The BEST Unwatched Golf Reality TV Show

I have to write about this show again because it is, for me, undoubtedly the best Golf Reality TV show on today. In my mind, The Big Break is to golf what The Contender was for boxing. This is a great show. It's real, it's fun, it's mortal (as opposed to all the pros out there who seem infallible on TV).

As mentioned in a previous post about this show, I started out watching The Big Break Florida first. In all honesty, I may have started watching that season  because of all the pretty girls and cute outfits (I slipped in that 'may' and give myself some wiggle room just in case my wife decides to reads this post). The novelty of the sexy girls, though, wore off quickly - that's for you honey. For the guys reading this, it really doesn't. I'm almost convinced the Golf Channel even edits the show in a way to make these women look more provocative than necessary. Having said that, I'm not complaining. Keep up the good work Golf Channel. But while the girls are a nice touch, what really keeps you hooked is the mortality of a struggling golfer trying to make it. Every season has drama, egos, clashes, displays of real skill, and at least a couple of amazing shots. The kind of shots we've all done at least once or twice on the fairway ourselves. The kind of shots that make us all go back to the golf course even if for 17 holes and 99% of your shots you sucked.

It's the golf fix you need while you wait for that next chance you have to play on the fairway. They even had a season where former NFL players joined the competition! That was a really good one. How great would it be to see Michael Jordan join this thing?

I can't say enough how good a job The Golf Channel has done with this show and I hope they keep up the good work. 

I've successfully been able to download at 5 seasons now of The Big Break - Florida, Myrtle Beach, Puerto Rico (NFL), Mexico, and Greenbrier. 

Controversy at the 18th Founder Cup in Orchard

Now I am no where near good enough to join a fancy tournament so I haven't. I'm not quite ready to embarass myself in front of a bunch of competitive golfers. I do just fine (embarassing myself) during a regular round of golf. But I've met other golfers who love the thrill of a tournament. They love the competition. They love the challenge. Most times there's no prize money and that's just fine. These guys don't do it for the money. They don't even do it for the trophy. They do it for pride and glory. It's poetic when you think of it that way.

Well, I heard through the grapevine that there was some controversy in the recently concluded 18th Founder's Cup at the Orchard Golf and Country Club. Apparently some golfers are up in arms and upset with how the tournament went down. So much so that I've even been asked to share an anonymous statement on the matter. I'll be doing that in a bit. First though I want to share the facts:

1) The Orchard Golf and Country Club has one of the highest active golf members in the Philippines.

2) The Orchard Golf and Country Club Founder's Cup is said to be one of its biggest annual tournaments held by the club.

3) The rules are made available and presented to members well before the start of the tournament.

4) Somewhere between after the tournament had started and prior to the awarding ceremony, the rules on a penalty were changed by the Orchard golf committee.

5) This change by the golf committee caused the rankings of teams and players to change such that some of those that were supposed to win did not and those that were not supposed to - did.

I don't know about you but whenever you change the rules halfway through anything, there's something fishy. Where there's smoke, there's fire. Here's the anonymous statement:

"ORCHARD FOUNDER'S CUP MARRED BY CONTROVERSIAL RULING

Talks are spreading wild that the results of the recently concluded Founder's Cup at the Orchard Golf and Country Club were rigged to favor certain participants.

In an abrupt move, the Rules Committee of Orchard, suddenly scrapped a long standing rule requiring participants to put an "X" on their score cards when playing for a double net bogey. While the corresponding penalties had all been imposed as shown on Orchard's website and filgolf.com, they were altogether deleted just minutes before the awarding ceremonies on the lame excuse that many violated the particular rule. The decision was met with disgust amongst those who diligently followed the rule which was nothing new nor complicated. Some golfers commented that rules are rules regardless of the number of violators. Violators were rewarded while those who complied with the rule were penalized. The supposed winners eventually ended up as losers. Those in Class B and C were adversely affected as the supposed winners were deprived of their trophies.

Many regarded Orchard's move as a disgrace to the integrity of the game. Decency and fair play were disregarded to favor particular personalities. It was truly a sad day for golf!!!"

-end quote-

Unsolicited Advise #02: Hard Tools

Whether you practice your golf game in your backyard or the neighbourhood playground, your going to need some "hard" practice tools. Unlike my previous post on "soft" tools, "hard" tools are actual items you can physically use to practice within a small area. Let's get right into it.

1. A Golf Net

Golf Net

One of the first hard tools I got was a golf net. I found my Callaway Golf Net in a local surplus outlet store. These things are great for setting up in the yard. What's nice about a golf net is you can use real golf balls and take full swings at it without worrying about breaking a window or hitting a car - most of the time. Word of warning though, if you are an absolute beginner and have zero control of the ball, be very careful. I broke a window (or two) after some really bad shots while practicing with a driver. I mean these are shots where I am aiming straight at the net. I must have somehow managed to hit the ball with the shaft of the club because the ball would go almost 90 degrees to the left or right of my aim.  Those were sad and embarrassing days. I would much rather not recount or figure out how or why. It happened. Hopefully those days are now behind me.

The golf net is a great tool. The best thing about a golf net is really getting that ball contact feel. This allows for you to get the confidence of hitting a ball. And while it is hard to tell at first, there is a very distinct and real difference between the feel of simply hitting a golf ball and hitting it flush. A golf net allows for you to be able to identify that feeling without having to see the flight of the ball.  

This brings me to the downside of a golf net - you don't see the flight of the ball. And if you don't see the flight of the ball, you don't know whether it was a slice or a hook or if it would have been straight-as-an-arrow. Yes, you might think each time you hit it flush that the ball would've likely flown straight but you never really know. As a beginner, you more often doubt yourself than give yourself the benefit of the doubt.

2. Old Driving Range Balls


At about the same time I got the driving net, I also went to a driving range and bought three large sacks of old golf balls (it must have been 5,000 - 6,000 golf balls). For about 6 months there was an empty lot right behind my house that extended about 100 yards out and 60 yards wide. I took these old golf balls and would hit an 8 iron (and later a 9, and even later - as I got better, a pitching wedge) into that empty lot.

It was great fun while it lasted.

Unfortunately, that lot was later bought and construction had started to develop the land. That was the end of my personal 100 yard driving range.

I still have a few hundred balls left and for the ones that are not cracked or too badly scuffed up, I still use them to practice chipping and pitching. Also, I keep about 50 of these old driving range balls in a small bag in my car along with my clubs wherever I go. You never know when you'll be in a place where you can hit a few into the distance with no risk of breaking anything.

3. Holed Balls

After my personal driving range had "closed" I started looking for alternatives to practice. I immediately turned to those soft, plastic, hollow practice golf balls. They come in a variety of colors but the ones that were most commonly available in my neck of the woods were the orange ones.

While I had bought quite a number of these practice golf balls, my experience with them was short. First, I almost immediately lost my first pack of 4. The reason is while these balls tend not to fly too far away on most hits, every once in awhile you'll either hit an exceptionally good one or the wind will blow pretty strong and the ball flies to the neighbors' or over to that empty lot. Second, the whole experience of using the balls left plenty to be desired. The balls tended to be soft - so soft that you could not tee up with a holed ball in your hand and use it to push the tee into the ground. Second, as soon as you tried to hit it with a driver, the ball would dent and collapse into itself on impact. The lifespan of these thing were very, very short and eventually I gave up on these.


4. Kid's old toys

Not to be deterred with the unhappy experience with the holed, hollow, plastic golf balls, I continued to experiment. I have 2 boys (a 4-year old and a 1.5 year old) who always have toy balls lying around. I would steal their old ones from them when they were not looking and have at it (not my proudest "daddy" moment but, hey, that's why I hide behind the alias). This would work most of the time and satisfy the nagging itch to hit something with a golf club. However, the guilt and the fights with the wife and kids every time I had to own up and admit I took the toy ball again proved too much. I quickly let go of this option and stopped kidnapping unknowing toys in the house.


5. Foam Balls with a hard center

They're basically really soft foam balls with a hard center. These are really great for that "impact" feel. And because of the wind drag/resistance of the foam, they only go about 20-25 yards on a full swing. I love these things and still use them from time to time. They're great for indoor use as well for anyone with enough room to swing a golf club without hitting a vase or flower pot (or person).

The only downside of these practice balls is that they're a bit pricey and NOT very durable. I mean I've seen these things priced up to $7 a set (4 pieces). When you think about it, they're just foam balls with the core cut out, a wooden marble placed in it, and then the cut out glued back in. $7 is a lot of money for that, in my opinion. Also if you use your driver with it or hit a hard surface enough times, the foam will start to break and give.

My sense is that these practice balls are best for short iron and wedge use for easy swing shots. You probably won't need any more than 4 balls for that so don't make the same mistake I did and buy a bunch of them. Keep a few in your office, car, or bag and that is all you'll probably ever need.


6. Fake grass

I actually designed, built, and installed a putting green with artificial grass in my backyard. It's only 35 square meters but it's a lot of fun for practice. I am already working on a draft for a separate post on building/installing your own putting green in the backyard. I'll share some pictures of the prep work, progress, and finished putting green on this blog another time. 

Anyway, I use the extra fringe grass that was left over from my home made putting green project to practice chipping and pitching on the driveway. I used to practice off of the lawn until my wife started giving me the stink eye over the divots. Fake grass is great because it turns any hard surface like a driveway (or rooftop) into a nice fluffy grass surface! You can even lay two layers of the grass over itself for a softer surface.

If you do decide to buy fake grass, don't get the cheap stuff. The strands on the cheap ones tend to come off of the rubber backing. Remember, you are going to be pulling those strands with the head of your golf club at high speeds. You want something that can take the punishment. So when you go to your local hardware, take a good look at the bottom of the sheet of fake grass and make sure that those strands are firmly adhered to the base. Don't be afraid to shell out a few extra bucks for the better ones, it'll be worth it.

7. The birdie ball

This is my newest discovery and toy. I actually just saw it on YouTube and thought it was great. Anything that will show me if I'm slicing while practicing at home is almost an insta-buy for me. I can honestly say it is as good as publicised. They look like mini plastic paper toilet rolls and It only flies about 25-45 yards out depending how flush you hit it. The best part about them is how apparent the slice or hook shows. It's really obvious! But because it only flies about 45 yards out max, you are really in no danger of hitting anybody's window as long as you have a decent amount of space (like a small soccer field or large playground). I take these bad boys onto a local soccer field and swing at a dozen birdie balls at a time with a driver. I then take a 6 or 7 iron and walk to the birdie balls and try to hit them back to the original spot. It's a lot of fun especially once you start hitting them consistently. It really builds confidence. I imagine this would even be fun with a friend. You can hit birdie balls towards each other - sort of like playing catch with golf clubs. I think this is an amazing tool and recommend it to anybody suffering from a slice or hook.

So there you have it, those are some of the hard tools I've used to try to learn how to play golf better. If you have other tools that you feel have helped your game, please feel free to share them. I still could use all the help I can get.

Downloading The Golf Channel's The Big Break

If you love the game of golf and have never heard of "The Big Break" you need to check this show out on The Golf Channel. There are already a ton of seasons done - at least 10 by now probably. 

All the episodes are available to stream online on The Golf Channel website. The only problem is sometimes the buffering/streaming can be slow. I once watched a 44 minute episode over the course of 2 hours! It's no fun watching a TV series lead up to a really intense point only to have it stop and play again in 10 minute breaks. In fact it's really frustrating. Other times you just don't have access to internet, and wish you could sneak in an episode into your day.

For the longest time I was researching for a way to download these videos off of The Golf Channel site. And let me tell you, those guys over at The Golf Channel really put in a lot of work to make sure it's next to impossible to do it! I tried all the hacks, and all the tips and tricks - nothing. I've downloaded all the free video downloader softwares out there (YouTube Downloader, VLC, etc.) and nothing worked. I also looked at all possible torrent sites for download links to no avail. It's a great TV series and I found at least a couple of other people looking for the same torrents but it seems no one has really taken the time to download and seed these videos.

And then one day, almost by accident, I figured it out. I was finally able to download an episode of The Big Break Florida. I thought it was a fluke! I tried another episode and the trick worked again! It's a tedious process but I love watching the TV series so much I kept doing it until I was able to download the entire season of The Big Break Florida. Unfortunately, it does not appear to work with ALL The Big Break seasons but it does work on the newer ones. I am currently downloading the current season of The Big Break (Myrtle Beach). Just in case The Golf Channel patrols blog posts like this I will NOT be sharing the trick on how to download episodes. I mean c'mon, The Golf Channel, this is TOOO GOOD a show to make it so hard for people to watch! I even tried ordering DVD sets of this series on Amazon but it was all out of stock. 

Anyway, if anybody out there would like to watch The Big Break Florida or The Big Break Myrtle Beach, let me know.

Cheers!

The Golf Dummy

How to Make Golf Watchable on TV

As much as I love golf, I can't seem to muster enough interest or energy to watch a tournament on TV. It wasn't always this way. When I got into golf, I couldn't get enough of it. I watched everything I could find on YouTube. I watched all the tutorials. But for some reason, I always seem to run out of patience/interest when I watch golf on TV. I find that nothing really draws you in. I mean how many times do you tune in exactly at the right moment when a player down 8 strokes rallies to take the lead after 10 holes? The answer is - almost never.  

This got me thinking. Why is it I can't seem to watch a game I enjoy so much playing? It dawned on me that the reason I can't stay glued onto a tournament is because the networks don't show the facets of the game that make it so interesting. All you pretty much see when you watch is the player as he sets up and swings at the ball, and then the screen cuts to where the ball lands. You know he hit a good or bad shot based on where the ball lands. Is it on the fairway or rough? Is it on the green or bunker? And that's pretty much all you see. What's missing here is the viewer's ability to truly appreciate the skill involved in hitting a good shot. It isn't that the networks don't try because they do. They show slow motion videos of a swing as the commentators talk about the pro's form and basics. They talk about how these things contribute to the resulting shot. It's a valiant effort at making the game interesting but something is missing. I feel that this isn't enough to really get people to appreciate the skill involved in hitting a golf ball in the precise manner that golf professionals do.

Think about any other sport on television. Almost every sport you watch will show the entire area where the action is happening. In basketball you see the half of the court where the players are trying to score. If there's a fast break, the camera will quickly zoom out or pan to where the ball is going. In football it's pretty much the same thing. Hockey, tennis, badminton, and any other sport, it's the same formula. The problem with watching golf on TV is that they show the player's swing and where the ball lands but skip over everything in between. And then one day while watching the PGA tour I saw this:

Golf ProTracer Compilation 2014 PLAYERS Championship

I thought to myself "Woah!  That's awesome! I can see if they shot a fade, draw, or straight on." It was at this moment that I realized what was really missing in golf.   Again, it has everything to do with appreciating the skill involved in achieving the perfect golf shot. To the casual viewer it may be no big deal but to the average golfer it's one of the hardest things to achieve - control of the shot! TV networks need to show a graphic of the hole being played and track the player's shot from a bird's eye view. Think about it. If you've ever watched billiards on TV you would have noticed that commentators will sometimes draw on the screen. They show where the "hazards" are, where the player is likely to bank a shot, or where the ball will likely be placed at the end of a shot. Now imagine something like this being done in golf. You've got a ball a fraction of the size of a pool ball and 300-400 yards of fairway and these guys can put the ball exactly where they want most of the time. That's amazing! But the only way to show this is to:

1. Track the flight/path of the ball exactly the way Protracer does it off the tee. But don't just track the tee shot, track all the shots before the putting green.
2. Show a graphic of the hole being played complete with hazards and roughs. Golf is played over 18 holes and each hole has its unique features and challenges. It's often difficult to appreciate the significance of where these hole-specific features and challenges are when you can't see where they are in relation to the player's shot.
3. Commentators should be able to draw on the graphic to indicate ideal ball placement and/or other areas related to making a good golf shot (just like they do in billiards).

How much more compelling would golf be if you saw graphics like this?

Golf is such a great game to learn and play, it could be such a joy to watch if only TV could present it in a way that is compelling and interesting to all viewers (from beginner to pro).

Unsolicited Advice #01: Soft Tools

Golf is a game where you need tools for a number of reasons and all of them lead (or should lead) to making that learning curve as steep as possible.  The steeper that learning curve, the sooner you can enjoy the game on the fairway and have some semblance of control each time you swing the club at a golf ball.

I'm calling this series of posts "Unsolicited Advice" because I am not a good golfer (yet), I don't consistently break 100 (yet), I have never broken 90 (yet) and I only dream about breaking 80.  Having said that if I were you, I may not necessarily listen to a guy like me.  But this has been my process and the path I've chosen.  I'm sharing what I feel are the best of the path I've chosen and hopefully it helps you.  Hell, hopefully it helps me.  We'll have to check back a few months (maybe years *gulp*) to see if that last statement comes true.

I like to use what I refer to as "hard" and "soft" tools.  Hard and soft tools are things that are useful when you are not at a fairway or driving range.  Of course nothing beats being on the fairway and learning on site but unless you have limitless amounts of time and copious amounts of money (for green and caddie fees), learning on the fairway may not be convenient, possible, or practical.

Listed below are some of my favorite soft tools for learning the game of golf.  Note that I have listed these things in the sequence that I hoped I had discovered them and not necessarily in the order that I actually discovered them.

1.  AJ Bonar's The Truth About Golf

Swing first, think later.

This is a 3 part series by AJ Bonar on golf.  What I really like about these videos (and why I wish I had watched them first) is how AJ Bonar talks about golf.

He starts the series basically doing away with all the technicalities and intricacies and talks about golf like you were a 4 year old.  He says your swing, swing plane, grip, stance, footwork, weight transfer, etc., etc. ALL DON'T MATTER.  For a beginner this is great to hear!  Not so much because it is true but because it builds confidence and hope for those of us who feel so helpless when we can't achieve a textbook swing (or hit a ball straight, or sometimes even just hit the ball at all!)

AJ then goes on to say that all that really matters is that you hit the ball the way the tool (i.e. golf club) was designed.  Whether you hit the ball with an open or closed stance, weak or strong grip, with your elbows out, or feet wide apart doesn't matter unless you understand how and where to hit the golf ball.  This is such a simplistic but true insight on golf.  We often get too caught up on having a good looking swing we forget why we're doing it.  I wish I had seen this video when I had just started playing because then it would have taken so much pressure off.  I could just focus on getting the club to hit the ball the right way and then worry about form later.

A good example of this would be the first time I learned to play basketball.  As a young kid I was too weak to throw a basketball from above my head the way the pros do it.  My arms and legs were just too scrawny and weak.  It was impossible for me to have the textbook shooting form.  So I started out playing basketball shooting from the knees and scooping up the ball with both hands up to the rim.  As I got a bit older, I would shoot from the waist and then later from above my head.  Finally when I could shoot set shots I practiced shooting the ball at the peak of my jump for a beautiful jump shot.  I was obsessed with basketball and would watch the shooting form of some of the greatest shooters/players in the game.  I had VHS tapes of Larry Bird, Reggie Miller, Chuck Person, Dan Majerle, and of course, Michael Jordan.  I would study their form and pause-play tapes frame by frame looking at the position of the ball, the hand position, whether or not the thumb on the left hand pushed the ball forward on the follow through(like Chuck Person's shot).  I looked at all these things and tried to emulate the features I liked from each player.  This is how I learned my form. Ultimately though I learned the satisfaction of getting the ball in the hoop first before I ever even thought about my form.  I feel that this 3 part video from AJ Bonar gives you the right mindset when you first start out and will keep the purpose of improving different aspects of your golf swing later on always in your mind.

2. David Leadbetter Videos

World's #1 Golf Instructor

These are the videos that really start talking about the technical aspects of the golf swing but without being too technical.  Believe me, there are so many things going on with the body during a golf swing that there's a video for every aspect, if not all aspects, of it.  I've watched many and frankly some of them make you feel like it's impossible to swing the club the right way.  It makes you want to just walk away before you even get started.  

David Leadbetter's videos talk about golf in a way where he doesn't dwell so much on weight being 40% here or 60% there or on angles being 2 degrees this way or 8 degrees another.  Instead, he talks more about how positions should look and feel, and he gives pointers and drills to practice.  This, for me, is a far better and more interesting way to learn than to try figuring out how much weight is on one foot or how many degrees is the angle of the club.

I actually learned about David Leadbetter while in the driving range.  I was swinging away at a local range and angrily cursing myself after every bad shot (which means after EVERY shot).  I'm sure it was both funny and amusing to some of the people there.  I know this because while I was busy being mad at myself, a middle aged Korean lady who spoke bad English came up to me.  She offered me some unsolicited advice of her own.  She shared some constructive criticism on my swing and proceeded to tell me about a video she repeatedly watched when she had first started playing golf.  She told me I should go and find a David Leadbetter video called "Beginner to Winner".  I did not tell her I was a beginner but I guess my swing was so bad I didn't have to.  I politely smiled, thanked her for the advise, and took a mental note of the video title.  I didn't care that the advise was coming from a Korean lady who spoke bad English.  If I sucked so bad this lady felt a need to help me, I was probably pretty bad and I wasn't going to let my ego get in the way.

I must have watched "Beginner to Winner" 20 times.  It's a comprehensive video that covers many facets of golf for both the long and short game.  I looked for more David Leadbetter videos and watched those at least 5 times each too.  Check this guy out, there's a reason he's the #1 golf instructor in the world.

3. V1 Golf App

V1 Golf: Best Swing App

This is a great tool to record golf swings.  I liked it so much I bought the paid app.  Recording your swing is not a vanity thing.  Well ok, that's not entirely true.  Initially I took videos of my swing because I wanted to make sure I didn't look like a complete idiot on the golf course.  And as evidenced by the video I posted of my first swing, it's a good thing I did because I looked like an imbecile.

But there's more to it than just trying to look the part.  As I mentioned above, form has got a lot to do with function. There's a reason why all the great basketball shooters had common aspects about their shooting form.  This isn't to say that they all didn't have their own unique intricacies within their shot but the fundamentals were there.  That's what everyone is trying to do - build good basic swing fundamentals.  When I look at videos of other golf pros' swings and compare it to mine, I'm looking for what others are doing consistently and what I'm not.  Sure, I would absolutely love to have Tiger or Rory's exact swing but that's almost impossible.  Even Tiger and Rory have different swings if you look close enough. 

What's great about this app (at least the paid version) is you get access to numerous golf pro swings and they're all in a format that can be slowed down.  You can observe Phil Mickelson's swing frame by frame and even flip him so that he looks like a rightie.  And if you're feeling especially brave, you can compare your swing to any pro and view both swings side-by-side.  I'm sure it must be a treat to get to a point where you do this and your own swing looks like a pro's (except maybe if it's Jim Furyk's - who's game I love, btw).  I can only imagine the feeling because I'm not at that point (yet).

Even more encouraging is keeping a history of your own swings and seeing improvements periodically.  (Just remember to back up those videos because I've had to reformat my phone a couple of times before and forgot I had my swing videos saved in my phone and lost them.)  Again, doing a side-by-side comparison of month 1 and say month 5 or 6 can be really, really encouraging if you've put the time in to work on your game.  Most people might not even be able to tell the difference but it doesn't matter.  All that matters is YOU see the difference because you know what you've been working on.

Lastly, EVERYONE wants to see their own swing so taking videos of your friends' swings and sending it to them is almost always appreciated by the guys in your flight.  Plus, you get to compare their swings to your own and either have a good laugh or feel really jealous (I am usually guilty of the latter).

If you're serious about golf - and by serious I mean you feel like this is your new "thing" when you have free time - watch AJ Bonar and David Leadbetter.  Also get the free V1 golf app and take a few videos of yourself.  I don't suggest getting the paid app until you're really sure you like V1 Golf.  YouTube has a bunch of golf pro swings in slow motion so don't just buy the app for that.  Check out some alternatives on the Google Play and the Appstore too.

So there you go, those are my main soft tools.  Next up, fun hard tools for practicing in the yard...

The (nay) My Swing

Right now for some reason, I feel like I am about to take my clothes off in front of a crowd.  There was a movie, whose title escapes me at the moment, where the character says when giving a speech he imagines everyone in the audience is naked and it helps with his anxiety.  Maybe I'll imagine everyone reading this was naked?  It might help... uhm... Nope, it didn't.  Most of you are likely to be middle-aged men or older with little time to exercise and hairy...  OK, I'm stopping right there.  Nope, that did not help at all.  Why don't we all keep our clothes on, shall we?  Great, let's move on.

I am about to share some videos of my first swings early on.  Talk about anxiety and baring a man's soul.  If I was more skillful with video/photo editing software I would blur my face out but I am not.  And besides, it doesn't matter.  None of you know me and if anybody I know is reading this I am denying I am "The Golf Dummy".  I am taking my identity to the grave (except for that post on "About The Golf Dummy") or at least until my swing improves and we can laugh at the buffoon in the pictures and videos together!

Let's begin and start with something fun.  The video below is not really one of my first few swings.  This one is maybe 4-6 months in.  I have since gotten better.  Meaning I don't really react the way I do at the end anymore.  I still want to, I've just been able to fight the urge much better.  Word of warning: I do not endorse this type of behavior at home, on the driving range, and especially not on the fairway.  Read the following lines in your best Sean Connery accent: "Yerr goats tah kip yerr heid on yah, lad.  Galfs (golf is) a gents game!"  Anyway, you'll understand what I mean after you see it.  As for the swing?  It's pretty much perfect for slicing the ball almost precisely perpendicular to the right EVERY TIME.  Hence, the end of the video.

http://youtu.be/ljgETOUCw6k

I was told that the swing above wasn't really that bad and that, in fact, it looked pretty good for a beginner.  Truth be told when I first started out with golf I didn't really care about how my swing looked.  I just so desperately wanted the ball to fly straight.  I would have stood on one leg, held my nose, and put on a goofy smile while swinging the golf club if I thought it would get the ball to go straight.  I just had such a bad slice!  Hindsight is always 20-20 and looking at the video now I can sort of point out the areas for improvement and some of the things that need adjustments.  But my mistakes and the changes I made to get a little bit better are subjects for another blog post.  Here's a video of what my swing really looked like when I started:

http://youtu.be/21GeSQ5xWH0

I know.  It's pretty bad.  It sort of makes you think "Well now that I saw THAT, the first video doesn't look so bad!" - and I agree.  But such is the irony of this game.  It'll embarrass you, ridicule you, and make you feel worthless - and you fall in love anyway.

I was hooked.  "Obsessed" might be a better word.  I started taking more videos.  Buying golf apps and watching tutorials.  I went to the driving range.  I even got a few golf pro lessons (who taught me different, sometimes completely opposing things).  I was determined to make my swing into the swing...

The Beginning: Too Cool for School

Strictly speaking, I was first introduced to golf in high school.  My brother had been working for a few years in the corporate world and he had picked up the game.  Well that and scuba diving, ice hockey, and airsoft guns. At the time, my young naive mind considered his activities "pretentious".  One day he convinced me to hit the driving range and take a few swings at some golf balls.  I had thought to myself "Sure! Why not? Seems easy enough with all these old farts playing it."  I was a high school varsity basketball player - arrogant, self-absorbed, and cocky.  Needless to say I had embarrassed myself that day. I swung helplessly at a defenseless dimpled white ball.  I could have sworn it was alive and dodging my mighty swings.  After flailing my arms and screaming like a little girl whose barbie just got taken away, I gave up and forever swore off the game of golf.  I called it "a game that only people with no athleticism played."

About 15 years later, I'm playing basketball with my regular Saturday group.  I am accustomed to being one of the better players.  So when one of the newer players in the group bring some young guns to the court, I have this instinctive urge to prove to the youngins how it's done.  I had done it before, put punk kids in their place and show them who's the alpha male on this playground.  Of course it had been a few years since we had any new blood on the court but in my mind it made no difference.  I'm the king of this hill and these boys will bow to me.  

The game proceeded as expected. And by "the game proceeded as expected" I mean we picked teams and started the game tied at zero points. After that, the game DID NOT proceed as expected. We were getting our asses kicked. I remember one play, I was coming off of a missed shot by the other team and was sprinting down court for a fast break. Actually it may not have been so much a "sprint" than maybe a brisk jog but I remember it to be a sprint and this is my story so we'll stick with it. I had one guy left to beat. It was one of the youngins. I thought to myself "OK when you get to this guy, you're going to faint right, crossover left, go behind the back, and if by some miracle he's still in front of you? I'm going to spin move and lay it up right passed this bum!" I could almost hear the "oooh's" and "ahhh's" from the guys on the sidelines watching. It was going to be an epic show of skill. Except it wasn't. It was like my body didn't get the memo from my mind. The faint to the right didn't even happen! It was like my body said "If we're going left anyway why bother with a fake? It's too much effort. Let's just go straight to the crossover." And it may have been all right except that when I tried to cross I dribbled the ball off of my left foot. And as I watched the ball drift out of bounds in slow motion, I could see the corner of the young punk's mouth rise into a grin of satisfaction. The same kind I used to get when people would crumble at my weekend-warrior's crippling defensive stare! Alas, those days were long gone and that play was the first basketball plays of many that reminded me of it. It's almost criminal how life just takes that away from you with age but doesn't take away the competitive mindset. My mind still feels like it's 23, unbeatable, and able to leap the tallest building with a single bound. My body humbles me and tells me that unless that building was built by tiny elves, I have trouble just jumping over my son's stack of legos.

I still play basketball once in awhile but some time around my late 20s and early 30s I decided it was time to change sports. My ego and pride couldn't accept the demotion in stature even if it was just on a playground basketball court. So one day I found my brother's old set of golf clubs in my parents house and took it. I thought to myself "Let's try this again." There was something comforting about starting over and being a beginner. No expectations. No insecurities. No baggage. I just wanted to learn. I took that old set of clubs and started swinging...

Full Disclosure

All right, before you start reading this blog let's make a few things clear.  I am not an expert nor am I a golf pro.  If you have come here looking for textbook tips and tricks or how to play golf the "right" way, you've come to the wrong place - please leave now and forever hold your peace.

This blog is about a regular guy with a day job, wife, and kids, who has come to grow to love golf.  I started this blog to share my golf story and my experiences as I go through learning the game.

Right now, I suck at the game.  I'm pretty bad.  I have been playing for a little over a year (maybe twice or thrice a month).  While I acknowledge going to the driving range is important to improve your game, I have to tell you I'm not a big fan of the range.  I prefer the fairway.  As soon as I figured out how to hit a golf ball with a club (note that by "hit" I mean the ball usually violently sliced to the right), I headed straight to the fairway. This probably explains why I have broken 100 only a couple of times and if I'm really honest about it (meaning count the mulligan/s), I probably have never legitimately broken 100.  For the newbies out there - "breaking 100" means scoring (or taking) below 100 strokes to finish 18 holes. Right now, I score in the high 120s give or take a few strokes.  Most of the time its so bad I don't even count or take the scorecard!

But I have grown to love this game.  It's hard to explain.  Round after round I come back for more heartbreak and frustration.  Once in awhile, you hit that shot where the ball hits the club on its sweet spot, and you hear that elusive "swoosh" the ball makes when the flight is just perfect, and it lands 6 feet from the hole from 160 yards away.  Man, that feels good!  It's an amazing feeling.  In fact it's so good you forget that you 2-putt it from 6 feet away.  It doesn't matter.  That one shot in a round of 18 makes it all worth it, it makes you come back.

I like to think that my love affair with golf is similar to what most regular guys go through.

I struggle with the right grip, the right back swing, the right swing plane, etc. etc.

I struggle with hitting the ball straight, the driver, getting out of bunkers, etc. etc.

I struggle with the practicality of golf - the cost of green fees, memberships, equipment, caddies, and shoes; having enough time to play; etc. etc.

But I digress and I'm getting ahead of myself.  I'd like to share with you how it all started, why I picked up the game, and what drives me to stick with a game that tortures me so much.  Let's start from the beginning...