Three holes into the round on Sunday and one of my playing partners commented his mind was just not on the game and it was going to be a long day for him. I appreciate that honesty in golfers that often gets blurted out, it epitomises the unique bond this sport of individuals creates. To which my reply was I can relate to that attitude having had it myself, but could not care less how it is going to affect his day because I am a selfish b@st@rd. He cracked up and laughed and the round went on in a good nature.
Particularly enjoyable for me after the last 3 weeks of playing Pennants (as mentioned in the previous post) which was a pain in the @rse. To finish with an 82 off the stick with some good fortune that balanced out the bad shots second place on the day with 40 points, the missed birdie putt on the 16th and 18th cost me a win. This score is going to take me from 14 to 13 Hcp which is very satisfying. At the minute my mind is finally starting to come to terms with playing off this handicap level and no longer bemused at seeing my name next to that figure.
Booked in for a lesson this week with the club pro, this time a finessing treatment to establish the set up routine to avoid making the slight errors which are so damaging to playing to lower handicaps. All is well with my grip, swing and equipment. The Club Pro now has to set me up with the mental attitude/focus to reach that goal of a 10 Handicap. He said he could do it and after two years of following his advice I am in position to hit the target. For those that think this is an undue amount of time in development please take on that my body is to be blunt, damaged beyond repair and I have had at least 6 months of enforced recovery time.
From the start of yesterdays round to the end I was coping with soft tissue pain that was irritated with every full swing and follow through. Forcing myself to keep the front (left) foot planted on the ground and not lifting the heel to not have pain as my back twisted and hips turned with each swing. The benefit was accurate shots to the green and good distance, a good score came from not favouring relief to the discomfort. Why I believe that getting to 10 Hcp is possible is because of rounds like yesterday. To those who would throw in that adage, “No pain, No gain” Come a little closer so can kick you in the groin and help you improve. That is bullsh!t when it comes to my experience, fine if you are talking about gym exercise and the like. For a person dealing with injury and rehabilitation I do not enjoy pain one iota and would give anything to not have to endure it.
Getting the positives out of the negatives is why I am still breathing today and not stopping trying to achieve a little more satisfaction and enjoyment in life. The day I sit back and see that 10 in my handicap box is going to be a pleasure. Soon replaced by planning to get to a single figure handicap. Thankyou for your time and attention. “Hit ‘em straight all.”
Geoff
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Pennants Golf a slow death...
Good grief it is hard to admit that I have let work and responsibility get in the way of playing golf of late…it is times like this when reality makes me realise how much I miss the irresponsible 24hr a day party person days. Then again certain body parts, beginning with liver, kidneys, the mushy grey thing between my ears and eyes that earnt frequent flyer points for using eye drops would disagree with my fanciful recall of the “good Old days”
The health kick has dropped off 5 kg and that is a good thing in the past month, playing less golf has given the body which was labouring under niggling injuries and needed a break time to recover. The positives of playing less certainly outweigh the mental regret. The discomfort on the course was not improved with playing three pennant rounds and not the club competition rounds in the last month.
Having pushed at club and committee level since December last year that having a pennants team was a waste of time, further proven by the total lack of interest by club golfers who said no to playing, this was not enjoyable. That I work on Saturday and Sundays starting a 5 am the need to head off at 8 am for a minimum 50 km to 150km trip to play Pennants as an obligation not as golfing fun did not help. In fact I was lumped as acting Captain did have a bonus, I refused to cajole or beg to get players, I got 3 new golfers who have only just started to play this year and are on 27 plus handicaps into the team. They all lost every game, but they wanted to play and f@ck the club members who were concerned about the players knowledge and standard of golf. Two other golfers who played were former Pennants players and both played for the same reason as I. The club needed to have a team turn up. Both have since told me that next year they will not play as they would rather play in the club round.
During the competition one of the other teams did forfeit a round, and talking with other team players many were playing for the same reasons as me, due to a sense of club spirit and helping out. 15 years ago Pennants teams required 11 players per team, now it is 5, that shows how difficult maintaining the competition is at the minute. I have spoken to the club captain and let him know that I will be not endorsing entry into the Pennants for 2012.
Politicking is something that I really try to not do but I have noticed that my strong communication skill is the perfect way to do it in my time as secretary. I have no hesitation in asking questions and finding out what other committee members are thinking. This is a good thing and makes meetings where major decisions are being made much better. ie $600,000 being spent to buy the land to establish a full 18 hole course last month. Interacting here has been a great assistance in my year as secretary especially reading what is affecting other clubs and golfers activity and concerns.
It is much easier to have a large picture of golf to be able to interact with. I have used information from Iseekgolf at committee level every meeting this year! Golf clubs by nature are insular operations but today have to operate on a broader spectrum to remain active and continue into the future.
Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em Straight all” Geoff
The health kick has dropped off 5 kg and that is a good thing in the past month, playing less golf has given the body which was labouring under niggling injuries and needed a break time to recover. The positives of playing less certainly outweigh the mental regret. The discomfort on the course was not improved with playing three pennant rounds and not the club competition rounds in the last month.
Having pushed at club and committee level since December last year that having a pennants team was a waste of time, further proven by the total lack of interest by club golfers who said no to playing, this was not enjoyable. That I work on Saturday and Sundays starting a 5 am the need to head off at 8 am for a minimum 50 km to 150km trip to play Pennants as an obligation not as golfing fun did not help. In fact I was lumped as acting Captain did have a bonus, I refused to cajole or beg to get players, I got 3 new golfers who have only just started to play this year and are on 27 plus handicaps into the team. They all lost every game, but they wanted to play and f@ck the club members who were concerned about the players knowledge and standard of golf. Two other golfers who played were former Pennants players and both played for the same reason as I. The club needed to have a team turn up. Both have since told me that next year they will not play as they would rather play in the club round.
During the competition one of the other teams did forfeit a round, and talking with other team players many were playing for the same reasons as me, due to a sense of club spirit and helping out. 15 years ago Pennants teams required 11 players per team, now it is 5, that shows how difficult maintaining the competition is at the minute. I have spoken to the club captain and let him know that I will be not endorsing entry into the Pennants for 2012.
Politicking is something that I really try to not do but I have noticed that my strong communication skill is the perfect way to do it in my time as secretary. I have no hesitation in asking questions and finding out what other committee members are thinking. This is a good thing and makes meetings where major decisions are being made much better. ie $600,000 being spent to buy the land to establish a full 18 hole course last month. Interacting here has been a great assistance in my year as secretary especially reading what is affecting other clubs and golfers activity and concerns.
It is much easier to have a large picture of golf to be able to interact with. I have used information from Iseekgolf at committee level every meeting this year! Golf clubs by nature are insular operations but today have to operate on a broader spectrum to remain active and continue into the future.
Thankyou for your time and attention, “Hit ‘em Straight all” Geoff
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