After a 3 week period of no golf (driving range doesn't count) I played again a round of golf. The interesting part of this fact is not so much having played, but the context in which it happened. After a 5 day road-trip from Los Angeles to Washington, DC, what was the first thing I did in the morning? I went out and played some golf.
This time I only played 9 holes as I had other things to do but that was enough to make me happy. Specially because a game that started with 2 lost balls in the first two strokes it ended up with a par and a birdie!!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
On driving ranges
When I first started playing golf (or attempting to) I spent most of my time in the driving range, not only because it was a good place to practice the basics but also because it was a way of relaxation. After all, hitting balls without a specific goal can be quite relaxing.
Almost 2 years after my first stroke, I now have a completely different opinion of driving ranges. Normally I can hit almost fairly well all the clubs after a few tries and adjustments but when I play, I only have one chance to hit the ball properly as every stroke counts. For this, I find practicing in the driving range very deceiving. I still enjoy going to the driving range but as a therapy to stress.
If anything, the ideal practice in the driving range is to use a different club every time and with that still be able to hit straight at all times.
Regarding putting I have a similar opinion: when practicing putting one should use one and only one ball at a time. The reason for that is that during a game there is only one chance and by using more than one ball in the green, one develops a feeling of "this one doesn't count" which is not true at all.
Almost 2 years after my first stroke, I now have a completely different opinion of driving ranges. Normally I can hit almost fairly well all the clubs after a few tries and adjustments but when I play, I only have one chance to hit the ball properly as every stroke counts. For this, I find practicing in the driving range very deceiving. I still enjoy going to the driving range but as a therapy to stress.
If anything, the ideal practice in the driving range is to use a different club every time and with that still be able to hit straight at all times.
Regarding putting I have a similar opinion: when practicing putting one should use one and only one ball at a time. The reason for that is that during a game there is only one chance and by using more than one ball in the green, one develops a feeling of "this one doesn't count" which is not true at all.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Truth hurts...
Today I reached the painful conclusion that my game sucks more than what I say to myself. Two days ago, I played this short executive 9 hole course in Lisbon and at the end of the round I had 35 strokes in my card. Since this is a par 29, for me this was a great score. The problem is that this is not my real score, this was a highly discounted score. Today I played the same course and decided to count every single stroke and every single lost ball - at the end, I had 49 strokes on my card. For any player level this a terrible score. After this score I went back home I looked again into the score card of two days ago and decided to add the discounted strokes - 51, this was my actual score.
I realized today that I have been fooling my self with my benevolent counting. My decision was to start counting every single stroke because that is the only way I will ever be able to improve my game.
(when I shot 49, I didn't play that terrible - in two holes I shot 19 (par 7) and on the other 7 holes I shot 30 (par 22))
I realized today that I have been fooling my self with my benevolent counting. My decision was to start counting every single stroke because that is the only way I will ever be able to improve my game.
(when I shot 49, I didn't play that terrible - in two holes I shot 19 (par 7) and on the other 7 holes I shot 30 (par 22))
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
An easy choice
Right now, the Euro2008 is taking place and Portugal is one of the 16 teams in competition. An obvious question is: if I had to choose between golf and football (also called soccer in some parts of the world) what would be my choice? Well, it depends. If Portugal is playing, at most I would try to have my laptop with the broadcast of golf but I would never go out to play golf if Portugal were playing. When Portugal is not playing, I don't care, if I have the chance to play golf I take it.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
What is a hardcore golfer? Am I one?
The other day, in one of the golf magazines my girlfriend offered me for our anniversary, there was an article about hardcore golfers and what should be the definition of a hardcore golfer. Because I read this article a while ago I don't remember exactly what was the definition of a hardcore golfer but it was something like this: a hardcore golfer is someone who plays at least 6 (or 8, can't remember exactly) rounds of golf in one year. Under this definition, and given my recent historic of play, there is no doubt that I must be considered a hardcore golfer.
In this same article, the point of the author was not talking about this definition of hardcore golfer, but instead, to disagree with it and propose alternative ones: a) a hardcore golfer is someone who owns a rain suit for golf and uses it at least once a year; b) a hardcore golfer is someone who plays at least once a year, in a single day, 54 holes; c) I can't remember.
Based on these alternative and open ended definitions my question is: Am I a hardcore golfer too? To be honest, I never played golf in the rain (maybe some showers, but not much) nor own a golf rain suit. In terms of holes played, I don't think I have ever passed the 30 holes in one day (I may have lost more than 30 balls in one day, but never played more than 30 holes in one day). I never did this, but I have some stories of my own:
1) I got locked on a golf course. One day, I was playing the twilight at Penmar golf course in LA and because I wanted to play one more hole (at least one more hole), when I see the Marshall calling other people, I pretend that I didn't understand what was going on. I played the 8th hole, attempted to play the 9th hole (couldn't see where my two drives fell, so I thought it was probably time to leave) and on my way back, I went to the end of the 9th hole to pick up a ball I had left while playing the 7th hole. When I get to the gate to leave and go home, surprise surprise, the gate was locked and there was no one around. Well, what could I do? Only jumping the fence, and that's what I did. I put my bag on the fence using the bag-legs and jump to the other side. Once on the other side, I lift the bag and pass it to the outside of the course. This might sound easy, but if you take into account that I am only 5'7 and that the fence was at least 7 feet high, passing the bag or jumping the fence with the golf shoes on was really hard.
2) During our Spring break vacations, I used to play the flat rate or twilight which meant that, after 3PM, I could play a 9-hole course for as many rounds as I wanted while there was light. Since at 7PM it was already the end of sunset, I only had 4 hours of play, nevertheless I was always able to play at least 2 entire rounds and once I played 3 entire rounds plus a few holes. The crucial point though, is that, regardless of the number of holes I was able to play, at the time I returned the buggy, I was always the last one. My rule to stop was, if after three drives I couldn't find any of the 3 balls, then it was time to go home.
Based on these 2 stories, do you think I make the cut to be considered a hardcore golfer???
Beginning of the round
Middle of the round
I am kidding, this was almost the end of the round :)
Just to finish this already long post, I want to say that if the person in the story of this article is not a hardcore golfer, I don't think anyone else is.
A true hardcore golfer (push to read story)
In this same article, the point of the author was not talking about this definition of hardcore golfer, but instead, to disagree with it and propose alternative ones: a) a hardcore golfer is someone who owns a rain suit for golf and uses it at least once a year; b) a hardcore golfer is someone who plays at least once a year, in a single day, 54 holes; c) I can't remember.
Based on these alternative and open ended definitions my question is: Am I a hardcore golfer too? To be honest, I never played golf in the rain (maybe some showers, but not much) nor own a golf rain suit. In terms of holes played, I don't think I have ever passed the 30 holes in one day (I may have lost more than 30 balls in one day, but never played more than 30 holes in one day). I never did this, but I have some stories of my own:
1) I got locked on a golf course. One day, I was playing the twilight at Penmar golf course in LA and because I wanted to play one more hole (at least one more hole), when I see the Marshall calling other people, I pretend that I didn't understand what was going on. I played the 8th hole, attempted to play the 9th hole (couldn't see where my two drives fell, so I thought it was probably time to leave) and on my way back, I went to the end of the 9th hole to pick up a ball I had left while playing the 7th hole. When I get to the gate to leave and go home, surprise surprise, the gate was locked and there was no one around. Well, what could I do? Only jumping the fence, and that's what I did. I put my bag on the fence using the bag-legs and jump to the other side. Once on the other side, I lift the bag and pass it to the outside of the course. This might sound easy, but if you take into account that I am only 5'7 and that the fence was at least 7 feet high, passing the bag or jumping the fence with the golf shoes on was really hard.
2) During our Spring break vacations, I used to play the flat rate or twilight which meant that, after 3PM, I could play a 9-hole course for as many rounds as I wanted while there was light. Since at 7PM it was already the end of sunset, I only had 4 hours of play, nevertheless I was always able to play at least 2 entire rounds and once I played 3 entire rounds plus a few holes. The crucial point though, is that, regardless of the number of holes I was able to play, at the time I returned the buggy, I was always the last one. My rule to stop was, if after three drives I couldn't find any of the 3 balls, then it was time to go home.
Based on these 2 stories, do you think I make the cut to be considered a hardcore golfer???
Beginning of the round
Middle of the round
I am kidding, this was almost the end of the round :)
Just to finish this already long post, I want to say that if the person in the story of this article is not a hardcore golfer, I don't think anyone else is.
A true hardcore golfer (push to read story)
Monday, June 9, 2008
The first post
Not even 2 years ago, my girlfriend introduced me to golf for the first time. Until that day, I don't remember ever having held a golf club or anything else golf related. Almost 2 years after, I confess that I am very addicted to the game, but the best part is that I have no regrets about this addiction. Despite all the frustrations (people who also play know exactly what I am talking about) it's so much fun.
The reason why I am creating this blog now is because I thought it would be fun to keep a log of my adventures in this game: club purchases, ebay, courses, "plans", etc.. and in 5/10 years time read them and have a good laugh out of them.
One of my first ever golf swings - this is not an easy game!!
ps - Please give my English a fair discount, as I always tell my girlfriend: "I'm not a native."
The reason why I am creating this blog now is because I thought it would be fun to keep a log of my adventures in this game: club purchases, ebay, courses, "plans", etc.. and in 5/10 years time read them and have a good laugh out of them.
One of my first ever golf swings - this is not an easy game!!
ps - Please give my English a fair discount, as I always tell my girlfriend: "I'm not a native."
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