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Monday 26 October 2009
Practice Plan
Just spent most of the evening drawing up various practice plans on 6x4 cards. Really unsure as to the ultimate purpose of this- is it to aid improvement or is it in fact a way to feel like I'm working at golf, even though I'm not, a bit like those entire evenings spent drawing up incredibly elaborate study plans that I knew would never be followed? Time, and scores will tel, although I'm a bit concerned that the use of three different ink colours indicates at least a touch of the latter...
Saturday 24 October 2009
A little background...
Perhaps it might be an idea to give a bit of background. I'm a 28 handicap golf addict, a family man who is absolutely determined to improve or to die trying, and this is an attempt to chronicle my successes and let's face it failures and frustrations along the way. Hopefully with a bit of humour and humility.
I still can't quite believe I'm as smitten with the game as I am. I tried the game in my teens after moving to a town where seemingly everyone played and hated it. Mostly it was because I had no natural ability, and absolutely no patience to persist with a anything that looked like the ratio of fun to work was unfavorable. But it was also the seemingly endless silly little rules, which at the time seemed to have been made up by my playing partners on the spot with the sole purpose of making me feel even more uncomfortable and out of place (this may in fact have been the case; they were enjoying my discomfiture a little too much). Even now, although I recognise that much of the etiquette of golf is absolutely necessary to ensure all enjoy it (replacing divots, being quiet when someone is playing a shot) there is an awful lot of nonsense that some people take very very seriously. I don't tend to wear jeans, even on the courses that allow it, but this is simply because I believe denim isn't a great material to walk around wet grass in, rather than a belief that civilisation will end if Levis are sighted on the Links.
But it's funny how life goes. After resisting the overtures of many friends I finally succumbed to trying it, and this was at a time I was realising, after abandoning partying following the birth of Miss Geek, and just coming out of the the early, all consuming phase of parenthood, that I had no pastimes or hobbies, nothing just for me. Mrs Geek also encouraged me, something she now professess to regret.
And I loved it, despite confirming my lack of natural ability. I was then off work for a long long time with a bizarre, chronic abdominal pain thing (still ongoing). This meant that although there were some days where I couldn't do anything, there were many others where Mrs Geek was at work and Miss Geek at nursery that golf really helped take my mind off what could be wrong, as this was at a stage where several unpleasant diagnoses were being bandied about, and it really really helped.
And then it snowballed, on and on, to a four magazine a month, lessons every week addiction. It's evolved- I realise now that magazines are an often harmful distraction, finding a helpful tip is a bit like panning for gold you have to sift through an awful lot of mud before finding a nugget- but it's never left and has even intensified. I've listened to about a hundred hours of golf podcasts, read countless books and even managed to converse with really interesting and thought provoking teachers. I hope to share some of that, chronicle my thoughts and responses and see how they evolve over time. I'm also hoping people will read, and contribute their thoughts and experiences, but we'll just have to see what happens.
I still can't quite believe I'm as smitten with the game as I am. I tried the game in my teens after moving to a town where seemingly everyone played and hated it. Mostly it was because I had no natural ability, and absolutely no patience to persist with a anything that looked like the ratio of fun to work was unfavorable. But it was also the seemingly endless silly little rules, which at the time seemed to have been made up by my playing partners on the spot with the sole purpose of making me feel even more uncomfortable and out of place (this may in fact have been the case; they were enjoying my discomfiture a little too much). Even now, although I recognise that much of the etiquette of golf is absolutely necessary to ensure all enjoy it (replacing divots, being quiet when someone is playing a shot) there is an awful lot of nonsense that some people take very very seriously. I don't tend to wear jeans, even on the courses that allow it, but this is simply because I believe denim isn't a great material to walk around wet grass in, rather than a belief that civilisation will end if Levis are sighted on the Links.
But it's funny how life goes. After resisting the overtures of many friends I finally succumbed to trying it, and this was at a time I was realising, after abandoning partying following the birth of Miss Geek, and just coming out of the the early, all consuming phase of parenthood, that I had no pastimes or hobbies, nothing just for me. Mrs Geek also encouraged me, something she now professess to regret.
And I loved it, despite confirming my lack of natural ability. I was then off work for a long long time with a bizarre, chronic abdominal pain thing (still ongoing). This meant that although there were some days where I couldn't do anything, there were many others where Mrs Geek was at work and Miss Geek at nursery that golf really helped take my mind off what could be wrong, as this was at a stage where several unpleasant diagnoses were being bandied about, and it really really helped.
And then it snowballed, on and on, to a four magazine a month, lessons every week addiction. It's evolved- I realise now that magazines are an often harmful distraction, finding a helpful tip is a bit like panning for gold you have to sift through an awful lot of mud before finding a nugget- but it's never left and has even intensified. I've listened to about a hundred hours of golf podcasts, read countless books and even managed to converse with really interesting and thought provoking teachers. I hope to share some of that, chronicle my thoughts and responses and see how they evolve over time. I'm also hoping people will read, and contribute their thoughts and experiences, but we'll just have to see what happens.
The Golf Geek goes mobile!
Alright, so it's only the second post (and the first that isn't just a title) but I'm excited. I thought my posts would have to come from my computer, and was concerned that I would struggle to shift Mrs Geek's fingers from Bejewelled Blitz on the laptop. The fact I can do it from my phone massively increases my chances of keeping this up.
Managed a range session today, my first since Master Geek was born some 6 weeks ago. My delight was slightly decreased by Mrs Geek spending a bit longer than anticipated at the supermarket but managed to offset this by wangling 50 free range balls entirely by accident. Then got onto the range to find driving rain and a wind so fierce that it took my 5 iron to reach a green 110yards into the wind. While I'm not the longest hitter with my irons I can generally rely on another 40-70 yards with this club...
Was glad the balls were free, ended up doing scrape and hit, a habit I must get out of, but today was not the day for standing thoughtfully behind the ball before going through a full pre shot routine. I was glad to get out, and I think it's probably best to leave it at that.
Managed a range session today, my first since Master Geek was born some 6 weeks ago. My delight was slightly decreased by Mrs Geek spending a bit longer than anticipated at the supermarket but managed to offset this by wangling 50 free range balls entirely by accident. Then got onto the range to find driving rain and a wind so fierce that it took my 5 iron to reach a green 110yards into the wind. While I'm not the longest hitter with my irons I can generally rely on another 40-70 yards with this club...
Was glad the balls were free, ended up doing scrape and hit, a habit I must get out of, but today was not the day for standing thoughtfully behind the ball before going through a full pre shot routine. I was glad to get out, and I think it's probably best to leave it at that.
Friday 23 October 2009
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