Golf Resolutions for 2018

Happy New Year. Again. Can you believe I've been writing this golf blog for 6 years? And once again, I begin the year with a look back at my golf resolutions and a look forward to new ones.

Last year, I kept it simple with:

#1: Stay fit for golf. Well, I made it through the year without any major injuries. My gluteal pseudo-sciatica pain seems to be under control and I've been able to survive 5-hour plane rides and even 8-hour car drives without a relapse. I still stretch like crazy, do Pilates every week, and do at least 30 minutes of low-impact cardio every day, with hand-weight and upper-body exercises a few times a week. I was fit enough to play at least 50 rounds this past year, so I think I did okay with this resolution.

Now how about 2018?

Resolution #1: Continue to stay fit for golf.  Since I started golfing, I have avoided riding golf carts and walk with my pull-cart instead. As a result, I routinely develop minor foot issues such as black toenails and calluses. Toward the end of the 2017 season, I developed a rather persistent corn on my left pinky-toe, which is taking more than a week to heal. So, foot care is something I will need to work into my overall fitness routine. (Sorry if that's TMI, but on the other hand, if you have a foot fetish, maybe that paragraph turned you on in a weird way.)

Resolution #2: Break 80. I broke 100 in 2011, I broke 90 in 2012. Theoretically, I should have broken 80 in 2013. But, as most amateur golfers know, it just ain't that easy. However, in late-August, I shot my personal best of 83. And thanks to a bunch of other rounds in the low-to-mid 80s this past year, I ended the season with a 14.5 handicap. If all goes well, in 2018, I may just shave off 4 more strokes off my all-time low and break 80.

Resolution #3: Grow the game. I've always been kind of a golf evangelist among my family and friends. Ever since I started playing, I've made an effort to take my young nephews out to the putting green or the driving range just for fun. I've taken several of them to their first golf lesson or their first round on a real golf course. When my oldest nephew was 12, I let him drive a golf cart by himself for the first time. Now, he's 25 and has rekindled his interest in golf. He said he likes golf because "It's a gentleman's game, but you still get dirty and stuff." He also likes that he can hit balls really far. Hubby and I have taken him out golfing a few times and we really enjoy watching his game develop. I have 7 nephews, so if all of them end up being golfers, I think I will have done a decent job growing the game.

I can also take credit for introducing my goddaughter to golf. I gave her a Snoopy set of plastic golf clubs when she was a toddler, so I started the brainwashing early. Now she's 8 and has been taking lessons for less than a year, but her mother says she's ready to play tournaments soon. Hubby and I took her to her first round on a par-3 course. We look forward to taking her out to an 18-hole course this summer.

If I knew when I was young that golf was this much fun, I would have started at a much younger age. But watching these young people fall in love with the game is the next best thing.

That's it for now. I better stop making resolutions before the year has even begun. The weather is in the teens around here, and all the local golf courses are closed. In a week or so, temps might edge back into the 30s, so I might manage to get out for a winter round. Stay tuned.