady…, SHANK behind the green to the right, chip it short once again, two putt for a 42 and 93. 7 doubles, one quadruple, six bogies, only three pars, and a birdie. It was a trying day!

12 Aug ‘10Took Tuesday off to bring wife home from hospital after back surgery. She’s doing fine. Yesterday, played in the skins game. Play was uneven, pretty good on the front, but not a single par on the back. Shot a 43/48 91 with a two-stroke penalty for hitting the wrong ball out of the woods on 18. Stupid, careless mistake. I did hit two of my best drives ever with long gently drawing flight ending in the center of the two fairways. Just beautiful to watch. Maybe I’m beginning to get my swing down to a winner off the tee. I did say “maybe” and “beginning”. We’ll have to see if this repeats success down the road.

7 Aug ‘10 Shot an 80 today, 41/39, the most consistent golf I’ve played lately. The reason why is that I decided early to try to play within my capabilities and not try to hit the long drives. This resulted in 9 fairways (only one GIR) but one chip-in and three chips to within 2 feet. Lots of other chips within 6 feet. I had only 26 putts, 13 per side. By playing within myself, I was never in real trouble, and I found that I can get just as close to a green with my long irons/fairway woods as I can with my short irons. My chipping was very good. I use an 8 iron if there is a lot of green to work with. The basic stroke is like a putt, all upper body, no arms. If there is just as much fairway as green, I drop to a pitching wedge or my 56 degree wedge, hitting it high with a good roll-out. If you are anything like twenty jillion of us, you can’t put a lot of backspin on that chip shot, so quit trying. Just practice getting it up in the air and rolling on the green. Anything within 6 feet is a triumph, celebrate it appropriately.

5 Aug ‘10 Two rounds of 89 and 88 this week show I’m getting pretty consistent, doesn’t it? Except in the 88 I had a 41/47 with 3 three putt greens. Things just went awry on the back nine, made a bad decision (smart shot/stupid shot–tried the stupid shot), and generally didn’t perform as well. Drive is getting more consistent, although I tend to try to hit it harder after a couple of good ones, and that never works. I really need to get back to my short irons. I’ve lost confidence in them and am not happy when considering what should be a routine pitching wedge. But, as we all know, if we weren’t this inconsistent we’d all be playing at better courses for bigger bucks. Best thing is to stick to what works, don’t worry about distance, worry about accuracy, and don’t screw with what is working. We’re all different and different things work for different people. Best bet, think about what your are doing, adapt that for better accuracy, and try to remember it for tomorrow.

31 Jul ‘1088 yesterday and 90 today, two birdies and two pars, so not very good when I usually get 5 or more pars. Only 28 putts with a 25′ and 8′ putts dropping in for the birdies. Working on my drive, trying to settle the exact location of the ball in the set -up, same for hands and feet. Difficult part is getting the swing to groove. Different swings screw up even the best set-up. Heat has been oppressive with high humidity and low winds, right now it is 97 degrees, 41% humidity (surprises me it is that low) and wind is 2 miles an hour. Good part is playing with good friends and having a great time.

28 Jul ‘10 Yesterday played another course, a hilly course with lots of blind shots and a ton of OBs. Course was in good shape and I shot a 96 with 8 OB penalty strokes. Seems that when I strayed just a bit, it was enough to be OB. Still, I had some shots that worked well. I played with my old clubs. Today, shot an 88 at home, felt okay except for the heat. Driving is erratic. Don’t blame the club tho. It seems nearly impossible to duplicate one swing. Need lots of practice.

26 Jul ‘10 Sorry I haven’t posted lately, busy weekend with relatives. Friday and Saturday I played with a new set of irons and a new putter that I was given by an old friend. They are a complete set of hybrid irons. Out of two rounds, I may have hit five good shots. Needless to say, I had two rounds in the low 90’s and not a lot of joy. I have gone back to my regular irons which are 6 year old Mizuno MK 17s with graphite shafts. I like them a lot. I’m going back to my old putter, I think. The new (to me) ZAAP was okay, but why should I break in a new one when I was content with the old? After all, a new putter won’t make your putting better until you fully adjust to the weight, the shaft angle, and the feel. That can take some time.

20 Jul ‘10 Well, I said I’d report back so here it is. Never hit a good drive with the driver today. When I hit it long, it wasn’t straight, and when it wasn’t long, it still wasn’t straight. I did hit two consecutive three woods on #8, a 465 yd par 5. After the second one, I was just 50 yards out in the center of the fairway. A 56 degree wedge choked up and on the green, missed the 12 foot birdie but rang up the par. 5 Pars on the front with 3 doubles, and five doubles on the back with no pars. Today sucked and I am feeling very humble. 38 putts really put me in the dumps. Maybe tomorrow.

17 Jul ‘10 Weak, but back on the links today. The group I play with had a fun game today, you pick 3 clubs to use plus a putter. You can’t use any other club. It was fun, I picked my 3w, 5i, and 9i. They suit the course pretty well. I shot an 88 which was good, and I had nine fairways and 4 GIRs. The interesting thing of the day was that I hit nine fairways, but I missed seven more by 3 yards or less. My three wood was much more accurate than my driver, and, surprisingly, it was as long as most of my normal drives, sometimes longer. The question arises, then, of why do I use my driver at all? What is the difference in the swings or the clubs? I try to use the same swing, so that isn’t a problem. The only difference I can think of besides the obvious clubhead size, is that I try to HIT the driver while I try to swing thru the 3w. I’m going to talk to my pro about this to see what he has to say. As it is, next outing I am going to try to hit my driver with my 3w swing. Let you know how it goes.

14 July ‘10 Another 89 yesterday and an 88 today indicates that I am playing to my present capabilities. However, I am not happy with the quirky things I’m doing to my swing. I am working (again) on relaxing my swing and getting back to fundamentals. Not sure when I’ll play again, I’ve developed a virus similar to the flu and am feeling out of sorts. Probably will play again Saturday as I’ve heard this bug is a 48 hour type of thing.

11 July ‘10 Things seem to have settled down, in a sense. Two consecutive 89’s on Friday and Saturday. Some things working, others not so much. Seems my swing has broken down and is very erratic. I need to get to the range and just practice swinging through the ball with all clubs. The follow-through is what is killing me. I’m starting to swat at the ball instead of hitting through the ball to follow through. I guess that is what makes us amateurs, the lack of a grooved swing, and that swing takes too much dedication and practice. To be honest, I’d rather play than practice, it’s much more fun.

7 July ‘10
Well, July has returned to normal. Not playing very well, a buddy with a 28 handicap told me the other day that I was just arm-swinging, no body at all. No wonder I was doing poorly. In an effort to get more power, I was pulling my body up just a bit as I slammed the club into the ball. Often, this pull-up resulted in thin or topped hits. Problem two, my drives were going high and just settling to the turf with no role. A really smashed drive was going 190-200 yards. I had thought my 10.5 degree driver was the problem, and decided to talk to my local pro. He told me to get my hands ahead of the ball; that this would create a lower ball trajectory and more roll. I’ve tried it and it works! The ball is flying lower, and has the added benefit of being easy to draw. The combined advantages of having my hands ahead of the ball resulted in a 230 yard drive on the 18th today, and a couple of other 210-225 drives on other holes. This technique is a winner! Anything that can add 30-40 yards to your drives has to be tried. It has worked for me. I don’t hit it every hole because I’m still trying to work out the stance and the distance ahead of the ball for my hands. Also important is how closed the club head is at address. These small things can be worked out on the driving range.
It really works. Check out the 2nd video on the “Goodies For Your Golf Game” page.

3 Jul ‘10 Golly, I LOVE JULY!!! Today was one of those days when things went right. Despite our greens being covered in sand and being bumpy due to aeration and top dressing, I had only 29 putts, hit 11 fairways, and six GIRs. My drives were mostly long, low, drawing shots up to 220 yards. Things worked well enough that I shot a 40/39 79. It was overcast and cool, in the mid-80s, and things were just perfect. What a great game!!

2 Jul ‘10 Why are Fridays better golf days? Today, after being totally frustrated all week, I shot a 40/44 84. Why was I better today that Tues and Weds? I have no idea except I concentrated more on my shoulder turn. It worked most of the time, but not all the time. We’ll see tomorrow if any improvement continues.

30 Jun ‘10Once again, my golf has been erratic. Tuesday I had a 42/54 96 and today a 44/47 91. What is going wrong? Nearly everything. My drive is getting better, but I’m still shanking my irons, and when I don’t, I’ve developed a nasty habit of slashing down at the ball and standing up a bit which gives me some impressively long misses. An 8-iron just isn’t supposed to go 140 yards when it never bounces more than 20 centimeters high. The direction is good, but it gave me a 90 foot putt off the fringe of a steeply sloping green. Luckily, they aerated the greens and top-dressed them so the sand kept it from rolling off the bottom of the green. I think that I’m not turning at the hips in my backswing, so my arms are flailing around and my body decides that it can make the shot. Who knows how this will turn out? I hope it is a temporary screw up in my game.

26 Jun ‘10 Two up and down days, a nice little 84 Friday morning and felt good about the day, then I struggled through a 95 on a brutally hot/humid Saturday and was damned glad when the round was finished. Only bright spot on Saturday was my chipping. On Friday, I drove and chipped/putted very well. I am hitting all my irons thin. All my drives are heading high and straight, although direction is iffy. Problem is that the drives are so high, that I’m not getting more than a three or four yard roll. I’m working on that with the club pro and will let you know how that turns out.

23 Jun ‘10 Again, up and down day. 43/46 89, with no double bogies on the front but four on the back. Not too many fairways today. I’ve developed a pattern of not bringing my hands through on shots with all clubs. I’m not breaking my wrists on the backswing and therefore have not hand movement through impact. Result is a lot of push shots as the clubface doesn’t properly close at impact. Working on that.

22 Jun ‘10 Jekyll and Hyde day. 45/47 for a 92. Typical scoring on the back: par, par, bogey, par, triple, double, triple, double, par. Good thing is that I’m driving the ball straighter than ever… six fairways on the front, then I started hitting it hard with only one fairway on the back. Made a couple of bad (stupid) shots. One truism for golf is that: For every shot, there is a smart shot and a stupid shot. If you don’t go for the smart shot, you are playing the stupid shot and deserve whatever you get. A stupid shot is just that. Occasionally you might hit the wonder ball, but most of the time, you will just add strokes to your game. Don’t do the stupid shot.

19 Jun ‘10 Well, had my third straight 87 today. Bad thing was I had three double bogies, all caused by three-putting. My fairways are running close to 8 per round. Today I discovered that if I really slow down my backswing and almost pause at the top, it is easier to bring the club back on line instead of casting out on the downswing. works with all clubs.

15 Jun ‘10 Still setting heat records for this time of year, nearly 100 degrees F. I did manage to shoot 44/43 87 on a terribly hot day with no breeze and high humidity. I managed three putts of over 20 feet and one chip-in with two other chips within two feet. Nine fairways added to a pretty good day considering my recent games. However, the last four or five holes were tough to finish and we were all glad to get it over. Have two days off until I play next. I need it.

13 Jun ‘10 Another 94 yesterday and an 89 today. Trying to get back to basic golf and concentrating on striking the ball firmly and squarely. Today I tried taking the lower part of my body out of my swing, keeping it as quiet as possibly. Some help, most drives straighter, irons better, but nothing magical about the fix. Good part was my 56 degree iron which I use for chipping under 50 yards. Otherwise, another hot day (95 degrees F) on the course.

11 Jun ‘10 Bad day Tuesday and another one today. I’ve fallen into a “shank” routine that is devastating to my game. Today, 44/50 with a shank on every hole on the back. 3 three-putts on the front. Nothing seemed to work until I found that my grip had weakened considerably and my right hand was not participating in the swing. Will work on that, wish me luck.

5 Jun ‘10 Yesterday, I shot a 90, better but not what I feel like I should be shooting. My hits were just off enough to make it a discouraging day. Today, I went back to basics. I stop trying to improve my shot making, and just went back to standing over the ball and turning the right shoulder back and then following through. I had 27 putts, nine fairways and three GIRs with one birdie and nine pars and a chip-in par. Three other chips were within two feet and two others within three feet. Things went well as long as I didn’t overswing. Much better day.

2 Jun ‘10 Bad day all around. No GIRs, only 4 fairways, one three-putt green, one OB, four water balls, and a few shanks for a 48/49 97. Was I glad to get that over with! After seven holes I kept hoping someone would get a birdie (skin) so we would have a beer-boy. Luckily we got one. I did have to suffer the humiliation of not only having a bad day, but my wife won $2.50! Talked to my pro after play and asked him why I was playing my irons with an open club face on impact. He said more than likely I was starting to sway my entire body on the back swing. Makes sense, but I have no idea why I’ve started that. Have to work on my backswing. If I couldn’t putt or chip, I would have to go slit my wrists, or give up beer or something else equally drastic.

1 Jun ‘10 Well, today was no picnic (47/48 95). Only one three putt green and about twelve shanked shots resulting from opening the club face on the back swing and keeping it there thru impact. Really a bad day in all aspects. Interestingly, I decided to take a full backswing on my drives. This produced a series of solidly hit balls with a great sound off the driver. They went high and straight, but came down with little or no roll. They really felt good and looked wonderful, but no improvement in distance or direction. I either need a new ball (I’m using Titleist NXT) or a new driver (I’m using a 10.5 degree offest Orlimar). Maybe both.

29 May ‘10 No golf today, a painful infection kept me off the links. After 16 rounds this month, the rest will do me good. Remember, tomorrow honor those who have died to keep us free. This Video by Terry Kelly of Canada was originally meant for Armistice Day, but also applies very well to Memorial Day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYlrrAWCTRg

28 May ‘10 One of those days when my golf psyche is out of sync with the world. Shot a 48/43 91 with four three-putt greens, each for a double bogie. Only had four fairways and one GIR. Nothing much seemed to work so I messed about trying a couple of things. This experimentation resulted in flubbed shots and an OB for a seven on a par 3 (three-putt). Was ready to come home after 11 holes but stayed in there trying to get my putting back together. What did Scarlette O’Hara always say? “I’ll worry about that tomorrow!”

25 May ‘10 Good uneventful front nine for 43, back, another 43, a bit more uneven with two doubles, both earned by overswinging with resultant errant shots into woods, etc. Putting not too good, 35 putts including two birdie putts and one par putt that lipped out and 3 three-putt greens. Also lipped out a sand shot on eighteenth. Close but no cigar. Best thing was string of 7 fairways starting on the 9th. Best string I can remember. It was a beautiful day in the mid 80’s.
I would like to say hello to a new viewer from Kaiserslautern, one of my old stomping grounds.

24 May ‘10 I didn’t play today, but have been thinking about my game. There are two items that have helped me improve this Spring.

One is a relaxed wristy swing with a slightly open 56 degree wedge that is pitching and chipping up our elevated greens and over our sandtraps. It requires a very relaxed grip and swing to get the same length in the backswing and follow-through. Of course, keeping your eye on the ball through contact is important, but is surprisingly easy with this swing.
The other is the right shoulder focus of the swing itself, especially in the drive. By bringing that right shoulder straight back and twisting the upper body, I have found it easier to keep the right elbow close to the body on the swing. I get good power and straighter drives this way. Look at the videos on this page and on the “Goodies for Your Golf Game” page.

22 May ‘10 Had my revenge today, shot a respectable 41/42 83 with one birdie and 12, count them 12 fairways and 4 GIRs. Putting was a mediocre 30 putts, but did have one thirty footer for the birdie. The first nine I played with two American heroes, one an 88 year old B-17 bombardier during WWII and the other a 92 year old (who carries oxygen in his golf cart) member of the Air Corps Airways Communications during WWII. Both were good ball strikers and fun to play with. Things slowed down. I overheard one ask, “Did you see where my ball went?” The other replied, “yeah, but I forgot where”. Still a good old joke. After a good drive one said, “There’s another 118 yards closer to the hole.” They are my heroes. I hope I can still play and have fun at their age. They quit after nine, the heat is too much for them and I don’t blame them.

21 May ‘10 A strange day. After whuppin’ up on the front nine all week, today it got me back. Four Doubles including three in a row on decent but not terribly hard par 4s. My problem was accuracy and chipping. My chipping and pitching was absolutely atrocious on the front and I had multiple duffs and flubs on holes. I two-putted everything but the 8th hole and there I sank a 23 footer for a double bogie 7. I started the back with another water ball and double on the tenth, then managed to pull three bogies in a row. For some reason, things turned completely around and I made par on the last five wholes with one putts of 6,4,10,6, &6 feet long. I did have 9 fairways today but zero greens in regulation. Strange, a 49/41 for an 89.

20 May ‘10 Another day of differences. Front nine, very few fairways and no Greens in Regulation, 11 putts, and a 40. On the back, more fairways, a couple of greens in regulation, 19 putts including a four putt par three, and a 47. Somehow, the back was not good for chipping and putting, couldn’t get it close and couldn’t make the first putt. Golf is a fickle mistress.

18 May ‘10
My Handicap dropped from 18 in March to 17 and now to 16. My hip is much better and I am much more comfortable on the course.

Had a strange start today. My left lower back was very sore for some reason, maybe I slept on it wrong, but the first three holes, every shot resulted in a hard left hook. After the 3rd hole, things seemed to straighten out. I did shoot a 40/43 83 today with 28 putts and only one three-putt green. My irons seemed to work pretty well and my putting wasn’t bad. Hot and humid, I think it is time to buy another bottle of “Dry Hands”. I don’t wear a glove and in the summer here your hands sweat enough to require some “Dry Hands”. Otherwise, I used to go through three or four gloves a round. “Dry Hands” costs about as much as a cheap glove, but lasts all summer.

15 May ‘10 Putting says it all today. I shot an 89 today. If you subtract my extra putts 3 for three-putt greens and 2 for a 4-putt green, it should have been an 84. But, as you see, my putting sucked big time. What really pissed me off was four-putting the 6th green for the second time in two weeks. My putting is usually stronger, but lately I’ve been distracted or unable to really focus on putts. Either that or my muscle memory really sucks. Either way, I’ve got to get back to the basics on my putting.

14 May ‘10 Good day with a 41-43 84. First six greens were one putts and fairways hit. Had 10 fairways overall with two others within 3 feet of the fairway. Putting went well today, I went to the right hand fingertips only on the putter and was stroking it nicely into the hole, including a 25 footer on the last hole. Things just felt good today, drives were pretty good, irons much better, and good chipping and putting.

12 May ‘10 Today was a well-rounded day if you want, or a day of the Apocalypse if you’re into numbers. I shot a 90 (not good) with a 6—6—6; six double bogeys, six bogeys, and six pars. The day started well with tee shots going strong with a long looping hook and lots of roll. It settled in so well that by the 7th hole I began to play the hook, and aimed at the right side of the fairway. On holes 7, 9, 10, and 11, the ball went straight where I aimed it, usually settling in the trees or the next fairway. 13 was a good shot. 14, 15, and 18 it drifted off again, tho not so bad because I was no longer aiming at the right side. I drew the conclusion that the problem was in my hands. On the first several holes, my hands were very strong and rolling through the hit. Later, they became lazy as I focused on the smoothness of the swing, and didn’t roll through the same way thus not giving the ball the rolling spin of the hook. Oh, well, c’est la golf!

11 May ‘10 A weird day, full of ups and downs, good and bad. I shot an 85 (not bad) with 2 birdies and 7 pars (good) but 6 double bogies (bad). I had one chip-in, 8 one-putt greens, six fairways and five GIRS (all good). But I had one 4-putt green and 2 3-putt greens (bad) plus a few other screwy shots, one OB and one lost ball. So, it went from good to bad and back again. It was a bit frustrating. I learned nothing because nothing worked consistently. Oh, well, it was a round of golf, and by definition, a round of golf can bring you anything possible. Skins game tomorrow. Too bad I had those birdies today!
>BR>

8 May ‘10 A banner day for sure!! For the first time in my life, I played 18 holes of golf without a single double bogey! Seven pars and 11 bogies for a nice day with no disasters is refreshing. The 83 (43/40) was almost peaceful except for the occasional scary recovery shot. The difference between today and yesterday was that I only had 2 chips to 2 feet. The rest required putting. Still, with no doubles, I’m celebrating tonight!

7 May ‘10 A screwy but successful day at the course. Started out this morning with 3 pars and a bogey, then had to leave the course to deal with some real idiots at the A/C place. Waited for them to show (they didn’t) and finally went back to the course at noon and finished the round playing the holes in jumbled order… 16.17, 18, 6,7,8,9,10, 11, 12, 13,14,15, and 5. Things worked well, shot a 40/39 for a 79. What worked? 8 fairways, 6 GIRs, 7 chips for two-foot tap-ins, 10 1-putt greens, 26 total putts, 2 double bogies, 3 bogies, 12 pars and 1 birdie. As you can see, chipping really made a difference today. If I had had to two putt those greens, I would have shot an 86. So, are you practicing your chipping??? HMMMM??? Do I hear a “YES!” I hope so.

5 May ‘10 Things worked for me better today. I had a consistent 43/42 85 with only one double. I managed 8 fairways and 4 GIRs. Otherwise, it was a fairly good day. My drives were all solid even though some weren’t on line. On a regular course with wide fairways I would have had more hits. My hip was feeling better, just minor aggravation today, and that must have helped. Like the old song, “What a Difference a Day Makes!”

For those who are interested, the first tee of my course is located at

28 degrees, 55′, 52.87″ N, and 81degrees, 55′, 22.37″ W.

The course is rated from the blue tees: 68.3/119

and from the white tees: 67.2/115.

An examination of the layout shows narrow fairways with lots of overhanging branches of our hundreds of oak trees. It is a fairly pretty course with old trees and Spanish Moss hanging from the branches (a ball hit into the Spanish Moss may disappear for days on end).

4 May ‘10 Just when you think things are going well, the golf gods screw with you. Today, I never felt that anything in my body was really connected to any other part of my body. My swing was erratic, going from a lazy over the top pull to a chicken wing (Left elbow flying out) push. I left several putts short, but on line. In my defense, they aerated the greens and put sand on them nearly a week ago, and haven’t cut them since. The greens are brutally slow. But, it didn’t matter much, I had one out of bounds and two water shots. I didn’t hit a fairway until #16, and then I hit the next two for a total of three for the day for a total 49/45 94. Not very good. Can’t blame the course, I just wasn’t anywhere near my best physically. Nothing specific, just not close to being in a groove. Maybe tomorrow will be another day.

By the way, I would like to thank all of you who follow this little column, especially overseas. I hope my problems and solutions will help your game get better.

1 May ‘10 A warm day with little breeze, but very good for my golf game. At least for the first nine holes. I missed a four foot putt on #2 for a bogie, and a five foot putt on number six for a bogie. I had two tap-ins for pars and generally chipped and putted well. I had 12 putts, two bogies and seven pars for a 38. Trying to follow that up, I put one in the water and got a double on #10, bogied the next seven holes before getting a sandy (par from a sand trap) on #18 for a back nine of 45, total 83. I had seven fairways, but only 1 green in regulation. Relaxing and staying within control is beginning to show results.

30 Apr ‘10 Good day for learning, shot an “89″. I’ve been really slapping at the ball trying to get extra power. This is not a good idea because it shoots the ball all over the place and you minimize your power. Today, I really worked on relaxing my backswing and my swing and follow through. It really helped. I began to get better tee shots and better iron shots from all my irons. Plus, my fairway woods were better than in a long, long time. It seems as if I’m not really swinging at the ball, but the ball goes straighter and farther than when I really try. Seems as if I’ve been here before. Must be deja golf.

28 Apr ‘10 Funny thing from Saturday I forgot to tell you. I hit a ball into the water on #10 that had: 1: An asphalt mark for the parking lot on #3; 2: A red paint mark from the 100 yard marker on #4; and 3: A green paint mark from the pole of the safety net on #8. It was a very colorful ball and indicative of my day.

Yesterday had a nice consistent 41-42: 83 with five pars on the front and four on the back. Lost three strokes to good solid tree hits. 28 putts. Things worked best when I wasn’t trying to hit it for distance. When striving for good backswing and smooth follow through, ball went straight with distance. Hip is feeling better now, and that accounts for my pulling my short irons. Good cool day ahead for our skins game.

Skins Game was sort of strange. I doubled four of the five par threes because of an OB, 3 trees, two water shots and one three putt. Not too impressive. Drives were very diverse. Seems I had a notion to speed the club through the bottom of the swing and thus jerked my hips left resulting in pull hooks all day long. Putting was good, 28 for the day. Final 89 was better than I thought I was playing. Day off tomorrow for P/T and then early Friday morning.

24 Apr ‘10 What a couple of days. My good streak is over. Yesterday it began to fall apart and today it was total devastation. Apart from a few good shots, I could never get my swing to work. All the way, from short irons to driver, I had trouble getting the rhythm I needed to make good contact in the right direction. It all started in the bunker on the third hole when I missed the sand and launched the ball into the shrubbery by the first tee. After an unplayable lie and a fluffed shot in deep leaves, I finally had an eight on the easy par four. Trying to get it back, I managed to hit a tree on the first shot on the 4th hole, a 100yd marker and my golf cart with the third shot, and hit a 5th shot chip that hit and launched forward instead of bouncing for another 8 on another par 4. Add a mediocre string after that and cap it with an 11 on a tough par 5 15th that included three shots to get out of more shrubbery, and I had a day that was more sad than funny. I needed and got a par on the 18th to avoid triple digits. It happens to all of us, and we just need to forget it. I am just amazed at how uncoordinated I was today.

21 Apr ‘10 Weather great this week. Shot an 88 yesterday with inconsistent play and an 82 today. Didn’t hit as many fairways today, but had four chips for tap-ins. Had two 15-footers for par and two 8 footers for par, so my short game was very good. My drives and iron shots are getting better when I remember to pull my right shoulder back as far as I can. this gives me better direction and better distance.

19 Apr ‘10 Last week had an 87 and an 85 with the new swing. Good time with 9 fairways each day with little or no loss of distance. Irons are still iffy, shorter ones seem to be not going as far, but middle irons are going higher and landing softer. Still a lot of work to do. Wednesday I spent the first seven holes coming up on my toes during the swing. I’ve fought this attempt for longer shots since I was 17. You can’t get more power from your toes!

13 Apr ‘10 Shot a 92 today, including a four-putt on #10 and a water shot on 8 and 10. Good thing was only 28 total putts, 10 on the front which included a chip-in par. Bad thing was erratic irons due to not being sure of location of ball before swinging. Had a lot of toe and heel shots and one shank due to not have honed that part of the new swing down. Not discouraged, though, a new swing requires a lot of polish before it becomes easy.

10 Apr ‘10 Another great day of weather here, cool breeze and lots of sunshine. My new swing is continuing to improve. I had 8 fairways and several good iron shots for an 83. My putting was good with 28 putts and a 40 foot birdie putt. I had four chips for a tap-in par. Taking my legs and hips out of my swing has really enhanced my direction and distance and is making golf fun again. Luckily, my left hip is mending and is now just a bit sore during a round, no more big pain. Life is looking up

7 Apr ‘10 Two more days, an 87 and an 86, indicate some progress is being made. By completely eliminating my lower body from my golf swing, I have finally found a repeatable swing that sacrifices just a little distance but gives me a lot more accuracy off the tee and with my short irons. My long irons still need a little work, because of my tendency to try to hit them harder than is necessary. My new, and i hope, final swing is basically all shoulders and arms. I try to relax my legs and hips and keep them out of the swing. So far, I am hitting more fairways and my short irons tend to go where I aim them as opposed to the old pull and draw that I used to have. My shorter irons have actually gained some distance while my driver has lost maybe ten yards.

When I screw up the swing, it is usually due to my trying to hit the ball harder. This results (90% of the time) in my driving my weight off my left toes and onto the heel of my right foot causing a strong pull and/or hook to the left. By keeping my legs and hips in neutral, I’m getting better contact and straighter hits.

3 Apr ‘10 Two days of golf, an 88 and an 87, were highlighted by some really good shots but a lot of thin or toe hits. No progress there until the 7th hole today. It hurt so bad with my normal swing that I decided that there had to be a way to keep from shifting too much weight to my left side. I finally settled on a slightly open stance, most of my weight on the right foot, and swung using mainly my arms and shoulders. Surprisingly, it worked. I actually started hitting the ball straighter. The only problem was with distance. Sometimes I was short, and others I was long. It will take some work to finally get the swing to be repeatable and that will solve the distance problem. Toward the end of the day, I was beginning to swing hard and shift weight again and the ball began flying left of target.

I started keeping a new statistic this month, Chips to tap-in range (2 feet). I had three yesterday and three today.

31 Mar ‘10 Well, had a strange day yesterday. I played 36 holes, 18 by design and 18 by accident (three guys asked me to play in the afternoon, couldn’t turn it down.) Scores not good, 93 and 95. Hip was sore but not painful if you understand that. However, it was sore enough that one of my friends mentioned that I was collapsing my arms on the down-swing. This was probably caused by favoring the left hip and not shifting enough weight to it. The collapse of the elbows shortened my swing enough to get a lot of thin hits, some toppers, and a few slices. I need to work on keeping my arms extended through contact. A good note, I was able to focus on my long chip shots and hit many of them solid and firm and in the right direction. Simple as watching the club hit the ball and then watching the grass afterward.

I start Physical Therapy for my hip today. It has been feeling so good that I thought golf yesterday would make it painful again so I could tell them exactly how it felt. This morning, it feels pretty good, darn it, sort of like taking you car in to the mechanic and telling him it makes a funny sound, but it doesn’t at the mechanics shop. I’ll let you know what exercises I end up with.

27 Mar ‘10 Went back to the course today. Hip is feeling better, although I start physical therapy next Thursday. I was able to play today in a two-man scramble. My hip ached, but only had sharp pain if I started to walk too fast or with too long a stride. Felt much better and had a few good shots. Will play again on Tuesday.

17 Mar ‘10 Hip seems to be getting better, but still has its’ painful moments. One week down and another to go before I make any decision about going back. Meanwhile, I do a little Zen golf, imagining my swing flowing smoothly, my right elbow tucked into my side and my hands thrusting the ball out and down the line at impact with my weight shifting to th e left foot on the follow through. Maybe it’ll help when I do go back to the course.

10 Mar ‘10 Very nice today, temps in upper 70’s. Hip hurt a lot since yesterday, and today no better. By the time I was on the 15th hole I couldn’t keep my weight on my left side and consequently did not finish well. I shot a 90 with no birdies and only six pars. I did not feel good on much of anything. While I enjoyed the fun of the game, every step, every swing, and every time I mounted or dismounted the golf cart was painful. I may have to take several weeks off in order to get this hip fixed. It is ruining my game and my attitude. I’ll keep you posted.

9 Mar ‘10Warmer today, high 60’s with a light breeze. I tried a new technique with my short irons today with some success. I will discuss it when I know for sure it will work most of the time. Anyway, the front nine went well, I shot a 39 with four pars and a birdie. I had four greens in regulation, double my normal for 18 holes, and had fun. On the back, I had a few glitches on a couple of par fives for doubles, but had two pars and another birdie for 43 and a total of 82, best of the year so far. The last par was a “sandy” on 18. I was making those curling putts across the slopes with ease today. My eye and touch just meshed well and I was very happy to only have 30 putts and NO 3-putt greens. My hip hurt like hell on the back, and it did affect some of my shots. I’m putting a big bottle of Ibuprofen in my golf bag. Skins game tomorrow, should be a bit warmer.

6 Mar ‘10 The weather was better today, high 50’s low 60’s but the wind was still cold out of the North. But, it was livable and the sun was bright and the winter grass was green. I did remarkably well considering that I didn’t think I would make two holes the way my hip was hurting at the first tee. But, I guess it needed “walking” out and it wasn’t too bad the rest of the day. Front nine I had five pars but a dreaded quadruple bogie on the Par 5 8th hole. After chunking a shot, putting another in the pond, and then three-putting put me in a temporary funk, but parring 9 helped. I then went on the back with 5 consecutive bogies before three straight pars thanks to a couple of 20+ foot putts. Finding myself on the 18th tee, I could see a decent round ahead of me. The fairway is open, the green okay, and no hazards to think of. Of course, I didn’t think of “operator headspace” as we used to say in the Army. I had a good drive, took a five iron to approach and chunked it. Left the resulting pitch short, and chipped on about six feet away. Then I 3-putted for a seven and a final 88. That pissed me off. After getting to the clubhouse and downing a beer, I was back in form and happy again. Secret, don’t let the bad holes get you down.

5 Mar ‘10 Three straight days of cold, frosty mornings have made golf unacceptable as a fun thing to do. So, I haven’t done it. Tomorrow, should be a bit warmer, and I will go play with a 10am tee time. I am going crazy waiting for Spring to get here. We are 20-30 degrees below normal with not much let-up in sight. The wind has blown so hard from Northern Canada that while I was walking my dog the other night I could hear reindeer complaints blowing in the breeze.

2 Mar, ‘10 Finally had a relatively warm day, in the 60’s, but with winds 20-30 mph on the course. We played a scotch-twosome and had a great, great time. There were ten teams and my partner and I finished 13 strokes out of 8th place. It was a hoot! We couldn’t miss a tree or a pond. We were in one sand trap three times, finally got out, I putted on to the green quickly before it fell back in the trap, made it to six feet and we three putted! If it hadn’t been for Canadian Mist and Ibuprofen, we wouldn’t have finished at all. All in all, a good day with good friends. And that is the best that golf can offer.

28 Feb ‘10 Yesterday was washed out by rain and rescheduled for next Tuesday. No luck there, forecast is for 70% chance of rain. Today was a fun day. Played in a Canadian/American tournament hosted by our Canadian neighbors who live and visit here. It was a scramble, everyone hitting the best ball. It was cold, and my hip hurt like heck, but we had a great time, met some new people, and then had a great barbeque dinner and dance afterwards. Of course, they brought in a TV for the Canadian/American hockey game. Congratulations to the winners and the losers, it was great game for sure, eh? Back to the Chiropractor tomorrow to get my hip set back in joint. It hurt so bad that I am considering quitting golf for a couple of months while it gets back to normal.

26 Feb ‘10Two more cold days with frost on the ground and other commitments have kept me off the course. Tomorrow I play in a Scotch Two-some tournament. It is a blind draw so in accordance with age-old wisdom, I hope I draw someone I already hate. Joke of course. I don’t hate anyone here, some are just liked more than others.

Thought I would throw in a brief description of my stance, especially for the drive. I have tried a million ways to stand, but I always come back to one stance that accommodates my 46 inch waist, and works better than the others and is much more consistent.

I start by standing fairly erect with my feet together, the ball centered, and my club head turned at about 15 degrees facing to my left.
I then move my left foot six to eight inches to the left.
The, I move my right foot four inches to the right and drop it back so the heel is farther back than the heel of my left foot.
Finally, point the toe of my right foot from 45 to 90 degrees to the right, depending on how much control I have of my body that day. The less control, the greater the angle.
With my swing, I try to slowly turn my shoulders until my right shoulder is nearly behind me, then I swing, extending my arms, and trying to throw the club head straight down the fairway.

When it is all done correctly, I get about a 210 yard drive with a good draw.

Things I have to watch out for:

turning my shoulders to provide power which causes a pull or toe-hit
snatching my arms into my body which causes a weak push-slice, or conversely, a scuffed, muffled dink shot to the left.
trying to power my club through the ball which usually causes me to fall back on my right foot and gives me a strong slice out of bounds.

Things I have learned and repeatedly forgotten:

All my life I’ve been a “wrestler, lineman, power lifter” type of athlete. That is most of my strength has always been in my torso and legs. This doesn’t help a bit in hitting the golf ball further. It is my main nemesis.
Upper body strength, shoulders, arms, wrists, and hands are the important part of length off the tee.
When you tie the upper body strength with a smooth, easy, natural turn and leg drive, you will have success.
Success will come with a natural rhythm, that smooth swing, and a calm and easy mind.
The worst enemy you have on the golf course is your emotions. They destroy the ability to do all the things I’ve just mentioned.

I hope this helps. I just might print this out and tape it to my cart steering wheel.

24 Feb ‘10 Back cold again, but dry. GREAT NEWS: No 3-putt Greens today!!!! Despite two OB’s off the tee, and a fairway iron into the lake, I still shot an 89. Overall, I had good success with my drives, refining my grip, and hitting fairways with a good draw or small hook. Putting is coming back, and I re-remembered a very vital point in pitching and chipping. Lately, I’ve been sculling or chunking my pitches and chips. It has been very frustrating. On the 15th hole today, after chunking two consecutive shots, I remembered to put my weight on my left foot! apparently, with my left hip hurting, I had gotten away from that simple fundamental. Once I began to do that again, things began to look up.

23 Feb ‘10 A pretty nice day with sun and moderate temps, little wind. I made a big effort to avoid bad mistakes today and did well until I botched a drive, a wedge in the water and a couple of putts for a 9 on #8 and three putt on #9. On the back I made a modification to my grip, strengthening my left hand a bit and weakening my right hand so that it was nearly on top of the left. This resulted in straighter, stronger, and more reliable shots. On the front I had no Greens in Regulation (GIRs) and did not hit a single fairway. On the back, I hit 7 fairways and four GIRs for a 40 and final 89. Best round in a month altogether. I was hitting my 7 iron where I had used to hit a 6 iron and I was hitting the greens. My drives were strong with a slight hook and were rolling down the fairways. The back really felt good. Even my hip didn’t hurt as much as it has lately. Tomorrow morning is Skins day. I’ll let you know how it goes.

17 Feb ‘10 Started at noon hoping weather would be warmer. It was, 52-53 degrees all day, but wind was 10-20 mph and made it miserably cold. Terrible golf day, didn’t hit much of anything well. Missed two five foot birdie putts for my only two pars. Managed to scramble for 10 doubles with three water shots. Too much clothes and too much hip pain to be comfortable. Only decent shots I hit were with slow low takeaways and accelerate through the shot. Taking time off,until next Tuesday before I play again. Hope you’re having more fun than I am right now.

16 Feb ‘10 Another cold day,started at 41 degrees and finished with 52 degrees with a five mile an hour wind. Just cold and miserable. I played well and I played poorly. Only one 3-putt green, but I lost my focus completely. I was so pissed, that I smothered my next drive for only 85 yards, then screwed up the following three-wood and three iron, chipped and made the putt for a six on a 341 yard par four. This weather is just not making it any fun. My hip doesn’t hurt like it used to, but it does ache in different way so I still play a little gingerly. 91 today, 31 putts.

10 Feb ‘10 Another cold day on the links. High Temp was about 53 with a decent breeze blowing from the North West. Difficult to get the layered clothing just right so was uncomfortable all day. High lights? Well I’m getting closer to a driving stance that works consistently, and my putting was much better today. I put emphasis on my left hand in putting with just the fingertips of the right hand riding along for the ride. Made more putts and longer ones, and lag putts were very close as a rule. Had some tree difficulty today trying to make things happen in a “skins” game. Hip was pretty good, a bit achy but not the sharp pain I felt all Fall. I think it is on the road to recovery. More cold weather coming up and more rain on Friday. We’ll have to see about Saturday, high of 56F expected with winds NNW at 6 mph.

9 Feb ‘10 Well, eight days of weather and common cold have kept me off the course. tried it today but got rained out again after nine holes. This is the coldest and wettest winter I’ve experienced in Florida. Winter is usually our dry season but it seems the last four times I’ve tried to play I’ve been rained out.

On the health side, four days of sniffles and sneezes allowed my hip to get better and playing today wasn’t too bad. Hopefully, it will heal up in a short period of time and I’ll be back to 100%.

1 Feb ‘10
Went to a chiropractor today to see if she could fix my hip. She ran me through a couple of push/pull exercises. My right leg did fine, but my left couldn’t keep her from pushing the leg down. She said my hip was just a little “out” of joint. She bent the knee and pushed it up a couple of times and said that she had pushed it back in. I play golf tomorrow and Wednesday and go back to see her on Thursday.
Hopefully, it will go back to normal.

31 Jan ‘10 Slow end to the month, played a two-man scramble on Thursday, my partner and I won it with some amazing putting. I made several putts around 15 feet and my partner made two incredible putts of 40+ and 30+. While neither one of us played very well, we stepped up well when the other stumbled. Saturday, it was rainy and we only finished 9 holes. I shot a 44 with a nice 18 foot birdie putt on “5″ and a 12 foot par putt on “7″. I did miss a few short putts that bothered me. My new style is working well except for the 4-footers. I’ve got to figure that one out. Overall, I’m happy with my new putting, head directly over the ball. I’ve also tried a narrower stance on my short irons and that has improved my ball striking there. Hopefully, February will be better.

27 Jan ‘10 Had a cold round today, started on #16. Double-bogied first three holes. Tried to refine my putting stance moving the ball directly under my eyes. It is working, more putts were made from distance, those missed were more missed my not getting the line just right. However, speed and direction were much better today despite 5 three-putt greens. I’ve also begun to put the ball closer to me on my short irons. I’m finally getting the ball in the air better this way. Chipping and pitching are improving, I just need to work on distance and feel. Despite the 8 double-bogies I had today, I am satisfied that my putting and chipping are getting back to where they should be. It is just a matter of practice to regain the feel I need.

Jan 26, ‘10 Well, last two rounds of 91, 92 not exactly up to standards. Had three three-putt greens today, but eight fairways. At least there was some improvement. In my putting, which has really been bad lately, my buddy noticed today that I was hitting all my putts off the heel of the putter, even though I had been lining up with the ball in the middle. I tried to change it by starting with the ball on the toe of the putter, and that helped a little, but the main fix I ended up with was putting the ball more directly beneath my eyes. That helped taking the loop out of my back swing and I was putting better by the time I finished. Such a little thing, making sure the ball is directly beneath your eyes, can really make a difference. It is incredible how slowly you can move away from a proper stance into an insidious error like I have done. I’m going to really try to keep that ball directly under my eyes in the future.

Jan 19, ‘10 Last two rounds have been better although I haven’t really been consistent in my ball-striking and my putting is still iffy. An 89 on Saturday with two birdies and three three-putt greens was typical. Today, I managed an 87 with two three-putt greens. With my hip not hurting quite so much, I managed to go back to an old, tried and true stance with my feet quite closed and the ball just left of center. My right foot is pointed to the right about 45 degrees. This has always allowed me to turn better on the backswing and accommodates my tendency to cast out a bit. There was a big difference in my drives and long irons with this stance. Also, the weather is getting better, high 60’s low 70’s, and that always makes for better golf.

Jan 15, ‘10 It happens to all of us. Today, I was hitting the ball better than the last couple of days, it was warmer, and it seemed the wind was lighter. Considering I had 5 three-putt greens, a water shot, and a lost ball, the 94 shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. My hip wasn’t too bad today, perhaps because I was in “Putter’s Shock”. Tomorrow is another day.

Jan 13, ‘10 Played in the cold again, about the same as yesterday. Had 13 bogies and 3 doubles and three pars. Scores this year are 88,88, 90, all around my handicap of 17. Show you how I’m playing, I can count the number of good shots on one hand each round. I’ve had only three greens in regulation, and only two two-putt pars with 12 one-putt pars. If my chipping goes south, I may have to slit my wrists. My hip is back, same pain, but a bit less. Since it hurts most when I tee up the ball, get something off the ground, or get in the car, I bought a ball cup for the end of my putter that gets the ball out of the cup without bending. I’ve also switched to my old putter so the cup will fit on it and it has the advantage of the back lip that allows me to pick up balls, flags and other clubs without bending. These things help get through it all. My wife says I should go to a Chiropractor. I don’t know. We’ll see.

12 Jan ‘10 Played in cold weather today, 40 degrees when we started and never got over 53 with a good North wind. Didn’t play terribly bad (90) but lost two balls in the water and only had one or two sweet shots. Chipped well for a lot of one putt pars (4) and a bunch of one putt bogeys. Had only one green in regulation, a par 3 and I three putted that one. Had one really lucky shot, a sand shot that put the ball six feet from the pin about 40 feet away. Will probably play tomorrow, should be a bit warmer than today, but tonight is our last sub-32 degree night for some time. Should be nice and warm this weekend, but with a chance of thundershowers. Oh, and the hip started to hurt again today.

Jan 9, ‘10 After a week of suffering from head and chest congestion, and miserable as one night after another runs temps below freezing, I saw the Doc and got the bad news. When I asked why it hurt so much, he said, “God only knows.” It seems my MRI came out perfectly normal with nothing to explain the pain. Any further inquiry would involve putting a camera into the joint and that would probably cause serious problems afterward since they would have to move the ball out of the socket to see anything. I declined. Must be some kind of physical change in the way I do things that can help this out. We’ll see. Oh, and it looks like next Tuesday and Wednesday may be good days to play. I’ll keep you posted.

Jan 2, 2010 After a week off and getting a steroid shot in my hip and an MRI on Wednesday, I struggled out on a wet cool New Years Day just at dawn. I finished the front with a 43 and waited until the rain stopped to finish the 18 (with a 47) in a blustery afternoon. Putting was good and bad, inconsistent at best as was my driving. Pitching was not good at all. Now we are starting the coldest week in nine years, with nighttime temps in the 20’s and daytime in the 40-50’s. Since I’ve come down with a cold, I won’t be going out at all this week. Friday I hear from the doctor what the results are from my MRI.

Dec 22, 2009 Barely made it around the course today. My hip began hurting whenever I stood up straight, or bent my left leg, or when I shifted my weight. I wish I could blame my game (94) on that, but by the 10th hole I had 3 water balls and 3 3-putts. I had one more 3-putt later on. I did hit some decent shots, but by the time I finished I really didn’t care, all I wanted was to finish and sit back and rest the hip. I may not play any more until after the 30th when I get a MRI-Arthrogram and a huge dose of cortisone.

It is a sad day when I can’t play through a little pain, but this is not a little pain. My drive was beginning to shape up, too. I’ve brought my feet closer together and have increased my shoulder turn another inch or two, and as long as I don’t try to kill it, the ball flies long with a definite draw. It is really fun to watch. The hitch is that you just naturally want to try to hit that far and that results in a pull-hook to nowhere.

Dec 17, 2009: Three rounds for score, of 91, 84, and 86. Another visit to my regular doctor and now have a referral to an orthopedic doc for an MRI and possible hip replacement.
I still have a lot of pain, but can play as long as I don’t overdo squatting to pick up my ball and am careful getting in the cart. I tried being a passenger but that hurt the hip more than driving. I’ve had to change my stance a bit due to the pain. Basically, I keep my feet about a foot apart and play for a low draw. When it works it works great, and I am getting more fairways than before. However, my putting is still nothing to crow about, but my chipping has been pretty good lately.

On the health side, when I changed my diet in October to almost no meat and dairy, I got off my pills for high cholesterol and hoped that the diet would be enough. Saw my blood work today and will be going back on my Rx drug plus Fish Oil and Niacin. Seems my numbers were worse than last summer when I was fully on my pills. Still, I’m sticking with the new diet. My internal processing system is working much better, I feel better, and I’ve lost two belt notches off my waist and four to six pounds total. Cold weather due in tonight, lows in the 30’s next week. Might be nice to have a week off.

Dec 10, 2009: Yesterday, with a little pain from the groin muscle, I managed to finesse an 83 out of the course. Drives weren’t too bad, but scrambling for 7 GIR helped. Maybe the pain made me slow down on my swing and got me better contact. I lost a couple of shots trying to hit a 60degree wedge.

Today, we played a gentlemen’s game and had a lot more fun that we did good golf. I think I found out what caused my groin pull. It is in the way I lift my left leg into the golf cart. Today, when I wasn’t thinking about it, I would plop down in the cart and then throw in my left leg. I felt a couple of twinges today when I did that. Thanks to a great acupuncture doctor, most of the pain is gone. If I’m careful, I can heal up and not miss any golf.

Dec 8, 2009: Back after a couple of days off and a visit to the doctor. He says I have a pulled groin muscle that is causing a lot of pain, especially when I transfer my weight to my left leg. Tried to play, and wasn’t too bad, still cautious of weight transfer. I shot a 93 thanks to four three-putt greens, three in a row to start the back nine. Highlights were my long iron shots that seemed to work well, low lights were rotten drives that caused me to have to hit my long irons.

Dec 2, 2009: Well, back from Thanksgiving visits. Typical, after taking a week off I managed to pull in a 99 on Tuesday thanks to “hitting someone else’s ball” for two strokes and for completely pulling a bonehead play on the 8th hole. I chunked my third shot to the side of a water hazard, shanked the next shot into the high grass in the hazard, and being pissed off, tried to hit the sob out. After three very frustrating attempts (7), went back and dropped the ball (8) where I went in the hazard, chipped over the green for 9, chipped back on for 10 and then three-putted for the 13. Just goes to show that anger will screw up your game far beyond reasonable expectations.

Today, I came back with an 87 which is where my 15 handicap would put me, so I can’t complain about today. Funny thing is that I got a par 5 on the 8th today for a skin. It also gives me a two-day average for the 8th hole of 9.

Nov 24, 2009: A game of variables indeed. Today, I shot a 41-38, with three putts of 4 feet missed. I had two chip-in birdies on the back and another 14 foot cross slope birdie. Only hit five fairways and five greens in regulation. Things were good, 26 putts, and 83 feet of putts on the new scale. Who knows who is going to show up on any given day? It’ll be a week before I play again.

Nov 23, 2009: Well, Golf is a game of variables. Shot an 82 on Friday (41-41) and a 90 on Saturday (49-41) Front nine still killing me. Putts, Fri: 26, Sat: 33.
In the Dec Golf Digest is an article on how to compute your putting skills. Basically, you take the distance of the holed putt on each hole, minimum 2 feet, maximum 15 feet, and add them up for the round. Then subtract four feet for each 3-putt and I guess 8 feet for each 4-putt. Your total should be around 70 for a 15 handicapper, and 90 or so for a scratch golfer. I’ve checked myself out for the last nine rounds. My low was 24 feet ttl, and high 93 feet ttl, with an average of 53 feet. Not very good putting indeed, although we did overseed and topdress six of our holes this month. The important thing to note on my putting is that it can be very erratic. The day I had 93 total feet, I could hardly miss a putt, everything was going in.

If you look at the old way of just counting putts, my low was 26, my high 39, and the average for the month 32.9, while my average for the ten months prior was 30.9. Keeping your head very still through the putting follow-thru probably helps more than anything in improving your putting.

Nov 19, 2009: I’ve had two “84’s” the last two days. Sounds pretty good until you look at the scores. If you take the front nine scores for both days, it would be an 89(43,46), the back nine scores would total 79 (41,38). I’ve been tearing up the back with lots of good chips, drives, and approach shots, while I’ve been tearing up the front in a more literal fashion. My drives have started going higher and higher resulting in lost yardage (not much roll on the course right now) so I’m going to try to find a 9.5 degree driver to try. Reason I’m skying the drives, I think, is because I’ve added a much stronger wrist flip resulting in more club head speed but apparently more club face angle at impact.

Nov 14, 2009: Well, perhaps my “HAH” was a bit too loud. Once again, I stumbled for a 94 for the day with only two pars. Good news, though, when I really concentrated on bringing my right shoulder back I struck the ball much better. I’ve just lost my focus on my swing and have gone back to some really old and bad habits. “RELAX, RIGHT SHOULDER” or “RRS” is now printed on my ball in red ink. Another item I had forgotten was breaking my wrists during the back swing. These two things have resulted in better ball hits. I just have to remember to do them. DUH!

Nov 13, 2009:

HAH!

I knew it couldn’t last. Though I struggled through a weak front nine (47) I managed to shoot a 41 on the back with six pars. Only one three-putt green today which is a miracle. We overseeded our six old greens on Nov 3 and the grass is patchy and long at the best on those greens. Putting is a near miracle and pure luck on those.

BTW, for those interested in my weight (the “Fat” part of the title), I haven’t lost much weight and really haven’t tried except for shot at the Three Day Cardiac Diet. It will take weight off quickly, but you have to eat only what they say for three days a week. I tried it and lost thirty pounds, but once off of it the weight came right back. Right now, I ‘m following drastic change in eating habit and doing something I never thought I’d try: a near Vegan diet. I’m trying as hard as I can to avoid all meat and dairy products. This includes all fish and poultry products. I slip every now and then with an egg for breakfast, or a piece of chicken in a vegatable medley, but in the main I’m strickly beans and rice, baked potatoe, steamed vegetables, fruit and fruit juices. I’ve substituted water for soft drinks and beer with a 70% success ratio. Have I lost weight in the last six weeks? Maybe a pound or so, but I have lost 1.5 inches from my waist, my shoes are beginning to feel floppy, I have a lot more energy, and my digestive system is 100% better. No More Heartburn! I really feel much better, even when I transgress and have a cheese burger and fries like I did today. I’ll keep you posted.

Nov 12, 2009: This is a time that tries my soul. I hope that once you hit bottom, the only way is up. Tuesday, with a handicap of 15, I managed to shoot 110. Wednesday, I improved to 96. I shanked every iron in my bag, hit the water once, lost another ball, and had four three-putt greens. In the depths of despair Wednesday, I asked my playing partner what was I doing wrong. He said, “You’re just swatting at it.” So, I tried to forget my aches and pains and began to swing hard at the ball. On the eighth fairway, while waiting for the ladies in front of us to clear the area, I was swinging my three-wood. On one practice swing, the clubhead whistled as I swung. I tried it a couple of times and liked it. Then, I thought, what would happen if I whistled the club at the ball. Knowing that my game would not suffer (it was that bad), I swung and hit the best three wood I’ve ever hit, good sound off the club, straight flight, and nearly 220 yards down the fairway. I was stunned. I tried that swing with my driver, but after six holes figured out that the clubhead couldn’t catch up to my hands and I was pushing and fading every drive. However, on all my irons and short woods, the results were a great improvement (14 strokes better than the day before). I’ve been playing so bad that in the four rounds I’ve played this month, I’ve only 6 pars and 11 three-putt greens. I’ve had one lost ball, one OB, and three water balls. Shanks have plagued me and my putting has settled into great lay-ups on putts of five feet or more. Nothing is going in.

Hopefully, tomorrow will show more improvement though the temps will be in high 40’s when I tee off. I’m confident that this is only temporary and that I’ll be back on my game in no time. I sure hope so, the only enjoyment I’m getting now is joining in the laughter at how bad my shots end up.

Nov 7, 2009: Wow, two weeks off the course has really screwed me up. Today, I played with a sore neck, sore back, sore hip, and sore knee. Play was slow and it was hard to keep warmed up. Consequently, I shot poorly for a 95. Again, only one par and only one good drive (which was followed by one thin shot, one topped shot, a shank, and a too hard chip). Of course, I did have a lot of fun with the guys I was playing with, and it was a beautiful day on the course. When you get right down to the nitty–gritty, having fun with good friends is the ultimate pleasure of golf.

Nov 6, 2009: Well, I’m back, well not really, just present on the course. Today I hit two or three acceptable shots, had a 99 with six doubles, two triples, one par, and four or five three-putt greens. Most of my shots were hit thin, and without much power. I just didn’t play golf today, I just hacked around. It happens. If you want excuses I can get a couple that are pretty convincing.

Oct 24, 2009 I’ll be putting up the clubs for a couple of weeks. A death in the family is taking me across the country, and, frankly, I think my neck has been affecting my swing and I need a little time to let it get better. The neck has twinged several times during my drives and an occasional long iron. Because of this, my whole swing has been out of sync the last couple of rounds and I have not really enjoyed playing. I shot an 89 today with a four-putt on a par three. Not many bright spots to talk about except that I hit four of five par-threes today, a rare event for me. Only thing I did differently on the shorter holes was to play the iron face straight, not closed as usual. This avoided the pull-hook I’ve been getting so often. The bad side with my game is that these four holes were the only holes in regulation today. Hopefully, a couple of weeks off will put some fun back into the game, or at least get the physical pain out of it.

Oct 21, 2009 Two rounds of 85 and 87. Tuesday shot the 85 with three 3-putt and one 4-putt greens. Hands were like stone, every approach putt went 6-8 feet past, never did get a good feel for it. Next day, 29 putts, no 3-putts, touch was very good with one birdie and another that bounced off the pin. Two consecutive days, two totally different putting days. Interesting, on Tuesday, my neck was stiff and very sore (to touch a certain part on my neck caused extreme pain) so I went to an Acupuncturist for a treatment. Today, felt much better, and putted much better. It was my first treatment, but won’t be my last. My neck is much improved.

Oct 17, 2009: And so it goes. I never felt in synch today. Each swing was a new event and it was difficult to even care. The temperature had dropped 20 degrees overnight and it was a cool and cloudy day. I had three 3-putt greens, a ball in the water, and a ball out of bounds. There were 8 fairways hit and four greens in regulation to go along with 6 double bogies or worse. One birdie, a five inch tap-in was one of the few things to smile about. My total 92 was way over my normal score, but not a rare event. Cold and disheartened, I returned home. Golf is a fickle master.

Oct 14, 2009: Ups and downs but things looked good today. Yesterday had an 85 with no real strong points except my drives seemed to be getting better. Today, everything came together with 2 birdies (one from 2 feet, the other from 25 feet) for a 79 (38,41). Had another 3 putt on that damned flat #8. Had 8 greens in regulation which is an all time high for me. All my irons were working well and my pitching wedge was hitting and stopping quickly. The really good feeling was the long irons which performed very well. Lesson learned (again!) was that the risky shot is usually the stupid shot. I tried one today from the woods and bounced it off two trees to another fairway. I should have pitched to the fairway and hit a 9 iron to the green, two putt for bogey and gone. However, I didn’t, got a two putt for a double bogey, the only one I had.

Oct 11, 2009: Had a pretty good round, shot an 85 with a two 3-putts and a 4-putt. The infuriating thing on the four putt was that it was on a nearly flat green, no more than fifty feet across. I made a double-bogey on the hole (#8). The first three putt was on a nearly criminal pin setting on an undulating green, and the other was another tricky pin on a sloping green. However, I usually do better. My putter just went bad on me, I didn’t make much of anything. That’s golf.

Oct 7, 2009: Three rounds lately, 89,81, 84. Had a four putt with the 84. I’ve been striking the ball better lately, but my putting has been going slightly right of the hole. A buddy says I’ve been raising my head on the putt. Drives have been a lot better, distance is not the best I’ve ever had, but direction is definitely improving and giving me better shots to the green. My best shots come when I’m relaxed and not trying to place the ball down the fairway. Hopefully, cooler weather will help my game. These days of 90+ degrees and high humidity make the last three or four holes tough.

Oct 2, 2009: I see it has been a while since I’ve written anything. Well, scores have been between 90 and 82, some days with two birdies, some with none. One day with 11 fairways and the next with 4. My chipping has been hit and miss, but my putting has been better. I’ve been focusing on getting the line, then looking only at the ball, relaxing my hands and imagining the power of the stroke. Have had several 30+ putts fall, mostly on side-hill or downhill lies. I have hit many 8-12 foot putts. Problem with short to middle irons: am hitting them thin lately. I think I have slightly altered my stance and am having difficulty finding it again. My drives are doing better, hitting more fairways and hitting more straight shots with tiny draw. I am actually getting confident on the tee. I have gone back to a standard square stance while concentrating on turning my right shoulder. I have had a bit of trouble with my left arm taking control of the swing and causing the left elbow to fly with a resulting push fade. To correct this, I really have to concentrate on my right arm and hand to control the swing. So, the struggle goes on. After two months of a 13 handicap I’ve moved up to a 14 for this month. Will have to work on that to bring it back down.

Today I had a disastrous 17th hole. My partners were joking about cakes and whipped cream and laughing on the tee. Yes, men really joking about baking. It startled me so much that I duffed my 7-iron into the edge of the pond. No one was watching and we never did find it. We did find a ball similarly marked to mine and I tried a miracle shot, but no one was watching and it took nearly five minutes to find it in front of the green. When I saw it was not mine, I just launched it into the pond and “x”‘d out for the round. For some reason, I really got depressed about it. I parred the last hole, went to the clubhouse to drink a beer with the guys, but one had to leave because his girlfriend was already in his kitchen to bake a cake. Maybe I was depressed for a reason. This isn’t how I visualize a fun time out with the guys. Had a really bad afternoon depressed more than I can remember since my first divorce. Finally, had to go out and get some pancakes to fix things. We’ll see how tomorrow goes.

Sep 22, 2009: Strange day, had seven pars, eight fairways, only two GIR, no birdies, and two consecutive OBs with a 7 wood on our 176 yd par 3 6th. Lying 5 with my 3rd drive, easy chip and putt for a seven. Put a crimp in the front nine for a 46. Played to 43 on the back for an 89. The front is eluding me lately. Have noticed that there is a war going on in my swing. Sometimes the left arm is in control (shanked a 7 iron on the tee at #2 par 3), and sometimes the right arm comes back but loops outside-in for a push-fade or a full pull. I need to find a balance there.

Sep 21, 2009: Had a couple of fun/rough weeks. Went to Washington to march in the Sep 12th march and caught a cold. That put me down for a couple of days, but have had two rounds to report on. Had an 85 with three birdies, two water balls and two 3-putt greens. Then I shot an 86 with two birdies. Fairways hit is up to 10 and 8 basically because I felt weak, so I brought my feet closer together and shortened my backswing. Funny thing is in hitting more fairways, I didn’t sacrifice distance. Something to think about there.

Sep 10, 2009: Still not completely recovered from the flu. My coordination and strength are beginning to return but not quite there yet. Last three rounds, on the front nine I twice had only eleven putts, my chips were working well. The third round had stone hands and chips were all rolling off the back. Scores of 87, 92, and 85, so its been up and down, mostly up. Once again, I had a two stroke penalty for playing the wrong ball. As we drove up to the area, my buddy said, “There it is.” and pointed to a ball in the grass. I glanced at it, a Callaway, and proceeded to hit it through the green. When I pulled it out of the cup I noticed that it was not my Callaway, it was an orange, not a red one, and it didn’t have my two red dots over the name. I called the penalty and was gently kidded by the foursome. If you check back you’ll see that this isn’t the first time I’ve hit the wrong ball. It’s two strokes every time, so check you ball to make sure it is yours. By the way, it is your responsibility to call the penalty as soon as you catch it. Don’t wait for someone else to catch you, that’s cheating.

Sep 4, 2009: Okay, back in the saddle again. Update, on 29 August I shot an 81 with 2 birdies, even sides, 41,40. Had the flu, was out four days, back today. Stepped up to the tee on Number 1, hit it straight down the middle, but I topped it and it didn’t make it to the Ladies Tee. Seems I had serious coordination problems with my swing. Doubled the first hole, then settled down and bogied the next 8 holes, needing a three -putt on number nine to keep the streak going for a 46. On the back, got a little of it back and shot a 41 with one birdie and one double, total 87. A rough start, but understandable after the flu. Still, I had fun, played with some good friends, met a new player, and had a great beer afterward. My handicap has dropped to 13 again. Golf is good.

Sep 2, 2009: Have had the flu the last three days, on the way to recovery, nothing serious, just nausea and fever. Makes a fellow weak and unsteady for a couple of days. Had real food tonight, like a stupid teenager, had a fried fish and shake. Three hours later feels like I shoved a greased brick down my gut. Will stay with soup and fruit next couple of days. I plan on playing Friday morning.

Aug 26. 2009 Dodged the rain on Saturday, only got in 9 absolutely terrible holes, then a deluge came down. It has been raining nearly every day but usually in the late afternoon. Last night we received over 1.3 inches. The ponds are filling up nicely, even the dry pond on #8. Yesterday I had a string of wonderful drives and greens in regulation on the front, then it all fell apart on the back. Still, I posted an 83. Today, I went back to a more bent over stance and my drives began to fall in the short stuff again. I had two birdies and a 37 on the back following a patchy 44 on the front for an 81. Nothing much to talk about except on short irons I’ve begun to practice a technique that a pro showed me once. Instead of focusing on the ball, I focus on a spot immediately in front of the ball. This allows a better ball first strike with the club head delivering better line and distance. Seems to work for now.

Aug 23, 2009 Things have been up and down, mostly down, as our wonderful ground crew led by our clueless groundskeeper has managed to aerate our greens. Someplaces they ran the machines too fast and the holes are two inch long ovals. Other places, they banged the machinery on the ground and definite grooves were made. Of course, they didn’t mow before they aerated and the bermuda grass was long. After they sanded, they used a hand leveler that managed to pull all the grass up off the ground so that there are long repeating lines of grass sticking up out of the green surface. Any putt of any length is subject to deflecting and retardation. We think that the scores should not be put into the GINH system and that we should play all the greens as “temporaries with 2 putt max” but we don’t we just play them out and laugh. Only good thing is that I’m having occasional glimpses of the swing I’ve searched for all these years.

Aug 16, 2009: Well, isn’t putting fun! Bragging one day and crying the next. Friday morning, in addition to have two three-putts and a four-putt, I missed a 3ft, 2ft, 8ft, 5ft, and 4ft putts for an 87, with 13 putts on the front and 19 on the back. Then, yesterday, I missed at 5 ft, 5 ft, 4ft, and 7ft for an 80 with 14 putts on the front and 15 on the back. Our greens are relatively long and slow, but I’ve adjusted to that. I’ve missed most of them by lip or an inch to the right which leads me to think that I’ve been tensing my right hand just before contact, thus opening the putter face.

Additionally, I clutched on the 18th hole when I needed a par for a 79. I hit a good little hook down the fairway to 115 yards out on a 316 yd par four. I took out my nine, and didn’t power it through and ended up 20 yards short. I tightened up even more and in pitching my 8 iron, I nearly topped the ball and bobbled it to two feet off the green with twelve feet to the pin. Left the par putt three feet short, sank that for bogey for an 80. I do think that 80 is really good score for me, but, golly, 79 is soooo much better than 80.

Aug 12, 2009: Five rounds since my 75, and golf goes on. My Aug 18 hole average is 84.6 and includes an 84, 85, 86, 91, and an 84 today. Interesting point that I have made a million times is apparent once again. I had ten 1-putt greens today, 3 par 3’s, 4 par 4s, and 3 par 5s. Of the ten 1-putts, five were for par and five were for bogey. The longest putt I made was ten feet, the shortest, six inches (two of those). I had a total of 26 putts with two 3-putt greens in a row. While I’m getting closer to the greens, I’m still not hitting them in regulation (only two today). But, I am chipping and putting very well and it is saving my game. If I can ever get good off the fairway, I should do pretty well. Until then, I have to scramble.

Aug 1, 2009: There are days when everything goes right, well, almost everything. Except for a tree hit and subsequent 6 double bogey on Number 4, everything went right today. I had 27 putts, three birdies, eight greens in regulation, and seven fairways. I putted very well and turned in a career low of 75, 39-36. It was hard for me to do wrong. One thing that worked well, was my concentration on the ball. I only looked up once and even that one went straight, just not far. Take heart, it can happen for you, too. Check out the “Goodies for your Golf Game.” Every thing I’ve tried is in there except for my new stance.

July 31, 2009: Another 82 today, 44-38 with one birdie, two three-putt greens, 7 fairways and six greens in regulation. My drive is starting to settle in with a nice fade to it. I missed two fairways today by only a yard or so. I’ve got to get a hold on the front nine. It is really a problem. I realized today that my improvement in golf has a lot to do with how often I play. Most of you can only play on weekends and probably don’t practice much. I’ve already played over 100 rounds of golf this year. Things should be better, but it is hard to remember everything. I’ve started writing a large “RRS” on my ball to remind me of: “Relax, Right Shoulder (turn), Slowly”. This has resulted in better iron play and better woods and driver. The Relax has also helped my putting.

July 29, 2009: What an up and down day; front nine of 46, hit six trees on four holes, only on fairway and green in regulation and OB on nine. Then turn around on the back, a career low of 36 with three birdies, seven fairways and six greens in regulation. Sixteen putts on the front and fifteen with one three-putt on the back. Temps 93F with a heat index of 102F. Makes you wonder how you can be so inconsistent after so many years on the links.

July 28, 2009: Today I turned 65 years old. I’m still 5’ 10” tall and still 275 pounds. I’m still working on my game. We had hot weather with a slight breeze. Things were working fairly well and I had two birdies, one of six feet and one of four. I shot an 81 and won the honors for the day. Hole sixteen is a straight-away 320 yards with the last 150 yards down hill to a round green protected by two bunkers. It is common knowledge that a ball rolling down the hill will funnel between the bunkers and the ball will roll onto the green. The problem is that the drive is such an open shot that I usually over-hit it and block the ball into the woods on the right, usually about 160 yards from the green. Because of this, and because our course is heavily wooded, I have developed a low slicing shot with a hybrid “2”. I have also gained confidence in hitting between the trees. Because of the many, many times I’ve had to hit this shot, it doesn’t bother me anymore. If successful, I expect it. If it hits a tree, well…, what do you expect. Try it again. Yesterday, a perfect shot that rolled four feet short of the pin for an easy birdie.

July 27, 2009: Today, we visited another course in the area, on very flat ground, and very well kept. It was tight with several trees encroaching on the fairway itself. While several of my friends were having a terrible time putting, I didn’t have a single three-putt green. I shot a 92 and was only disappointed in that I struggled with my long irons. The course was about 500 yards longer than my home course.

Jul 18, 2009 Off and on week, lots of rain and green maintenance on the course. They managed to plug and sand all the greens, but not all on the same day and not all in the same way. Consequently, while my putting felt better with relaxed hands, I have no idea if my putting has improved. The greens are sandy, sometimes sandy like a beach, sometimes evenly sanded with all the plugs filled in, and sometimes with half the plugs filled in. Plus, the greens have not been mowed in nearly a week. So, my scores of 87, 88, and 89 are entered according to the handicap system. I must admit to three strokes being dropped during the week because they were more than the system allows. The big MINUS of the week has been four errant tee shots that have started right and then made a beautiful slice further right, all four out of bounds. Very strange since I’ve been pulling and hooking everything lately.

Jul 12, 2009 Finally had a good day despite poor putting. I managed a 39-44 for a nice 83 but had three three-putt greens and missed a nice eight footer for a third birdie. Have been forcing myself to relax, and to face 45 degrees towards the target before I swing. It opens up my body while leaving my feet square and has been working pretty well. I had eight greens in regulation yesterday, maybe my all time high. One of the great things with relaxing my grip and body when I swing has been an increase in distance with all clubs. My pitching wedge is up to 110 yards and my nine iron out to 125-130. I actually hit my lifetime drive with a 263 yard shot to set up a 210 yard three wood to the green. Think I’ve mentioned that the hardest shot in golf is the next shot after a really good drive. It’s true. I managed to top the ball and dribble my three wood shot down inside the 100 yard marker. Still, hit the green and made par missing a twelve foot birdie putt. So, relax, and swing easy but firmly. It could make a big difference in your game.

Jul 8, 2009″ Have had a bad time golfing lately. Not only is the rain a distraction when you have to wait for the shower to go over, but it fills the air with moisture which makes the ball not go as far as you thought.

Ed. Note. Sometimes it never goes as far as you thought. How many times have you looked for you ball in the rough only to find it back towards the tee?

I’ve developed a terrible tendency to collapse my left arm and try to get as much power out of my torso muscles as possible. This only results in pull-hooks. I went 34 fairways without hitting one. Yesterday, to correct this, I turned my body 45 degrees left, toward the target. My feet were also pointing to the left although they were still square to the line of flight. This seemed to help and I had 8 fairways today and four greens in regulation. I also corrected poor chipping by making sure I did not use my wrists in the shot. This resulted in 27 putts yesterday, but 35 today. I’m making fewer 3-putts, but do not trust the chip and thus hit it too hard. It’ll take some work, but chipping is only a matter of feel and feel is only a matter of practice. So,for July, I’ve had a 94, 91, and two 88’s. It is getting better, but no surprise that my handicap is up from a 13 to a 15.

Jun 27, 2009: Got rained out today, but have had interesting days lately. Lots of 3-putt greens, bad chips, feeling weak in my shots. Shows that you must swing with authority on each shot. Today, we had a special event, a 4-club competition. You had to choose four clubs only before we started. Interesting choices, but if you analyze your game, it is really simple. Knowing that on most of the par 5’s, if I had a decent drive, a couple of five irons was plenty to get to the green. On the short par fours, either an 8-iron (hard, soft, or pitched) was plenty, in a pinch the 5-iron could pitch and roll. On the long par 3 (170 yards), I choked up on my driver, took a 2/3 back swing and put the ball on the green maybe 20 feet from the pin. Point to remember, know your clubs, and know how to hit them differently than normal. They are actually very versatile if you work with them. Anyway, we played six holes, I was two over par and had two greenies.

Jun 20, 2009: Yesterday, I managed a smooth 85 while putting like a monkey in a zoo. I managed 35 putts including 3 three putt greens on par threes and another 3-putt on an easy par four. Today, I had only 25 putts with one chip-in and a nice 82. Ten putts but only three strokes difference on the score card. Seems I spent a little more time in the woods today. It was very hot and the last three or four holes were tough to keep your mind involved. My failing today was to forget about the right shoulder and elbow and I reverted back to the good old casting out and slicing my irons. Simple, yet very ineffective. I guess it’s the time of year to keep the neck-cooler iced up and sopping wet. When you get older like me, you’ve got to watch yourself. Keep cool, drink plenty of non-alcoholic fluids, and ice-down your head and neck every so often.

Jun 17, 2009 Today played out differently. It was hot, a little more breeze, and they had mowed the greens for the first time in some time. I changed my putting style a bit, putting more weight on the front foot. What worked, worked and I came in with an 84. I had 16 putts on the front and only 10 putts on the back. Of course, that means I wasn’t hitting any greens in regulation (zero) and I was able to chip pretty close most of the time. I only had three fairways also. So, not a good day for pretty golf, but a great day for scrambling. I guess the lesson is, NEVER GIVE UP!

Jun 16, 2009 Kind of weird playing the first three holes over again to finish out the round. Several things about my game today. If you added up all the yards short of the hole on my chips and putts, you could put in another par five on the course. The greens are recovering from all the heat and they are not being cut short to help preserve them. Consequently, they are long and slow. Many of my friends have adjusted to this, but I don’t seem to get the hang of it. Even when I beat the ball to death, or seem to, the ball comes up short. Shot a 91 today with only two pars and two doubles, all the rest being two-putt bogies. Temps were high and the breeze non-existent. We all agreed we had a great time, but few of us played golf.

Jun 15, 2009 Last day on Saturday with the old greens, and good riddance to them. They have been letting them die and putting on them is absolutely miserable. On 18 today, I four-putted from twelve feet and nearly tore the cup out of the ground. Well, I wanted to. Had an 89 with the four-putt and several bad puts on the other holes that are under construction as I write this. We’ll see tomorrow what my game turns out to be with the new set-up. Should be fun, the doctor doubled my muscle-relaxant last Thursday and it is just now really kicking in. I might shoot a 100 if I’m not careful.

Jun 10, 2009 Well, two decent rounds of golf behind me now. Yesterday, I had an 87 with two birdies and a greenie, and today managed only one birdie while shooting an 86. I did manage to hit eight fairways and five greens in regulation. My putting has been high, 35 today, but our greens are very ragged due to a busted pump that left us without water for 12 days. The greens are beginning to recover but there is still a lot of dead spots and the ball tends to wander, plus with eighteen greens we probably have fourteen different speeds.

Next week they are going to rebuild three greens and not put in temporaries. Their solution is for us just to play holes 1-3 over again after we “finish” the round. Supposedly this will make up for our handicaps as they are going to build a par 3, a par 4, and a par 5 and holes 1-3 are a 5,3, and 4 in that order. As to difficulty, this system will replace the 3rd toughest hole with the 10th, the 15th with the 18th, and the 9th with the 12th. So, it should be a bit easier and scores a bit lower.

Jun 9, 2009 I was playing golf with a Northerner one day, and he complained, “The ball doesn’t go far when you’re at sea level, does it?”
I replied, honestly and without thinking, “Sea Level! Heck, we’re up at 86 feet here!” (True Story).

I’m going to try to get in 18 today. Will let you know how it goes.

Jun 8, 2009 One day, a man came home and was greeted by his wife dressed in a very Sexy nightie.
‘Tie me up,’ she purred, ‘and you can do anything you want.’
So he tied her up and went golfing.

Jun 6, 2009: Hamstring is better, apparently just a mild strain. I played six holes yesterday before I made a bad swing, leaving my weight on my right foot and straightening out my left which stretched the hamstring a bit. I quit there before I did more mischief. I did feel pretty good about things though. Having to ease up on my swing caused me to birdie the first hole, par 2 and 3, but butchered four (a double with a three putt) and five before paring six for two over par before I was done. I did have difficulty picking the ball out of the cup and of placing my ball on the tee, but I worked it out with an ugly squat. Tried again today but got rained out after two shots.

May 29, 2009: Bad news today. It is tough getting old. Starting out this morning with a good tee shot, a strong three iron, and a thin wedge shot, a chip and a putt for par 5 on #1; short tee shot, chipped to five feet and dropped the putt for a par 3 on #2; good tee shot, pulled eight iron pin high, chipped to 1 foot for tap in par on #3; good tee shot and strained my left hamstring picking up my tee on #4. Off to the doc. Best start in a long time. Strain isn’t too bad, doc said I’d be out for a week or two, lots of ice and rest. Guess I get to keep the 13 handicap a while longer since I can’t shoot my way higher or lower for a while. Getting old is a bitch.

May 28, 2009: Back home after an exhausting trip. Interestingly, my handicap dropped to 13, the lowest ever while I was gone. Played yesterday at Black Bear, a trap-riddled 6300 yards (white tees) course that was in excellent shape and experiencing very little play. I had an 89, which wasn’t too bad since it was a new course to me, and I was experimenting with two new woods. I felt good about my drive for a while, but then fell into the common trap of trying to hit good drives further which of course destroys direction and solid contact. Why can’t we be happy with success on the course? Why do we always try to hit our good shots further? Must have something to do with why we suck in our gut when we go to the pool.

May 15, 2009 I’m off on vacation right now, so no golf news. I played on the 12th with a lackluster 88 but no doubles on the back nine again. Nothing specific about the game, just one of those days. Shoulder muscles still sore, got a cortisone shot Monday but it has worn off already. Taking some anti-inflammation pills but not much effect. Don’t expect to play golf again until a week from now. That will be a ten-day break, one of my longest non-playing spells in some time. I probably need it.

May 9, 2009 Played 27 holes yesterday, had twelve more holes without a double, but then got two in a row. Had a 40-44, then played the back nine again and shot a 37 with one birdie and no doubles. Learned an old lesson again, had it reinforced several times. Every shot deserves a firm, determined swing. If you ease up, you’ll screw up.
Every time I tried to hit an easy shot straight down the center, my hands finish earlier than my clubhead, thus opening up the shot to a push-fade and the trees. If I hit a determined shot, much better ball flight and direction. If I try to kill it, pull-hook at best. So go ahead and hit the ball, just don’t try to get an extra twenty yards. Just hit it firm. The club will take care of the rest.

May 6, 2009 Relaxing has been a bit of a help, but is not consistent. As soon as I get a good shot or two I try to force the next one further. Great results in some areas though. For the Month of May (four rounds) I have not yet had a double bogey on the back nine. Today, for the first time in my life, I had a round with no, repeat no double bogies at all! I had an 85 and had lipped out three putts, only five pars though. Still, no doubles is a great stride forward for me.

April 30, 2009 Have been having a pretty good week. I’ve shot an 85 and two 82’s with weak putting. Seems my hands have gotten too far from my body and I’m getting a wobble in the back stroke with subsequent pulls and pushes. Also, for some reason, I’ve been getting too strong with my right arm and have minor pains in my elbow tendons and a bit in the shoulder. I think it means I’ve been really strangling my long clubs with my right hand and side. Tomorrow, I’m going to try to relax more. I’ll let you know how it goes.

April 24, 2009 Guess I’ve been remiss lately in posting, some exciting things have been happening. After that 85, I posted a 79 on last Friday, followed by an 87, an 86, and today’s 81. So some good things have been happening with my game. I’m putting better, but my chipping is spotty. I’m driving better but not consistently. In the 79 last week I only hit four fairways but seven greens in regulation and two birdies and only two double-bogies. Today, I had seven fairways, six greens in regulation, three birdies and five (count’em, five) double-bogies. I played today like I had schizophrenia (thanks spell check). It is getting exciting to go to the course and find out who’s playing my clubs. I have learned (relearned) one little tip and put it on the “Goodies for Your Golf Game” page. Keep working on your game, and have some fun!

April 15, 2009 Back on the course, and more back to normal. With nine more putts today, I shot an 85. After the first nine my drives were drifting and my chipping went south. But even with all that, 85 isn’t too bad. Of course, the good times couldn’t last forever. That’s one of the things that makes golf such a challenge.

APRIL 11, 2009: This is a RED_LETTER day. Today, on the course, I could no almost no wrong. Even though I had a lost ball penalty on #3, I still had a 39 on the front. I followed that with a couple of birdies and a 36 on the back for a 75, my all-time round-of-a-life time low score.

Drives were good, approaches close enough that excellent chipping gave me putts (25 for the round) that fell from 2 to 25 feet. It was all incredible. My face hurts from smiling so much. It only goes to show that someday, with enough focus, it will all fall into place. Of course, I don’t expect it to last very long, nothing good in this game ever does for us duffers, but I plan to enjoy every minute of it!

Apr 10, 09 Third straight 83 today. But, you never know who shows up. After the first 8 holes and three double bogies I had a 43. The next ten holes I played in even par with three birdies for a back nine of 36 even par and the 83 total. I can think of no epiphany that happened between 8 and 9 that would have made for such a difference. There were no bolts of lightening, no magic potions of either Canadian or Kentucky origin, no suds, no advice, no nothing. It just happened. Sort of a Jekyll and Hyde kind of day.

Apr 09, ‘09Well, played well on Wednesday, shot an 83 again, but with five more putts than last time. Left a lot of birdie putts short. The guys I was playing with were unmerciful in their condemnation of my inability to get it to the hole. We had a great time and I finally birdied the 16th. An interesting point on that hole. My drive was left in the rough on a down hill slope with little grass under the ball. I had a 60 yard pitch down hill, over a sand trap, to a small flat green. Not being very confident in my ability to hit the ball high and stop it from running off the back, I used a technique I’ve seen several of the older course vets attempt. I pitched a five iron toward the trap. It bounced four times, ran through the trap and out the other side, down a short slope and ran out about five feet from the hole. What did I learn? Watch the old folks who have played the course a thousand times, they know all the unorthodox tricks for taming the course.

April 7, 09: This is the week of the Master’s in Augusta. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate, but don’t know for sure. Today, I didn’t go play golf with my regular group because the temp is only 50 degrees and the wind is WNW at 10 gusting to 20 miles an hour. It is cold enough that I had to put on a pair of blue jeans and a tee-shirt under my golf shirt. That’s right, long pants and undershirt, items usually only worn in January and February in these here parts. It should be an interesting day, no golf, wife has the car, and too cold to clean the garage. This is a new experience for me.

April 4, 09: This is a crazy game. Today I shot an 83 with only 3 fairways and 4 greens in regulation. I had 28 putts and ten pars. It seems that my game is inversely proportional to the number of fairways and greens I hit. It makes no sense that I score better out of the rough than I do off the fairways.

April 3, 09: Too repeat myself, golf is a screwy game. I’ve been working hard on my swing and thought I was making progress. I did get tired of the artificial feel of the swing and went back to a more natural swing and rhythm. It did take away some from my accuracy, but they really felt better. Then, yesterday, a bunch of us played a two-man scramble in the afternoon. It was like magic. My drives were booming straight down the fairways, my long and middle irons were flying liked goosed geese and were drawing a little bit. My chips and putts were magnificent, although some felt a little lucky. Anyway, it was a wonderful afternoon, filled with success and satisfaction that I had never felt before. To make light of this fantastic display of golf prowess, I jokingly told my buddies that when I woke up today I would have forgotten everything I was doing. Unfortunately, it was so true. It was that same old story we all know and have experienced. Up one day and down the next. The Golf Gods never get tired of that old joke and we never remember it until it’s too late.

Mar 24, 09: Golf is a screwy game. Today, feeling like a million bucks, I went out and got six fairways on the front and shot a 44. On the back, I had only two fairways and shot a 40. What was different? On the front I was using a new chipping technique that required very loose hands. This caused me to be “handsy” on my chips and was continually chipping ten to twenty feet past the hole. On the back, I went back to my old way and had four chips within two feet. As to the fairways, on the front I tried nothing fancy, but on the back, full of confidence, I began to try to draw the ball. It didn’t work. In fact, on sixteen, I rolled the ball into the debris at the bottom of the trunk of a tree. Why do we try new things on the course instead of at the practice range? The answer is obvious. When we sign in to the course, our brains flow out through the pen or pencil onto the paper. They don’t return until we sign the scorecard.

Mar 22, 09: The most amazing thing happened this week. The last couple of holes on Wednesday took my drive like a dream, fairly long and down the middle. Then Friday, it began to gel and my drives(for the most part) became straight, and down the middle. I hit ten fairways. Then, on Saturday, I began to apply it to my long irons and they began to work much better, straighter with the occasional draw. I hit ten fairways again. The trick? I played with the best player we have, and I watched him hit. Every shot, his back is good and straight. I began to remember how many articles I’ve read about keeping the back straight so you pivot your swing better. Remember when I told you about SYBO? Stick Your Butt Out? I had forgotten about it, but am now using it on every shot. It is working!

Mar 13,09 Well, the tournament is over. This year, the best golfer in the park got his head together and finished the tournament with a three rounds of 73, 78, and 68 for a total of 219, about 30 some strokes ahead of his nearest competitors. I switched back to my old putter and came in at 86 with two balls in the water to finish fourth in the flight. I had been so far back that they put me in a foursome of the best “B” Flight golfers. Just goes to show that last year was a fluke. I played the best golf of my life when no one else was. This year was business as usual.

Actually, it is a great relief. Every tournament or function this year I was paired up with couples and others that I wasn’t very familiar with. Too often, I heard the remark, “We’re playing with the club champ, we’ll do really well!” Of course, that put the pressure on me, plus I’m not all that good a golfer. So, I’m glad all that is over and now I can just relax and play for fun. The old saying, “BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR” is oh so true.

Meltdown, Mar 6, 09: Have you ever had one of those times in your golf game when everything that has been working just stops? Have you ever tried to get your double bogies under control only to have a week where every game has five or six of them in a row? Well, you know how I feel. Even my practice games have been horrendous, strings of double bogies, often with multiple three or four putt greens. I’m the defending champion at my club and this year’s tournament after two rounds leaves me trailing the field far away, not even close. I probably should take a couple of weeks off and just sit around the pool, but I think I’ll try out a couple of old putters before I take any time off. I just know I’ve got three games to get back into form so I can at least give a good showing in the last round of the tournament. One of the best things about this game, you can have fantasy rounds, but reality is always there to smack you in the face.

Mar 4, 09: Played in a skins game today, another damn cold day. I’m getting sick and tired of it being cold! For you up North, it began in the low 40’s and climbed up to 60 with a chill 6 knot wind from the NE. Didn’t play too bad until i got to the green. Front nine, three pars, four doubles, back nine, four pars, five doubles. 38 total putts including 3 on 9, 4 on 10, and 3 on 11 and finished with 3 on 18. Terrible day, couldn’t get my head around what I was doing, hated playing in the cold, and just had a bad attitude against golf all around. Shot a 92. Tomorrow is the second of three championship rounds, hopefully I got the bad stuff out of the way today and can have a better day tomorrow. I’ll let you know.

Mar 3, 09: Had the first round of the club championship today. Very cold, had a two hour frost delay which didn’t help and brisk winds from the north. Hate to play when you’re all bundled up. Missed a few putts that should have fallen, and had a 3-putt or two for a score of 87. Not good enough to be in the running. Two more days to go, next Thursday and the Thursday following that. It was just a rotten day to play. Wish I had a good excuse for not doing better, but don’t. I do like the way I’m striking the ball now. It is much better off the tee and irons are coming around.

Feb 27: Very sore today. Wednesday was playing away at a pretty nice course. One fellow was hitting his ball, and after he hit my rider and I went sixty yards ahead to identify a ball. After we did that, we turned back to find the first fellow hitting a “provisional” ball. He had never looked up to see us, just dropped a ball and hit again. We never heard him shout to us about the provisional. Anyway the ball was coming straight at us at a low trajectory. We both jerked to the side and the ball hooked just over the top of the cart. Consequently, today my neck and left shoulder and side are very sore. Hope to get it loosened up, our club championship begins on Tuesday. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Feb 24: Surprisingly, most of my shots now include a hook or draw, and most have a pull to them. Distance isn’t hurting, but direction is tough. Luckily, I’ve been chipping well enough to keep it in contention. Today, with only one fairway and only four greens in regulation, I shot an 85. One thing I think is helping is that I’m hitting a low compression ball that is working for me. Also, I’m hitting better putts since I put the ball further out in my stance.

What is killing me, though, is having to constantly play in some of the coldest weather I’ve experienced in my ten winters in Florida. Day after day, I have to check the weather to see if I need to wear long pants and a jacket, or just go with the shorts and wind-breaking vest. It is getting old. The other day I figured that in the last twenty-five years, I’ve lived five years in Virginia, 7.5 years in Georgia, three in South Carolina, and ten in Florida. My blood has thinned out and I don’t think I could live in the cold north anymore.

Feb 18: Strange things happen in golf. Nearly every wood and iron shot I hit today was off the toe of the club and therefore, weak. Surprisingly they were fairly straight so I stayed out of trouble most of the time. Thankfully, my pitching was strong and I had only 28 puttts and a total of 82 (43-39). Don’t ask me what I did to get that score, it just seemed that most of my pitches and putts were close enough so that I had a good chance at the putt.

Feb 14: My friend told me to just keep on doing what was working before, not to change anything. It took some concentration but it worked today and I shot a 84 with two birdies and one missed four-foot birdie putt. I’ve got to get that right shoulder turn burned into my muscles. When I do it right, and swing smoothly through the ball, I get wonderful hits straight down the fairway.

Feb 13: Holy Moly, Batman, my train went off the tracks yesterday! After weeks of steady improvement in my drives, I fell apart in a member-member tournament. We have thirteen driving holes. Yesterday, I had two great drives, two okay drives, one high fader into the trees, and eight, count ‘em, EIGHT pull hooks of no more than 180 yards and all kinds of trouble. After 40+ years of fighting the slice and developing a fairly decent swing, it all went away yesterday. Best I can figure, I wasn’t transferring my weight to my left foot causing me to pull across my body creating the pull while at the same time collapsing my left at or just before impact creating the hook. I was not an asset to my team. Luckily, the great thing about golf was there, I was playing with good people, two friends and a new guy all of whom enjoy golf as much as I do. We still had a lot of fun!

FEB 11 Terrible day at golf, hitting all my irons off the toe of the club now, and I’m babying my putts, leaving some 3 or 4 feet short, but missed 4 holes today by hitting the ball just hard enough to get to the cup, but not into the back. The ball curls to the side by an inch or two and stops dead level with the cup center. A more aggressive putt would put the ball in. Trouble is, what is the difference between a successful aggressive putt and a boomer that goes 8 feet beyond the cup? Must be that evil thing, “practice”.

FEB 10: Long time off of golf, had severe cold spell here with temps in the low 20s at night, frost delays in the morning and I had a head cold so I stayed home.

Now that I am playing again, I’ve had two things happen that startled me. One, all my iron shots started getting hit thin with poor results of course, and two, the last two times I played, I played the front nine in four double bogeys and five pars for a 44. Each day I shot an 87. Today, I played the first three par threes in five strokes each, a seemingly poor effort. Don’t know why it happened, it just happened. Of course, I should be glad to be able to bounce back from that type of a start each day, but why do I start like that? Heavy things to ponder. Good news is that my drives are getting better, and today, I hit some good solid iron shots and a few good putts.

Tomorrow is “skins” day and perhaps I will be a donee instead of a regular donor.

JAN 31: STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES. Today I played in a Calcutta and had a great time. In fact, my team and I finished only two strokes off of 2nd place, which was a very nice prize. My partner is 94 years old, carries a 24 handicap, and is fun to play with. He shot a net 73 and I shot a net 72. Still, we finished two strokes out of the money. When you come so close, you begin to wonder why you lost it.

In my case, could it have been the 6 I had on a par three after putting my first shot in the water? Maybe. Could it have been the 16th hole, one of the easiest on the course where I hit a tree on my first shot and was 90 yards off the tee. My second shot hit another tree and I was 95 yards off the tee. My third shot hit still another tree and I was 75 yards from the tee, hit #4 out to 130 yards from the hole, hit the 5th left of the hole, chipped on for six and holed the putt for 7. Was this hole the one that cost me the prize?

Really, it was none of these disasters, and it wasn’t the three short chips and four short putts that did it. The true culprit had nothing to do with my swing, club choice, or strategy, or the lack of any of the previous three. What cost me success was stupidly hitting an opponents ball on a short 20 yard chip on #9. Instead of the par 4 I should have received, I took a six. It was so stupid. I mark my ball very clearly with two large circles around the brand name and number. It is very obvious. Yet, I failed to identify my ball and it cost me big time.

It is an easy mistake to make when you get lazy or in a hurry. It can be catastrophic.

Jan 24: A weeks rest really seem to help. Yesterday, in a frost delayed game, I managed to shoot an 84 with 28 putts and seven fairways. I made a change to my putting style that seemed to help. I play the ball farther away from me, maybe 14-16 centimeters further out. Not sure of why it helps, but my putting is much better. We’ll see today if it continues.

Jan 20: I’m home today, letting my back rest. I pulled a couple of ligaments along my spine about six weeks ago and I’m still a bit tender. I didn’t do much except bend over to fix a ball mark that someone had left on the green. I fix these all the time, usually grumbling about how lazy old folks get and how they don’t really care for the course. This time I was walking off the green, saw the ball mark and bent down slightly to my left. This was enough to pull the ligaments, not bending over straight ahead. Of course, I’m using the weather as an excuse. The chill temps are around 40F and there is a 14 mph wind out of the NW. A cold front is blowing through and this central part of Florida is expected to get down in the high 20’s lo 30’s tonight. So, I’m taking three days off of golf. Went to the clubhouse to see how many of my regular group would show up, and saw nine “idiots” willing to brave the cold. This includes one Canadian snowbird in shorts, and good old Harry, still out there and competing at the age of 93.
Jan 14: Sorry about not writing lately. Not much good news. My putting has been horrendous and nothing seems to be working to fix it. One of the problems I can’t do much about, our course has three different types of grass on the greens. We’re gradually getting all the greens redone but it is a slow process. If I play early in the morning, the dew on the first five greens complicates the putt speed along with various grass cuts. Our greenskeeper doesn’t mow on a schedule. After the first five, the next five are newer greens with two being four years old and three being one year old. By the time you get to 14, the sun has dried them all off and the wind has helped and the last ones are very quick on the new ones and just quick on the old ones.

As to my drive, the technique of concentrating on my right shoulder for the take-away seems to be working; both woods and irons are straighter and longer.

Dec 27: Weather here has been great for golf the last week, upper 70’s most days. My golf has been up and down, my putting inside 8 feet went away and I was missing everything by a hair. However, I began hitting fairways, up to 11 one day, and more greens. Still, rounds were in the mid-80’s. Today, I tried a Christmas present of Callaway Warbird golfballs and only hit 3 fairways, but not sure it was the ball, probably just me trying too hard. However, I did go to the putting green and tried a fix on the putting. Today, I opened my stance widely and played the ball off the inside of my right foot. This seemed to give me a better view of the cup and I had 12 putts on the front nine and 16 on the back. Seems that there is always something going wrong and a new way to fix it is always popping up. Guess that’s why I’ll never play on tour, that old thing called LOFT… Lack Of F….ing Talent.

Dec 18: How time does fly! I wasn’t aware it had been three weeks since I last blogged on my golf game. Basically, it was a couple of weeks of cold weather golf with a sore back. The Doctor said moderate twisting of my back was okay and that golf was good. Since the last post, I have played in the cold, with my back in various stages of pain, and with varying results. Some stats, avg rnd Nov 86.0 Dec 86.2; avg putts Nov 31.2 Dec 30.9; avg GIR Nov 3 Dec 3.1; avg frwys Nov 6.2 Dec 5.9; avg dbl bog Nov 2.8 Dec 3.1; avg bog Nov 8.8 Dec 8.1; avg pars Nov 6.0 Dec 6.6. As you can see, not a lot of difference. I attribute the higher averages in Dec to colder temps with more clothing, an old putter I’ve since put away, and I’ve gone to a new ball.

It occurred to me one day that the lowest round I ever had, a 77, was hit using a TiTech “Distance Women” ball that I had scrounged out of my wife’s bag one day when I was out of my own. Apparently, the lower compresion is good for my senior swing. So, Last Monday, I went out and bought a dozen for $6 bucks and thought I would try them again. My rounds this week in slightly better weather were: 87,84,85,88,83,87. This is a small statistical decrease and may mean nothing. It seems that the ball feels better with a solid hit, goes straighter, and putts just as well. I did have a double digit fairways hit today for the second time this year. I’ve been told that older golfers need a lower compression ball because of decreased swing speed.

I’ll keep trying and will keep you posted on the progress of the new ball. Hopefully, my back will get back to normal and swing will find itself.

Nov 29. Well, a week ago I was very despondent. If someone had offered me $7.50 for all my clubs, shoes, hats, shirts, trousers etc I may have given in and sold it. But, things have changed a bit. Friday, on my way to another 87, I bent over to fix a ball mark on the tenth green. Being 64, things aren’t quite as flexible as they were and I got a terrible twinge in my lower back. I finished up the round in pain every time I teed up the ball or picked it out of the cup. I went home, took another muscle relaxant, took a nap, and spent the evening using a heating pad. Another pill and bed time and a half a pill this morning and I went out to play again. I wasn’t certain about how well it would go, but I shouldn’t have worried. Apparently, the twisting and stretching of the back in my swing helped to alleviate the pain from bending over. The pain also helped me slow down my swing. I finished with an 82, one of my all time top ten scores. Incredible how it all works, a slower swing, a new grip I started today, and going back to my old putter. The new grip, by the way, is really one I used years ago. My left hand is moderately strong and my right hand smothers my left thumb and is on top of the club. It helped me get more distance and better accuracy today.

Nov 25. I knew it wasn’t permanent! Today was a much better day, shot an 86 despite three double bogeys and three three-putts. I was striking the ball much better, and the weather cooperated with a mid-70 day with a light breeze. Had a little trouble again with my right fingers flexing on the putter shaft just before ball strike. This resulted in three four-footers being missed, very frustrating. Had to go back to the fingertip grip with the right hand to settle it down.

Nov 22. Terrible. Simply terrible. While I wasn’t feeling too good today, it can’t be my excuse. Nor can the five layers of clothing that fought the low 40’s start and the 15 mph winds be the problem. Several of my friends played quite well. Out of the 96 shots I took today, only one was really well struck, and it hit a tree limb halfway down the fairway. I don’t think I’ve ever had a day in which I felt so discouraged about my game. Absolutely nothing worked. I nearly quit after the 5th hole. Luckily, it was only one day. I’ll take a couple of days off and hope it warms up a little.

Nov 21: It has been pretty cold this week causing the layering on of sweaters, vests, wind breakers etc. Wish I could say that it has affected my game, but apparently, it hasn’t, with a couple of 89’s and a couple of 84’s. Today I shot a 40-49 with 14-18 putts. Don’t know exactly what went wrong on the back nine except that maybe my brain wasn’t functioning too well as the wind came up and chilled things off. Only thing that has stuck with me this week is putting goes better when I stick my left elbow out so that the line between my left hand on the putter and my elbow points directly where I want to hit the ball. This has given me some pretty good putts over ten feet, but unfortunately most of them are for bogies and an occasional double.

Oh, by the way, if you want to Google my course, you can find the first tee at: 28Degrees55′52.93″ North and 81Degrees55′22.22 West. Total length, blue tees (68.4/117) is 5944yds, white tees (67.0/113) 5704 yds, and red/gold tees are 4758 yds. The only two holes that are significantly different from blue to white are the Par 3 Sixth, 169 yds white to 220 yds blue) and the 18th 341 white to 378 blue). It is a popular course around here because it is relatively short (we have lots of old folks playing here) and it is one of the few courses around that has hills, water, and lots of trees. The fairways are narrow and the old greens are small. It is a challenging course that has many ways to reach out and bite your butt.

Nov 16: I didn’t realilze that I hadn’t posted here in so long. I’ve been really concentrating on a few things and there was this other thing that makes most golf information on my game specious. First, my game has been fairly level, lots of 84’s and 85’s with a 90 (36 putts) thrown in. Our course has been overseeded in the last 8 days and the new rye grass is coming in. This hasn’t affected the fairways much yet although the grass is growing nicely, but the our old greens are long and very fuzzy while the new greens are mowed and quick. This keeps you on your toes as you really have to bang it into the back of the cup on the old ones and remember to finesse it on the new ones. Since our old greens are also relatively flat with only minor contours, you have to remember that they won’t break as much as you think because of the heavy grass; except for the last 8-12 inches of the putt when the ball puts the brakes on and the putt breaks like falling off a table. Hence, my hint for today, long grass on the green means a firm putt to the back of the cup.

My driving and ball striking is getting better because I’ve begun to believe what we all have been told. Relax during the swing, don’t kill it. Here the problem is how fast to swing that relaxed swing: too easy and your hands never get through the ball; too hard and you are not relaxed anymore. I’m also working on bringing the club back to the ball on the same path I took it away from the ball. Pretty simple stuff, but easy to forget.

Nov 5: As you can see, I took a little time off to take the wife to the Shenandoah Valley for a week and to visit our new grandson. I didn’t play any golf in that time and only returned to the links yesterday at a local course I hadn’t play before. My swing was rusty, with lots of slices and fades on the front nine. I did get it back together on the back. Scores: 52-43. The greens were faster than I’m used to and it took me all day to wrestle with them. The fairways were fairly wide and once I reined in my slice it hit many of them. It was chilly too, and the wind blew, and I played with some really slow people, and… (if you want more excuses let me know, I’ve developed a jillion of them over the last fifty years.)

My course is going through a 3-day hiatus while they overseed the fairways and greens. I’ll be back out on it Friday. The course is actually is good shape, has played very well the last couple of months. I expect good things this winter.

Oct 21: Golf is really a screwball game. After the 12 fairways on Friday, I had three on Saturday and only 2 today. Funny how things work out. I’m close to the fairway, but seemingly never on it. Same thing with greens. Only had four today but a couple of others were in the fringe. So, I had 28 putts, two birdies, and a round of 82. Not bad for day of near misses, I guess. Just goes to show that there are a lot of things in golf, short game, driving, putting, long irons, and most importantly, luck.

Oct 17: Have had a up-and-down week, with an 87, 91, and today’s 83. Had a stretch of bad shots and bad chipping that lasted through the front nine (45) with 16 putts today. Then it turned around with a 38 on the back, with 5 pars and a birdie, only 12 putts, seven one-putt greens with putts of 20, 8,7,2,10,5, and 7 feet. Big part of the success was that I hit 12 fairways today. I was sacrificing a little distance for accuracy, and would have done better except for some difficulties getting onto greens: I had only 3 greens in regulation. In fact, I had more fairways (7) on the front than I did on the back (5). I’ve been working on the “RSS” Right Shoulder Slowly take-away and it is beginning to gel on all my shots except long irons. I’m working on those. Keep practicing you chipping and putting!

Oct 11: Have played golf the last five days, and today was just too much. I was tired, my swing had no pop, I had “elephant” hands on and around the greens, and it was hot. It wasn’t much fun either. Guess when you get over 60 you need to make sure you don’t overdo it. Shot a 92, by the way. Changed my driving stance just a bit, straightened out my feet and put the ball near the left foot. Hit it pretty straight, but not too far. Maybe the ticket if I switch from a 10.5 degree driver to an 8.5 though. Have to see if I can borrow one for a day.

Oct 10: Had the last laugh on the Fall Tournament yesterday. It seems that the top three golfers in the “B” Flight beat the winners of the “A” Flight. I shot another 86 and came in second to the “Gold” tee Senior player. It was small satisfaction that none of the “A” Flight players had a lower net score than I did. I didn’t get to see the final scores so I’m not sure about the low “gross” scores.

Today, I played again and shot another 86. I had 29 putts both yesterday and today, and had six fairways and four greens-in-regulation each day.

Lesson learned from the 2nd round of the tournament was that the “iffy” shot is almost always the stupid shot. On the next to the last hole, a par five,, my second shot stopped on a hillside on a clump of mud in the rough 150 yards from an elevated and upward sloping green. It occurred to me to take a seven iron and chip it out to the fairway where I would be assured of a routine shot, but, as usual, having left my brains in the clubhouse, I decided that I could take a 4-iron, a club I seldom use for distance, put a little draw on it and roll it up the hill to the pin. I swung, pulled the shot, and hit the pond 30 yards away. I dropped four, fluffed the ball onto the lower part of the green 90 feet from the pin and three-putted for an 8. I would like to say that this type of decision is rare for me, but I would be lying like a teen-age boy trying to buy beer.

Oct 7: Had the first day of our Fall tournament today. I was surprised to find that my handicapped had risen high enough that I was in the “B” Flight, very embarrassing. However, despite being all over the place with my drives, including one OB, I shot an 86 for the low net for all flights if you don’t count the “Gold” tee Seniors who have a considerable advantage in avoiding many of the overhanging trees on the course. I had only three fairways and only one green in regulation and I three putted that by putting too strongly on the first two and lipping them out. So, what was good for the day? My chipping was excellent. Here is how my holes went for putting:

Hole 1: 1 putt from 14 feet.

Hole 2: 2 putts from two feet: rather irksome, I didn’t take my time.

Hole 3: 1 putt from 1 foot.

Hole 4: 1 putt from 10 feet.

Hole 5: 1 putt from 8 feet.

Hole 6: 2 putts from 13 feet.

Hole 7: 2 putts from 20 feet.

Hole 8: 1 putt for 1.5 feet.

Hole 9: 2 putts from 8 feet.

Hole 10: 1 putt from 14 feet.

Hole 11: 2 putts from 10 feet.

Hole 12: 1 putt from .5 feet.

Hole 13: 2 putts from 15 feet.

Hole 14: 1 putt from 2 feet.

Hole 15: 1 putt from 4 feet.

Hole 16: 3 putts from 25 feet: first two were way too hard.

Hole 17: 1 putt from 5 feet.

Hole 18: 1 putt from 2 feet.

As you can see, 11 1-putt greens, mostly due to chipping it close enough to make easy putts.

PRACTICE CHIPPING!!!!

Oct 3: Once a man said, “The human mind is too small to encompass the game of golf.” How many times have you tried to concentrate on so many things that you forget the basics. I’ve been working on my swing so much that my putting game has gone to pot. However, if you stop, analyze and go back to what works, you can solve many of your problems. Today, on the eighth green with a 3foot putt for par, I lined it up and lipped it out on the right. Angry, I pulled the ball back to do it again. I did, I lipped it out on the right. This time though, I noticed that just before contact the ring and little fingers of my right hand tightened just before impact, therefore opening the putter face just a tad and enough to miss the putt. Now, I’ve been doing this for a couple of weeks and have been upset with my putting. I know better, I’ve blogged before here that what you do when you are doing this, is to just put the finger tips of the right hand on the putter.

Well, I did it on nine and holed a twelve-foot cross-hill putt for birdie. I finished with 17 putts on the front for a 45. On the back nine, I had five one-putt greens, 3 two-putt greens and one chip-in for a total score of 40. I was able to finish with a 35 foot birdie putt on 17 and an 8 foot birdie putt on 18 for 11 putts on the back nine. Suddenly, by putting this fix on my putting stroke, my game began to come around.

Oct 1: I see it has been a couple of days since I last reported in. Many things have happened in that one day I managed a four putt and followed it by a three-putt. The four putt was an irksome time, a long uphill then downhill putt that managed to miss the cup by four feet and then ran another twelve feet below the cup. The second putt barely missed by went two feet by. Irritated, I tapped it in but missed! Stupid. I have not been putting that well lately, missing many putts by less than four inches but running by four or five feet. I’ve just lost the distance touch.

Otherwise, my new stance is working wonders on my drive and irons play. In fact, many of my approach shots are going over the green due to increased distance with my short irons. I’m hitting everything except my four and three iron well, and those two have their moments. When I say I’m hitting them, I mean over 50% of the time, instead of the old 25-30% I used to get a good hit. Anyway, I shot a 85 yesterday and an 84 today with only five fairways and six greens in regulation. Many of the missed fairways are only a yard or two in the rough and many missed greens are in the fringe, so there is better improvement than it looks.

Things are getting better, although on one mighty swing today, 212 yards uphill, I did something to my left back and thigh. Very painful for twenty minutes but not so bad that I couldn’t swing. I can understand hurting yourself on a bad shot, but to do it on a good shot is downright insulting.

SEP 24: Things were a little better today. Wind still blowing hard but beautiful weather otherwise. Did not do well on the front nine again. Finally, on the back, I had some success with a 42. While struggling with all my problems, I began to draw my drives a little bit. Since I’ve never been able to do that, I kept trying it. My stance had inadvertently modified itself into a decent swing path for me. The final three driving holes were decent drives, probably as long as I’ve ever hit them and all three were in the fairway. It really felt good. Of course, the most difficult shot in golf is the next shot after a great drive. I managed to look up on two of them and screwed up the holes. My advice, on that second shot, you must focus as much as you can on that one shot, on hitting the sweet spot, and never ever look up until your follow through pulls your head around.

SEP 23: I don’t even want to talk about today’s round. I think I had four good shots, two drives, one 3-wood, and a 24 foot putt for par. The only consistency I had was in not hitting the ball well. I three-putt three greens, consistently hit my chip shots short and my putts wide. Just getting a sweet-spot hit was nearly impossible. The only good thing about today’s round is that it is over. While I regret even playing today, I am looking forward to tomorrow because you never know what is going to happen at the course. I am an optimist in golf, if not in politics.

SEP 17: The last two days have been very good. My new swing is working well, although I’m only hitting 5 fairways/par 3 greens per round. It is important to remember that our course has many oak trees and often a drive has to thread an opening of 20-30 yards. The new swing is gradually migrating to my long irons and fairway woods and my short irons are starting to fly high and come down steep with little roll. I’ve discovered on my putting that I was beginning my putts with a slight hip turn that was throwing the putts off line. I’ve corrected that by concentrating on a perfectly still body below the shoulders. This has also helped my chipping. In the past two days I shot an 84 and an 82 with 29 and 30 putts respectively. Today, I had ten pars, two doubles, and six bogies with all evenly split between the two nines. Things are beginning to feel better, although I still need to fight the tendency to overswing and attack the ball.

SEP 13: Yesterday I had a very good day, especially on the back nine; shot a 45-41 with a very bad putt on 18. Things that were working was my new stance. My drives weren’t going all that far, about 190-200 yards, but there were more straight ones that allowed me to go for greens. I had two birdey chips that stopped 6 inches from the hole. Anyway, today it was brutally hot; I noticed on the 18th that it was difficult to catch my breath, one of the symptoms of heat exhaustion. I finished with a double bogey 6 for a 93. The good thing was that I remembered on the 13th tee what RSS stood for: Right Shoulder Stupid!. On my take away on the next four par fours and fives, I used RSS to hit the ball straight and much longer, up to 235 yards in the middle of the fairway. If you remember, RSS means that you take the ball away into your backswing while focusing on your right shoulder leading the movement. This causes the club head to come back inside, and in my case to come straight through the ball with power. Try it, it might work for you.

SEP 11: Crazy golf the last couple of days, 9th and 10th. On the 9th, our group played and winners were nearly all above par net. Course was okay, the rough is long and deep, lots of balls lost, but everybody was having a bad day. Hurricane Ike was bringing in winds up to 20 miles an hour but mostly near 10mph. I shot a 94, lipped out five putts, and was not doing anything well. On the 10th, I made a minor change to my stance and hit 9 fairways, a high for me. I shot an 88 and had two birdie chips stop 6 inches short. My drives were much better, but my iron game is having trouble. That seems to be the way golf is; getting it all together takes a lot more practice than I’m putting in right now. Florida weather this time of year is incredibly hot and humid. Going to a range can be downright dangerous.

SEP 5: No golf for a few days, off visiting my new grandson and my daughter. Will probably get home just in time for Hurricane Ike to rain us out. Well, some say that taking some time off is good for your game. That’s not always true, sometimes you come back and play like you never had a lesson. Myself, I usually play well for a couple of days, then start thinking that if I can play this good I can play better and I begin to try to hit shots for distance and accuracy that I don’t have the skill for and my game goes to pot again. Funny how stupid we are. We finally get to hitting a good shot and then try to make it better. What was wrong with the good shot to start with?

SEP 2: Well, the last two days have been pretty good for getting in a round of golf. I’m trying a new stance and tried a new putter. The stance seems to be working, but I need a lot more practice before I will feel comfortable with it. First impressions are that my drives are a bit straighter, and my irons a bit longer. However, I am having trouble getting my weight shift back and am hitting a lot of shots off my right foot. Shot a 91 today with a rain delay halfway through. Greens haven’t been mowed since Saturday and are really slow. One thing to remember on slow greens, you have to be firm in the back of the cup or the ball may wander around on you. Happened to me several times today.

AUG 30: Played yesterday and ran into a putting and chipping three car crash. Normal game but couldn’t get close to the pin or putt, even had a rare three-putt. Today, was doing okay, the chipping still wasn’t what I like, but we were rained out. It seems Hurricane Gustav is putting out rain and an outer-band caught us. One bizarre incident today, I had a decent drive, but into the rough about 130 yards from the green. The grass and weeds were heavy and I had a slight side-hill, down-hill lie. Trying to get a full swing, I missed a solid hit and my ball hit another player’s ball about 12 yards in front of me. My ball careened another fifty yards off into the rough and towards the green so my next shot was from 70 yards. I’ve never done that before, we had trouble explaining it to the man whose ball I hit, and another player nearly fell over laughing. So, don’t think it can’t happen, whatever you are thinking about, because it can and probably will someday.

AUG 27: Golf is a crazy game. Today, playing with the same people, the same heat, and the same humidity I shot a solid 84, had 27 putts, and had a birdie. What was different from yesterday? Beats me! I hit fewer fairways but more greens, but still not enough to make a 16 stroke difference. Oh, yeah, I didn’t tell you because I was in denial, but I did shoot 100 yesterday. I can’t remember the last time I did that. It has been years!! So, if you have a bad day, hang in there, a good one is coming. The Golf Gods want you to keep playing so they can keep screwing with your head.

AUG 26: Today was a plain, unadulterated disaster. I hit tree after tree, pond after pond, and deep rough everywhere. It was hot, humid, and a miserable day except for: I played with good friends, we had a lot of laughs, and the sun was shining and I wasn’t working. I guess that is the game of golf. No matter what, you can have a good time.

AUG 25: Played golf the last two days, and shot an 87 and a 91. Our course has recovered from Tropical Storm Fay pretty well. We only lost two trees, and our ponds are half full now. This is good, because the ponds were so low that you could hit your ball into a hazard, find it in the grass and be tempted to hit it out. Often, this was a mistake because the grass is too deep or the ball was waist high on the hazard wall. You would give it your best shot and still in the same hazard. Now with water you’re not tempted to hit it. You just take your penalty, drop the ball, and have a nice shot to the green. I still have the Olimar ZX Anti-Slice, and it works pretty good. The thing I have to watch out for is pulling the ball, which comes from having the clubface closed, which it doesn’t need to be, or keeping my weight on the back foot. Still in August I’m averaging 29.5 putts a round and can imagine how awful I would be if I was hitting 36 putts per round.

Aug 22: No action this week thanks to Tropical Storm Fay. Our course is soaked, but the ponds have responded wonderfully and we finally have decent water in them. I did buy some new golf shoes this week, Footjoy Ultralights, both replaceable spikes and plenty of permanent pointy little knobs. Going to try some cheap golf balls too, picked up 15 “Distance” D2 Top Flite with dimple in dimple aerodynamics. Sounds great, doesn’t it? I’ll let you know how they work over the next month. See you when the course is dry.

AUG 13 : Remember when I told you about turning your right elbow to face the sky? Well, I’m here to tell you, it really works. Today, I shot an 80 with 12, 1 putt greens. This technique has greatly enhanced my short irons, and my distance. If I get it within 150 yards. I can put my next shot, either on the green or within easy chipping distance. Thanks to this technique, I shot at 37 on the front with three birdies, and a 43 on the back with one birdie. I had 6 1-putt greens on each side for a total of 25 putts. I had a great day with seven fairways hit and six greens in regulation. Remember, try to keep that right elbow, facing up. It really helps your swing.

AUG 12: Shot an 88 today in intermittent rain. Getting hard to play without some delay this time of year. Again, an 88 is not very good, I’m not getting my tee shots down into the fairway. Some holes have me really buffaloed this year. Also our rough is getting thick and tougher to hit out of. To show you how my game is going, I had an 88 with 27 putts, that is nine hole with only one putt. Basically, this means my second or third shot is getting fairly close to the green so that I can putt it in without much problem. I think my longest one-putt was about 10 feet. With the thicker grass on the fairways, I’ve had to change from pitching with an 8-iron to using a 7-iron which runs more. The thicker the fairway grass, the lower the loft of the iron used for pitching. I’ve also switched to a gap wedge when the ball is sitting cleanly on thick grass. While this is more pleasing to the eye, it is not as accurate as a low pitch and run.

AUG 6: Played golf yesterday and today, shot a 89 and an 85. Had 30 putts one day and 26 today with only one green in regulation and only 5 fairways each day. What does that tell you? If you’re not practicing your chipping and putting, you’re not going to improve your game!.

AUG 2: Two more days rained out by our subtropical rain patterns. Friday morning played early and was rained out after 14 holes. Went to club house and had a couple of beers and then finished it up by myself about an hour later. Shot an 84 total with 31 putts. Today, went out at 10 a.m. played eleven holes terribly, had a 50 on the front. Can’t remember last time I had a 50. Went back to the club house, had a couple of beers, and went back out to finish in a light sprinkle/rain. Did a little better, but nothing to brag about, had a 45 on the back with 37 putts. Couple of times had to putt through surface water when the hole was surrounded by it. Not very good a putting or chipping in water. Bright spots? My irons are getting better, straighter if not longer. Irritations? Not only did I put my second shot OB on four, but then I three putted the sucker for an 8. While I shot a 95, I could only put 93 in the handicapper because I’m not allowed to take more than a seven. This weather is bad for my golf, but great for the course. Fairways and greens haven’t had this much grass in many years. Of course, there is no run once the ball hits the ground, it just stops. I always used to say that it never rains when I play golf, only a heavy dew. Now, I know it rains and rains a lot.

JULY 29 Played today but got rained out after 14 holes. Was having a terrible day, pulling all my tee shots but one. On the 5th hole, hit it right down the middle, put an 8 iron 130 yards six feet from the pin and made the birdie. The rest of the time my body wouldn’t cooperate and I was hitting strong pulls to the left and into trouble. I was leaving my weight on my right foot, couldn’t get it going forward to the left. Just one of those days. Good thing the rains came.

JULY 26: Things went pretty well today. That new technique resulted in seven fairways and four greens in regulation, a total of nine pars with thirty putts and two birdie opportunities missed from six and five feet. I shot an 84 which I fell pretty good about. The best thing is the more I played (and practiced the new technique) the better I got. I had six pars on the back nine with four fairways hit and 2 greens in regulation. My source gave me a little more help today, after the round, and said that he got better hits by bringing his backswing to shoulder-level and no higher. Oh, yeah, the technique that seems to be helping, is to really strengthen the right hand grip, so much so that the right palm faces upward and the right elbow is open to the sky. Seems awkward at first, but doesn’t really affect the swing except for forcing the right elbow to stay close to the body.

JULY 25: Played early today, did not chip or put well and had 34 putts with two three putt greens and one chip-in. That’s nine strokes more than Wednesday when I had 25 putts. So, if you take that nine strokes from the 90 that I shot, I could have had a really good day except my short game was on the fritz. If you’re paying attention, you can see by my scores how important is the short game. If you are not practicing those bump and runs, chips, and putts, you are needlessly adding strokes to your game.

Today, my good friend showed me a little change to my swing that he said would cure a lot of problems. I first tried it with a nine iron and put the ball four feet past the pin. The next hole I hit my drive right down the middle of the fairway. After the round and a little lunch I went back out and practiced by myself. The last seven holes saw drives down the middle with extra distance and two par-threes where the ball hit the green and ran off the back. There were several other short to middle irons that flew straight and long, some over the green. We’ll see tomorrow if this new change can be made permanent or if it’s just a fluke. I’ll let you know tomorrow how it goes and how you make the change.

JULY 23: Well, today I was trying a couple of new things like slightly separating my hands on my drives and on my putting. Drives were okay, but still short, hit six fairways. I also hit four greens in regulation, a bit above my average. My short game still sucks, having trouble hitting the green on my second shot. however, my chipping is still saving my butt and I had only 25 putts for the day for an 85. Separating my hands on my putting really helped. I moved my right hand down the shaft and placed my index finger on the shaft. This caused me to used my right hand for the direction and speed. This really helped. I think 25 putts is the fewest I’ve ever had and several of them were over 15 feet.

JULY 22: Well, today was one more day of trying to hit the ball like I did last Spring, but the bronchitis is still keeping me weak. Drives that felt like I really nailed them came up short, short irons were also short. I used my hybrid and 3-wood most of the day and am getting better at them as our fairways are coming in. The course also opened up three of the four new greens and I found them as slow as the rest of the greens. Overall, I shot a 93 with no penalty strokes, no water balls, just short shots, and off-balance push shots. I had six fairways with is about my average and 33 putts which is above my average. About all I can say is, Don’t push yourself too fast after an illness when you are as old as I am. It’s difficult to maintain a positive outlook right now, but I play with good friends who keep it fun.

July19: Maybe three days in a row is too much. Was very tired and weak today, having to hit my 2-hybrid to get on greens only 160 yards away. Bronchitis is still with me, got a new set of pills yesterday, and I’ve discovered I have what the doctor calls “trigger thumb” on my left hand. Doesn’t affect my golf as far as pain goes, but may keep my hands from rolling over. Tried to just relax today. Did hit a few good shots, but not nearly enough. Only had one green in regulation and only 6 fairways with 33 putts. Shot a 93 and was glad to get that much. What did I learn today? Same two-stroke penalty I’ve learned before. I’ve fallen for this before by being lazy. Make sure you check the ball and see your markings before assuming it’s yours. Just because it is a ball lying where you ball should be doesn’t make it your ball. If you hit it, 2 stroke penalty.

July 18: Much better day, weather was cool, humid, and a lot of dew on the grass. Worked hard on my follow-through and relaxed swing and shot an 85 with 27 putts. Chipping today with an 8-iron used as a putter with a putting stroke. Put several chips close enough for tap-ins. Had two greens where I chipped it into the hole. No three putt greens. Even though I’m not hitting it as far as I used to, the short game is holding me up and keeping me competitive. My best friend played with me today and made a suggestion that I hope will help me out. When putting uphill, place most of your weight on the uphill foot and follow-through. Will have to practice this one.

JULY 17: This morning was nice and cool, very humid and damp with a tiny breeze. The course is getting better all the time and the rash of tropical thunderstorms we’ve had the last four weeks have begun to refill the ponds. They are about six feet lower than optimum, but at least there is water in the bottom of the hazards. Worked hard on following-through today, and used one to two extra clubs which seemed to help. I shot an 88 with three or four good putts falling short. Hit more fairways and greens-in-regulation than normal so that felt pretty good. When I screwed up, I could tell it was in the follow-through or the massive blow from Odin that would send the shot to Valhalla. In the end, I began to relax, forget about all the swing mechanics, and just hit the ball. Tomorrow, that is my goal, just relax and hit the ball.

JULY 11: Well, since I last wrote here I’ve played two rounds of golf, a 94 and an 87. I’m still recovering from bronchitis and my strength is still down. Fortunately, I’ve finished off the anti-biotic pills, but today have had my biannual endoscopy and colonoscopy and am weak from lack of food. By the way, if you are getting to your late fifties and haven’t had a colonoscopy, you might look into it. Ask your doctor. A friend of mine didn’t, and at the age of 63 has 14 inches less of his colon due to colon cancer and will take more than a year to recover. It is much easier (and painless) to have the colonoscopy.

The rounds I’ve played have been marked by lack of distance and failure to finish the swing. I’ve been making more of an effort on the finish or follow-through and the 87 is indicative of a shorter backswing and a fuller follow-through. I’m still weak, but the follow-through keeps the ball straighter and in play.

Hopefully, next week I’ll be back on the course.

JULY 5: Back out to the course after three weeks of travel and including two weeks of acute bronchitis. Not being a dummy, I figured that I would add a club for each shot because I was probably weak. Not being a dummy, but not too smart either, it wasn’t until the 17th hole that I realized I should have added two clubs. Everything came up short. Shot a 93 with 33 putts, one OB and one in the water. Only one green in regulation. Next time you have a break from the course due to illness, just try to keep it on the course and use two extra clubs. Long is much better than short and short again.

JULY 2: Haven’t been to the course in three weeks. Took that cruise and got sick, probably won’t play this week either.

There is a new advertisement or learning point out there, though. I saw this on TV, don’t ask where. They showed the world champ long driver and analyzed his swing. The surprising point is that at impact he slows his swing to allow the kinetic energy in the shaft of the club to really whip the clubhead through the ball. They compared it to using a bull whip where the whip handle is stopped and the kinetic energy is transferred to the leather part causing the loud “crack” as the tip of the whip breaks the sound barrier.

Interesting, but until I try it on the range I’m not going to try it on the course.

June 10. A really strange thing happened today. I had 25 putts on a course with four temporary greens and seven greens that should be temporary. The course is falling apart with exceptionally bad management that cannot grow Bermuda grass in Florida. It is the middle of June, and many of our greens have extensive bare spots, crusted and cracked surfaces, and too much sand and blue dye. If you have ever lived in the Southeast, you know that Bermuda greens are the norm and that they grow thick and luxurious, and have recovered from overseeding by the first week in April.

Back to the point. I had 25 putts on these greens and shot an 82 and only hit six fairways. Now you would think that that is a high score for that few putts. Consider that I only hit one green in regulation and two -putted that one. I had seven one-putt greens for par and four one-putt greens for bogey. Obviously, I had a bad day with my second shots. What was incredible, was my chipping. My longest one-putt was six feet. Everything I tried worked! My touch and the bounces were all in sync today. It was wonderful. It just shows that The Short Game is the most important part of your game. Practice it.

May 20, 2008 Hot today, in the 80’s, good breeze blowing. Working on my swing with my new club and philosophy. I bought an Orlimar ZX AntiSlice driver a month ago and am just now getting my swing to synchronize with the club. After nearly half a century of slicing, I’m now hitting 7-8 fairways on our narrow course and getting reasonable distance from 190 to 240 yards. The thing I’ve really learned, and learned the hard way, is that my best swing is my relaxed swing, not my hard, kill it, drive it to the moon swing. Now, how many times have I been told that? How many times have you been told that? Good golf is like dieting, you really have to want it. It doesn’t mean you can’t have fun, I have a blast when I play. The guys I play with laugh and joke and give no quarter on your flubs. But we have a ball!

So, relax, laugh, and focus on what you are doing.

May 23...

Wow, started out today great, good drive right down the middle, looked up on a three iron, hit out from behind a tree to twenty feet from the green and chipped in for a par 5. Then it went down hill. Except for one or two other drives, the only really good thing was a seven iron to within 8 inches on a temporary par 3. Shot a 90. But that is golf, you never have the same guy show up two days in a row, or sometimes not even two holes in a row. My best golf has been shot when I could really focus on what I was doing. I told a joke today while preparing to hit across the pond on #10. Pulled it, had to hit out of 1/2 inch of water and muck, overshot the green and three putted for a double bogey seven. Here’s the joke.

A guy goes into bar and sits down on a stool and orders a beer. Pretty soon a pirate walks in and sits down next to him. He notices the pirate has a wooden leg, a hook for his right hand, and a patch over one eye. Curiosity gets the better of him and finally he asks, “If you don’t mind, what happened to your leg?”
The pirate looks at him out his one eye and says, “Arrrgh, matey, it happened off the coast of Africa. We were in a fight and a cannonball took the leg clean off below the knee.”
Impressed and unable to contain himself, the man asked, “What about your hand?”
Once again the pirate glared at him, and said “Arrgh, if ye must know, we were boarding a ship near Jamaica when a cutlass severed the hand at the wrist.”
Sensing a horrible yarn, the man continued, “And what about your eye?”
Here the pirate shifted uncomfortably on his seat, cleared his throat, and said, “Well, I was on deck and looking at this albatross when it pooped in me eye.”
Not comprehending how this could result in the loss of the eye, the man questioned the pirate, “That couldn’t have made you lose your eye!”
The pirate looked sadly out of his one good eye and said, “It could, matey, especially the first day after you get your new hook!”

Anyway, that joke cost me two strokes on that hole and possibly more on the next. I could only focus on the silliness of telling a joke while you are setting up a 150 yard water shot.

May 28: A great day with cool breezes, highs in the hi 80’s. Our greens have gone to crap. I play on the worst golf course in Florida. A couple of years ago we went to “One Source” to manage the grounds and they have proceeded to kill nearly every green on the course. When we played the championship in March, the rye overseed was still thick and putted well. Today, several of our oldest and best greens look like the surface of the moon with cracks inches deep radiating from old plugs in old pin placements. There is a crust like a dry flat lake, all curly and crunchy.

For fun, and since putting is serendipitous at best, we putted with tennis balls. It took a direct hit for the ball to fall in, and brother, watch out on the downhills because they pick up speed and nothing stops them until they are off the green. It was good for a lot of laughs and good times.

Anyway, I shot an 85 today and was really hitting my drives well. Seems I’ve developed a hitch in my long iron swing that is causing weak bleeders off to the right. Back to the driving range to work that out!

May 30: Pretty nice day, mid 80’s. Started off slow, still having long iron troubles and added a poor showing with my hybrid. Still, managed a couple of pars to match a couple of double bogies and shot a 45 on the front. The back was much better. Ten, Eleven, and Twelve were routine bogies, and then I parred the next six for a 39, 84. I had 31 total putts. Now, I am a better than average, but not a great putter. I am averaging 30.9 putts a round this month and doing it on absolutely terrible greens. My secret? I have developed a pretty good chip shot from 30 yards in. I can usually put the chip within 10 feet which gives me a reasonable putt. Thus I have a lot of one-putt greens. I use an 8-iron to chip with, hitting it one-third of the way to the hole depending on how thick the grass is around the green. I keep my hands ahead of the ball which delofts the club and ensures a ball-first strike. My stance is open, feet are close together, weight is on the left foot. After that, it is all “touch”. My touch is getting much better through constant use; really constant use since I can only hit 4-5 greens in regulation per round. If you want to chip well, you must chip often! Touch only comes from experience.

June 7: Last week my friends and I journeyed to a new golf course in the area to play. The fairways were wide with little trouble, and the greens were large maybe two to three times as big as our local course. Now, I’ve claimed to be a better than average golfer, but on these new greens with Champion Bermuda grass, I was terrible. The greens were quick, the break wasn’t always easy to read, and the long length of putts was something I was unused to and had difficulty with. Many of my initial putts were six-feet or more too long. Still, my score of 89 wasn’t totally off the charts. The reason was with the big greens I was hitting more greens and wasn’t needing to chip as often. So, I’ve got to practice my long putts, a difficult thing when our biggest greens are only 20 yards across and most greens are a lot smaller. Practice, practice, it is never done.

Behind the page:

When I was young kid, age 16, I made friends with a guy named Chuck Cook. He was my age and he introduced me to golf. He played in the low 80’s and taught me a lot. I should have listened more carefully because I was getting some of the best golf instruction in the world for free. Later in life, Chuck Cook was listed as one of the top five golf instructors in the world. A couple of his students were Payne Stewart, Cory Pavin, and Tom Kite. You can get a look at his golf school in Austin, TX here.

Chuck and I played nearly everyday for the next year and a half until we went to college and other activities and a severely curtailed budget made golf a near impossibility. I played off and on for the next twenty years and picked it back up at Ft. Gordon, GA. A hacker, I worked hard until I finally broke 100. It wasn’t long until I was in the low 90’s.

When I retired 6 years later, I was playing in the high 80’s. I stayed that way until I moved to my present location where I can play everyday on a scruffy, short narrow course with small greens and a thousand oak trees. Finally, one day four years ago, a man who was a three-time club champion and a man who I greatly respect told me, “If I played golf like you do, I’d take lessons!”

That was the start of my turn around. I got serious about my game. In 2008, I beat that man for the Country Club Championship. This year, 2009, our new champion shot 26 strokes better for the three rounds than I did last year. It wasn’t even close. I count myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to be the champion, but never kidded myself that I was some great golfer.

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1 Golfing Secrets Drop 10 Strokes Off Your Next Round Of Golf. | 7Wins.eu // Sep 15, 2009 at 3:02 pm

[...] 10 Top Golf Tips - To Become A Better Player | Amateur Golfing TipsOld Fat Golfer | Mustang Rambles [...]

2 Fat Gone Fast! ... Discover How I Lost 40 Lbs In 90 Days! | 7Wins.eu // Mar 26, 2010 at 4:46 pm

[...] Old Fat Golfer | Mustang Rambles [...]

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