Results matching “golf”

"The true (golf) pilgrim wanders off to the outlying, the more humble and obscure courses. For it is on those unsung courses, on a damp morning in April or a blustery afternoon towards the end of October, that you may look around at your friends, the pulsing light on the grey sea, the undulating fairway, the club in your still singing hands and the distant green, and know yourself in earthly heaven..."

Preferred Lies, A journey to the Heart of Golf
- Andrew Greig.

That's why within the month I'm planning a spiritual golfing trip to Scotland so that I can play Shiskine, Gigha, Prestwick and other fine courses in the area. Even if it means getting wet and having to play under gale-force conditions.

The front nine was quite a display of supernaturally and (almost) perfectly consistent golfing gusto:

Par, par, par, par, par, double-bogey (oops), par, par, par = 38.

How did I manage keeping my cool after I choked the sixth hole? Hungry for the easy five foot birdie on the sixth to go one under, I rammed the sucker way past the hole and ended up four putting for a double-bogie. How was this possible?

Though I was boiling up inside and feeling very embarrassed at the same time, I laughed it off and remembered Hogan's insightful adage: "always treat the next hole like it is the first one of the day." This gave me strength and energized me with adrenalin, easily adding fifty yards to my next tee shot.

What a great relief it is for me to discover that I still have those secret powers inside of me.

I nearly cried my eyes out when I discovered that young Tommy Morris dies in the prime of his life, three time winner of the Open Championship and Champion of Scotland, the first modern professional golfer, only twenty-four years old.

In the middle of an important golf match he receives a telegram, and he rushes home by ship. But is too late, his young wife and newborn baby were dead from childbirth. The Young Tom becomes so broken-hearted that he dies four months later on Christmas Day.

I realized that I was nearing the end of "Tommy's Honour" by Kevin Cook and at the back of my mind wondered why. Could there be a sequel out there that I hadn't heard about? I'd go out and buy the book right away.

But alas, this was not to be. I'll have to go to St. Andrews someday and pay him tribute in person by visiting his grave.

Of course, after eighteen holes of golf first.

Those little white pills that Thea brought home for me the other day from her work are amazing. Although the official cure is ten days, I feel completely cured after only two.

The pain in my shoulders is pretty much gone and I feel great. Actually, I still can feel that the something that used to be painful is still in there, but the pain impulses normally sent to my brain are blocked dead in their tracks.

The ultimate test was surviving a number of intense golf training sessions hitting balls on the driving range. The ball trajectories are slowly but surely getting straighter with an occasional errant draw/hook, the constant pounding of club face to the mat ineffective.

The secret goes by the name of Meloxicam 7,5 PCH, at least that is what is written in tiny letters on the back of the medicine strip.

According to the scientific literature, "Meloxicam inhibits cyclooxygenase (COX), the enzyme responsible for converting arachidonic acid into prostaglandin H₂--the first step in the synthesis of prostaglandins, which are mediators of inflammation. Meloxicam has been shown, especially at its low therapeutic dose, selectively to inhibit COX-2 over COX-1."

Lovely little miracles these small round objects that I swallow.

Within a couple years after his near fatal car accident, Ben Hogan made an amazing comeback by winning the Open Championship at Merion in 1950 (USGA Journal article).

So what am I complaining about with my sore shoulder, what a sham compared to the painful obstacles Ben Hogan had to overcome.

This was truly one of the most memorable moments in the history of golf and truly an inspiration for me.

Go out there and practice alot so that by the end of the year your handicap hits the single digit realm.

My right shoulder is killing me, and it has been pretty painful on and off now for about half a year. I cannot figure out what is causing it. The intensity of the pain doesn't seem to have any logical correlation with my daily activities. It can flair up for no reason at all or then disappear just like that. Sometimes it can lock at the joint slightly, and the ensuing muffled crack from deep inside of the ligaments can hurt pretty bad. Could it have something to do with my working long hours behind my laptop?

Luckily it doesn't affect my golf game, except if I have to carry my bag. Winter play disallows usage of push carts, so now I just carry my bag from my left shoulder and hope for the best. My back swing and follow-through are not limited by my right shoulders which makes me very thankful.

This afternoon I have an appointment with the friendly neighborhood physiotherapist, and I'm curious what he has to say. His usual thing is to give me a bunch of exercises I have to do each morning to loosen up my joints. But to be honest, I'm a little worried that this is some kind of chronic infection that requires a more serious medical treatment.

The famous golfer Ben Hogan used to say, "The more I practice the luckier I get."

He used to train himself hours on end and hit thousands of balls until his hands blistered and bled, feeling that this was the only true road to golfing perfection.

Lucky for him that he already had developed the right mind, which is most of the work.

That's really weird, it started raining and all of a sudden all of the snow which has been lying around for weeks on end completely disappeared, just like that. Driving in the car with the sun blaring in through the windshield, it almost felt like Spring was coming. I thought great, now I can finally play golf again. So I rush on over to the golf course, but it's closed! The melted snow had flooded most of the greens and fairways, making it unplayable and slushy. Darn it all, better luck next time.

Today I was pleasantly surprised to discover how much "just knowing" that you are gripping the club correctly can improve your confidence. Without changing a thing, I was striking the ball consistently, and except for an occasional draw, I was hitting the ball high and pretty straight.

Worrying that my grip was one of my weaknesses, I've been playing around with variations for about a year without much success. In fact, each new change made things worse and worse. The more I practiced the worse I got. Each new grip made my arms feel like they were bending and extending in an unnatural way.

I've always had a "strong" grip, meaning that my left hand is turned inwards (clockwise) so that the V between my forefinger and thumb points to somewhere between my nose and right eye. The left thumb presses slightly on the side of the grip opposite to the target, and the right hand barely does anything but follow.

During my younger days, the fashion was to adhere to a "neutral" grip where both hands are clapped together at right angles to the target line and grip the club at that position. The left thumb is aligned along the length of the club shaft with the right hand folding right on top with the right thumb also lying along the top of the grip.

(Even in Ben Hogan's book "Five Lessons" the "neutral" grip is taught and the V of the right hand should point to the chin.)

I'm now reading the book "Swing Like a Pro" by Dr. Mann, which is based on years of scientific analyses of the best professional golfers. It presents a bio-mechanical approach to golf, where a model swing is individualized and applied.

In the second chapter of this book, I was pleasantly surprised to read that my natural grip, the one I was born with and used as a kid until I took official lessons, matches closely to the ideal grip as explained in this chapter. The V of the right hand points to the right shoulder.

So I do not have to change anything about my grip (actually, that V of my left hand should be pointing slightly more in the direction of my right ear). Just grab the club naturally with my hands and that's it. Not only does this grip feel the best, just knowing that it is a good grip makes me confident. I am more mentally prepared when I take my stance and address the ball. My arms swing freely and are not obstructed by a grip which feels foreign to me.

Next fundamental is my stance which will be covered in the next chapter.

I just finished the book "Dream On" by John Richardson. It's about this golfing hacker pursuing his goal of shooting an even par score within a year. It was so good, so inspiring, that I read the whole thing in only two sittings.

Impossible challenges are good for us. We acquire more confidence in ourselves, not so much in that the impossible goal is actually achieved, but simply in the fact that we can mobilize ourselves mentally and physically in difficult situations we never before realized we were capable of doing.

The book also includes many interesting tips on how to improve your golf game. It's not only alot of practice, but also assuming a new 100% way of life centered around golf. A sense of mental acumen is the frosting on the cake, and nothing can beat the feeling of exhilaration when it all comes together. That's what makes golf so very interesting to me, the intricate balance between the physical and the mental, trying to make sense of the many obstacles nature puts in our way.

One of the most interesting parts of the book involves feeling confident but not overly so. The moments he is feeling really great and imagines he's finally going to pull it off, those are the moments he messes up badly. With only a few holes to go and then knocking two balls into the trees. At the other extreme, feeling nervous and unsure about yourself is also not good. By the end of the book, the author has attained a higher level of awareness where it "just happens" without him even thinking about it. A fairy tale come true, but only after a year of total immersion, dedication and hard work.

Self-improvement is human nature and we need the challenge in one way or the other in order to survive.

The weatherman tells us that it's going to be below freezing, but I will be getting up early anyway to hit the links. Now that I've got my golf winter gloves, four layers of clothing, a woolen cap and a wind breaker for good measure, nothing's going to stop me now.

Scratch to Scratch - John Richardson

For the first time in my life, I went into the pro shop and bought a pair of golf winter gloves. Now that the daily temperatures have dropped down to freezing, my normal golf glove doesn't quite do the trick. I must be totally addicted to golf to want to force myself to swat the ball in such an unforgiving climate.

Being the golf enthusiast that I am, I challenged myself to a late afternoon nine holes in this freezing cold weather. A good pair of warm gloves is absolutely required, otherwise one loses complete feeling in the hands which is disastrous for the old golf game.

Playing in colder weather has some additional disadvantages that need to be taken into account, namely that the golf ball will not travel as far. Takes about two clubs extra to reach the target, assuming that the ball is hit squarely and true.

However, hitting the ball well is more difficult because it is lying on soft, muddy ground and the icy wind is trying to blow you off balance. So make it three clubs extra, but swing easier so that the chances of hitting the ball cleanly are increased. Poor concentration will result in your face being splattered with mud particles or painfully vibrating hands from hitting the ball way too thin.

Considering the circumstances, the early coming of darkness and the dropping temperature, I played alright I guess. My left big toe is still pretty frozen and hasn't yet thawed out.

Next Wednesday morning early I'll be out there again daring the winter weather in its face with an amazing shot here and there. Undaunted and persevering, I believe that practicing under such unattractive conditions will in the long run improve my game by strengthening my confidence. Knowing that I've braved new and unexpected mishaps and survived the round, becoming wiser and more appreciative of nature's many whims.

Smashing evening golf balls at the driving range when it is dark is a strange experience which takes some time to get used to.

Although the first one hundred yards or so is illuminating alright, the distance to the targets is hard if not impossible to calculate. A simple pitching wedge flies the nearest flag and makes you feel like you've acquired supernatural abilities.

Aiming for the 250 meter marker is another interesting challenge. The ball disappears, and then there is a pause. Either you hear nothing, or if you are lucky there is a delayed bang which resonates through the night and makes you feel good.

The golfing range I hit balls at has two levels. I'm usually on the lower tier because I prefer practicing at the same level that is more natural for golfing.

An interesting effect is the hitting of golf balls by others who are standing above you on the second tier. You cannot hear the balls being hit, but watching all them little specks looks like this blasting of little white snowflakes into the distant night.

This time of year it is often a race against the clock getting in those last couple of holes before it gets too dark. But what can you do if the darkness is approaching too quickly, and on the ninth hole you are staring down a fairway that you can barely see?

Tee shot from the ninth.

What I try and do is place the ball farther up in my stance, thereby hitting the ball higher so that it appears as a black spot against the sunset sky, arching up and then downwards. This partial segment of the trajectory can be used to extrapolate the rest of the downward arch, providing one with a rough estimate of the location of the landing path. A good ear comes in handy, the distant thump or the crashing of leaves and branches giving a more accurate indication of where best to look for the ball.

After a half decent drive down the right side of the fairway, I hit my approach shot in the general direction of the ninth hole. I hear the familiar sound of the golf ball hitting the surface of the green with a confident thud. Didn't see it fly off of my nine iron, didn't see it come down, but I can imagine perfectly well where the ball has stopped rolling. Time for a daring eagle-eye birdie putt just as the final rays of sunlight disappear altogether.

Watch the ball arch across the sunset sky of the tee shot, hear that suggestive thud of the approach shot, and then the long and winding putt dropping into the cup.

I never realized how much a difference new spikes for my golf shoes would make. Not that my game has improved the slightest bit (darn), but just the idea that these brand-new objects are adorning the bottom of my shoes makes me feel better for some reason.

To be fair, they do make me feel like I am slightly taller and my stance seems steadier when I swing the club on soft ground, but then again I could just be imagining that.

In the olden days we actually had metal spikes and they made this fantastic scraping sound when you walked across the parking lot or on the paved pathways.

Now spikes are made of this durable plastic which isn't as nice, but I guess it damages the greens and indoor carpets much less. I'm wearing Nike spikes, wow!

What a pleasant surprise it was to hear from the team captain that I had qualified for the HB3 golf team sponsored by my country club.

This is as good an excuse as any to get real serious and spend more time honing my golf skills, both physical as well as mental (no more procrastinating young man).

My physical game could do with some minor tweaking here and there as my swing etc. is alright in general. However, it is certainly my fragile attitude which requires some serious improvements, e.g. not getting all shook up and disappointed when I shoot a double-bogie, continuing full-speed ahead for the rest of the round as if nothing happened.

Starting now we have much practicing to do in preparation for the important tournaments next year April. Playing more serious golf will help me achieve my next golfing goal which is to acquire a single digit handicap by the end o next year. Go for it.

Here is the dilemma. Outside it is drizzling down rain pretty hard, and the ground is soaked and muddy. I could go out and play golf. However, grovelling all afternoon in the blubbery rough looking for my balls and never finding them would make be regret my decision. This inner feeling is growing and becoming an impassioned urge, a very familiar intoxication. I've got to play golf today or else.

So how does one deal with such urgent situations? My gut-feeling says yes who cares and the common sense of nature says no you better not. How does one day make a tiny difference anyway?

Tomorrow they predict better weather, so we can wait. (Since when have they ever been able to predict the weather accurately here?) At the same time, it is slowly and surely becoming cooler as winter approaches, soon it will be bitter cold. During those winter months, I will not be able to play at all, or be forced to play the shortened holes with their roundish winter greens with my thick gloves on.

Get out there and make a difference. Hey, I need to make the best of it while I can.

As a not unrealistic compromise I'll stay home today, do my mental golfing meditations (improving my swing at a higher plain of consciousness). I can pick up one of my books about golfing, I've purchased a pile of maybe fifteen books that I still haven't touched.

I've finally made my mind, just stay home for the day, a difficult decision to say the least. I feel much better now. But looking out the window, I see that the sun is slowly appearing from behind the darkish clouds, and that drizzle has become very slight indeed.

Too late, I've already promised to lend my car to my son and daughter. That way they won't have to bicycle to work in the pouring down rain. Such a nice sacrifice on my part: golf versus family, and family wins.

After struggling for quite some months with my back problems, I finally decided to become a wimp and stop carrying my golf bag around the course. So for my birthday I received a fancy Bag-Boy push cart and a big black-and-red Cobra golf bag. This was my wife's idea not mine, so don't accuse me of being greedy.

I've always prided myself with being able to lug a full bag of clubs around for eighteen holes, unlike all of the other losers who used push/pull carts. The extra exercise also gave me a kick, climbing up and down the hill toning my sexy leg muscles. I had a good sweat and a nice workout at the same time.

That is until two problems popped up, each related to the other. First my back, which after a round of golf would ache badly for the following day or two. Second, my golf game was notorious for always failing me badly on the final few holes, as if my energy reserves were suddenly depleted and I could not strike the ball worth beans.

So here I am with a nice fancy bag and push cart. This will certainly take some getting used to. At first I felt kind of embarrassed, worried about all kinds of snide comments from my fellow golfers, but not a single smirk or joke from anyone. I stood there right next to the eighteenth hole talking to a couple of late afternoon finishers, and no one even noticed!

One big improvement asides from the lessened weight on wheels is the extra pocket space. There's so much space in there I don't know how to fill it. I can even put twenty golf balls in the front pocket and it's not even half full.

Next week Wednesday morning at 8:52 I will finally be able to officially put my fancy new golfing attributes to the test. Let's see if my game is affected or not.

What an exciting afternoon it was. I was six under par for the round with not a single three putt. Pretty amazing.

Well, at least that was on the practice putting green, but it is still a pretty good accomplishment which took me an hour and a half to achieve.

During golf practice I try to be creative and make up challenges in order to improve my game. One such challenge takes place on the putting green and goes like this:

• Start somewhere random on the putting green with your three luckiest golf balls.
• Choose one practise hole, either in the clockwise or the counter-clockwise direction, and putt the three balls in the hole.
• This is your starting and finishing hole. You will be playing all the holes keeping along the perimeter of the green as much as possible.
• The goal is to make it once around the perimeter, playing each hole in order until the finishing hole.
• You must putt every single ball no matter how close it is to the hole, no gimmies.
• If you three putt then you have to start all over again.
• If the ball goes off of the green, e.g. onto the fringe or further, you also have to start all over again.
• When starting over, if you are more than two holes away, you may optionally putt back to the starting hole. Sink this long putt, and you do not have to start over. Simply continue playing where you left off (after you gleefully walk to the hole, grab the ball out, and return). However, if you three putt any of the balls (making it two three putts in a row), you cannot begin until you have putted back and forth between the same two holes without a single three putt.
• The rules above are repeated until one circuit around the perimeter of the green is completed, of course trying to get the lowest score possible.
• An ace is counted as one under (a birdie) and a two is considered a par. A three putt, just as in real life, is a big bad no-no for which you are severely punished.

So far my record is six under which I tied today. This I was able to achieve despite the fact that it was raining down pretty hard, rain drops falling from the visor of my cap and all of those grass blades clogging up my putter.

First it's pouring down rain. Then it stops for awhile.

After about thirty minutes it starts raining again. This time much harder. Then after ten minutes it clears up again.

Right when I grab my clubs and open the garage door, it starts pouring down rain again.

No golf for me today. Mother nature is playing around with my mind.

I'll just have to figure out something else to do.

What could be better than life balanced between golf, computer programming and spending time with the kids, wife and dog?

What's the link between childhood and old age?

When you dream are you in another more real world?

If God doesn't exist then is being compassionate still a logical alternative?

Par, par, par, par, par, par, triple bogie, triple bogie, par for a forty two.

One thing that has been plaguing my golf game all year is an acute case of inconsistency. As revealed in the previous series of scores, it can be quite frustrating when a pretty good nine holes is blasted into oblivion by two measly mess ups.

In general, I play alright shooting pars, bogies, and an occasional birdie for good measure.

However, at least once or twice and sometimes even more often, I choke badly on a given hole. In the water, between the trees, buried in the bunker.

At least if I happen to mess up one hole, it'd sure be nice to recover gracefully and continue my streak of pars and bogies as if nothing happened.

So what gives?

They claim that golf is more of a mental game than physical, so that's the area I'm going to have to improve during these winter months. When it's too cold or stormy to play golf, I'll have to meditate indoors and read books about golf (I have a pile of unread golf books about a meter high).

The great Ben Hogan always said to treat the next hole as if it were the very first hole of the day.

Sometimes you just want to go out to the driving range and do nothing else but whack the balls as hard as you can.

Do not bother to take any practice swings in between those mighty hits, and whatever you do, make sure that you avoid thinking about what you are doing, how well or badly you are hitting the balls.

Perhaps this is not the best way to improve your game, but it sure makes you feel alot better, ramming through a number of buckets of balls. The little white balls are flying all over the place, and more often than not their trajectories are taking them on a very straight line landing many miles away.

Who knows, you might be improving your game without even realizing it, and having loads of fun while you are at it.

No matter how good such a round of bashing balls makes you feel, I do not recommend trying this on the golf course.

Came home today to discover a package from Amazon waiting for me on my desk, and when I opened it I was excited to discover that the new Catalyst Book arrived.

I already started reading it, and I plan to devour it fully this weekend between my two golf tournaments.

In the meantime, I've already learned alot about the Catalyst Web Framework through weeks of hands-on experience at work, but I'm sure there's alot more extra stuff to learn by reading this fine book.

I'll be sure and write a (positive) review when I'm done.

They say that practice makes perfect. However, the more golf I practice the worse I get.

At the beginning of the year after a long cold winter break from golf, I took out the old clubs and hit the links. I couldn't believe how well I hit the ball back then and golf was fun and relaxing.

Now after nearly a half golf season behind me, my game sucks and my handicap is slowly rising. Golf is getting frustrating and it has become stressful and not fun at all. I keep practicing but that does not help.

What makes it extra frustrating is the fact that I used to be really good and it's hard to accept that unless some miracle happens I will never be that good again. Or not?

I could just quit but I won't. Golf is all mental anyway, illogical and addictive.

Everywhere you look these days in Perl literature, chances are that you'll come across references to Moose, how great and flexible it is and so forth.

Since I had such a lousy game of golf this afternoon and lost my first matchplay round six down, I needed a way to inspire myself. So what could be better then reading the Moose::Manual this evening?

Boy, was I in for a frustrating surprise.

I hate to admit it, but all this Moose stuff is not easy for me (grumble). Rather than getting all excited and inspired like I hoped, I'm sorry to admit that it's making me feel rather sad that I cannot figure this out.

Am I supposed to be able to understand this Moose stuff? After so many years of getting pleasure in tackling all kinds of complex programming issues, have I simply reached my limit? Time to give up trying to be a Perl guru, jump ship, and be forced to become a golf hacker the rest of my life? What do other fine Perl souls out there think about it?

Here's an example that better illustrates my frustrations. In the Moose::Manual::Concepts one goes on and on about classes, attributes, methods and roles. Not bad. A role has zero or more of this, a role has zero or more of that, a role has zero or more of this and that. Getting more difficult.

Later on one learns that a role is somewhat like mixins or interfaces in other OO languages. Getting more difficult. What the heck is a mixin (and how do you pronounce it)? The good old Wikipedia saves the day with a nice, clear definition:

"In object-oriented programming languages, a mixin is a class that provides a certain functionality to be inherited by a subclass, while not meant for instantiation (the generating of objects of that class). Inheriting from a mixin is not a form of specialization but is rather a means of collecting functionality. A class may inherit most or all of its functionality from one or more mixins through multiple inheritance."

Huh? Nearing apogee and getting impossibly difficult.

Whatever happens, I have promised myself to hang in there. Read and reread as much as I can. Stay smart. Get smarter. Figure it all out or else.

What with so many Perl gurus out there getting all fired up about Moose, mixin and stuff, why I want to join the fun as well!

Tomorrow it's all about Moose::Manual::Classes and then next the world.

Wish me luck.

Looks like we've got some ideal golfing weather ahead, and I'm definitely going to take advantage of this fantastic stroke of luck.

Here's my golfing schedule: tomorrow early shotgun with the oldies, Friday afternoon practice round by myself, Saturday morning 1st round club stroke play championship, Saturday afternoon golf lessons, and Sunday if I qualify 2nd round club play championship.

The clubs have been cleaned and polished and I'm ready to have a fun and relaxing time.

The problem with offering your opponent advice on the golf course is that if it helps then he beats you out of a couple more bucks and if it doesn't help then he can blame his lousy score on your poor suggestions.

I also am superstitious in that giving an outsider part of your good advice energy will only deplete your own magical skills a little bit more.

So I told my opponent on the back nine that according to me he was hitting the ball inconsistently because he was swaying too much front to back and should concentrate on taking a wider stance and keeping his balance.

That's when he drilled his tee shot right down the middle of the fairway and I sliced my ball badly out of bounds.

Fortunately this time around we weren't playing for money.

Let's just say that after such a lousy approach shot, I deserved it and should have seen it coming. My six iron off the tee was hit nicely but caught the tree next to the water hazard when it landed.

Searching for my ball in all that high grass, I wasn't looking very carefully. That's when my right foot came down on a fluff of green which hovered above the water, and unlike the rest of the grass I was standing on, had no solid ground supporting it underneath.

Good old gravity took over. The edge of the pond was steeper than I expected. Without a moment's notice I slid straight down into the pond, plunging down into the water at an eighty degree angle, the surface of the reeking pond right up to my waist.

Bad enough was getting soaking wet, but even worse was the black sludge and muck which filled my shoes and pants up to my knees. I was pulled out of the mud by my concerned opponent who reached out with his wedge so I could grab it and pull myself out of the suction.

Taking off my pants, shoes and soaks and wringing them out as best I could before putting them back on felt only slightly better but did not help the rest of my game.

For the remaining holes my game suffered tremendously. Try for yourself to swing a golf club when your pants and shoes are sopping wet. It's like trying to twist your body when enclosed by tight layer of cellophane which refuses to give in.

Better luck next week.

"Well the most important thing in the golf swing to me is the movement of the lower body from the top of the swing. And if you don't mind I'll demonstrate. First off, you start down below with your knees and your hips. At the top of the swing, you move the lower part of your body, not your shoulders, the lower part of your body, letting your arms and hands follow, bring you into position to hit. This is the first movement... there (swish)... then you release at the bottom. Most people do it entirely opposite. They rotate their shoulders first instead of their lower body. As a result they come across the ball and hit the outside of the ball instead of the back of it. If you don't mind, I'll hit a ball... and the first thing to watch is what starts first from the top of the swing."

Ben Hogan bends down and gently places the ball on the tee. In slow motion his perfect swing comes down and strikes the ball with amazing precision, launching the ball forward right down the middle of the fairway, his follow through coming through high and mighty.

Some videos:

• Ben Hogan Golf Swing
• Ben Hogan Slow Motion Swing

Ben Hogan is widely acknowledged to have been the greatest ball striker ever to have played golf. In his career lasting from 1938 to 1959, Ben Hogan had 64 PGA Tour wins and won 9 Major tournaments. He became just the second player, after Gene Sarazen, to win all four of the modern major championships. In 1953 he won the British Open Championship, the only time he played the event.

I'm completely battered and bruised after one of lousiest rounds of golf yesterday.

The round started out just fine with a series of pars and bogies until the eighth where a massive drive went too far and landed in the bunker that no one should be able to reach in one shot. The ball lay just under the front lip, but I became greedy and thought I could hammer a good seven iron to the green. Of course, when I hit it the ball nicked the lip and skirted off to the right into the water hazard. I dropped my penalty shot and shanked the next one into the same water just a couple yards from the previous splash. Then I hacked an eight iron to the left of the green, chipped short and two putted for an amazing nine.

It didn't end there.

On the most difficult hole of the courser, which is a narrow par five dogleg to the left, I sliced my tee shot out of bounds. I topped my second shot and it rolled into the trees on the left. I attempted a low four iron through the trees, but of course hit the tree bulls-eye right in front of me and the ball bounced straight downwards between two thick roots. I hit another low four iron and this time it flew perfectly through the trees but hit the sand trap rake coming down and ricocheted into the sand. I caught the sand shot thinly and the ball flew over the green onto the cart path. To make a painful long story short, I ended up with a nine there also.

I felt like giving up golf altogether and either tossing my clubs into the nearby lake or giving them away to someone more deserving of this fine game than I. I felt like taking my clubs one by one and breaking the shafts across my knee. I felt like taking all of my golf balls and putting a torch to them. I felt like taking my favorite putter and wedging it into the side of my head.

However, after a good night of sleep has saved me again. The itch is coming back good and strong and the spirit of golf is consuming me again. Meaning that I'm going to give golf one more try this afternoon, just in case. Am I insane? Did that knock to my head with my favorite putter cause some kind of permanent damage? Can I afford losing so many balls again? What kind of addiction is this that hurts you so bad, completely destroys your sense of good worth, and then makes you keep coming back for more?

The sweet game of golf.