Back Nine Movie

On Netflix tonight, I found a golf movie.  Mostly, the movies about golf on Netflix are not so good, but this one interested me.  It's about a 40-year old guy, Jon Fitzgerald, who has a family and a career, and he also wants to compete professionally in golf.  He wants to see how good he can get at his age.  It was an astounding movie/documentary, and it made me think of my own blog and dreams.  I watched it from start to finish.  It's a great springboard for writing, so I will watch it again, include the parts that were interesting to me here, and make comments on them, too. 

In other quick news, we are headed to Moab tomorrow to play in the Moab co-ed volleyball tournament.  We are returning to where we started twenty years ago when Belinda and I first played together on our own co-ed team called the Griswolds (I was Clark aka "Sparky" and she was Ellen, of course).  This time, we are going as the Swopertons, the name coined by my nephew Daryl on the Christmas cruise.  It will be the Edgertons (Kyle, Amanda, and Becca) and the Swopes (James, Belinda, Danielle, and me).  It's going to be fun.  I'll be posting as we go along, and I'll be writing more on the road, too.

Also, no news from D.K. yet after I e-mailed her my ideas.  

A Bit More About the Golf Team Kids and Match Play with Bruce

When I’ve played with the kids on the golf team, they don’t all know how to mark their golf balls properly.  They don’t know to be ready when it’s their turn to expedite play.  They don’t know that they can use their putters from just off the green if they want to.  Putters are for putting surfaces only.  Anything off the green must require a wedge, right?  It’s things like this that help me to realize how far I’ve come, and yes, I am not a club champ or a scratch golfer yet, but I’ve learned so much, and I have come so far.  

*Danielle just took over driving at Saguache.  She said she was tired, but I told her to tough it out.  I did say, however, that if she really is too tired to drive to please let me know.  We are close to the spot where James fell asleep with his eyes open in our old silver F-150 and almost went off the road.   James is taking a break now.
   
    Bruce and I had a great match on a Sunday recently.

Spring Break and Comparing Golf to Volleyball

3-24-11
    This spring break has not been as fun as others.  We have mostly stayed at home and worked, but that changed today.  We are driving to Lakewood to surprise my mom for her 70th birthday. Guy is flying out from Virginia with his family, and Bev is picking them up at the airport. 
    James is driving, and I am sitting next to him in the passenger seat, a prime writing place for me.  Danielle drove from our house to the top of Wolf Creek where James took over.  It was snowing!  Visibility was terrible, especially when James was driving.  We almost stopped to help some people in what looked like a silver Crown Victoria, but when we started to slide, we changed our minds.  Usually it gets better the farther we go down, but it was getting worse.  It didn’t really get clear until we got to the parts next to the river after the second/new tunnel. 
    Now, we are on the cut-off called 112 after Del Norte heading towards Center, the Gunbarrel, and 285. 
    I have a bunch to write about, including three birdies, losing to Bruce, beating Bruce, helping with the golf team, and more.  So, here I go...
On to golf...

Bitter, True Pill from Belinda

3-19-11
    Well, she e-mailed me!  D.K. wants to know what my ideas are, and she said they probably won’t have the first issue of the new New Mexico Golf Magazine out until June. 
    So, what are my ideas?  I have a few.  First, I wrote that I would really hope/love to have my own regular column.  I would inform, entertain, instruct, etc.  I could travel (expenses paid, of course) to area golf courses and write about them and my experiences.  I could link the articles to my blog somehow by saying something like, “for more information, photos, etc., check out swopeofthegreen.blogspot.com. 
    I talked to B about this idea, and she gave a very bitter, realistic pill for me to swallow, but I agree with her.  My best writing has been (in my opinion, too) when I have kept my part out of it all.  Sad, but true.  I have not won any championships on my own, so why would anyone want to read what I have to say.  I’m no expert.  I am in some ways, and it is no more apparent than when I have helped out with the golf team a couple of times (more on that later).
    Another idea I had was to write about Billie Morgan, the club champ here at Hidden Valley for the past two years in a row.  Who is this guy?  What’s his golf history?  How does he get his ball to go straight with such a flat, baseball type swing?  Will he win again?
    Yet another idea, one that I had pitched to D.K. once before, would be to write about the Four Corners Club Championship.  How did it start?  Why did it start?  How did the first one go?  When is the next one?  How do clubs qualify?  How do players qualify?
    My reply is saved as a draft in my e-mail program right now.  I plan on getting rid of the part about my having a regular column and pitching for the other two.  (I did change it and send it, and I got rid of the 'hope' part as of today 3-21-11).  Maybe she has an idea for me.
    I am actually writing in my truck at Hidden Valley’s parking lot right now.  I came over here to pay my g.h.i.n. for this year and watch C.J. and Bruce for a few holes.  They are playing together in the best ball tournament today. 
    I am killing time until James runs in his track meet today.  He qualified for both the 100 hurdles and the 300 hurdles, both a first for him.  When I saw him run yesterday, I was impressed!  What a difference a year makes.  He is faster.  He is smoother. 

    He took seventh out of seven in the 100 hurdles.  He was disappointed, but I was so proud.  Last year, he would not even be in the finals.  I go back at 2:30ish to see him run the 300 hurdles.  I am back home now, watching PGA Golf on television while I lie on my bed and write.  For his sake, I hope he does (in his eyes) better.

Bruce and I Play Nine Holes on a Sunday

3-14-11

Bruce called me right after I had finished a late lunch yesterday to ask me if I wanted to play.  Should I?  Had I done all my schoolwork?  Yes!  Was the family off doing other things?  Yes!  I told him I would be there immediately.  Did I have a cold?  Yes, that was true, too, but I decided to suffer through. 
I called ahead to have someone go get my golf clubs as I was driving over.  They are generously storing my clubs in a shed out back since I am helping with the golf team.  They do that for the "kids," too.
We played match play.  It was Bruce's idea, but that sounded fun to me.  I was only going to play nine holes in order to finish in time for church at 6:00.
I'll fill in the details later, but it was a really close match that went to the very last hole. 

Track Meet, Bisti Meeting, and Older, but Big FCGM News

3-12-11
    I am sitting in my truck at Farmington High School at one of James’s track meets.  He runs in about a half hour.  I just finished writing my newsletter for school.  I love this MacBook Pro, and I have switched my journal/diary over to Pages now instead of Word.  It’s easily the best laptop I have ever owned/used. 
    This morning, I attended the Core Bisti Writing Project meeting/brunch at Vicki’s house.  It was a successful and energetic meeting.  As the new tech liaison, I have a big job and a big responsibility.  I got some great ideas for our new Bisti Writing Project web site from the members who attended.  I am excited to get it going. 
    I am also the co-director for this year’s summer institute, another huge responsiblility.  I look forward to that as well.  Without the Bisti Writing Project, I would probably not be writing this.  I would not see myself as a writer, and I would definitely not have submitted articles to Four Corners Golf Magazine or asked to help edit that magazine.
    Speaking of FCGM, they have made a “progression.”  They are combining with the PGA/AGA in the Sun Country Section, and they will have two new magazines: New Mexico Golf Magazine, and West Texas Golf Magazine.

Here is the info from D.K.’s e-mail announcement.

Weather Interrupting and a Tough Easy Choice

3-8-11

Well, with only two possible days of golf practice so far, we have ended up practicing zero days.  The weather has been sleety and windy and cold, so this Thursday might be the first day I actually get to help out this season.

On another note, I passed up playing golf (on purpose, which is amazing) on Sunday.  Both C.J. and Bruce were going, so it should have been a no-brainer, but I had just finished teaching a one graduate credit class for the Bisti Writing Project the day before on, of all things, technology and writing, so I chose to take the time to get caught up in my classroom instead.  I had my lesson plans to put together, my newsletter to write, and progress reports to complete.  If I had played, I would have regretted it and this week would have been tough. 

Big Spring Golf News

3-2-11

I have not posted in a while.  I can sense when it's been too long.  I average about seven posts/month.  That is pretty good considering I am also a full-time teacher, and I got in six for February, a short month.

My big spring golf news is that I have been asked to help with the high school golf team again, and I accepted, but on a part-time volunteer basis only.  I told head coach Don (last name) that I would help out twice a week, and I will go to one tournament when he will be gone.  I am looking forward to it.  I feel a little selfish and guilty for not helping out more, but I also want to play and I have other teaching responsibilities going on this spring.  More to follow...

On another note, I heard from a fellow golf blogger, Richard Mangalone, who e-mailed me to check in.  He was one of the first bloggers (golf bloggers) whose blog I found that was similar to mine when I first started.  Sometimes when I read his posts, it sounds like I am reading something I have written.  It was good to hear from him.  Check out his blog at http://www.sportsfaniq.com/the-golf-blog/.  You can also find him in the list of "blogs I read" on the right side of my site here.

 Until next time...