One year evaluation

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

It was just about a year ago that I unexpectedly got an email from an old friend saying hi, and that he was going to be in the area. Scratch that, the email came a bit earlier than that, and from there, he and I agreed to go out and go golfing like we had done some times before when I was younger. So it was about a year ago now that we met, and after maybe as much 6 years having not swung any sort of golf club, I teed a 5-wood at the first tee and hit a weak slice.

In terms of self-evaluation, I suppose it is reasonable to say that my now and then forays on to golf courses when I was younger can be disregarded some as starting points. At the time of picking up golf clubs again last August, I hadn't ever learned to swing a club really when I was much younger, and it is of some note that my right shoulder was still, how do I put this, of some concern. During the second half of 2003, I had begun having difficulties with my right shoulder, at first if I did anything like trying to throw a ball it could hurt. Hurt rather sharply.

Resting the shoulder, and avoiding those twinges, did nothing and the problem grew more troublesome. It was finally diagnosed early on in 2004 that I was developing a frozen shoulder. There is treatment and therapy for frozen shoulders, but nothing to really stop the joint from being filled up with gunk as I think of it. It's an autoimmune reaction, the body attacking its own self, and it's also known that eventually it begins resolving itself.

During the course of the shoulder freezing up though, it just hurts in lots of annoying ways. At the worst, it seemed there was never a comfortable position for my arm and the shoulder. I'd move the arm, and after a while, the shoulder would hurt from that position. I'd move the arm to a new position, and later on the shoulder would begin aching. I lost my favorite positions for sleeping, and most nights I would wake up a few times and have to adjust my arm because my shoulder was aching.

But finally late in 2004, and early on in 2005, the problem began subsiding as my shoulder began to recover. By around July, I was finally able again to lift my right arm straight up again, although I still couldn't adduct my right arm across my body. I still can't, and it looks that short of the idea of surgery, that's the way it may remain.

I shot 114 in that first round of last year. Generous 114. Had he and I been fully rule-abiding it probably would have been closer to 120. Somehow I made a couple of pars out there, although it nearly frightens me to think of what I must have scored on the other holes. Best of all though, while I may not have been able to swing hard, it had never hurt any when grounding the club.

Still, it's amazing when I think of how much better shape I'm in now than I was then. I now walk and carry a bag for at least 18 holes every week, and sometimes more. And in this time, I've begun learning to golf, and learning to swing a club. When I first picked up the clubs last August, it was a very armsy swing, and it had a tremendous flying right elbow. My flexibility was awful. I don't think I could have even begun to try to make any sort of Hogan-type swing.

Now it's a year later. I've shot as low as 83, 11 over par, 3 times and my basic aim is to become someone who can shoot in the 70's on a regular basis. I've gone from being a horrible putter to a sometimes decent putter. I still don't make all the short game shots I should, but I'm making more and more of them, and have recently seen my first chip in for a birdie, and have even holed out a bunker shot.

The full swing will always be a work in progress. And it takes monitoring, which can be difficult when one is a stubborn auto-didactic type like I tend to be. The swing got knocked off by a couple of bad habits that crept in after recovering from mono for the second time, but after finding those last week I'm feeling better about it.

I still have improvement to make in my conditioning and flexibility. Improvements there should help me get some more distance from my irons. I won't ever be a long hitter, just don't have all that much fast-twitch muscle fiber, but there is still improvement to be made in capacity to make a good shoulder turn and coil.

It's been very very good getting to this point, though. It's forced me to push myself some, and it's been a bit of revelation. Had you said to me this time last year that I should be thinking of some day shooting in the 70's, I would have gone, "Yeah, right." Now that's the goal in front of me, to break 80, and I do have one set of 9 holes where I shot 39. It's going to happen some time this year, I think, and that almost seems surreal.

Keep the left arm straight.

[warbirdlover]

Tremendous achievement to improve that much in one year!! (Especially with all the physical problems to overcome). Ain't this game great?

[ezra76]

It's amazing to think back. Seems so ridiculous to think of those high scores. I really had a hole last round that put my game in perspective. 382 yd. par 4, I hit the ground about 2 inches behind the ball with my 4wood and it went maybe 10yds. Another 4Wood from 270, I top it out to about 180. Now I hit a massive 6iron, good strike but pulled left. From 15-20yds. left of the green I hit the stick with the pitch and almost hole it. Knock down the 7 footer for a bogey. That round I hit a few total duff shots off the tee but recovered well and managed an 81. My ballstriking has improved immensely over the past year but most of all it's been my confidence that I can make par from anywhere. I put together 10 pars that round and it wasn't easy. Last year I was struggling to make bogies and just trying to hang in to break 90. Now I'm approaching every hole feeling like I can hit 1 bad shot and still make par. I'll be heading out in an hour. My goal, as always, is to par every hole. I know it can be done, I've parred every hole on that course this year, just not in the same round.

- Good luck RBB

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

Originally Posted by warbirdlover

Tremendous achievement to improve that much in one year!! (Especially with all the physical problems to overcome). Ain't this game great?

It's an amazing game, and my friend showing up when he did came just the right time. I wasn't in terrible shape, but I was getting some of those bits of decline many get in their mid 30's. I've never been overweight, always been on the thin side, but in the past year I've taken off about 5 pounds, and my muscle tone is greatly improved.

After the first couple rounds of play, when I really decided to start golfing, my goal was pretty simple. Break 100. I had had a couple of flirtations with that back in the early 1990's, but had never done it. Of course, it was in early September last year that I did have that break 100 round, but then it took some time for me to get back under 100 again as I had just played way over my head that one day.

[SiberianDVM]

but I was getting some of those bits of decline many get in their mid 30's.

I wish. I'm 54 and I took up the game 1 year 4 months ago.

My first injury was bicipital tendonitis in my right arm, took 9 months for it to go away fully.
My left knee, that has the blown ACL, has to have a tight bandage on it every time I swing a club, or it swells up.
Strained a muscle in my left shoulder 2 months ago, but that only lasted a week.
Hurt my back picking up my dog. Two weeks of walking bent over.
This week, tendonitis in my right elbow.
Plus I can't see for shit, and I have to wear glasses when I play golf. That's the one think I would like to fix most.

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

Bits of decline, I didn't say I was going full blown-out dog doctor!

Like I said some time ago, Doc, you need to train a dog to be a caddy for ya.

[SiberianDVM]

Originally Posted by Ravenous Bugblatter Beast

Bits of decline, I didn't say I was going full blown-out dog doctor!

Like I said some time ago, Doc, you need to train a dog to be a caddy for ya.

It ain't the walking so much as the swinging. On days when I don't play, I usually hit 150-200 balls. Not much by pro standards, but it's repetitive enough to inflame joints and tendons.

This week I'm laying off the swinging and working on putting.

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

Yeah, that'd put some stress on those joints.

When I use a range now, I go at most for 75 balls at at time. And that'll be once or twice in a week. So I suppose the question is would I make more progress if I hit more balls every day? Or is there something to be said about not overkilling the joints as well?

I don't know.