Shoulder surgery tomorrow - 9/5/2008

I hit my last golf ball for the next 4-5 months today, a high towering draw 7 iron, just pured it, man that felt good. Pretty depressed when I got back to the office though. Just cleaned up my clubs and shoes and put them in the basement on the rack with my other golf stuff. Surgery is tomorrow, can't eat or drink anything after midnight and I'm expected to be at the hospital for a total of 6 hours before being able to go home. A long weekend of rest and recovery and I'll be back at work on Tuesday.

I'm not sure what the physical therapy regimen will end up being, but I'm going to stick to it like glue. Rather than risking full recovery to come back early, I'm going to push the recovery process so I can come back at 110% at the specified date. I'm going to use this as a means to implement a pretty serious exercise regimen and hopefully come back better than ever.

Wish me luck, I'll see you (one handed) after the surgery!

Shoulder tear - ain't this a bitch...

So guess what, I have what looks to be a torn labrum in my right shoulder. Just went for my 2nd MRI yesterday. This all started with the dog, we had to put him down just over a month ago, he was at the emergency vet for 4 days, then we took him home. His legs didn't work and every 30 minutes he would basically freak out and try to get up, bark at the walls, etc. The only way to calm him down was to pick him up, carry him outside and lay him down in the grass for 5 minutes or so, then back inside for another 30 minutes. I did this for 2 days straight. At about 3AM the 2nd morning my right arm felt like it was going to fall out of it's socket, really sharp shooting pain from my elbow, up the outside of my shoulder and over my shoulder blade.

I tried hitting balls a few days after we put the dog down and I got through about 25 shots before I felt like passing out. Tried to play the following day and quit after 5 holes. Saw a physical therapist a couple of times and he did some electro therapy, shot a laser in the shoulder to reduce the swelling, etc. I thought I was good and went to San Francisco with some friends, played in Napa and got through about 14 holes before it flared up again. We played Harding Park (site of the 2009 President's Cup) and quit in the middle of the fairway on 14 as the pain was too unbearable. On the advice of my instructor Jeff, I went to see the guys at All Star Health and they worked on my shoulder with a thing called Active Release Technique, basically really really really deep tissue work. It freed up the nerve and I could play pretty much pain free.

Just before that trip I had an MRI done and scheduled an appt. with an orthopedic surgeon, so we stuck with that. Went and saw that Dr. and he says he's 95% sure I have a torn labrum in my right shoulder. To prove his point, he pushed and pulled on my right arm and then BINGO, my right arm bone moved what felt like 3/4". Wow, what a freaking weird feeling that is! I said "What the hell was that?!" He stated that movement is the result of the tear. He scheduled me for a 2nd MRI utilizing some dye injected into the shoulder, which is called an Arthrogram. Basically a really long needle stuck really really really deep into your shoulder socket where they inject dye so they can see the cartilage better. We're doing this so we are 100% sure that it's torn before we fix this.

So here's the problem, fixing it is surgery. It's arthroscopic, so I won't have a big scar, but I'll be in a sling for 6 weeks and then PT. And the kicker...no hitting golf balls for 4-5 months. Are you fucking kidding me? I was scheduled to play Talking Rock in Prescott this past Sunday, so I asked him if I could play, to which he suggested that I not hit driver, not swing too hard, etc. I told him that wasn't happening, so maybe he could just level with me and tell me if I can play or not. So he caved and said "Sure, why not, it's not like you're going to tear it!". Good advice. So I played Sunday, a fair amount of pain crept in on the back 9, but nothing like when the nerve was firing. After starting out 5 over through 4 I shot one under the remaining 14 holes to shoot 76. I guess not bad on a course I'd never seen with a torn shoulder.

I have a follow up appointment on the 25th to get the results of the MRI and to figure out what to do regarding surgery and the like. As can be expected, I'm pretty depressed and feel like someone kicked me in the gut. But, I personally know people who have gone through worse both themselves and with family, and the bottom line is that after some therapy, I'll be back 100%. It sucks pretty bad, and I'm not happy about it, but I've spent some long nights thinking this over and I'm coming to grips with it. I'm hoping I can start chipping and putting after 1-2 months, which I'll ask the Dr. specifically about. It was suggested to me that I could carve out the worlds greatest short game with that time, to which I replied "well, maybe I can get to average anyway". Who says I don't have a sense of humor dammit.

I'll post results of the follow up appointment and lay out a recovery plan here. This blog looks like it's now going to turn into a documentary of the road to recovery. I don't know if that's as exciting, but at least it might motivate me and maybe some of you. Maybe we can create a short game plan together.

Let's PaperHogan this bitch!

Posted a new video on my YouTube site from my 6/14 session with Jeff Ritter. We got a good swing down on video and he wanted to burn a DVD of it, exclaiming "Let's PaperHogan this bitch!". So in all it's glory, here is the "bitch", fully PaperHogan'd.

Whirlwind Championship - Round 2

A day of early near misses that ballooned into "holy crap maybe we should take up tennis". I had 40 putts, five 3 putts, started with a double and finished triple, double, bogey, for a stellar 87. I'm in absolutely no mood to post the details of this crap today, hell we may even pretend it never happened. But for right now, I can tell you that after the double on 1 I had birdie putts of 6 feet, 12 feet, 4 feet, 6 feet and 15 feet on holes 2 through six and shot 2 over for that stretch. Do the math, that's some pretty solid ball striking and some horrendous putting. Now I know what you are thinking, perhaps just fix the putting and all will be well. I tried a different route, I instead opted to start hitting it all over the golf course, which just happens to be tighter and less forgiving that the course we played yesterday. I did however continue to putt bad, you know, you don't want to change too many things at once.

Here's the kicker, if I could have managed to shoot even par today I would have won by a shot as the leader shot 6 over and finished at +3, one shot outside of where I stood after round one. Great, somehow that doesn't make me feel any better. 13 shots worse 24 hours later, how does that even happen?

Whirlwind Championship - Round 1

First round of the Golf Channel Amateur Tour's Regional Championship at Whirlwind today, second round tomorrow on the other golf course "Cat Tail". Shot a 2 over 74 today, played the last 8 holes 3 under so we finished strong. Had a stretch of 5 holes that just got me down and the card showed it. Here we go!

Great tee shot on the 424 yard 1st, left me 136 yards, pull PW into the left bunker, out to 8 feet and canned it for par. Hit a little 3 wood on the 399 yard second, 7 iron to about 8 feet and just missed it on the high side, that there my friends is half the strokes I played this hole in the last time I was here, small victories. A not so great tee shot on the 593 yard 3rd, decent 3 wood leaving me 111 into the breeze, and hit the ugliest little thinned GW you've ever seen, to 4 feet, and missed the putt. Dammit. Blocked it right of the green on the 4th, but a good pitch to about 3 feet and made the putt for the 3. Really solid tee shot on the 410 yard fifth but left me an agle that gave what looked like 3 feet between the stick and the bunker on the right, so I hit 9 iron pin high all the way left. A fantastic putt that just missed on the high side. Here comes the stretch, can you feel it? Are you getting sick to your stomach yet? You will...

Decent tee shot on the 564 yard 5th, then nearly topped my 3 wood to 136 yards, yay. A bit uphill this time so I pull 9 iron and hit the most pathetic weak cut about 30 feet short. First putt to about 2 1/2 feet and I talked myself into thinking the lines from the water injection aeration they did would pull the putt right, so I missed it left, dumbass. Seven is a 163 yard par 3 over water, a bit into the breeze, but a solid 7 iron as far left as I could and still be on the green. I've got 30 feet up and over the tier, pin sitting right on top, didn't give it enough break and the slope pulled my ball back down the hill about 12 feet away, and we missed it, another bogey. Number 8 is 317 yards, but a bunch of trouble left, so I thinned a 3 iron to 101 yards, uphill, into the wind and I pull SW, which isn't enough in those conditions, leaving me just short and right in the fringe. The first putt rides a ridge I didn't see past the hole about 5 feet left, and we missed that one too, 3 in a row, awesome. I went from talking and laughing it up with the guys I was playing with to not saying a word, kicking myself, feeling sorry for myself, etc.

9 is a split fairway 441 yard par 4, hit a decent tee shot down the left fairway, had 165 yards to the back left pin. Again a bit into the breeze and uphill so we decide a pathetic weak 6 iron to 35 feet is the smart play here. I somehow scraped in the 3 footer for par to stop the bleeding, or so I thought. 10 is 407 yards, with 254 to clear the fairway bunker on the right. I hit a not bad tee shot, that cut, and caught the top of the trap and rolled back in, right next to the front lip. 254 yards? Are you fucking kidding me? So I've got 152 in and I don't think I can clear the lip with 8, so let's take our medicine and hit 9 just short and get it up and down, nope, caught the lip. 91 yards away and I decide to lay 4 lbs. of sod over my ball. 42 yards away and I hit a 54 yard pitch to about 35 feet, 2 putt double. I literally felt my face turn red, 5 over now and I'm swinging progressively worse. I told you it was a sick feeling.

Number 11 is a 444 yard uphill par 4 and with steam coming out of my ears I finally swung like a man and left myself 140 in. I'm too busy congratulating myself on finally catching one that I forget we're uphill and my 9 iron stops in the fringe. I somehow left the uphill right to left putt short and made 4. Hey, it's better than that 6 we just posted. 12 is a 235 yard par 3 over water, pin back left and I hit one of the best 3 irons of my life to about 12 feet. One of the other guys was on a similar line about 20 feet away, his ball broke about 8 inches, so I figure to play mine about 4 inches as mine was little flatter, but it actually only breaks about 1 inch. We both looked at each other as if to say "wtf just happened there?". 13 is a short par 4, 361 yards but I'm hitting driver. Over the left trap just short of the last fairway bunker, leaving me 81 yards out of the rough. Hit a great held off SW to about 2 feet which we canned for our first birdie of the day. Yay, we're going in the right direction finally.

14th is a 172 yard par 3 playing shorter as the pin is up front, hit 7 iron but not real solid, just crept it on the front of the green, putt missed high but a good par. 15 is a 507 yard par 5, we're licking our chops now. Fairway bunker on the right, 278 to clear it, just hammered the tee shot, nice little draw at the bunker headed back to center, then the wind started pushing it, and I actually ended up catching the lip and rolling back in, damn that was going to be a good tee shot. So now we're under this huge lip again (who makes these damn fairway bunkers with 6 foot lips anyway?), I again pull 9 iron and in an attempt to not thin it into the face, I fat it and just cross the cart path, leaving me 178 yards in. They give you these pin sheets that show you how many paces short or long from center and left or right the hole is, but those are for pansies. I opt to just shoot it with the laser, 178, looks like it's JUST over the greenside bunker, let's hit 5 and give ourselves a putt, no sense in chancing dunking it in another bunker. Well I yanked it, screaming for it to get down as there is a lot of junk left. Ended up pin high left in grass, although there was actually about 20 yards of room over the front bunker as the pin was all the way in the back, good decision making there. (note to self, use the damn pin sheet from here on out) So we hit a lame ass pitch to 20 feet and actually jarred it for par, what an awesome putt.

16 is a 425 yard par 4, hit it to the left side of the fairway this time (not taking another chance at the right fairway bunker), just didn't really go. I had 160 yards left, a bit of a breeze crossing from the left, hit what I thought was a great 7 iron, but it landed dead in the center of the green, about 20 feet short, bottom tier, pin is on the top tier. I gave it a good rap and it just didn't stop rolling and finally found the bottom. Back to even for the back side. 17 is a 551 yard par 5 into the wind, big canyon about 80 yards short of the green. Rather than chance it with the 2nd shot, I'm laying up, already decided before I hit the tee shot. So a decent tee shot, not hard, still left me 290 yards in, hit a 7 iron short of the junk, left me 152 to the center, about 145 to the hole. Big huge swale right and behind the hole, hit a perfect 8 iron just past and right of the hole, took the swale down to about 6 feet. As God as my witness that's exactly the shot I pictured, sure maybe I was lucky to execute it that way, but it sure felt good. Canned it for birdie as well. 18, 442 yards into a pretty good wind now, hit a real good ball up the left side, but still had 190 yards to the stick, yikes. Pin is back center, my line is right over the greenside bunker short of the green, so I unconsciously started it right but drew it back in a bit, pin high about 15 feet right. Uphill right to left putt for 3 in a row to finish and I left it short. You fucking chop.

Out in 39, back in 35 with a double on 10. Really happy obviously with how we finished the last 8 holes, but we can't afford to get down on ourselves in the middle of the round like that. I think the reason I finished so well is I just had a talk with myself after 10 and basically decided that it was unacceptable to play like this, putting half swings on shots, so I decided to swing hard the rest of the round. 11 fairways, 13 greens, 31 putts. We go off later tomorrow, nearly 11AM, in the heat of the day. Forecast is 104 degrees, I'm drinking a ton of water this evening, my toilet is getting a workout. Until tomorrow!

US Open Qualifier results

Nope, we didn't make it, but we finished pretty strong. Well, at least compared to how we started. Yes, it was intimidating, I played practice rounds with guys from the Nationwide Tour and the actual Qualifier with Roger Tambellini from the Nationwide Tour. I'll spare the details of the practice rounds and get right to the qualifier. Here we go!

Showed up with plenty of time to spare and took my time warming up. I think I was one of four guys who didn't have a huge staff bag with my name on it being carried by a caddie. Lots of good swings out there on the range, very exciting stuff. I was last off in our group, and the first two guys hit it right over the corner. Hmmm, I don't think I can carry that. I split the fairway, hit it really well. Hmmm, about 40 yards short of my playing partners, wow. Fanned 7 iron into the bunker, out to about 8 feet and pured the putt for par. My man Roger Tambellini even complimented me on the putt I hit. Thanks buddy! Clearly he recognizes greatness when he see it. (yes, I was joking). Rope hook it off of #2 into the fairway bunker, under the lip, have to wedge out short. Hit a really straightforward pitch shot over the green, chip to about 6 feet and miss the putt, double. Alarm bells are going off now. I fan 5 iron into the bunker on the par 3 third, nearly hit the stick coming out but ended up 20 feet past the hole, hit the par putt about 4 feet by, but made that one. Panic mode has officially set in. Both of my partners bomb their tee shots on the par 5 fourth, I hit a good ball, again 40 yards behind them. This is getting old quick, well, this is what it's going to be today, so just deal with it. Hit 3 wood to leave me 102 yards (596 yard par 5, yeah, it's long). Hit SW so pure, all over the stick, nearly knocked it over, only 30 feet left for birdie (yes, again I was joking). Nearly made it, easy par to stop the bleeding.

Took a rip at it on the fifth hole, rope hook left into the bushes. Shit. There were a few spectators following us and thankfully one of them found my ball. I was looking at a left handed putter swing, but decided against it. Just as I'm looking to figure out my drop options, a USGA official appears out of nowhere and walks me through the whole thing, perfect timing. Took an unplayable, 3 iron through the trees short, pitch to 5 feet, miss the putt, double. OK, we're 5 over after 5. Wow, we may not break 100 today, this is ridiculous. At this point, I'm not ashamed to admit, I can literally taste my own vomit. How can I be hitting it this bad? Well, at least the 6th hole is a 3 wood hole and I hit the shit out of that club. And I did, dead left. Shit. Just as I'm about to hit a provisional one of the guys sees it bounce out of the rocks and back into grass between the bunker and OB. Ok, that's a sign right there. No more thinking, just go hit your ball, get out of the way and right the ship. So from here on out, I took no practice swings, just got my yardage and hit it, picked up my bag and moved on quickly. So from there a PW to the center of the green, 2 putt par. 7th hole is 433 yards, driver down the left side just short of the bunker. 8 iron from 155 to about 9 feet, JUST missed the putt, par. 8th is a 176 par 3 to an island green. Pin back, a bit downwind, smooth 6 iron and nearly flew the green, stopped in the back fringe about 25 feet right. Putt was low but only 2 feet away, good par. 9th is a 564 yard par 5, lame weak cut tee shot, short of the fairway bunker, 3 wood to 100 yards, SW that hung up just under the top shelf and spun back to about 25 feet, the birdie putt was a bit short, but another par. Now we are rolling, can't taste any more vomit. Things are looking up.

Ok, new 9. 364 yard 10th, perfect 3 wood hole, except when you yank it! Phew, stopped just short of the cavernous fairway bunkers. 102 yards left, perfect SW to 6 feet. Hit the putt exactly like I wanted, didn't fall. Great putt though. 471 yard par 4 11th, Solid tee shot, left me nearly 190 yards though. Hit 5 iron a bit high in the face and ended up just short of pin high left, negotiating a buried elephant between me and the hole. Hit what I thought was a good pitch, but it ran about 6 feet by. Hit the putt dead on line, but short. Short? Really? Nice lag dumbass. My competitors both fly it over the corner on the par 5 third, I roll mine into the bunker at the corner. Ugh this sucks! Fatted 5 iron out of the bunker, left me 187 yards for my 3rd shot. Blocked 6 iron from there pin high right. Another buried elephant between me and the hole but hit a perfect chip into the bank, up over the mound, down to the hole, breaking left, clink. Chip in for my first birdie of the day, damn that felt good.

2 groups waiting on the 4th hole, a 235 yard par 3. A bit down wind and I decide on 3 iron, Hit it like crap and ended up short right. Chip to about 4 feet and bury the putt to keep the momentum going. I take 3 wood off of the fifth, 354 yard par 4, pefectly placed at the top of the hill at the corner. About 89 yards left, pefect held off SW to about 8 feet right of the hole. Another perfect putt buried in the heart for another birdie. Back to 4 over and momentum is on our side. Hit a decent tee shot on 6, just really short. Had 180 yards back into the breeze, but it's calming down a bit now. Hit a perfect 6 iron to 8 feet. This putt is identical to the last hole. Hit it perfect and left that mother F'er short. I screamed a string of profanties in my head but kept my cool on the outside. Par 3 seventh hole, only 164 yards. I'm still fuming from that putt and block it into the bunker. Tried to get cute with the bunker shot and left it in the fringe. Hit that to about 3 feet and saved bogey. Dammit, that sucked so bad. Now most people would hammer a driver on the next hole, but apparently I felt like hitting a heeled lame ass cut into the fairway bunker. Had 166 yards to the stick, wind a bit into us and from the right. Hit a perfect, I mean perfect 7 iron. The ball landed 3 inches right of the cup, nearly made 2 there. Unfortunatley the greens are as hard as cart paths and the ball bounced hard into the bunker over the green. Failed to get up and down and just like that we gave the 2 birdies right back.

18 is a 560+ yard par 5 into the wind and I rope hooked driver again, this time into the junk left. Thankfully I was able to find it, gashed a 5 iron out to 120 yards and hit a solid PW back into the breeze about 6 feet past the hole. Hit a great line but wouldn't you know it, I left that putt short too! 3 putts inside of 6 feet on the back left short, dead in the heart. Back to back bogeys on 16 and 17, 16 I deserved, but that bogey on 17 was the Gods just pissing on me, I didn't deserve that.

Ok so let's recap. Great par on 1 then pissed down my leg for the next 4 holes and gave up 5 shots. Played the next 13 holes 1 over, but very nearly made something special happen. Ended up with 78, 72 made it to the playoff. Good news, I wasn't in last place, not even close. Bad news, I didn't make the playoff, not even close. I'd sure like to have those 5 holes back, but I do take some comfort in the fact that I finally got over panic mode and just started playing. I definitely realized that recent swing changes have led to me hitting the ball a lot lower with my driver. When I bought it, I needed the 9 degree to keep it down a bit, now I need an equipment change as I really need to get some more trajectory on my tee shots. Distance wise, I need 40 yards. It's great to hit it farther than my friends and most people I play with, but these guys hit it far. F. A. R. I'm obsessed with distance now. Since the qualifier, I've had a couple of practice sessions and I'm hitting it great. I have so much more confidence now that I've played directly with these guys, and with the exception of 4 holes of panic attack, I held my own. I really feel like I hit it, chip it and putt it as well as any of the guys I played with over the past few days, but I don't hit it anywhere near as long. If I had 40 yards, I'd quit my job. I know exactly how Jason Gore felt after his 80 in the last round of the US Open. He realized he could play with those guys and with the exception of a few mistakes, he was right there. He then went out and won his next 3 Nationwide events and got a Battlefield promotion to the PGA Tour. Maybe a bit extreme, but you get my drift, I'm really happy with how I turned things around.

Best of all, I didn't lose a ball, so I have the ball I played the entire qualifier with. That is getting displayed along with my marker score and paperwork from the USGA. Hey, at least I get something out of the deal.

US Open Qualifier tomorrow

Played another practice round today for the Open Qualifier on 5/7. Shot 75 today in what was probably 40 MPH winds, so 3 over with a double on 14 after rope hooking it into a bush. Looking at the golf course and the conditions, I'd take 75 right now and take my chances. Played with a guy from the Nationwide Tour in today's round and had a pretty good time. I'm whipped now, going to bed early. Wish me luck tomorrow!