Okay, golf, you win. Just stop punching me in the nads.

Woods and his caddy having
trouble connecting their High-5. Confidence issues?

I don't know how much longer I can take this. Went out and played a round with my brother, and I was hitting the same stupid hooks that I never, ever hit on the range. What the hell is that about? How can I degrade from my great range swing to an almost unusable swing on the course? Well, let's see. Of late, I've had a hard time of it, what with trying to write some spec screenwriting material (which isn't going so well), and all the year-end self-evaluation, I'd say my self-image is not at peak form. So I guess it's not surprising that I'd go out and not hit the most confident shots--I'm probably a little too much in my head. But jeez, not "The Hook." I thought I'd seen the last of the shot which is this blog's namesake. It's kind of like getting up to sing before an audience, opening your mouth, and only French comes out. You stop, regroup, say to yourself, "Sing in ENGLISH! ENGLISH! ENGLISH!" Take a deep breath, open your mouth, and out comes French again. Oy vey, to be a man on the golf course is to suffer. To top it off, every joint associated with the golf swing--shoulder, wrists, neck--is perpetually sore, so I may have seen my last golf for awhile if my doctor tells me to let my ligaments and tendons take a rest.

Maybe the point of a bad swing is to just stop caring? Just let it do its thing, I'll do mine, and go with the flow. Of course, practice is required, but once on the course, maybe you're supposed to make due with what you got, and leave the beautiful shots to the land of dreams from whence they came? I know that sounds a little high-fallutin', but what other options do I--or any of us--actually have? Sure, it would be nice if I could get a set of teaching pro's eyes to look at my Wounded Swing, but since I don't have a pro on retainer to help me out when things go badly, what's a guy to do but accept it and move on? I was able to shoot an 86, which, while not stellar, isn't miserable, either. So I guess I'll have to accept it until something better comes along.


A Bold Experiment update: Since, as you've just read, my swing left me utterly, it didn't make a difference what club I would have used from 200 yards (the yardage for which I have no specific club) be it an iron, hybrid, or wood. I will say this: When I'm swinging well, I could use a hockey stick from 200 yards and hit it within 15 feet, so my Bold Experiment just might be a non-issue (the real issue being working on my on-course performance, not set make-up.)