lesson #1:'you got your hands full'*

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course:  harding park
pro:  mark harvell
--

being long overdue, i finally took a lesson last weekend in attempt to correct my perpetually right ball flight.  my swing got to spend some well-deserved quality time in front of the camera. 

an hour an a half later, back sore and ego bruised, i came away with 3 pointers:

1) cock your wrists
2) lower swing plane
3) turn over and square the club face

here's a video** freeze frame of my attempt at implementing those tips:



look at the computer-generated yellow line!



#concentrationis


this was the first lesson in a 3-pack series, so there will definitely be more progress, errr, updates, to come!



* that is what the golf pro told me.  true story.  ouch.
**  I GOT A VIDEO!!

an accident happened

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course played:  peacock gap
balls found:  3
balls lost:  2
score:  109
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a green at peacock gap

an accident happened at peacock gap the other weekend.  i accidentally accomplished my goal of shooting below 110. 

the last hole was a par 4.  i had to get the ball in the hole in 7 shots in order to come under 110.  while this may not seem like a feat to most, i am known to get scores of snowmen (translation: 8) and above on anything more than a par 3.  surprising myself and the golf gods, i did it - on accident (or is it 'by accident'?).

proving that the 109 was indeed a fluke, i shot a 118 on the next round that i played and put that 110 goal right back on the map.

hot hot heat

with the 110 goal fresh on my mind, i went vegas to get lucky with my golf game.

the first day, we played anthem.  everyone loved the scenic dessert course and all its amenities - scented ice towels, for pete's sake! in between frantically checking my blackberry for work and sweating bullets, i shot a 123.  yes, a 123, my worst performance ever recorded on paper.

the next day, shrugging off the my previous poor performance, my sweat glands and i played dragon ridge.  we did a little better this time around, shooting a 115.

want to know how many balls i lost over these 2 days?  well, it is safe to say that i need to go back to playing presidio in order to replenish my stash.

the road to 110

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date:  friday, 7/15

course played:  presidio

holes played:  1 through 9

balls lost: 2

balls found:  2

score:  60

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date:  sunday, 7/17

course played:  san geronimo

holes played:  1 through 18

balls lost:  6

balls found:  7

score:  115

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i declare my first score-related golf goal*:  break 110.

one weekend and 1.5 rounds later, the goal remains far out of reach. 

will keep you posted.

* this is by no means my first golf-related goal.  past golf goals have included, but are not limited to 1) making contact, 2) getting air, and 3) losing less than 8 balls per round.

every man wins

known as the "evey man" of golf because of his off-the-course hobbies, darren clarke finally won a major this sunday.  besides sitting in the locker room with his clubs and new trophy, he partied:

"i had quite a few pints and quite a few beers and quite a few glasses of red wine, and it all continued until about 30 minutes ago. i did look at my watch before i said that, so it did take a while. but it's been a very good night."*

it was only a few weeks ago when his fellow irishman, rory mcilroy, also had quite the little shindig after his u.s. open win.

who did it better?


* espn.com:  for clarke, the win tastes sweeter, by bob haig