Losing MY mojo, part deux

[ScooterMcTavish]

Need to get into doing yoga. I find it feels so good for my back, and helps me with my flexibility difficulties.

 

Maybe I need an outfit like this for the ladies down at the local yoga studio.

 

[Kirasdad]

Yeah, yoga is great, but I may not be able to get that posted pic out of my head for quite some time, so thanks for the suggestion...I guess.

[ScooterMcTavish]

Didn't even notice your disc when you saw that eh?

Shock therapy.

[oldschoolrocker]

Scott, how did you get a 1970's pic of me on Waikiki?

[ScooterMcTavish]

LOL, Randy, you [u]are[/u] the man.

Bravo Zulu.

[oldschoolrocker]

Scott,
One of the best parts of living in Hawaii, at least for me, during that time period of my life were the female Canadian tourist. The days spent at the beach, or the course, the nights on the strip of Honolulu, disco and backgammon.

[Kirasdad]

Golf can be a weird, strange, and odd sport.

So, I've been on the DL, benched by a neck injury that made it painful for me to play. If you've read this thread you know the details. So yesterday after a 2 and a half month lay off I'm feeling not 100 percent, but considerably better. We go on vacation to see my wife's family just outside of Pittsburg. I don't even take my clubs because I wasn't sure I would play any golf. There are some golfers in this family so after a week of being here I decide/am cajoled into playing nine. My doc says if you feel like giving it a try, go ahead. All my clubs are borrowed, except one. My bag has in it a 10 year old Golfsmith driver and even older looking Golfsmith 3 wood with a steel shaft that looks like it had been stored in a swamp for the last decade, it had a greenish tinge to it. My irons were legit, a set of TM Racs (graphite shafts, good for the neck) that were my wife's cousin's back up set, a Wilson 1200 sand wedge I found in my mother in law's garage, probably from the 70's, and to top it all off I went to the local Goodwill just for fun a couple of days ago, and found a TP Mills 12 model putter in a big barrel for the princely sum of $1.75. I slap 2 bucks down on the counter and walk off with it.
We get on the first tee of this track, and it's just a gorgeous place. Southwestern PA is beautiful and the golf is no exception. Everybody wants to play the whites, 6350 yards, which is just fine with me. My goals are simple. Hit a few shots close to the center of the face, and don't hurt myself. It's 92 degrees and humid which is great for my neck. I hit 6 balls on the range and my arms didn't fall off so I'm good to go.
I hit my first tee shot perfect, a little "don't hurt yourself" three quarter swing that goes 235 right down the sprinkler line with a little draw. I actually thought "you should quit now, while you're ahead". The rest of the round was exactly like the first shot. It was like I couldn't miss. Hitting good shot after good shot. Felt so good after nine that we kept going. I was tired and getting sore after 15 but finished out. Score 40-39, 79, seven over par, and two of the bogies were 3 putts, and 1 was taking two tries to get out of a bunker.

I was, in a word, flabbergasted. I expected that maybe I would break 90. This was no pussycat either. Water and trees all over the joint.

My evaluation is this:

Never underestimate the value of literally having no expectations.
We probably swing overly long and too hard when playing regularly.
I was playing very conservatively, so my course management was probably much better than usual.

The best part is I feel ok, still numbness and tingling in my left arm and hand from time to time, but no worse than before I played. No damage done, or so it seems. I think I will try it again in a week.

I hope I break 95.

[ScooterMcTavish]

"Stored in a swamp"

Line of the day.

[ScooterMcTavish]

[quote name='oldschoolrocker' timestamp='1406151646' post='9770317']
Scott,
One of the best parts of living in Hawaii, at least for me, during that time period of my life were the female Canadian tourist. The days spent at the beach, or the course, the nights on the strip of Honolulu, disco and backgammon.
[/quote]

Just living in Hawaii is the best part. Though Canadian girls are great - so many ethnicities, that you see everything from blonde Scandinavians to Mediterranean stunners.

In college, I felt a bit like a kid at the candy store.

Though backgammon and disco? LOL. Awesome mental picture.

[HoldenCornfield]

[quote name='Kirasdad' timestamp='1406171743' post='9772847']
Golf can be a weird, strange, and odd sport.

My evaluation is this:

Never underestimate the value of literally having no expectations.
[b]We probably swing overly long and too hard when playing regularly[/b].
I was playing very conservatively, so my course management was probably much better than usual.

[/quote]

Great round, Kirasdad! And I agree completely with your evaluation. Oftentimes our golf swing, especially on the tee, resembles home run derby when all we need is a solid line drive single up the middle.

For me, relaxing and swinging at 80% effort level leads to less tension which leads to a shorter backswing which contributes to better balance and more consistent swingpath and low point - which leads to solid contact and a generally straight ballflight. And solid ball striking with accuracy is the key to lower scores - not distance. Though, paradoxically, a sound but tension free swing often seems to produce shocking distances.

All of which seems so self-evident...yet is so difficult to consistently do.


Again, well done! Very glad to hear that you're able to enjoy the game again.

[Nspiel58]

[quote name='Kirasdad' timestamp='1406171743' post='9772847']
Golf can be a weird, strange, and odd sport.

So, I've been on the DL, benched by a neck injury that made it painful for me to play. If you've read this thread you know the details. So yesterday after a 2 and a half month lay off I'm feeling not 100 percent, but considerably better. We go on vacation to see my wife's family just outside of Pittsburg. I don't even take my clubs because I wasn't sure I would play any golf. There are some golfers in this family so after a week of being here I decide/am cajoled into playing nine. My doc says if you feel like giving it a try, go ahead. All my clubs are borrowed, except one. My bag has in it a 10 year old Golfsmith driver and even older looking Golfsmith 3 wood with a steel shaft that looks like it had been stored in a swamp for the last decade, it had a greenish tinge to it. My irons were legit, a set of TM Racs (graphite shafts, good for the neck) that were my wife's cousin's back up set, a Wilson 1200 sand wedge I found in my mother in law's garage, probably from the 70's, and to top it all off I went to the local Goodwill just for fun a couple of days ago, and found a TP Mills 12 model putter in a big barrel for the princely sum of $1.75. I slap 2 bucks down on the counter and walk off with it.
We get on the first tee of this track, and it's just a gorgeous place. Southwestern PA is beautiful and the golf is no exception. Everybody wants to play the whites, 6350 yards, which is just fine with me. My goals are simple. Hit a few shots close to the center of the face, and don't hurt myself. It's 92 degrees and humid which is great for my neck. I hit 6 balls on the range and my arms didn't fall off so I'm good to go.
I hit my first tee shot perfect, a little "don't hurt yourself" three quarter swing that goes 235 right down the sprinkler line with a little draw. I actually thought "you should quit now, while you're ahead". The rest of the round was exactly like the first shot. It was like I couldn't miss. Hitting good shot after good shot. Felt so good after nine that we kept going. I was tired and getting sore after 15 but finished out. Score 40-39, 79, seven over par, and two of the bogies were 3 putts, and 1 was taking two tries to get out of a bunker.

I was, in a word, flabbergasted. I expected that maybe I would break 90. This was no pussycat either. Water and trees all over the joint.

My evaluation is this:

Never underestimate the value of literally having no expectations.
We probably swing overly long and too hard when playing regularly.
I was playing very conservatively, so my course management was probably much better than usual.

The best part is I feel ok, still numbness and tingling in my left arm and hand from time to time, but no worse than before I played. No damage done, or so it seems. I think I will try it again in a week.

I hope I break 95.
[/quote]

Reading this wonderful post, I kept seeing you "breathing" your way around the course, just allowing your limitations to naturally change the way you swung and the way you needed to be present in that situation. You knew what to do. The results, an extremely satisfying experience and one which you will treasure always. I'm pumped!!!

[Kirasdad]

[quote name='HoldenCornfield' timestamp='1406210360' post='9774905']
[quote name='Kirasdad' timestamp='1406171743' post='9772847']
Golf can be a weird, strange, and odd sport.

My evaluation is this:

Never underestimate the value of literally having no expectations.
[b]We probably swing overly long and too hard when playing regularly[/b].
I was playing very conservatively, so my course management was probably much better than usual.

[/quote]



For me, relaxing and swinging at 80% effort level leads to less tension which leads to a shorter backswing which contributes to better balance and more consistent swingpath and low point - which leads to solid contact and a generally straight ballflight. And solid ball striking with accuracy is the key to lower scores - not distance. Though, paradoxically, a sound but tension free swing often seems to produce shocking distances.


[/quote]

So true. As the round continued, my little 3/4 swing kept hitting longer drives. My first one was well struck, but one of my shorter ones. I had four or five in the 245/250 plus range. Finding the center of the face with rhythm and tempo can produce distance more consistently for me than grip and rip. When one is 58 years old and 5'8" 160, grip and rip is not really in the picture anyway. My disclaimer here is I was using modern gear.

Monte Scheinblum teaches his students (me being one of them every now and then) to "sequence properly" or the best swings for a particular student aren't position oriented, but "in sequence" is a fancy way of saying what we are talking about here.

[oldschoolrocker]

Kdad,
First, glad you are able to play and hope continued success with your treatment options. Great round!!! And, "Grip it and Rip it" always reminded me of a stunt where someone took a phone book and tore it apart bare handed.

[chasnsx]

KDad: I went to the emergency room a couple of years ago with intense pain in my jaw radiating down my left arm, thinking I was having a heart attack. I left with an x-ray of my neck showing that I had bone spurs growing on my cervical vertebrae. A full body scan a year later showed I have them in the lumbar area as well. And this year I learned I have osteoarthritis in my shoulders, forearms and hands as well -- at the age of 52. I have been using T'ai Chi for relaxation for years, and found it works pretty well for dealing with the pain. T'ai Chi teaches you to move in a way that minimizes the damage to the joints, and the visualization exercises help control muscle spasms.

The advice to see a chirpractor is a good one. I use various massage therapists instead. I have found that if I can get them to release the tension I carry in my neck muscles, it relieves the pinched nerves in that area and the pressure on the joints.

I have also shortened up my backswing a little, and concentrated on swinging more smoothly with a longer follow-through. I also readopted an old move from my early days, lifting my left foot with a big hip turn when swinging the driver and the long clubs. This puts a lot less pressure on the neck than a big shoulder turn against stationary hips, and still allows me to put some distance on the ball.

[Kirasdad]

Thanks for the advice. After a good bit of treating the symtoms with eventually some success, I am now treating the problem with physical therapy. Learning a lot about my body and the bad habits I've picked up in the last half century. It's going to take awhile to retrain things like posture and habits, but I am already feeling differences. I was talking to my doctor a couple of weeks ago about how I might have injured myself and he said it's probably not one thing, but a lifetime of stress on certain body parts. In this discourse I suddenly realized that, as a golfer who has been a steadfast walker as much as possible, carrying my own bag, that up until the the two strap bags came along in the late 90's that I always carried my bag on my LEFT shoulder, and until recently, even with the two straps that I often just used one on my left shoulder because, well, that's the way I've always done it. I started playing golf when I was nine, now 58. Forty nine years of left side stress,and my current issue is, of course, on my left side. Hmm....2+2 is, uh..4.
It no longer matters because my bag carrying days are over, found a really nice push, or is it pull? cart on Craigslist. It's so much easier that what I've been doing, should have switched years ago.

And yes the restricted hip turn, big shoulder turn deal, the dreaded X FACTOR. That fad messed up a lot of people. No one talks about that any more. Rory McIlroy has a huge hip turn. Those three hundred forty yard drives have to come from somewhere, He's not a big guy.

[Kirasdad]

Well as Thanksgiving has come and now gone I have a lot to be thankful for, but the blessing that relates to my passion for this best of all possible sports is...

I think I am finally, as Oral Roberts might have said, HEALED.

For the first time since the beginning of May I can swing a golf club without pain, grabbing, or flinching. I played 18 the day before Thanksgiving. A modern round cause these were modern only golf buddies who like to have the odd wager here and there so I went along with the crowd and played Cousin Jerry's graphite RACs. Hit the range to warm up,, played 18, had an adult beverage, and on the way home I suddenly realized "I don't feel anything". Today I took my daughter to a friends house for music practice and a play date. Had 3 hours to do whatever. Went to a nearby nine holer that has a grass range and bought a big bucket 70-80 balls. Took my "new to me " irons (more on that later) and started working through the bag. Eighty swings later...I am not feeling anything. I felt...good.

Wow.

So now The Great Reorganization begins: I am retiring cousin Jerry's graphite RACs[attachment=2518345:image.jpg]

And replacing them with...
See "no new acquisitions" thread for more info since this thread is now OVER.

[guisician]

Amen!

[Fellaheen51]

KD....good to hear that your back condition is much approved. Hopefully, your mojo is back (no pun intended) for good.

Hmmm. I quote, ".....This sort of excursion is unusual for me being the (self styled) Henry Thoreau meets the Dalai Lama guy on this forum who doesn't accumulate golf clubs (not that there is anything wrong with that)". Have you been using "your condition" as a reason (excuse?) for your non-accumulation of clubs?

Back feels better = trips to discount club emporiums = three new acquisitions = common club Ho like the rest of us.

Don't know how else you can spin it. Just say'in.

[oldschoolrocker]

...and as I took the hankerchef from my back pocket and wiped the sweat from my eyes ( even on the first day of December these tent revivals make a club ho perspire) I heard Brother John wail out, "I am HEALED!!" "The Taylormade demon has been cast out."

On s serious note,

Congratulations, and please don't overdue it too soon. We don't wish to read about a relapse.

[Kirasdad]

+ 1 BZ and so on, and thank you.

[Ironmaster Oddities]

Terrific news. No pain is a wonderful thing, if I remember correctly.
Club ho'ing has some therapeutic value, after all.
Speaking for myself, I currently have much better posture after the recent acquisition of another club. However,that may be due to where my wife
stuck said club. I don't think the sun shines there.