Hallbrook friends, pay attention on the downhill run home. Speedtrap!
Category Archives: my golf
Grass looks good at Wakonda
It is impressive how fast crops grow in Iowa. Can’t wait to roll putts on the new practice green.
Shotgun
Three targets, three scatter-grams
The picture on left shows three pin targets for pitches, easily the most important part of the game to transition to hitting in the eighties. I tend to use my 60 degree wedge for these and feel a bit lost without it, even though this means I have to give up something long like a 3 wood (because I also carry a gap -52 degree- wedge). The pitching is serviceable, but not brilliant. Must keep head down.
Labor Day Swing 2008
This is a video of my golf swing circa 2008. I have never videotaped my swing before but it was shocking to see so much head movement. I am now swinging in front of the bathroom mirror to try to fix this. Even so, somehow, I was making square contact, but as you see on swing #2, it is very easy to “chunk” the ball. Technology and being square on address keeps the ball moving forward in the general direction you want it to go, but not as good as swing #1.
Making a Tiger
Pictured here is my son, G, who just had his cast removed last week -he fell off the monkey bars and broke his right radius and ulna (both forearm bones). He has finally loosened up to where he wants to play golf again. It makes me wonder if it is possible to create a Tiger or if Tiger was just born that way. G likes to hit the ball, but mostly, he likes to be with me, and that’s great. I don’t interfere with his swing right now because he’s recovering from an injury, but it is fantastic to see him whack a ball straight and long every once in a while. I hope he ultimately decides to take up golf for himself, and not just to see his old man smile.
Grass is growing
The new grass is establishing itself on Wakonda’s fairways and greens. Parts of it look like it would be ready for golf. The plan is to get the roots winter-proof and it looks good. Awaiting progress report from J. Temme. The soil patch on the left bottom of this picture is the practice green which is getting redone -it will be larger and have more interesting topography. I’ve decided to reel in the play and practice my putting more as I am striking the ball pretty well.
Pictured left is Wakonda Club#8. The grass is growing in on the fairways and on the green. My hope is for that perfect greeny golf sanctuary come May. Can’t wait.
Hype from the tips again -the waiting game.
Took today off and went to Hyperion. The course was packed with golfers taking an early weekend. Pictured above, I had hooked into the trees, and am waiting for the group ahead to meander to the green. Which brings me to my least favorite topic: waiting.
Courtesy is central to golfism, and first and foremost, it requires an awareness of other people and their needs. If you happen to be in a chatty foursome and you notice you’ve fallen behind a hole and a half, and you have a chap playing by himself behind you, you put yourself in his shoes. You stop flapping your jaw and think about the times that you had to wait, and how it affected one’s ability to execute shots, to drop putts, to BREATHE. So you wave the fellow up and let him play through.
It is an act of generosity that is remembered and appreciated, and it acts to spread the love through the recipient’s day. By giving good karma, you receive it again ten-fold.
But nope, no soup for me today. I played until I could play no more because grandmothers were hitting into me. I picked up on 14 to play another day.
Mood swing
My son Graham has a mood ring that is usually a cool azure blue but turns greenish yellow when he is perturbed. A swing off the tee reflects a lot of baggage. It is as much a mood swing as my son’s ring is a window on his state of mind.
There is a bright place
I took my father to our club which is undergoing renovations. Its practice facilities are still open as are its ponds. My father was taking care of my mother who had a lung transplant this past January when he had to undergo emergency heart surgery. They have both been convalescing through the summer with us. He has had a slow recovery as had my mother. Growing up, Dad and I played golf and fished together, and it has been a long time we did something like this. We chipped and pitched, then we went and hit balls on the range. We then took our cart down to the ponds around 16 and 17. He caught two -a large and medium sized bluegill. He wanted to go, but I hadn’t caught any yet, so we stayed until I pulled out a crappie and a bluegill. We threw them back, and we drove to a Vietnamese noodle place for lunch. We drove back home. There was a lot I wanted to say, but the time passed so pleasantly. It was like 30 years was a dream.
Wakonda Club Lower #2
This classic postage stamp par 3 is not only a great golf hole, it is a koan: “What is the sound of a ball not going in the hole?”
Golfism -life is a metaphor for golf 
