Clubhouse Grille (*** NO LIV DISCUSSIONS ***) (*** NO POLITICS/RELIGION ***)

[Conrad1953]

Well played Sean. 4 birdies in 9 holes is some pretty good golf in my book........or anyone's book for that matter.

[scomac2002]

You need to learn to hide your golf kitty better. I work at a club so I don't pay to play. My club proceeds from equipment sales sits in PayPal or an account credit at Golfavenue. What DW doesn't know won't hurt her.

[Reasonability]

First round in a good while coming Thursday. Like Scomacer I'm fortunate to have cost-free access to a practice facility. Also concur the work on my short game personally pays the bigger dividends. Not sure why, chipping and pitching work in particular for me somehow seems to make it from practice to playing most vividly.

Grillesters, I continue to maintain there exists a raft of swing techniques that can truly help us as we age, as our bodies suffer injuries, etc. Not one bit of it turns back time. Totally onboard with checking the ego, playing more enjoyable golf in the land of smiling acceptance. None of us here ever passes judgement based on the scorecard, or how far any of us does or doesn't hit it. So please understand I wouldn't want or care to prop up some notion I have all the answers about golf be it related to age, chronic back problems, yadda yadda. All I'm suggesting is very fertile territory exists whereby we all can use what we "do" have available, that hurts less, sends it a little farther and straighter, and at the end of the day, keeps the journey a fraction more fun.

Here's one of many examples... I for one have lost flexibility in lots of body parts. One involves my neck. (Actually a secondary effect of lower back problems).

Most folks can stand erect facing forward then swivel their chin all the way to the left or right and point their nose over either shoulder. I can only do this when I turn the head to the right. When swiveling the head left, I get the chin about 80% there when the neck simply locks up.

This issue makes completing a "normal" backswing very hard (even painful). If I try looking straight at the ball with the proverbial "still head" -- and swing back til my lead shoulder gets on/near my chin -- It's time to call 911. So option B is to accept a more abbreviated backswing.

There exists however an option C.... At setup, swivel the head in a manner where you're looking at the ball more with the lead eye. You have to be aware this act turns the eye-line from in to out. But that awareness alone is all it takes since nothing else in terms of the shot has to change. This head position was applied by Bobby Jones and Jack Nicklaus. It allows you to relax into whatever the top of the swing is, maintain your posture, and transition into the downswing smoothly. Does this suddenly produce 50 more yards? How about 5 or 10???

There is a bevy of these option C do-dads to be had. I'm all ears should anyone have any you'd care to share based on your own aches and pains. (Or not if you gents would prefer not even going there).

 

[tolmij]

Normally I do not comment on anyones game in particular if it was a good game, my compliments are usually all it takes to make it all go wrong next time, but, well played? and I hope that does not stuff your next one.?

[BIG STU]

Kinda in the thinking zone now wondering if I will have to revamp my swing when I heal up. I know for a fact I have nerve damage in my back and feel the Neurosurgeon will confirm that today when he sees my latest MRI. The Ortho doc has already confirmed my left shoulder is messed up and I have to do another MRI on it tomorrow. We were joking around the other day when the ortho doc was looking at it. He is a golfer himself and I told him when I did PT that I wanted him to stretch it some where I could get a little more speed in my turn. Right now I am practicing some with the 3 broomstick putters I own. I putt pretty decent with them. Did try a Iron Master I acquired the other day ( 35" length) did ok with it but hurt after 6 balls. Did putt with the broomstick only yesterday and did ok with no pain. Gotta try to keep some feel. Besides I gotta get out of this house some I am going nuts. Can not do too much in the shop because what I need to do is clean it out some and i can not do the lifting etc that needs to be done.

[Conrad1953]

I'll bite. The longer we play this game the easier it should get.............not easier to hit the ball farther or score lower....but.......easier to

play with ease. We should not be doing anything uncomfortable or forced. We should know by now what works for us and what

doesn't. Most likely we will not encounter a situation we have not faced before.

 

If there is anything else we have done in life for 10, 20, 30 or 40 years.....or more, we have grown comfortable doing it and we should

be in our comfort zone on a golf course. We are in familiar territory, even if on an unfamiliar course. We still have clubs and balls

and we have experienced this before.

 

No one can take this from us...................

 

Even if we are wanting to tweak our golf swings to avoid pain or injury and gain some improved efficiency and put less stress on our

bodies; we are not starting from scratch. We have a wealth of knowledge and experience we can tap into at any time.

 

Hey, we all bring much value to that first tee box. Not a single reason to be anything other than "at ease" as we play....and good

things likely will happen.

[tolmij]

I am sure you will get back on the course and play well, having read your posts over the years you have an ability to alter your game to suit new circumstances, this really is all you need. Now take some of us me in particular, I have one game, its a very poor game so if any part of it disappears I have nothing to fall back on other than hope. Take it steady, allow yourself to heal and the Stu we all know and love will be our there hitting them long and straight.?️??‍♂️

[Reasonability]

Stu I've not commented to you directly about your accident. Been looking for the time and place to say I'm sure hoping for a complete/full recovery for you. As to golf, I have one puny bit of advise. Realizing no two injuries or people are alike, I wrecked my back many moons ago. Real close to going under the knife. I made a big mistake while on the mend. The urge to play golf too much and too soon, got the best of me. That decision lengthened my recovery while wrecking my game. Glad you're working closely with your Doc. Do your best to avoid making my mistake.

Rad - thanks for humoring me. I may not have all the answers but sure appreciate yours. Very well said. Yes indeed. Why make harder than it has to be? My bones tell me during the back nine (and the next day) when I was guilty forcing things versus letting them happen.

 

 

 

[BIG STU]

Thanks Reasy--- Yep had appointment with the Neurosurgeon yesterday. Positive progression. My compressed disc is springing back out and the fracture is coming along healing well. He will see me in 6 more weeks. He told me if I kept up exactly like I have been he is 99% sure i will have no lasting ill effects. We had discussed my earlier problems before and he was sure it was strictly muscular. He told me that after 6 weeks I could begin strictly supervised PT Rehab and he stressed strictly supervised. Got a MRI on my shoulder scheduled for 7 Am this morning then off to the ortho doc on the 10th. The Neurosurgeon does not play golf but sees no problem with me putting with the broomhandle like I have been doing. But I am positive now I will be ok in the long run

[Sean2]

@BIG STU I hope you feel better soon Stu and am glad to hear you will be okay in the long run. I broke a bone in my back last November and was out of commission for quite a while. It sucked.

[Qqq123xx]

Great news STU. Just keep that putter on the ground, no air time.

[Conrad1953]

For our Italian Grillesters

New grip on my golden Odyssey

 

[Conrad1953]

Good news Stu. Stay away from the trick shots for a little while longer.

[Conrad1953]

My doctor's office called me this morning and told me they had to cancel my appt this Friday cause someone in their office

just tested positive for covid19. I reminded them that I was also there last Friday and was with 2 doctors and 4 nurses........

and I asked them if I had had contact with the person who tested positive. They said they didn't know but I could get tested

if I want. I told them, well, I guess if I develop symptoms I'll get tested. So much for contact tracing, lol.

 

At least all of us were wearing masks and I think I only got within 6 feet of 2 or 3 out of 6 of them. It's been 6 days and so far so

good.

[BIG STU]

MY bud Bear absolutely loves those grips---- I got one on one of my putters running around here. Heck I forget which one since I have right around 100 putters and that combined with me being on Meds and getting sorta senile anyhow you know where I am coming from

MRI on shoulder sorta funny this AM. When the tech saw me he said he did not think that was going to work. He told me I had some broad shoulders. With the rig on to make the MRI on my shoulder I do not fit into the machine. So no MRI. Someone from the Docs office called me and could not fathom what was going on> I explained it to her in detail and she promptly asked "Well did you get it done?" Good Grief! No I told her. I do not know where those in the medical profession get their office help from. So I am in limbo now the Doc himself was in surgery and besides it is Friday anyhow. Around here Friday you get 3 things. Local wise you can not get crap done because it is Friday. Or everyone is calling at the last minute on Friday rushing to get stuff done because basically it is Friday and they are not working. And then there is the Tourons and we will not even go there.

[tolmij]

I know exactly how you feel about the number three, we lived at a good resort area two houses back and the season was horrific for many reasons, all of them cause by the visiting holiday people.

We are lucky with any appointments for medical purposes, a good local hospital and several well organised testing centres, we have lived in places where they did not exist and know how frustrating it can be. Hopefully they can sort it for you soon.

[tolmij]

Does anyone else have to re configure their home to suit the animals. We have handles on the doors not knobs and one of our cats has learned how to jump up hang on, push with back feet and therefore open the door. This would not be so bad if he did not sleep locked in the laundry as he has a habit of peeing on the furniture when on his own. To stop this the doors he opens have now had the handles reversed and so have to be lifted instead of pushed down, resulting in us stuffing around when we are moving between rooms as in our aged state, we forget we have changed them.

 

Just a question for the Grille.??

[BIG STU]

I flat messed up on my post yesterday--- They had given me some now muscle relaxers and basically they messed me up---- As in Learning To Fly Without any Wings--- I thought yesterday was Friday all day

[SixtySomePing]

Sorry about the muscle relaxers, they certainly will mess you up. As far as not knowing the day, DW and I have learned at least for us that this is one of the side effects/joys/freedoms/happiness-es of being retired.

[tolmij]

Cannot remember the amount of times we have not known the day since retirement, apart from putting the garbage out nothing else is important. Not having the pressure of the rigid week to week regime has given us freedom we could not have imagined. The only muscle relaxent we use is red wine.??? Stu should try it sometime.

[Conrad1953]

Every day of the week has it's own "feel" to me and that has followed me into retirement. I can remember several times when Cobi

and I would be sitting outside, on say a Thursday, and one of us would say this doesn't feel like Thursday, it feels like Saturday.

[scomac2002]

We're fortunate with our cat in that she is well behaved with her bathroom duties. The litter box is in the laundry and we don't have to worry about finding any surprises anywhere else barring sickness.

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Man, this new routine at the golf course is exhausting! I'm there from 7 until 2 typically and that in and of itself is good for about 15000 steps as I'm always on the move staging carts and cleaning them as they return from a round.

Had a couple of unruly customers to contend with. The first was just a complainer being a complainer. I have lots of them before. The second took me completely offguard and got quite abusive when he thought I was being unreasonable. The only thing that I could conclude was that he had been having a telephone conversation when I came up to them the second time and he was angry from that and I became the straw that broke the camel's back so-to-speak when I asked them to tee off as the green was now open. He made quite sure that I knew how much he played, how good he was as a player and how well informed he was of etiquette and that I had no business asking them to play through. My only response was that I was sorry he felt that way. He then proceeded to fire the rental hand carts off into the corner to which I responded I guess we won't have to worry about you playing here anymore! It was a rather strange birthday present, but I suppose it is consistent with the year that we've been having... I think the worst part of it all was that I spent the better part of the day thinking about the exchange and thinking about how I might better handle it the next time. I decided that the best course of action would be to remain calm and explain to the individual that they could choose to behave better and abide by the course rules or they could choose to play at a different golf course.

[tolmij]

No matter what you do or how you approach a situation some will always react the same way. From your posts on here and not ever having met you in person there is no way I could imagine your approach being offensive so its his problem not yours. Met and worked with several individuals that were always looking for an argument. The only lesson from that exchange is an idiot will always be an idiot.

Now sit down with my go to answer, a glass of red.?or two??.

[BIG STU]

Or as my old man would say if he was being nice " We would be pleased if you take your business elsewhere from this day on" If they really made him mad it would be---- $&%*#*(@%$^ off my course ad do not ever bring your *&^%$#@$! here again.

[tolmij]

Unfortunately, that is all some of them understand.

[scomac2002]

Not to worry, following posting about the incident here I decided to email the club and file a formal complaint. I received a response within a half hour from our Superintendent and an incident report was filed. The individual was flagged and should he try and book a tee time again he will be warned that any further incidents will result in his expulsion from the course. I was then asked if I wanted to involve police and press charges to which I declined, but it's good to know that my employer takes this sort of thing seriously.

[tolmij]

And Happy Birthday, go and celebrate forget the numb nuts.

[SixtySomePing]

Yes, I know the 'feeling'. Sometimes we'll be sitting on the porch, and the air smells just right and the clouds cover up the sun, and atmosphere will be just right, and we'll say this feels like a 'non-day', meaning it could be anywhere from Tuesday evening in October to Saturday morning in April, you just can't pin it down. It has the same look and feel to the sight and smell. Kinda tricks your mind.

Happy birthday sco, they sure come around fast anymore don't they?

Time goes so quickly, and so does life. Our oldest daughter's father-in-law is a preacher, such a wonderful guy. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer at the end of the year last year. He is now in hospice and they are trying to keep him comfortable which is all that they can do. I will miss him, we would always joke about the silliest things. Our youngest daughter's husband lost his dad to electrocution as he was an electrician in a large plant several years ago. It was right after our first grandchild was born, which he never got to see. He was also a great guy. Both too young actually, could have had so much life left to live.

[scomac2002]

Thanks for the birthday wishes fellas. WE had a nice quiet celebration here at home. Mussels with tomato and fennel broth followed up by fillet mignon and asparagus, then finished with a thick slab of Black Forest cake! The wine flowed freely as well and that was topped off with a snifter of Scotch. DW said that it was a birthday to forget. I on the other hand think it was really one to remember because I received more birthday wishes from friends, neighbours and relatives that I can ever recall. AS Dickens said: It was the best of times; it was the worst of times!

[tolmij]

The best of times, when the wine flows freely

The worst of times, when you pass out before the wine is finished.