Working Out During the Pandemic and Even "Moe" Lessons

Written on 8-3-2020.

        It’s a Monday in summer at the Swope household, and we have our son, James, with us.  It’s wonderful!  It’s a half-off day at Durango Joe’s, so I bought two coffees this morning, one for him and one for me.  It’s a bit reminiscent of when Matt and Danielle were with us at the beginning of the coronavirus, but now we are in our sixth month of it.  I went to the store this afternoon, and I wore my mask.  I felt a little stifled by the end.  I bought three meals worth of groceries, the most I have had to buy since this all started, and I just wanted OUT of there by the end.  It’s just no fun, and I am sick of it.  I know we have months and months to go still, though.  

After a shower, however, I feel refreshed, and I realize again that it’s (the pandemic) also a gift.  How often do we have time to do the things we want to do, to really focus on them.  Not often.  I have worked out consistently lately.  I run on our treadmill for fifteen minutes every day except Sundays, and I am covered in sweat by the end.  I sweat so much, because I set the incline to three or above, and the uphill really challenges me.  Oh, and it is hotter, too.  

What I want to say is that I hope to...

James Comes Home and 36 Holes at Riverview

Written on 8-1-2020.

        B is driving our Escape, and we are on our way to Albuquerque to pick up James.  He is coming home to the U.S.A. for good…we think.  I can picture our embrace right now, and I am certain the tears will be flowing.  Hopefully, we will see him in less than five hours now.  

I learned today that Mom and Dad bought their home at 1542 South Benton Street on this date in history.  That was fifty years ago today!  We always wondered whether I was about two or three years old when we moved into that house, but I was actually coming up on my fourth birthday.  I am 53 now, so if they bought it fifty years ago, I would have been three years old in August way back then.  Wow!  It boggles the mind.

The Edgertons ended up painting/staining their cabin deck on their own, because the sprayer wouldn’t work for them.  I feel bad, because we could have helped them out, but nobody knew the sprayer wouldn’t work.  I chose to play golf instead when I heard we would be free.

On to golf…

I chose to go play golf after two straight days at the range.  I had some really productive sessions during my time on the range, and I mostly had met my goal that I had mentioned earlier.  I thought I was ready, and I was looking forward to seeing the improvement on a golf course.  Wrong.  

It was just not as good as I thought it would be.  Now, I did not...

I Need to Do Drills and I Hit My Target at the Range

Written on 7-24-2020.

        I am in bed, and I am all ready for sleep.  Because of the oxygen, the blood thinner, the teeth brushing, the flossing, and all of the other twelve steps I do every night, it takes a while now.  It feels cool in our bedroom due to the rainstorms we have been having.  The red curtain that covers the sliding glass doors keep billowing out like Santa’s belly due to the breezes.  Kody just came out of the bathroom, leaving the cooler tile floor to be with his “girlfriend” (his lambskin-like dog bed) directly below Santa.  We call it his girlfriend, because they became very close when he was younger.

On to golf…

I know that using video to record my swing has helped me to “match the model.”  Luke concurred that I am on the right track whenever I am trying to do that at the end of our lesson.  I have done so much to change my swing already, but I fear I have so much more to accomplish.  I recently watched a YouTube video with the title Modern Moe Part 3 with Todd Graves, and I watched Todd help the creator of the My Swing Evolution change his swing with a quick lesson, and what I learned was that my impact and follow-through are still not where they need to be.  Todd showed him

Graduate From the Range?

Written on 7-22-2020.

        I am on the back deck under our cover, and it’s a Wednesday afternoon.  It just turned 4:00, but it’s not hot for being just past the middle of July.  It’s been overcast here all day, so the temperature has been very comfortable.  We haven’t run the swamp cooler at all today.

On to golf…

I had my third lesson with Luke yesterday, and it was another good one.  The highlight came at the end when I picked out three different targets and came pretty close to each one.  I will revisit my note for his tips from that lesson first, and then I will write about those three shots.

Luke Tanner’s Third Lesson on July 21st, 2020

Exaggerate that lean, set up on the left side for a while

“Stack” the left side with wedges, shoulders more parallel to the ground higher right shoulder is better 

Braced left knee through impact

Same for right knee in backswing 

Good driver specific tip…

Slow down 50% to 60% and keep building up to 80%

My idea to “graduate” from the range

Start out with a super drive to my intended target (like rolling a double before I can move out while playing a board game)

Start with the Gap Wedge and get 3 out of 5 flush, no tee

1 good drive after each club, or I have to start over with the Approach club

Approach through 7 to start    

         

First, I would like to write that he acknowledged that I was remaining neutral/no more forward press.  I have really worked on that.  I had to ask him about it, but he agreed I was much better with that.

It’s hard to do a lesson while thinking of new things.  He gave me a tip for my footwork at the beginning, so thinking about that messed me up on all of the other stuff I have been working on.  Let me recount what he said.

For the footwork, he said to always keep the weight on the insides of my feet.  That was a hard thing for me.  It’s not something I can really feel, so I mostly just ignored it.  

I actually brought out my...