Feb 25

Written by:
2/25/2010 

I finally got out to play a full round of golf last weekend.  For some reason, as I've gotten older, it's harder to motivate myself to play in the rain and the cold.  I know, it's pathetic.

Another reason I was a bit apprehensive about going out to play with the usual crowd of sharks at our club was the fact that I've had six lessons since the end of last season.  Combine that with the ungodly amount of time I've spent at the driving range and you've got yourself a recipe for disaster.

In this case, it was only a partial disaster.

Through the first six holes, I felt (and probably looked) like I'd never played golf.  Tee shots were off-line, one approach was pulled, the next pushed, and short putts weren't even close to going in the hole.  Then, just like that, I found the rhythm I'd been so diligently perfecting over the Winter and things started to click.

The clicked to the tune of 10-over through six, even over the final 12.  Now, 82 is nothing to crow about, but I felt pretty good after the 'shaky' start.

What's the point here, you ask?  The point is that a few lessons never hurt anyone, especially video lessons where you can see the improvements between sessions.  For some folks, lessons are going to be a radical change to the way they swing the golf club, for others, it's minor tweaks and really making their swing better.  Whichever way you go, it's important to put the necessary time and effort into grooving those changes so they're automatic on the course.

Don't let yourself slip back into bad habits.  For me, this was the first time in my life I'd ever taken a series of lessons and really spent time working on the mechanics.  After seeing the results as I played my way back into shape, I've got to say that I'm even more excited to get the golf season under way.