So exactly where have I been?

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted! I've basically been in hiding, toiling away on these changes that had rendered me a lump of quivering hack. Up until a week ago, it's been brutal. During my last lesson, I spent a 3 hour block of time chipping away attempting to essentially perform a quadruple bypass on my swing. Well, I sort of did, if you consider requiring 2 months of recuperation.

So after my 3 hour session, I went and played a round with a friend of mine. I was hitting it incredibly short. I literally lost 20+ yards off my tee shots, and at least a club off my irons. On the plus side, I was hitting my irons fat AND thin on alternating shots, so the distance wasn't my main concern. While that sucked, I chalked it up to a minor glitch and continued on. What I found was that every time I practiced and every time I played, I was hitting it worse and worse, and shorter and shorter. In the past, I'd hit my driver over the fence at the end of the range at Rio Salado, but now I was rolling it into the bottom of the net. Considering the fence is 30'=40' tall, that represented a pretty serious drop in distance. Naturally I stopped playing and only practiced. My lessons started to focus on power drills, I bought a Speed Stick, and basically curled up into a fetal position at night to keep from going crazy.

My man Mike at Rio Salado always checks in on me to see how things are going and I just spilled my guts to him. Told him what was going on, told him what I was working on, how much I was reading, working out, etc. His advice, stop reading for 2 weeks. Just hit some balls, and then he invited to me to play 9 holes with him after the holiday's, just to play, no swing thoughts, just hit it and find it golf. So I kept plugging away, and I knew I was getting close. I started hitting it a little better day by day, which was a miracle considering that for a time I was hitting it worse and worse each day. I made a swing or two or three per session where I hit the ball the correct distance again. Not every time, but I was getting there.

The day I showed up to play with Mike I was hitting it well. Oh hell, 1000% better than in weeks past. Mike stopped by to let me know his lesson was almost finished, and that his buddy from Texas who played and was getting ready for Q School for the Eurpoean Sr. Tour was going to join us. Ah great, it's bad enough that Mike's going to laugh at me, but now this guy gets to pile on too? Oh well, the way I'd been hitting it, and the intention of the round, I didn't really care how I was going to play. This was about Mike kicking me in the ass and getting my head out of the way, and by God I was going to let him do it. So off we went to the first tee for the first golf I'd played in over a month.

His buddy is from Texas (I'm an Oklahoma fan, Texas can suck it. No offense to anyone, other than Texans), so right away we started jabbing each other. That was cool, a good ice breaker. Didn't feel like I hit it incredibly well off the first tee, but I got down there and had actually bombed it. Just a little flip wedge to the green. I was so stoked about the tee shot that I just fell asleep on the pitch shot. Thinned it over the green, back on, 2 putts, bogey. Hit it dead on line on the par 3 second to about 12 feet, just missed it. Hit a really good 3 wood on the third, then tried a new pitch shot move (out of the Stan Utley book I've been reading) and left it very short. New rule, no more of that garbage. Chipped on and made the putt for par. Hit it dead online on the par 3 fourth, about 20 feet short though, 2 putt par.

Now it gets good, bombed my driver (325 yards if the card's yardage is correct) on the fifth. Par 5, 430 yards, weird hole, should be a par 4. Anyway, 105 out, solid wedge to about 8 feet, and nearly made the putt, yep it even had enough steam to go past the hole, so 2 putt birdie. Feels good now, having fun, fall asleep again and yank hook a 3 wood on the 6th, huge hill on the left so it funnels back down into play. Ball is well below my feet, 100 yards out. With the old swing so upright, I tended to pull hook these shots, so I aimed right at it. Now wouldn't you know it, the new swing puts the ball right online, so it goes right and short sides me into the bunker. We start screwing around with a few shots out of the bunker, miss the putt, bogey. Or double. I think double, yeah cause I took 2 shots. Well that sucks, thought I made 5, dammit. Next tee box the guys start getting on me about how long it takes me to set and pull the trigger so they have me back away and we talk about trimming up the routine. I reset, pull the trigger quickly, right online but short of the hole, say 30 feet. I jammed the ball up the hill about 6 feet past and missed the putt.

The 8th is a weird freaking hole, they put up a fence to keep everyone from hooking it into a parking lot on the East side of the golf course. So it requires either a 30 yard hook with (what I now know to be) a 7 iron. so hitting a dead straight 5 iron puts the ball into the lateral hazard. Couldn't find it, dropped a ball, mis-judged the distance and put it into the front bunker. Out to 4 feet and made the putt. Was going to hit 3 wood off the 9th, but got my ass chewed by the guys. "Hit your driver, practice putting it in play on tight holes like this, we are PRACTICING remember?" So I hit driver, not well, but good enough to be in play. A little flip wedge in, hit it well and one hopped it to a foot for a closing birdie. Those feel good.

Felt REALLY good to play again, even if just for 9 holes. When I beared down, I got great results. Looking back over the past 2 months, I didn't think I'd ever hit a good shot again. Just this round alone, I hit several, and didn't have a bunch of swing thoughts like I'd been paralyzed with while practicing. Mike, mission accomplished my friend. Thanks for clearing my head.