For the past month or so, I've been back to playing with the Defectress on Tuesdays. A few weeks ago, we were paired with two OMGs, one of whom was kind of a douche bag. He was the kind of guy who complimented his own shots. For example, on one of his drives, he said to himself, "That's a good shot!" On another tee shot, he said, "That'll work!" These are the kinds of things you typically say to another golfer, not yourself. Maybe he was used to playing alone and talking to himself to keep himself company.
Anyway, Mr. DB (short for douche bag) got on the Defectress's every last nerve, what with his putting out of turn and general lack of decorum. Since etiquette is a sticking point for the Defectress, she point-blank asked him to please stop putting out of turn. Instead of apologizing, Mr. DB simply shrugged, "Okay." After that, he stayed pretty quiet. The other OMG, who looked a little like Anthony Bourdain, had been pretty quiet for the whole round, with the exception of the occasional, "Nice shot" (to someone else, not himself). Later I found out that the Defectress had already played with the Anthony Bourdain guy a couple of times before. The first time, he made the mistake of starting his golf cart in the middle of her backswing, and she set him straight. By now, he knew better.
Like the Defectress, I am also a stickler for etiquette, but I have different pet peeves. For example, I hate it when someone drops the flagstick three feet from the hole because they are too lazy to carry it off to the side of the green or can't visually calculate the best spot to place the flagstick so it is not intersecting anyone's putting line of sight. I also find it distracting when someone stands directly behind the hole toward which I am trying to putt. The USGA's etiquette guidelines back me up: "Players should not stand close to or directly behind the ball, or directly behind the hole, when a player is about to play." I don't even like people to tend the flagstick for me because it requires them to stand too close to the hole.
And of course, I detest when other people touch my balls, for any reason. During the round with Mr. DB, I landed an approach shot close to a hole, but since Mr. DB couldn't wait 20 seconds for me to get to the green to mark my ball, he actually marked my ball for me. I couldn't help but wonder if he would have done this had I been a man. I doubt that even this douche bag would dare touch another man's balls. Looking back, I should have unleashed some fury on Mr. DB, but since the Defectress was already gunning for him for putting out of turn, I felt like it would have been overkill.
But the more I play golf, the more I realize that many people either don't know or don't care about etiquette. One of the most basic guidelines is "Players should always show consideration for other players on the course and should not disturb their play by moving, talking or making any unnecessary noise," and yet this is violated nearly every time I play golf. Everyone thinks their "golf whisper" can't be heard, so I guess I must have keen ears.
I learned about golf etiquette from hubby or from breaking the rules and being politely chastened (like the time my shadow fell across a golfer's putting line and he kindly asked me to move). So I tend to be fairly well-behaved on the course, especially among strangers. But I am constantly shocked and amazed how little people know about etiquette, even if they've been playing for decades. In fact, I recently played with a 60-year-old duffer who claimed to have a 6 handicap, and yet chatted incessantly during my shots, dropped the flagstick less than a yard from the hole, and trampled my putting line without a second thought. The spirit of golf depends on courtesy for others, so I'm not sure what game that guy thinks he's playing, but it isn't the same game I play.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Friday, October 31, 2014
The Headcover Has Two Faces
Because of the fall season, I only recently I noticed that the Defectress's TaylorMade headcovers look like a bunch of smiling carved pumpkin faces (or grinning ghosts) poking out from the top of her motorized walking cart.
Happy Halloween!
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
View From a Par
It's been a tough couple of months on the family front. My brother is going through a rough divorce. Another of my beloved aunts has passed away. Issues from the past resurface and worries about the future nag. But golf is where the present lies, at least for me. Yesterday was an unseasonably warm day, the kind that had me wishing for more summer. But here it is, the fall, with the golden hues of autumn offered up as early compensation for the cold weather to come. I love fall golf. Fewer bugs, less sweating and lovely colors all around. It's even lovelier when you've just made a par and look back from the tee ground on the next hole and see, in the background, the colorful trees reflected on the reservoir, and, in the foreground, the tiniest flicker of a yellow flag waving at you, as if to say, "Till next time."
Friday, October 24, 2014
The Play Day
I know you're dying to know how the tournament went last week. Technically it was a "play day," which is one of half a dozen or so events hosted at private golf clubs every year, giving MSGA members a chance to play at clubs they normally wouldn't have access to. Last week's play day was at the Suburban Club, which is a well-kept course in Baltimore County, within a 15-minute drive from my house. Play days are pretty no-frills. There's no lunch or awards dinner and no goodie bags like you'd get at a charity tournament. You just register and pay in advance and show up at your tee time when the day comes.
Hubby and I played as a mixed couple, and we knew in advance that there would only be one other mixed couple playing. I'll call them the Mouthpiece and Mrs. Robinson, since he was a chatty lawyer and she was about a decade older than him. Our tee time was at 12:40 pm, and so was theirs. Our handicaps were 19 (me) and 13 (hubby), and theirs were 14 (her) and 5 (him). They knew each other from being members at the same private club in another county. They weren't married, but had already played several play day tournaments as a team, and won. "He doesn't even like me," said Mrs. Robinson of her partner. "He's just using me."
I was a bit nervous, but not really. I knew that we'd have to play flawlessly to have a shot at beating them, even with all the extra strokes we'd be getting due to our handicaps. I just wanted to have a good time and hopefully break 100. Hubby was hoping we'd win, and if he played as well as he'd been playing lately, we'd have a shot. Mixed couple scoring means whichever partner's score is lowest on a hole stands for the couple's score.
Unfortunately, the weather had been cruel the day before, with heavy rains drenching all the golf courses into soggy sponges. On tournament day, there was a chance of rain, but it stayed dry nearly till the end. On my first tee shot, I hit the ground and splattered mud across my jacket, which pretty much forecast the kind of day I would have.
Fortunately, the Mouthpiece and Mrs. Robinson weren't assholes. I think they were actually kind of bored playing against us, since we weren't much of a challenge. I also think they played worse than they could have, since they got lazy as the round progressed. The Mouthpiece made some mediocre shots you'd never think someone with a 5 handicap could even make. And Mrs. Robinson got lazy about counting strokes and said she made a 5 on one hole, when I'm pretty sure she made a 7. Not that 2 strokes mattered. They beat us handily. I guess hubby and I could have had them DQ'd if we were hard-asses. But we're not. In the end, I shot 100 even. As a team, hubby and I grossed an 89 and netted 72. So I guess you could say that, as a golfing couple, we are right on par.
Hubby and I played as a mixed couple, and we knew in advance that there would only be one other mixed couple playing. I'll call them the Mouthpiece and Mrs. Robinson, since he was a chatty lawyer and she was about a decade older than him. Our tee time was at 12:40 pm, and so was theirs. Our handicaps were 19 (me) and 13 (hubby), and theirs were 14 (her) and 5 (him). They knew each other from being members at the same private club in another county. They weren't married, but had already played several play day tournaments as a team, and won. "He doesn't even like me," said Mrs. Robinson of her partner. "He's just using me."
I was a bit nervous, but not really. I knew that we'd have to play flawlessly to have a shot at beating them, even with all the extra strokes we'd be getting due to our handicaps. I just wanted to have a good time and hopefully break 100. Hubby was hoping we'd win, and if he played as well as he'd been playing lately, we'd have a shot. Mixed couple scoring means whichever partner's score is lowest on a hole stands for the couple's score.
Unfortunately, the weather had been cruel the day before, with heavy rains drenching all the golf courses into soggy sponges. On tournament day, there was a chance of rain, but it stayed dry nearly till the end. On my first tee shot, I hit the ground and splattered mud across my jacket, which pretty much forecast the kind of day I would have.
Fortunately, the Mouthpiece and Mrs. Robinson weren't assholes. I think they were actually kind of bored playing against us, since we weren't much of a challenge. I also think they played worse than they could have, since they got lazy as the round progressed. The Mouthpiece made some mediocre shots you'd never think someone with a 5 handicap could even make. And Mrs. Robinson got lazy about counting strokes and said she made a 5 on one hole, when I'm pretty sure she made a 7. Not that 2 strokes mattered. They beat us handily. I guess hubby and I could have had them DQ'd if we were hard-asses. But we're not. In the end, I shot 100 even. As a team, hubby and I grossed an 89 and netted 72. So I guess you could say that, as a golfing couple, we are right on par.
Friday, October 10, 2014
Monkey Fingers
If you're not a golfer, the phrase "in the fingers" might sound kind of pervy. Or, since Halloween is coming up, "in the fingers" might bring to mind a creepy image of skeletal hands. If you are a golfer, you may have heard the phrase and, like me, had no idea what it really meant.
The night before my Tuesday round, I happened to catch Michael Breed on the Golf Channel talking about how the golf grip should be "in the fingers." Since I had recently changed how I gripped my clubs, I was paying special attention to how I placed my hands on the club. Suddenly I had a eureka moment about my new grip, the baseball grip, which is also known as the "ten-finger grip." So after hearing the phrase "in the fingers," I made a note to try it out the next morning.
Rather than feel the club grip primarily in my palms, I made an effort to wrap my fingers around the club and take hold primarily with the fingers. As I completed my grip, my palms wrapped around too, of course, but the pressure on the grip was mainly in my fingers. Picture a monkey's fingers hanging on to a tree branch, and you get the idea.
Anyway, it worked. Somehow I felt like I had a more secure hold on the club and it led to better contact and more distance. Remember that par 4 I mentioned in my previous post, the one where I could never make it on in two? Well, I hit driver far enough on Tuesday to have a shot at getting on in regulation on that hole. (If only my 3-wood didn't tail off to the right on the approach.) And I ended up shooting an 89 for the round. All thanks to three little words: in the fingers.
The night before my Tuesday round, I happened to catch Michael Breed on the Golf Channel talking about how the golf grip should be "in the fingers." Since I had recently changed how I gripped my clubs, I was paying special attention to how I placed my hands on the club. Suddenly I had a eureka moment about my new grip, the baseball grip, which is also known as the "ten-finger grip." So after hearing the phrase "in the fingers," I made a note to try it out the next morning.
Rather than feel the club grip primarily in my palms, I made an effort to wrap my fingers around the club and take hold primarily with the fingers. As I completed my grip, my palms wrapped around too, of course, but the pressure on the grip was mainly in my fingers. Picture a monkey's fingers hanging on to a tree branch, and you get the idea.
Anyway, it worked. Somehow I felt like I had a more secure hold on the club and it led to better contact and more distance. Remember that par 4 I mentioned in my previous post, the one where I could never make it on in two? Well, I hit driver far enough on Tuesday to have a shot at getting on in regulation on that hole. (If only my 3-wood didn't tail off to the right on the approach.) And I ended up shooting an 89 for the round. All thanks to three little words: in the fingers.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Three Months Forward, Two Steps Back
I can't believe I haven't blogged since the end of June. Well, that's what happens when you play lots of golf. No time to write about it. Anyway, the highlight of the summer was making the annual trip to California and taking a lesson at the Aviara Golf Academy. My teacher was a young dude named Jamie Puterbaugh. After analyzing my swing, he noticed that the palm of my right hand would literally come off the handle of the golf club as I took my backswing. I had always taken a light grip with the right hand, using my left hand more to grip the club. For some reason, I had always thought the right hand should have a more passive role than the left, and only the thumb and middle finger of the right hand should apply pressure to the grip.
Apparently, this is not an uncommon problem. Jamie cited a recent student who had played golf for years and had become progressively worse till he was ready to quit the game. He thought the left hand should have a dominant role in the grip too. Then Jamie changed his grip so he was more even-handed, and he went on to become a scratch player. Okay, maybe not a scratch player, but a better player than he was before.
Anyway, the take-home message, according to Jamie, was: "Golf is a game played with both hands."
During the lesson, Jamie advised me to do three basic things:
1) use the baseball grip (which I had toyed with before)
2) allow my hips to turn, rather than slide to the right, on my backswing
3) think about changing to a smaller-than-standard-size grip, since my hands are small (I haven't done it yet, but I am thinking about it)
Below are before (left) and after (right) pictures of my grip. In the "before" picture, it really looks like my right hand is barely gripping the club at all. I'm surprised the club never flew right out of my hands.
Jamie also taught me two drills:
1) the right-hand-only backswing drill, where I take a backswing with my right hand only, then bring the left hand over to grip the club.
2) the whirly-bird drill, where I grip the club and try to whip the club head around in a circle as fast as possible while keeping a secure grip on the club.
At first the baseball grip thing seemed totally insane, but with the new grip and the tips Jamie taught me, I saw an immediate increase in distance, especially with my irons. But once I got back home and played my regular course, I had a breakthrough. During a practice swing with my driver on the 10th hole, I took the grip Jamie taught me and really stabilized my legs so I wouldn't slide to the right on my backswing. As I rotated, I really felt my glutes and core "activate." When I released into the downswing, I made a "swoosh" sound louder than I'd ever made before. Then, when I actually hit the ball, it flew about 215 yards. This is about 45 yards longer than I'd been used to hitting on that particular hole. I was ecstatic! I was able to repeat the swing for the remainder of the round. There was a par 4 on that course that I'd never been able to reach in 2, and for the first time I could. It was an amazing feeling!
I played a few rounds with this more powerful driver swing, but my scores were totally erratic due to never knowing how my distances would actually pan out. Not knowing whether my 8-iron would fly 90 yards or 110 can result in some unnecessary strokes. Within the span of a month, I was shooting scores ranging from 89 to 104 on the same course!
And then, I suddenly lost the driver mojo. Not sure how, but it left me like a thief in the night. Now I am back to driving at 170 or 180 yards, occasionally more if the ground is dry and I get the ball to roll. Oddly enough, my short game seems to be improving. I can chip pretty accurately in the 30-to-50 yard range. However, my putting is still up to the golf gods. Today, for example, I made an amazing 30-foot putt where the hole just seemed to open up with divine light when my ball dropped in.
But it all just feels so erratic. My handicap is creeping up, too. I am trending at an 18.8 now. Hubby and I signed up for an MSGA play day tournament in a few weeks. So I've got some work cut out for me. I really wish I had a dependable, consistent swing. I need to get that mid-summer mojo back! And the only way to do that is get back on the course... tomorrow.
Apparently, this is not an uncommon problem. Jamie cited a recent student who had played golf for years and had become progressively worse till he was ready to quit the game. He thought the left hand should have a dominant role in the grip too. Then Jamie changed his grip so he was more even-handed, and he went on to become a scratch player. Okay, maybe not a scratch player, but a better player than he was before.
Anyway, the take-home message, according to Jamie, was: "Golf is a game played with both hands."
During the lesson, Jamie advised me to do three basic things:
1) use the baseball grip (which I had toyed with before)
2) allow my hips to turn, rather than slide to the right, on my backswing
3) think about changing to a smaller-than-standard-size grip, since my hands are small (I haven't done it yet, but I am thinking about it)
Below are before (left) and after (right) pictures of my grip. In the "before" picture, it really looks like my right hand is barely gripping the club at all. I'm surprised the club never flew right out of my hands.
Jamie also taught me two drills:
1) the right-hand-only backswing drill, where I take a backswing with my right hand only, then bring the left hand over to grip the club.
2) the whirly-bird drill, where I grip the club and try to whip the club head around in a circle as fast as possible while keeping a secure grip on the club.
At first the baseball grip thing seemed totally insane, but with the new grip and the tips Jamie taught me, I saw an immediate increase in distance, especially with my irons. But once I got back home and played my regular course, I had a breakthrough. During a practice swing with my driver on the 10th hole, I took the grip Jamie taught me and really stabilized my legs so I wouldn't slide to the right on my backswing. As I rotated, I really felt my glutes and core "activate." When I released into the downswing, I made a "swoosh" sound louder than I'd ever made before. Then, when I actually hit the ball, it flew about 215 yards. This is about 45 yards longer than I'd been used to hitting on that particular hole. I was ecstatic! I was able to repeat the swing for the remainder of the round. There was a par 4 on that course that I'd never been able to reach in 2, and for the first time I could. It was an amazing feeling!
I played a few rounds with this more powerful driver swing, but my scores were totally erratic due to never knowing how my distances would actually pan out. Not knowing whether my 8-iron would fly 90 yards or 110 can result in some unnecessary strokes. Within the span of a month, I was shooting scores ranging from 89 to 104 on the same course!
And then, I suddenly lost the driver mojo. Not sure how, but it left me like a thief in the night. Now I am back to driving at 170 or 180 yards, occasionally more if the ground is dry and I get the ball to roll. Oddly enough, my short game seems to be improving. I can chip pretty accurately in the 30-to-50 yard range. However, my putting is still up to the golf gods. Today, for example, I made an amazing 30-foot putt where the hole just seemed to open up with divine light when my ball dropped in.
But it all just feels so erratic. My handicap is creeping up, too. I am trending at an 18.8 now. Hubby and I signed up for an MSGA play day tournament in a few weeks. So I've got some work cut out for me. I really wish I had a dependable, consistent swing. I need to get that mid-summer mojo back! And the only way to do that is get back on the course... tomorrow.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Sweet 16.9L
Big news. I finally registered for an official handicap. I have long played with an unofficial handicap index, but since breaking 90 a couple of times this season, I decided I'm good enough at golf to start recording my scores in a public fashion. The process was surprisingly simple. I paid $25 at my local course and got an email with a login name and password for a Maryland State Golf Association account, which allowed me to sign in and post scores. I posted 15 rounds since the end of April, including various local and away courses. Using 6 of these 15 scores, the MSGA website generated a "trend handicap" of... drum roll please... 16.9L! The L stands for "local handicap" which could mean a lot of different things, but in my case it means my number is a trend handicap. Honestly, I thought my handicap would be in the 20s, since I mostly shoot in the 90s, but my local course is considered a tough course for the ladies, so this helps bring my number down.
My handicap is not official yet. If you look up my name in the MSGA player lookup, you would find "NH" next to my name, which means "no handicap." Official handicaps are calculated using the lowest 10 of a golfer's most recent 20 rounds, so I will need to post 5 more rounds. If I want a lower handicap index, I better make them good ones!
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