Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden

I like golf. I will say that very openly and honestly. From some people I get a groan, a roll of the eyes, and that wondrous question of why. From others, I get the full understanding of what a great sport it is - and yes, it is a sport, a skill and concentration sport. One where focus and technique can beat sheer strength any day of the week. I have one big problem, however - I'm not particularly good at golf... at least not yet. But give me a little, I've only been attempting to play for a couple of years and I have yet to play a full round (pitch and putt doesn't count).

Since the weather was nearly perfect yesterday, BC and I cut out of work early and headed for the driving range. He's been telling me for a few days how good he is, consistently hitting in the high 80's and such, that I wanted to see it for myself and hopefully be able to pick up something. Before we went, I gave him this warning: I have no idea how to use my irons. None at all. Don't know how to hold them, swing them, anything. This was as much personal protection as anything, so I didn't go out there and completely make a fool of myself.

It's been a while since I've hit a golf ball. And it really showed. I shanked a whole bunch of them with my 7 wood before I made a couple of good hits. But could not stay consistent. BC on the other hand was launching them. Don't think I've ever been to the driving range with someone who hit so well (sorry, Jay). A bit of amusement arose when we saw groups of people, who were oblivious to any sort of danger, walking across the driving range... pretty much in the range that BC was hitting his. (10 points if you hit one!! There's no way they'll be able to get here before we get into the car.) A couple came pretty close. Close enough that there was a bit of staring and pointing from one of the groups.

I was not doing nearly as well. And after a bit of frustration, BC took pity on me, watched and evaluated my swing. Why was I not making good contact? Why did I feel uncomfortable? Don't move the feet, relax the front shoulder, keep the feet aligned better and closer to the ball, shift the weight back a little more, follow through, and most importantly - DON'T GET FRUSTRATED! Each small thing corrected made each shot smoother and straighter. That lovely sound of solid contact. Well, we got something to work better.

Now the fun part - how in the world do I use my irons? I have issues with the irons in general. I always feel two very specific things when I try to use an iron: (1) that I am right on top of the ball (2) I'm going to smash my club into the ground. As a result, I generally stand much too far away and I pull up in the middle of my swing, resulting in the golf ball dribbling away sadly. As many adjustments BC tried to make, I would only make rudimentary contact with the ball. A couple were lifted nicely, but most dribbled away or were short line drives. Not exactly what we were hoping for. Try as I might, the ball was not going anywhere good. So we decided to retire to the pitching/putting area to practice our "short game." (The fact that I have yet to get any game much less a short game was obviously ignored at this point.)

In theory, working with the pitching wedge on the grass should be better - not as much fear of slamming into the rubber mat... if I hit the ground, well, I get a divot. Theory and practice were obviously opposing at this point. The ball was going nowhere; not even coming close to the pitching green. I can't tell what I'm doing wrong. BC can't tell either, saying my swing was okay, but not making clean contact. Relax, relax, don't think about it too much. The ball won't mind being hit. That's what it's there for. And then... *plink* Ball lifted. "Hey, what did you do that time?" "Dunno, tried not to think about it too much." So I tried it again... *plink* Ball lifted again. "Hey, that's really good!" I wasn't getting the distance, but at least I was hitting them cleanly and actually lifting the ball. By the end of it, I was pretty much consistently hitting and lifting the ball with my pitching wedge. A vast improvement from where I started. Vast.

Going home, I was much more satisfied that I was able to get some of the mechanics of using my irons (or at least the pitching wedge) to go somewhere. Well, anywhere from the state I began would have been an improvement, let's be honest. But I was happy that I felt like I took a step forward, learning a little more, attempting to improve. I hope that I don't forget it all by the next time.

I'm hoping to get a full round of golf in by the end of the summer. I know that I will likely suck it up and shoot around 200. But again, taking a step forward from the driving range and onto the actual golf course. Isn't that the whole point of it really?