GOLF

 

Golf…Some people say this is a family friendly activity

I have a teacher friend who is close in age and fitness level. She and I have tried to motivate each other to improve strength, endurance and flexibility. She got a Total Gym, I got a Total Gym. She works with a wellness coach, I joined Weight Watchers. We try to walk 2 times a week for 45 minutes. We try to go to Yoga two times a week (she is better about not talking herself out of going). Both of our husbands golf and one day an idea was verbalized. Golf is good exercise, lets you spend time enjoying the great outdoors, is a social activity, is not as competitive as other sports, builds character, and can be played at any age, skill and fitness level. Eureka! Let’s sign up for golf lessons!

We found a golf course that provided three 90 minute lessons for couples for a reasonable price. We signed up.

Lesson one took place on a day that was hotter than hot. First challenge was carrying the golf clubs to the driving range. I was recovering from blisters on my thumbs and back pain from kayaking, so I had a bit of a handicap to start out. Next, we worked on our grips.

The first thing we did was raise up our clubs in our left hands to make sure the fingers are sitting on the grip. With an open hand, make sure the grip runs from the middle finger joint to the fleshy pad at the bottom of the hand. Then wrap the fingers around and roll the thumb in place. If done correctly, you want to see somewhere between two and three knuckles on your lead hand when looking down. Now you have the personal preference choice of overlapping, interlocking or using a baseball grip. Whatever your choice, make sure you grip it in the fingers. Now place the right fingers on the underside of the grip and wrap the hand over so the left thumb sits beneath the palm of the right hand. Notice a line between the thumb and forefinger that should point towards your right ear. Finally, shift the index finger down the grip slightly which will act as a trigger. 

WHAT THE WHAT???? I’m starting to rethink this idea. The instructor provided a modified grip club to me, because it just was not clicking where to put what, when, why and how.

After our instructor took photos of bad grip versus good grip, the next part of our lesson was swinging a 9 iron. After you get your grip down in the 20 steps listed above, you need to figure out how tightly to grip the club. Some say you should hold it as tight as you would a tube of toothpaste, without squeezing out any of the paste. Others say you should hold it as if you were holding a small bird – tight enough so that it does not fly away but soft enough that you don’t squeeze it to death.

The biggest challenge for me, besides everything else, was bending over and getting the tiny ball to sit on top on the tiny tee. I felt close to cardiac arrest and/or aneurysm after several attempts and my friend was able to hit 5 balls to my one.

After I got the ball on the tee, we practiced mini swings with our hands and arms. Keeping the left wrist straight, it served as the fulcrum to the 180 degree backswing. Then we held the clubs to our chest and crossed out arms to practice crisscross body movement. We turned so our backs were to the target and moved our cores all the way to the finish. We were told that repetition leads to muscle memory. I believe my muscles have Alzheimer’s. Then we practiced keeping our eye on the ball until impact and following through on the swing with our right foot. Mind you that we were not allowed to move our left foot, wrists, elbows, head, shoulders, knees or toes (knees and toes).

Here were the very simple directions: keep your left arm straight, move your core, hinge back, shift your weight and follow through at the end.

Here is the feedback I received on my first progress report:

Don’t lift your head, stop, don’t lift that foot, keep your eye on the ball, move your core, fix your grip, straighten your feet, move closer, move farther, hinge at the top, you’re standing up, keep your wrists locked, you’re choked up too much, good, your wrists are bent, better, turn that foot, eye on the ball, good swing and good form – now you need to hit the ball….

And then he showed me a picture of my swing and I thought “Who is that idiot in the blue skorts trying to golf?”

Lesson two was how to use the Sand Wedge and the putter. First of all, the letter S and the number 5 look exactly the same on a golf club. After it was pointed out to me that my 5 iron was actually a sand wedge, the lesson continued. Our poor instructor was probably questioning his life choices on trying to teach two old broads the concept of a game where the highest score does not equal a trophy. He had us drop 5 balls around a hole on the putting range about a foot away from the hole. He said when you can hit all five balls in the hole consecutively from a foot away, then move them all another foot away and try again. After trying to hit more than one ball in consecutively, I was given another special needs tool to help my pendulum swing. Apparently, you should pendulum the same back as forward. I swear that I did not miss the putt, my ball kept missing the hole. There was something wrong with the putting course.

Lesson 3 was using the driver. You can do major geologic changes to the earth with this club! I could have planted a garden or started animal burrows with all the holes I dug. I’m not sure if you are supposed to get a mouthful or dirt on your follow through swing when the ball only goes 20 feet.

Since my lessons, I have practiced hitting balls four times. The first one I don’t exactly remember because I had margaritas on the boat and I thought I was outstanding without any corroboration from peers. The second time I went with a friend who told me I was outstanding after sharing a bucket of balls and we celebrated with margaritas. The third and fourth times were with my husband and there were no outstanding celebrations. He takes golf a little more seriously than I do.

I did real golf on a course with my husband and daughter (some people) recently.  Did I mention my initial reason for taking golf lessons? Golf is good exercise, lets you spend time enjoying the great outdoors, is a social activity, is not as competitive as other sports, builds character, and can be played at any age, skill and fitness level. Eureka or Lord help me?

Some people keep score of how many times you hit the ball to get it into the hole. I wonder if you count the number of missed swings you take or the number or balls you lose? You get a tiny pencil to keep score; why can’t you just bring a big eraser to change it?

Some people say this is a fun way to boost your confidence because you are getting better every time. What happens if you are completely confident that you will not hit the ball every time?

Some people say it is only a game. Then why do they yell at me for laughing, talking, not being set up in time or moving too slow or not replacing divots that I am an expert on creating?

Some people say this is a family friendly activity….Golf