...for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
-Proverbs 27:1
Ain't it the truth...definitely did not know what that day had in store for us.
That's our 2005 Chevy Colorado on the left after a 20-something kid t-boned us as we were driving through an intersection with the green light.
Thankfully God's angels were on duty and no one hurt, just thousands of $$'s of damage done to both vehicles.
Almost felt bad for him when he was ticketed - anyone can make a mistake and I've made plenty - but his was an expensive lapse in judgment.
I guess, as the old saying goes, "I shoulda stood in bed".
And speaking of...
So I've still got plenty of work to do, but am making some early season progress.
Ok, everyone who loves what's happening in this country...
That's gonna do it for us at the AMC. All this excellence is exhausting...
...so please, last one out turn off the lights.
We soldier on.
It's a shame I didn't read Vardon's tome...
...when I was just getting started with hickory golf.
It's a mistake to carry a modern golf mindset with you as you venture back to the hickory era, and it's one I've perpetuated for the past 7 years.
Could have saved a lot of wasted time and effort, and avoided at least some incompetence on the links - or "foozling", as Vardon calls it - had I simply begun by reading "The Gist Of Golf".
It's such a great, practical how-to manual, providing clear instruction on every essential, from the grip to the stance to the swing to the purpose of each club and finally to the strategy of how and when to play those clubs.
I had no idea my stance was wrong, nor any concept I was misusing my mashie and niblick - both of which are considered specialty clubs for specific circumstances.
You don't reach for your mashie or your niblick based on distance, but rather on situation.
All these years I've been thinking, "I'm 50 yards from the pin; that's my niblick," when in fact it's no such thing.
In one practice session I corrected both issues, with instant results on the links.
And his strategy for each shot is "play within the club".
In other words, you're 140 yards from the pin, and if you hit all of your mashie just right, you can make it.
What do you do?
Leave the mashie in your bag and hit a normal mid iron instead.
If you play within your clubs, you'll have far fewer flubbed shots and thus a better round.
That also means knowing the range of each club.
Today, golfers carry 14 clubs so they can have a 10 yard spread between each one.
In the hickory era they carried 7 or 8 clubs, each used within a range that varied based on how you hit it: easy, normal, hard.
Vardon referenced his mid iron as ranging from 120 to 170 yards, depending on his swing.
Knowing your club range will make those "swing hard with my mid iron or normal with my cleek?" decisions a snap.
He also includes pictures of each swing highlighting stance and form...
...and throws in enjoyable personal anecdotes along the way, all in 175 very readable pages.
If you're interested in hickory golf and have time to read only one book about it, this is that book.
And speaking of...
...it was another glorious day on the links, in spite of my inconsistent play.
Though I'm learning useful points about this game - things I should have known when I was starting out 7 years ago - I'm not at the "monkey see, monkey do" stage yet.
Even so, I did manage to put together 3 complete holes, from tee to green - 1, 8 and 9 - where I was on the green in regulation with a chance to putt for birdie, and happily "settle" for par.
 |
| my birdie putt on the par 5 #8... |
The others were frustrating combinations of good shot/bad shot, a mixed bag of "yeah, like that!" and "what the heck just happened?".
 |
| ...and my tap in for par. |
 |
| birdie putt on #9...2 putt for par to end my round |
So I've still got plenty of work to do, but am making some early season progress.
Hoping this is the year I'll finally put together that elusive "complete" round.
As Alexander Pope opined back in 1733 in his "An Essay On Man", "hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never is, but always to be blest."
Just wait 'til next week!
Ok, everyone who loves what's happening in this country...
...please take one step back.
Now that we've got that over with, let's 23 Skidoo.
 |
| don't ask questions, just say yes |
 |
| decisions, decisions |
 |
| they never clean up their mess |
 |
| guess who's back at his cottage? lucky dawg! |
 |
| some kodak starflash pics: magnolia in bloom |
 |
| Loki at rest |
 |
| spring shadow play |
That's gonna do it for us at the AMC. All this excellence is exhausting...
...so please, last one out turn off the lights.
later, mcm fans...
* Crass Commercialism Corner *
In the "so convenient you can't stand it" department, you can purchase my books on Amazon.com.
Get your paperback books here:
Get your ebooks here:
