LOST is kind of like Gilligan's Island. Except, it's not Gilligan that fucking everyone up from getting off the island. It's the Professor!!
Think about it.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Monday, May 05, 2008
Golf is a game of positive thinking.
Yesterday, I was playing golf, and I was paired up with these 3 douches, or uh, I mean, dudes, who sucked. I'm not saying I don't suck as well, but I definitely have my moments of brilliance. I'm pretty much a bogie golfer. So yes, I suck, and I'm aware of that.
Take yesterday, for example, I had 2 birdies in the 1st five holes, which never happens. I had all the makings of the best round of my life going yesterday.
The 3rd hole, a par 3, I sank a 10 footer for birdie. It was sweet.
4th hole, I curled a 12 footer to save par. This put literally had about 2 feet of break in it. One of the guys made some comment like, "Dude, you're too good, you shouldn't be playing with us."
5th hole, 70 yards, sand wedge, stuck it to within a foot. Tapped in for birdie. It felt like I was about to part the Red Sea.
It was at this point when the guys I was playing with started looking at me like I was some kind of sorcerer. Nothing hateful, but just enough to make me think a little bit--too much thinking.
As stated, I've had a long standing goal to make 3 birdies in a round.
The reality is, I think I'm selling myself short. I could be making 6 or 7 birdies a round. Yesterday was a great example. Right at the end of the 5th hole was sort of a surreal moment. My mojo was working. My confidence was sky high. For brief moment, it felt like I could do anything I wanted with a golf ball, which on rare moments, I can. Yet somehow, the momentum slips away.
On the 7th hole, I had a straight 10 footer for birdie. Again, a slight amount of doubt was in my mind--Can I really play this good? I missed the put short by about 1/10 of a revolution. It was literally hanging on the edge. If I could have been just a little more relaxed and believed in myself just a little bit more. Possibly, if I calmed down enough, I would have said to myself, "Don't leave it short," I would have those 3 birdies, and I would have been thinking about 4 and 5.
Seriously, why shouldn't I make 4, 5, or 6 birdies a round? It should be within the realm of possibility. It should be part of my golf pattern. All it takes is patience, confidence, and the desire to make it happen, which I have all 3.
Professional golfers have had many great rounds with 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 birdies on courses that are way more difficult than the courses I play on. If they can do it, why can't I?
On the back 9, I probably had 3 more missed birdie puts. Some of them just barely skirted passed the edge of the cup.
In all, it was a good day. I started getting a hunger headache on about the 14th hole, but other than that, it was awesome. The weather could not have been more beautiful.
I think the one thing I realized is shooting low scores is attainable. Shooting in the low 80's-upper 70's with 4 or 5 birdies is not impossible. I was there yesterday. It was within my grasp. I just let too many opportunities slip away. I think next time I'm there I'm going push a litter harder, get more focused, and I'm going to make those birdies. I can do it.
Overall, my confidence is building. I still make a lot dumb shots, but I feel better about my swing. I give myself plenty of opportunities. It's now just a matter of believing in myself enough to pull it off.
What a glorious blog entry that will be!!
Take yesterday, for example, I had 2 birdies in the 1st five holes, which never happens. I had all the makings of the best round of my life going yesterday.
The 3rd hole, a par 3, I sank a 10 footer for birdie. It was sweet.
4th hole, I curled a 12 footer to save par. This put literally had about 2 feet of break in it. One of the guys made some comment like, "Dude, you're too good, you shouldn't be playing with us."
5th hole, 70 yards, sand wedge, stuck it to within a foot. Tapped in for birdie. It felt like I was about to part the Red Sea.
It was at this point when the guys I was playing with started looking at me like I was some kind of sorcerer. Nothing hateful, but just enough to make me think a little bit--too much thinking.
As stated, I've had a long standing goal to make 3 birdies in a round.
The reality is, I think I'm selling myself short. I could be making 6 or 7 birdies a round. Yesterday was a great example. Right at the end of the 5th hole was sort of a surreal moment. My mojo was working. My confidence was sky high. For brief moment, it felt like I could do anything I wanted with a golf ball, which on rare moments, I can. Yet somehow, the momentum slips away.
On the 7th hole, I had a straight 10 footer for birdie. Again, a slight amount of doubt was in my mind--Can I really play this good? I missed the put short by about 1/10 of a revolution. It was literally hanging on the edge. If I could have been just a little more relaxed and believed in myself just a little bit more. Possibly, if I calmed down enough, I would have said to myself, "Don't leave it short," I would have those 3 birdies, and I would have been thinking about 4 and 5.
Seriously, why shouldn't I make 4, 5, or 6 birdies a round? It should be within the realm of possibility. It should be part of my golf pattern. All it takes is patience, confidence, and the desire to make it happen, which I have all 3.
Professional golfers have had many great rounds with 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 birdies on courses that are way more difficult than the courses I play on. If they can do it, why can't I?
On the back 9, I probably had 3 more missed birdie puts. Some of them just barely skirted passed the edge of the cup.
In all, it was a good day. I started getting a hunger headache on about the 14th hole, but other than that, it was awesome. The weather could not have been more beautiful.
I think the one thing I realized is shooting low scores is attainable. Shooting in the low 80's-upper 70's with 4 or 5 birdies is not impossible. I was there yesterday. It was within my grasp. I just let too many opportunities slip away. I think next time I'm there I'm going push a litter harder, get more focused, and I'm going to make those birdies. I can do it.
Overall, my confidence is building. I still make a lot dumb shots, but I feel better about my swing. I give myself plenty of opportunities. It's now just a matter of believing in myself enough to pull it off.
What a glorious blog entry that will be!!
Friday, May 02, 2008
Golf Journal--Visualizing the approach.
Yesterday, I had a golf milestone, which was I made a birdie when I played by myself. I hit a perfect 7 iron from 155. It caught the wind and faded a little just like I had planned and it rolled straight within 6 feet of the pin. Then, I hit a put with a slight left to right break, and it actually rolled passed the pin and fell backwards into the cup. The put was cool because it looked like I missed the put. It rolled around the cup and paused on the back edge for a bit before falling in. It gave me that disappointed feeling, but then it fell, and I was very happy. It was the par 3 16th on the Glen at Tennison.
As far as the round goes, I shot a 92, which kind of sucks, but as I've said before, anytime I birdie during the course of a round, it makes the whole round worthwhile.
I had 7 bogies on the front 9, which was very frustrating except for the fact that these were easy bogies. I wasn't struggling just to make bogie--I was just hitting bad approach shots. Everyone bogie was one that I should have made par. I was always in the 100-170 yard range and messed my second shot every time. I either missed green left, too long, or too short. Also, I missed the "up and down" opportunity, which means, I could only get the chip to within 12 feet, and I missed the one put, and had to settle for bogie each time.
Granted, it was very windy yesterday, but still most of my shots were just miss hits. I guess my feel for those mid range shots just isn't where I would like for it to be. Once I get a better feel and more confidence with those mid range shots, I suspect I'll be shooting in the low 80's to upper 70's range, which has been a dream of mine ever since I picked a golf club when I was 8 years old.
Moreover, if I get a better mid range shot feel, I'll have more birdie opportunities, which means I'll have more opportunities to reach another one of my goals, which is to get 3 birdies in one round of golf--I've made 2 on several occasions, but 3 has been very elusive.
Anyway, all in all, it was a nice round. Playing golf by yourself is a very zen-like experience. It's just you, your thoughts, and the course. It's very peaceful. In a way, you can kind of put your life into perspective because golf lets you know where you stand as a human being.
For a few examples of how it puts your life into perspective:
Can you recover quickly from a loss?
Can you correctly estimate what it takes to solve a problem?
Can you execute correctly solving a problem?
When you solve a problem correctly, do you become too happy and lose focus?
When everything is going wrong, can you calm down and put everything back on track?
Can you just relax and enjoy the moment?
Can you set out to achieve something and stay focused until you achieve it despite everything?
Can you fix something mentally within you that's broken?
So, I guess, in golf, there are plenty of metaphors for life. Pretty much everything in golf is solved through patience, practice, and persistence.
One of the cool things about golf is, when things happen, they kind of just seem to happen out of nowhere, but then, when you reflect back on what happened, you realize, that's what you've been dreaming would happen, and it finally happened.
As far as the round goes, I shot a 92, which kind of sucks, but as I've said before, anytime I birdie during the course of a round, it makes the whole round worthwhile.
I had 7 bogies on the front 9, which was very frustrating except for the fact that these were easy bogies. I wasn't struggling just to make bogie--I was just hitting bad approach shots. Everyone bogie was one that I should have made par. I was always in the 100-170 yard range and messed my second shot every time. I either missed green left, too long, or too short. Also, I missed the "up and down" opportunity, which means, I could only get the chip to within 12 feet, and I missed the one put, and had to settle for bogie each time.
Granted, it was very windy yesterday, but still most of my shots were just miss hits. I guess my feel for those mid range shots just isn't where I would like for it to be. Once I get a better feel and more confidence with those mid range shots, I suspect I'll be shooting in the low 80's to upper 70's range, which has been a dream of mine ever since I picked a golf club when I was 8 years old.
Moreover, if I get a better mid range shot feel, I'll have more birdie opportunities, which means I'll have more opportunities to reach another one of my goals, which is to get 3 birdies in one round of golf--I've made 2 on several occasions, but 3 has been very elusive.
Anyway, all in all, it was a nice round. Playing golf by yourself is a very zen-like experience. It's just you, your thoughts, and the course. It's very peaceful. In a way, you can kind of put your life into perspective because golf lets you know where you stand as a human being.
For a few examples of how it puts your life into perspective:
Can you recover quickly from a loss?
Can you correctly estimate what it takes to solve a problem?
Can you execute correctly solving a problem?
When you solve a problem correctly, do you become too happy and lose focus?
When everything is going wrong, can you calm down and put everything back on track?
Can you just relax and enjoy the moment?
Can you set out to achieve something and stay focused until you achieve it despite everything?
Can you fix something mentally within you that's broken?
So, I guess, in golf, there are plenty of metaphors for life. Pretty much everything in golf is solved through patience, practice, and persistence.
One of the cool things about golf is, when things happen, they kind of just seem to happen out of nowhere, but then, when you reflect back on what happened, you realize, that's what you've been dreaming would happen, and it finally happened.
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