My Mom Turns 80 Years Young

Written on 3-26-21.

        I am sitting in Rich and James’s living room, and James is sitting to my right while Belinda is relaxing to my left.  Kody is asleep and straight ahead of me on their dark, laminate wood floors.  We came to Albuquerque for one night to hang out with James and to take in a preview of a putting green that is in Sandia Heights.  We are leaving in about ten minutes.  Kody spent the night here last night while B and I stayed at the Hilton Albuquerque Journal Center, the same place where I felt deadly ill with many chills just over a year ago.  Was it Covid-19?  We may never know now.  This year, thankfully, I feel much better.

Okay, we are off to go see the green, and I will write about it later.  

Until next time…

Written on 3-28-21.

It’s my mother’s 80th birthday today, and we are planning to “Zoom” with her in less than an hour.  Happy birthday, Mom!

I am enjoying the WGC Match Play Tournament, and the final match has come down to Billy Horschel and Scottie Scheffler.  Billy is two up after nine holes, and Matt Kuchar is also two up against Viktor Perez in the fight for third place after ten holes.  Kuchar, they just announced, has made the final four four times in the past.

So, the putting green was gorgeous.  It was everything I expected and want for mine, except it was much larger.  It was about two times bigger than what ours will be.  It had uphill, downhill, straight, and sidehill putts, depending on the holes.  It was sandier than I thought it would be, but that just makes it more realistic.  The golf balls would make a wonderful thudding sound when I tossed them up in the air, and gravity would bring them dropping back down to the surface.  

I think the best thing to write about that happened when we were there was that I made the first putt and the last putt.  I lined up a putt from around fifteen feet to one of the near holes and buried it.  Steve and Gary, the two gentlemen who were there to show us the green, both said something like, “Sold,” or “You’ll take it!”

Steve is a PGA Professional, and he had a lot of experience and knowledge about the putting greens, but I admit that I lost interest when he droned on about all of the technical stuff about the greens.  I just continued to putt in between the conversations, and I got a glimpse of how it would be fantastic for practicing.  No longer will I have to drive to the golf course to practice some short game; rather, I will soon be able to simply step outside and walk down our new staircase to practice.

It’s going to look beautiful and professional, too.  I don’t mind paying extra for quality, and this company specializes in making realistic and impressive putting greens.

I Receive My Second Dose of the Vaccine

Written on 3-21-21.

        I am relaxing on our bed while watching the Honda Classic today.  I have felt bone weary the last few days, since I received my second dose of the vaccine.  I am just not myself (brain fog galore), and I have felt soreness in my back, hips, and legs.  That could be from playing 18 holes the day right after the vaccination, but I usually bounce back quicker than that after walking and playing at Pinon Hills.  I slept in until 9:45 this morning, too, so my body is clearly telling me something.

I played the round at Pinon Hills on Friday mostly because of the weather, though.  It called to me, “Pat, come play golf.”

  Who was I to argue with Mother Nature?  I also wanted to take advantage of my membership.  The high for that day was 67º.  It was gorgeous, the best weather of the winter as we head into the spring, for sure.

Despite my new grips, I played...

Our Overdue Visit at Mom and Dad's During the 4th Largest Storm in Denver's History

Written on 3-14-21.

        B and I came up to Lakewood to visit Mom and Dad for B’s spring break.  It turns out my schools are on spring break, too, so that works out.  This is our first trip here since the pandemic began in March last year, so we haven’t seen Mom and Dad up close and personal for about a year and a half, since our “Thanksmas" celebration at the Red Lobster.  Far too long to be away, and we are truly thankful to have this time together once more.  

I am sitting in the middle of the couch upstairs, and I am watching the Players Tournament on their big TV.  Bryson is at -9 at the turn, and Lee Westwood is at -12 and is leading the tournament.  Dad is napping after quizzing me on golf, the players, and the tournament (relentlessly).  B is figuring out if we would benefit from getting an HSA, Health Savings Account for the remainder of this year.  Mom is getting ready for the day somewhere.  We (Mom, Dad, and I) watched the church service on EWTN earlier.  Daylight Savings started last night, so we are springing forward.  Church was at 10:00, but it felt like 9:00.  This will be great for golf (lighter later), but not so much for waking up for a bit.

We got a lot of things done yesterday.  We took...

Practicing Until I Can't Get It Wrong

Written on 3-10-21.

        We head to Lakewood tomorrow!  After a year and about a half, we will get to hug Mom and Dad.  It is going to be a joyous reunion, and I am sooo looking forward to it.

I just talked with Joe tonight, also, and we hope to get to see them on Friday possibly, but Mom and Dad are definitely the priority.

We are getting ready as much as we can tonight, so we can have a fairly early exit tomorrow.  B is going to work the full amount of her half-day, but then we are on the road.  Part of my To Do List tomorrow is dropping off my clubs at Don’s to have my new GGA grips put on, and that is a nice transition to write about golf, so…

On to golf…

Like I just wrote, I am leaving my clubs with Don while we are in Lakewood, so they will be all done when I return.  I plan on bringing my equipment for doing the drills over there, since I won’t be playing golf.  I have my version of the ABT, the Single Plane Trainer, a golf glove, and my Perfect Impact Club.  I am bringing my putter and a few golf balls.  I even packed a jump rope for some cardio, since we will be away from our treadmill.  I hope to do two days of cardio, one lower-body workout, and two days of completing all of the drills from the 14 Day Perfect Practice Plan, minus going to the range, of course.  That is plenty.  I am not going to bring all of that stuff and then not use it.

I am watching a webinar on the single plane swing called...