Golf Thoughts

When I say I shot in the sixties on the front nine yesterday, I don't mean the temperature.  I think our threesome put 10-11 balls in the same pond on a par three.  Can you say "Tin Cup"?  Isn't it ironic that golf spelled backwards is flog?  Whoever named the game definitely had a sense of humor.  But, I digress.

My real purpose of playing yesterday, other than enjoying the spring-like weather and being with two good friends, was to give my Callaway driver one more chance to survive.  I went to the driving range the day before and tried out the Taylormade R11 and was convinced that it would probably knock ten or so strokes off of my score and the sound of the club striking the ball was beautimous.  Every swing for the entire bucket of balls was pure beauty and the solidness of the contact was something to see and hear.  Yesterday, I reminded myself that you usually hit better on the driving range because of getting in the groove and hitting the same club many times in succession.

Boy, did I prove that.  However, my last three drives of the day were the best of the round.  Must have been the FT-i driver telling me that the equipment isn't necessarily the key to a great drive; mechanics are just as important if not more so.  I have yet to play a round where my concentration level stayed the same for the entire round.  On the way to the course, I tell myself to concentrate on every swing.  The problem is that at my age, that thought has completely vanished by the second or third hole and I go back to "flog" instead of golf.

I've heard that as we age, one of our goals as a golfer is to shoot our age.  Bet they don't mean on the front nine!  I am just glad my score does not indicate my enjoyment of just still being physically and mentally able to go to the course and play 18 holes.  Each round always stirs up memories, some good and some not as good.  During the past two years, two of my golfing partners have died and I still miss them both very much.  Mark Fullerton (Shannon) and Bo Loyd were great friends and enjoyed golf as much as I.  Mark was a better golfer than either Bo or me but Bo was a better student of the game and had played it most of his adult like while Mark came to the game later in life.  I have more memories of Mark and golf because we played together at 20-25 different courses while Bo and I only teamed up at Kickingbird in the KSMGA (Kickingbird Senior Men's Golf Association). 

So, did my Callaway driver convince me that it is ready to retire?  Probably, since it has been almost four years since I bought it.  However, the R11 has not gotten to the price level on ebay that I am looking for and my trade-in value on the Callaway is next to nothing.  So, as in the past, I will make a few bids on ebay and eventually hit the jackpot but until then the FT-i is safe.

To sum it up, I enjoy golf regardless of the score.  Would I enjoy it more if the score was lower? Sure, but I must think like Job when he tells Mrs. Job that we should accept the bad from God just as joyfully as the good because he is in control, not us.  If that can become our focus in the new year, our golf scores will be insignificant.  May God make 2012 your most blessed year yet!

PS - I bought the new Taylormade R11 driver in late January and it is all that it is cracked up to be.  I'm still getting used to it but it was a good move.