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...

badly.  I had some blow-up holes (Argh!), and my score was just over 100, but I learned some things.  I am hoping the high score was because of the vaccine.  I was having trouble focusing, so I only managed a few pars and a few bogeys.

I played the front twice, because I had to take a break in between to hydrate, rest, and eat the rest of my PBJ with syrup, some apple slices, and my almonds and cashews combo.  My goal was to do better the second time around, but I failed.  The longer I played, the harder it was to focus.

I am the optimist, though.  You know me, Optimistic Pat, so here is what I found so encouraging.  When I played hole #9 both times, my first tee shots went awry, but I ended well after those.  My last four shots were solid both times.  The first time, I used my 6-iron from around 167 yards to the middle and my ball settled in the center of the green, and I double-putted from there.  The second time, I used my 5-iron from around 187 yards, and I did the same thing.  It was great to end with only two putts again.  

Did you read that correctly?  I used my 6-iron and my 5-iron with success on hole #9, the two clubs that have given me fits as of late.  Hooray for progress, even with a foggy brain.  

Matt Jones is ahead by five strokes with only two holes left to play.  That is outstanding golf, and he is known as a super ball striker, too.  Looks like he will win it this year.  Poor J.B. Holmes, however, is struggling today.

Another positive thing from my round was the par on #6.  I used my 7-iron again, but this time it landed short of the green.  Instead of the 9-iron, two bounces from off the green chip shot, I used a pitching wedge and played for just one bounce from off the green.  That worked, so that is another one of the things I took away as positive during this round.  My ball went past the hole, but I made the five foot comeback putt after that for one of those pars.

I did hear from Chandler, and I am on a new plan for this month.  This is what they recommend…

Patrick...We are excited that you have chosen to begin our Lower Handicap 90-Day Practice Plan. We have reviewed your responses and here are our recommendations:

To achieve your goals, you will need to be able to practice 3-4 hours per week breaking these up into 30 minutes to 1-hour sessions.

General Guidelines:

*It then stated what I need to do, but I won't include it here.

        Looking at all of that, I could definitely use the chipping and pitching, the full swing, and the on course analysis with the Stat Tracker Cards they offer.  The club-fitting and the putting will be the things I could do without.  I have already watched the first video in the Two Birds With One Stone, and I have watched it before.  It makes sense to have the chipping and the pitching lead into the full swing.  If I can do those correctly, they will help my game all around.  I am now out of that “in between” feeling, and I am excited about this new direction with the Single Plane Academy.

Matt Jones just finished the Honda Classic, and he won with a five shot victory.  I like the way he plays in that he doesn’t mess around.  When he goes to play his shot, it happens quickly, and a person might miss it if he or she doesn’t pay attention.  That’s the way I am adjusting my play.  When I go into what Todd Graves calls “the green zone,” I just want to step in, feel comfortable, let the robot take over, and play the shot.  I also look at how SunJae Kim starts his back swing slowly to make sure it gets on plane, and I want to consider that as well. 

Okay, with the tournament over now, I am going to take a walk with Kody to get some fresh air.

Until next time…