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Golfer Starts Fire With Swing

1 Sep

Crazy!

Outside Irving, California, a golfer started a fire with his swing. His ball had found the rough, and when he took his next shot, his club clipped a rock which sparked a 12-acre fire. One-hundred and fifty firefighters responded to the scene to put out the the blaze.

No charges will be filed against the golfer for this freak accident, thank goodness.

I have a hard time believing this is true, it’s such an insane story. I also have fun imagining this guy with his buddies in the club house or neighborhood barbeques trading stories, and his always being the one that trumps all others. And then I can imagine that over time the other guys start making a drinking game with their Arnold Palmers every time he brings up the fire without letting him know. Or making bets to see how long he can go without mentioning it. And can you imagine the nicknames you’d get from starting a fire?

Here’s the story at the LA Times.

Yum Yum, Love to Eat My Words — and Other Swing Thoughts

29 Aug

Pull cart update: good god, is my foot in my mouth or what. I actually really really loved having it out there today!

Maybe this is painfully obvious, but I also noticed that to maintain maximum comfort while carrying it, it is best to not let your hand holding the handle go back past your hip. Try to keep the hips and shoulders square and the cart won’t have any strain on your back or neck. At first I thought pushing would be easier, but since the weight of the bag naturally pulls down, it was harder to keep the bottom of the bag up for pushing.

Is everyone thinking, “no shit, sherlock?” It’s weird being fresh to using a piece of equipment that is so basic. Please excuse what might appear as me crawling out from under a rock or being born sometime earlier this week.

On to more important business: my swing thoughts for the day. Or, I suppose, pre-swing thoughts is more accurate.

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Finally! I’m Golfing Again!

21 Aug

This week starts my renewed assault on my handicap, and I’ve already marked two visits to the local public course. And wow, am I out of practice!

Wednesday, I was only able to complete nine holes but made a decent 45. Considering several months with no course contact, I am extremely satisfied with that! And, my driver was on fire, hitting fairways with length and power. I was singing and smiling, having a good day.

Today? Not so hot, and for two reasons that I can think of. One, being psychologically pressured to do just as well as two days prior; and two, because I decided I needed to return to playing from the same distance I played in college, a whopping 1000 yards more than from my beloved forward tees. Considering I’m not a naturally long hitter, I knew going into this that I’d be adding a good one or two strokes per hole. Turns out I was right about that — I scored 52 through nine. Unlike Wednesday I was having a LOT of driver difficulties today, which puts strain on your mental game as well as your scoring opportunities. I’d like to blame it solely on the absurdly strong winds, but it was definitely swing errors too. So back to the driving range I will go!

Because it’s so hot here (it was 100 degrees when I went to play!) I try to go late in the afternoon and get in as many as I can, and I played with a cart rather than walking. Fortunately using a cart and playing alone means that even when I play two balls, I play really quickly. Despite this, a foursome in front of me refused to take the numerous opportunities to allow me to play through and kept me waiting hole after hole after hole. And so when the sun finally set, I missed out on the last two holes I paid good money for. The annoyance really got to me too, and distracted my focus. I think one of them swiped one of my balls, also, which just pissed me off more. So another goal: really work on calming down and playing relaxed.

The biggest stress about playing right now is the expense. Even at a public course, it is impossible to play daily on an unreliable income like what I have right now. Riding costs nearly 20 dollars — walking costs barely $7, so as I get acclimated to the heat (and in better shape), I will probably start doing that.

And finally, I think I stayed cool in the heat partly because of some new Underarmor polos I bought at the Outlet last weekend. Seriously, of all my tech-y fabric polos, these worked the best!

No, I Haven’t Quit Blogging…

11 Aug

I’ve just been trying to scrap up some inspiration about golf right now. The move has been one hectic reason I haven’t gotten the chance to play/practice, and then I took a trip to NYC which took up some time too. I know… excuses, excuses. Without jinxing anything, I hope to be able to make golf a part of my professional life very soon. Knock on wood and all that.

My new abode is in a region that reaches 100+ degrees daily (today it read 105 at one point). So every time I think, “today is the day I go to the muni course and play 9,” I’ll run an errand or something and get sunburned just walking from my car to the grocery store. That’s definitely a golf buzz-kill, and I stay inside.

In the mean time, I’ve really been working on fitness in preparation for when I do get a chance to play again. That means getting up early to run and doing a lot of strength and flexibility training. My running route fortunately takes me around the local country club, so I get to glimpse at green fairways as they’re being prepped for the day and that gets me pumped and motivates me to keep running. As for strength training, I’ve started committing to doing Pilates several times a week at the gym in my apartment complex. Already I feel myself standing taller, and working on core strength is important to keep your lower back from hurting through a round. I have also been working on shoulder/chest and leg strength too with push ups, squats and lunges.

People like to joke that golf isn’t a real sport (and I have to agree with some of the arguments — I mean, do they let you drink beer while you play basketball?). But I’ve always found that in competition the success of my round is at least 50%, if not 60%, stamina. Walking 18 holes three or four days in a row takes its toll on you! And while I’m not a very long hitter, physical strength at least helps keep me accurate.

Keep reading for a few of the Pilates moves I like, with rough, non-professional-fitness-instructor tips on how to do them:

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The Boyfriend Golf Project

1 Jul

For a while now, my wonderful boyfriend has hinted that he would love to play golf with me — if only someone would show him how. The only time he has ever played was years ago, and since it was with the dad of an ex-girlfriend, I think both of us try to minimize that experience when discussing golf with each other…

I’ve interpreted his suggestion as “Please teach me how to play golf!” And this is a challenge I welcome with great excitement. We all have dreams, and one of mine is to mix golf and world travels into some really kick-ass vacations. Because this is a serious, cohabitating relationship, I of course picture the two of us enjoying these world-class courses in exotic destinations together. More importantly, I want these vacations to happen before retirement…So this means that  he will have to learn the great game. Now that I have a little teaching experience, it is expected that I show him how.

When it comes to couples golfing together, it is typically the man teaching the woman how to play. Thus, Google searches are not really helping me out — although it is providing a very high eye roll-to-chuckle ratio, but that is probably worth a whole separate post altogether.

Therefore, this experience is probably going to be an epic test of our relationship.  This is a game that takes lots of time to learn and gain confidence in, and I hope that he can understand and not give up too quickly. It will also be interesting to see how this dynamic of girlfriend-teaching-boyfriend a “manly” sport plays out. I feel like he’s a quick learner and really wants to do it, so hopefully that will help.

The only worthwhile tip I’ve found so far today was in an article about teaching a child to play, and despite the child-centered aspect of this article, it’s a nice reminder of the psychological side of learning golf at any age:

“There is no such thing as criticism

Criticism is not fun. It implies the child did something wrong, as opposed to merely doing something incorrrectly. In golf as in life, the path forward is paved with praise. If they hit a good shot, you say, “Good shot.” If they hit a bad shot, you say, “Good swing.” When you detect a flaw, you challenge them to make the correct move without verbally identifying the bad one.”

Golf is something I really would love for us to share, so let the Boyfriend Golf Project begin! Does anyone have any tips to get me started?

15-year-old Pro Alexis Thompson Signs With Puma

24 Jun

Alexis Thompson is the LPGA’s youngest pro at 15, and she just signed on with COBRA-PUMA golf. It’s ok if you’re a little jealous, I know I am… By the time she’s my age maybe I’ll be half as good.

Cobra was acquired by PUMA earlier this year, and Thompson is the first endorsement under the new joint brand. The merger creates a brand that is kinda hard to roll off the tongue, and I don’t understand why PUMA insists on all-caps. Calm down, por favor… Regardless, I really like the PUMA clothing line and am interested in how Thompson does in her first US Open this July.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 Commercial

22 Jun

I’m kinda tickled by this commercial for the Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 video game. I’m not into video games very much myself — in fact, the one time I tried to play this game in college I got mocked with the “Aren’t you supposed to be good at golf?” kind of jabs. Same thing whenever I play Wii Golf. But I digress. Here’s the commercial!

Watch the US Open Live Online!

18 Jun

GOOD GOD, Pebble Beach is beautiful, isn’t it? I’m not going to lie, I’m kinda more excited about the course than the players. Want to see all the action but can’t since you’re at work, or your TV is monopolized by the watching of Food Network by family or roommates?

Well, head on over to USOpen.Com, where you can see live streaming video of the round… and the beautiful course!

Those Who Can’t Do…

8 Jun

Those who know my playing ability were a little bit skeptical when they learned I was offered the opportunity to coach the varsity and junior high boys and girls teams from my old high school. Admittedly, I’ve always been a bit humble about my skills, and rightfully so. There are a million stupid excuses I have for why I don’t play like I think I “should,” like free time to practice, access to a course, money to pay for it, equipment, the weather, not having a clean collared shirt… But even though coaching meant I didn’t to get hold a club for longer than two seconds, I can guarantee that telling someone how to play golf has been the best practice of my life.

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