Month: April 2013

The grandkids went back home on Tuesday and we had a great week. Golf got into full swing with 4 rounds played but not much success in unraveling the short game mystery. The scores were mediocre starting with 82 and 76 on Wednesday, 81 Thursday and an 80 today. The ball striking is very good but the chipping and putting are just brutal and some of the new things I have tried have failed miserably. A lot of this is between the ears and maybe that will be more of the focus this week. In about 10 days I will be heading out to San Diego to see the grandkids for a week so I don’t see me playing any new courses until I get back May 8th. So far I played 86 golf courses within 90 minutes of my house over the last 2 and 2/3rds year with the goal to reach the 100 mark. Of course during this 86 course trek I have been searching for the answer to make this game play a little easier. The full swing I have found it, which I have covered in previous blogs, but that still leaves the less than full swing game and the brain game, which some people refer to as the mental game. With only 14 courses left time is running out. I have always said if I don’t find the answer by the end of the trek I will throw my clubs into the lake. Of course the final course better have a lake near the 18th green. And yes one of the remaining 14 does have a lake near the 18th green so it won’t be hard to figure out what the last course will be. But on a more positive note maybe I will find the answer. Ah yes, the brain such a wonderful device. Too bad we don’t know very much about it. Do they still do lobotomies? Now theres an idea. Jack Nicholson didn’t look too bad at end of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. I wonder if he putted better.

With the grandkids visiting, it was a slow week on the circuit for me personally but wow did the Masters make up for that. I had one 9 hole round and an 18 hole round on Wednesday at Village Green. I shot 79 with minimal short game improvement but working again, on something new, so will see what happens this week, as golf will get into full swing on Wednesday. My 3 year old grandson practices his golf swing constantly. I did ask them what the answer to golf was, but they had no idea what I was talking about, and just walked away.   There has been so much written and discussed about the Tiger controversy that I want to write about the subject on a more general level. These call ins about rules violations is nothing new. Paul Azinger and Craig Stadler were victums of these call ins. What I have a problem with, is the decision to assess penalties or disqualifications were made the next day. In every instance the rules committee had all the information they needed that evening on the same day. Instead of sitting down for however long it took and hashing it out, the ruling bodies went to dinner had a few drinks, maybe even got laid(that is if ruling bodies of golf are even interested in such things) and had a good nights sleep. In other words all rulings and decisions should be made on the day of play and the rules committee should deem those rulings final. Nobody should ever go to bed thinking they shot one score and wake up the next morning to find out that it is not true. I feel this happens because committees are just lazy and don’t want to finish job. Not in any other sport where rules are brokien or calls are missed are things changed the next day. Yes I know that games can be played under protest and every once it awhile something changes but it is very rare. I also know the rules of golf is like the holy grail but there comes a time where common sense has to take over. What if some one had a video camera and saw a rules violation that no network camera caught. Then this person decided not to make it public for 6 months and this was the player that won the tournament.  Would the rules of golf put in a statue of limitations or would the player be stripped of his title. What happens happens and when the clock stikes 12 the results are final. In the meantime the search continues.

Well, you could say that the season got into full swing this week as I got in 3and 1/2 rounds of golf this week.  One of the rounds was probably ill advised because it was barely 40 degrees and even though the sun was out there was enough of a wind that made it feel like it was in the 20’s. With the way I played, the whole week was ill advised. I had a total collapse of the short game, which led to rounds of 86, 82, and 87. Needless to say it’s back to the drawing board for the short game. My long game wasn’t too bad considering the condtitons but the short game was was was so bad, that well, let me tell you in a different way. Put any little blues melody you want while I’ll tell you

                                  I GOT THE SHORT GAME BLUES

                                 THE LONG GAME IS PRETTY TRUE

                                I WANT TO GET UP AND DOWN IN TWO

                                 BUT I GOT THE SHORT GAME BLUES 

 

                                         I TRY TO FIND THE CURE

                                        BUT I AM NEVER TO SURE

                                         I   HAVEN’T GOT A CLUE

                                       WHY I GOT THE SHORT GAME BLUES

 

                                             I GET CLUBS THAT ARE NEW

                                BUT NOTHING HELPS THE SHORT GAME BLUES

                                         AFTER THE ROUND I HAVE 6 BREWS

                                  BECAUSE I GOT THE SHORT GAME BLUES

The grand kids are coming in this week so that should cheer me up and the search for the answer will be renewed with more vigor than ever. Maybe a 3 and 5 year old have the answer. You can be damn sure I am going to ask them.