My lessons are going well. Since I started playing golf in late spring, I've had about 5 lessons. With each lesson, I'm feeling more and more comfortable and confident in my basic swing. I had one lesson, though, where nothing went right. I rushed home from work, threw on my clothes, and drove like a maniac to the course. I was about ten minutes late for the lesson. I wasn't in a good frame of mind for hitting. I think the adrenaline rush from running late threw me off. Anyway, I could tell from the first backswing that something was wrong...too stiff through the core, too loose with the wrists! After about 45 minutes of frustration, I asked to cut the lesson short because it was obvious that it was counterproductive.
I was really unnerved. I didn't hit any for the next few days because I was afraid my "off day" was actually permenant. When I did start back, I started easy...short back swing, just make contact. Gradually, as I got in the groove, I increased the intensity.
Again, golf imitates life! You have setbacks and bad days at work, at home, on the course. The important thing is to lay off and recognize when your efforts are counterproductive. Take a break. Think about something else. Try again. Learn from your bad days, but don't obssess. Enjoy it when you get your mojo back!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
golf and marital strife
Keith and I went out to play Thursday evening. Just the two of us, no kids to think about, no supper to cook, a perfect twilight round, right? Wrong! It was the first time Keith has gotten upset with me during a game. I assured him that I did not purposefully and knowingly block his shot, and he eventually agreed. But, again, golf proves to be a metaphor for life. While my instinct was to continue talking and explaining until Keith gave in and got in a better mood (that's normally how our small arguments escalate into huge fights), I left him alone to work himself back around. We wound up enjoying the last 10 holes, but it could have been a bad scene. Thanks, again, golf gods for the chance to practice a valuable life skill!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Jekyll Island trip
We just returned from a trip to Jekyll Island, Georgia where we played the Pine Lakes course. What a great evening! Beautiful weather and scenary, no one in front or behind us, the perfect afternoon for a round. I actually shot par on a couple of holes. But on many others I shot way over. I lost my temper on about the 7th hole, but I recouped with a little help from my patient, encouraging husband, and managed to enjoy the remainder of the holes.
As I mentioned in my profile, I'm currently reading "Golf and the Spirit" by M. Scott Peck. I also have recently read Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" and "The Power of Now." Peck says that golf is a spiritual practice. I get that. Golf is a way to express and refine our spiritual beliefs. I find that golf is a way to literally "practice" the spiritual concepts that will impact my life. It is a way for me to practice, over and over again, the things that I want to do in my daily family, work, and spiritual life.
For example, I know that my work is better when I am present in the current moment, when I accept a situation as it is rather than reject it, when the actions I take are initiated while in a state of relaxed awareness. The problem is that I'm so caught up in work (rather, my ego is so caught up in work) that it's difficult for me to practice these skills on a consistent basis. Usually, I only realize after the fact that I was not present when events occur and that I created the very outcome I am upset about. With golf, I can consciously practice spiritual skills in situations that feel high-stakes, but aren't really. I can think about how my state of mind creates my eventual results.
When playing, I know that I must focus on the ball and not be distracted by where I want it to go. I can get mad, stomp and snort, and curse vigorously about a poor shot or a poor lie, but if I'm going to do anything about it, I've got to settle down and accept. I can practice setting my ego-based emotions aside and focusing on my actions. And I get to practice these things for about four hours each time I hit the course.
As I mentioned in my profile, I'm currently reading "Golf and the Spirit" by M. Scott Peck. I also have recently read Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" and "The Power of Now." Peck says that golf is a spiritual practice. I get that. Golf is a way to express and refine our spiritual beliefs. I find that golf is a way to literally "practice" the spiritual concepts that will impact my life. It is a way for me to practice, over and over again, the things that I want to do in my daily family, work, and spiritual life.
For example, I know that my work is better when I am present in the current moment, when I accept a situation as it is rather than reject it, when the actions I take are initiated while in a state of relaxed awareness. The problem is that I'm so caught up in work (rather, my ego is so caught up in work) that it's difficult for me to practice these skills on a consistent basis. Usually, I only realize after the fact that I was not present when events occur and that I created the very outcome I am upset about. With golf, I can consciously practice spiritual skills in situations that feel high-stakes, but aren't really. I can think about how my state of mind creates my eventual results.
When playing, I know that I must focus on the ball and not be distracted by where I want it to go. I can get mad, stomp and snort, and curse vigorously about a poor shot or a poor lie, but if I'm going to do anything about it, I've got to settle down and accept. I can practice setting my ego-based emotions aside and focusing on my actions. And I get to practice these things for about four hours each time I hit the course.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Welcome!
Welcome to Golf Newbies - a blogsite for those just beginning to explore the joys, frustrations, and challenges that is golf. To be honest, I've never hosted a blog site, not even sure what it is. I rarely even post on discussion forums, but I've become so obsessed with the game of golf since my re-introduction two months ago, that I needed a place to "think aloud."
Here's my golf story...I took an introductory golf course in college and made an A. I enjoyed the class, and the A was quite a success since I'm not at all athletically included. I chalked it up to the fact that maybe the lesbian professor had a crush on me; it certainly wasn't a result of my skill. Anyway, life - marriage, children, career, grad school - became my day-to-day obsessions and golf was quickly forgotten.
Fast forward twenty years...at 41, I find that the kids are older and more independent, the career is on auto-pilot, the marriage is stable but maybe a little too easy and familiar, grad school is almost done as I defend my doctoral dissertation in the fall.
Re-enter golf! One evening this spring, I was home by myself and bored. I was puttering around outside and picked up an old 5 wood that the kids had been playing with. In my boredom, I began swatting at pinecones that had fallen along the roadside. It felt REALLY GOOD! Sure, I would occassionally connect and send one flying, but the feel of swinging, the anticipation of the connection, the solid thwap when a pinecone went sailing! I had a new hobby!
This became my nightly entertainment - pinecone golf. Over the next couple of weeks, the members of my family joined me in this embarassing, but addicting, obsession. On Mother's Day, the family decided I should go legit. They bought me a cheap set of clubs and lined up some lessons for me. What a grand idea!
Since then, golf has become an all-consuming family activity. But when I look at my current circumstances, golf is a perfect fit! It is a way for me to stay connected and involved with my (hopefully) maturing teenaged sons, a way for my husband and me to get to know each other again, a way for me to continue to learn and grow, and it keeps me busy and active.
I would love to hear your golf story.
Here's my golf story...I took an introductory golf course in college and made an A. I enjoyed the class, and the A was quite a success since I'm not at all athletically included. I chalked it up to the fact that maybe the lesbian professor had a crush on me; it certainly wasn't a result of my skill. Anyway, life - marriage, children, career, grad school - became my day-to-day obsessions and golf was quickly forgotten.
Fast forward twenty years...at 41, I find that the kids are older and more independent, the career is on auto-pilot, the marriage is stable but maybe a little too easy and familiar, grad school is almost done as I defend my doctoral dissertation in the fall.
Re-enter golf! One evening this spring, I was home by myself and bored. I was puttering around outside and picked up an old 5 wood that the kids had been playing with. In my boredom, I began swatting at pinecones that had fallen along the roadside. It felt REALLY GOOD! Sure, I would occassionally connect and send one flying, but the feel of swinging, the anticipation of the connection, the solid thwap when a pinecone went sailing! I had a new hobby!
This became my nightly entertainment - pinecone golf. Over the next couple of weeks, the members of my family joined me in this embarassing, but addicting, obsession. On Mother's Day, the family decided I should go legit. They bought me a cheap set of clubs and lined up some lessons for me. What a grand idea!
Since then, golf has become an all-consuming family activity. But when I look at my current circumstances, golf is a perfect fit! It is a way for me to stay connected and involved with my (hopefully) maturing teenaged sons, a way for my husband and me to get to know each other again, a way for me to continue to learn and grow, and it keeps me busy and active.
I would love to hear your golf story.
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