Well it's great to be playing again, and on regulation courses too. The shoulder is feeling fine and my swing is actually in pretty good shape at this point. The driver is a little eratic, but the short game and putting is only slightly off form. From a week ago Saturday to this past Thursday night I even feel like my distance is starting to come back. Both times I played the course at the Rancho Bernardo Inn. Last Saturday I got in 18 holes playing with 3 other people, one a CPA from Pasadena who was at the Inn with his wife for a post tax season getaway, and the other couple being married and on vacation from somewhere up north. So far I haven't encountered much in the way of 'locals' and I'm not really sure why. The course is fun, is in great shape, and they even give you your first beer free! Add to that the free cookie to start off the day and friendly bar cart girl and it's a pretty good operation. The only downside, if you could even call it that, is that they require carts before noon on the weekends. I suppose to help speed up play, but if you play tennis golf you are all over the course anyway chasing a partners ball then back to yours. In any case it was probably good to use a cart as my ankle isn't quite ready for a full regulation 18 yet. After a week ago Thursday, it was still a little tender and took a couple of days of Ibuprophen therapy to get it back to normal. The good news is that I shot a respectable 101 with plenty of room for improvement and I was able to get comfortable with all phases of the game. I enjoyed it so much I made a Thursday night tee time for Rancho Bernardo Inn for last Thursday at 4:30. I made sure I got off work at a 3:00 which is only fair given the nights and weekends I've been working and I had no wait to go off the first tee. The round was a mix of really good, and some really bad, but overall I got in a full 18 holes before dark completing the round in 3 hours and 5 minutes shooting a respectable 99 despite feeling rushed whenever I played through. Pretty much a record for me, and I only had to play through 2 groups over the 18 holes. And did I mention that all this only cost me $28 with cart! What a deal! The sad news is that there doesn't appear to be much, if any, league or men's group play. In the 19th hole afterward I was pretty much the only golfer enjoying my free Stella Artois. So it looks like I'm going to have to go out and advertise my own Thursday night group and see if I get any interest. Not quite sure how to go about it yet, but I suppose Craigslist and other golf web sites might be the place to start. I'll keep you all posted, but if by chance you or someone you know wants to get a regular golf group together, I'm open to it. Doesn't have to be Rancho Bernardo Inn, but it's such a great place that I can't imagine anyone not wanting to play there. Just Call me at 858.568.0234 or e-mail me at the address to the right.
Overall it sounds like Tiger and I have a lot in common, he doesn't look fully recovered from his knee like I'm not fully recovered from the shoulder and ankle surgeries, but we are both out playing and finding which parts of our games need more work. Speaking of which, have any of you been watching The Hank Haney Project? I'm not sure Charles Barkley is going to be able to overcome his demons both physical and mental enough to become a good player. I wish Hank would have me on his show so that he can work with someone who actually could become a respectable golfer (yes I mean me!). Charles is entertaining TV, but like Groundhog Day, you know in the end that Charles is going to revert to whatever that thing is he calls a swing.
I hope all of you are working hard, and playing golf the way, and as often as, you want to. Life is too short not to. And if you wait, you'll only be older when you finally figure it out. I'll hope to see you on the course soon, and I'll be updating this more regularly here.
David C.
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