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...

Keeping a Steady Head During All of This

Written on 7-19-2020.

        It’s another Sunday, and I am watching the Memorial Tournament again.  I am using my Chromecast, though, and I am sitting in the living room.  A weather delay has just been called, so they are showing the 2013 final round instead.  

I checked in on Kody in the front yard a few moments ago.  I washed off his muddy paws earlier, so I was letting him dry off and take a nap out there.  I asked him if he wanted to come inside, but he didn’t even get up.  He just lifted his head from his napping position in the cool grass,  considered what I had said and liked his current position in life, so I let him stay out there.

He had mud on his paws due to a walk with Belinda this morning.  A huge rainstorm caused our street to flood yesterday.  Our Anasazi Drive looked more like the Anasazi River.  The storm had some small hail mixed in, but it fortunately didn’t do any damage.

Jim Nantz just interviewed Jack, since they had some extra time during the weather delay.  He revealed that he and Barbara had the coronavirus from about mid-March to around late April.  Barbara had no symptoms, but Jack had a sore throat, he said.  They both turned 80 recently, so they were fortunate to survive it, although Jack said they were blessed.

I decided to spend some time on the range after we played at Riverview, and I learned a few things.  I used the Swing Catalyst app once more, and I chose to video all of my shots from the front view.  I used my 7-iron most of the time, and I teed most of my shots up tiny bit, too.  

The first thing I learned is...

A Rare Pandemic Bird

Written on 7-18-2020.

        It’s AnnMarie’s birthday today.  I just wished her birthday wishes with a text and on FB, also.  

I just had to restart my MacBook Air again, because the Bluetooth keyboard was slow and delayed.  The background somehow changed, too.  I don’t know why, but a restart always gets it going smoothly again.  Then I just changed the background back to what it was.  It’s a quick and reliable fix.

Not much going on this Saturday.  B and I pulled weeds this morning, because it rained for over a half hour last night.  It made pulling weeds easy, but now it’s a nappy afternoon.  

B and I have our own projects going.  She is starting her own Shutterfly account, so she can upload pictures and order prints before James comes home.  The cork board in the kids’ hallway is the place where she likes to post the most recent pictures.

I am writing (obviously), and I am watching the Memorial Tournament on CBS online.  My little project is making a makeshift copy of the Steadhead training aid.  I used a clip, a short USB charging cord, and two bright orange earplugs to make it.  I saved $24.99 by doing that, but I wonder if it will work.  It actually looks pretty good for being homemade.

Speaking of golf…

I played with Shawn yesterday at Riverview.  That makes four times I have played since my new swing change, and that is probably a bit too much.  

I didn’t really want...

How I Am Learning All of This Stuff and a Reunion

Written on 7-13-2020.

        I am sitting on the deck of the cabin home in Mancos, and it is just absolutely gorgeous here.  We made an escape in our Escape again, and of course, we brought the dog.  The sky is a bright blue, and it is filled with pearl white clouds with pale gray bottoms.  I can hear the wind blowing through the trees, and it sounds like a distant crowd cheering.  I’m listening to a podcast Joe e-mailed to me called Punishment Without End from Hi-Phi Nation.  It’s about a girl who was caught with drugs in her suitcase, so I am multi-tasking by listening and writing at the same time.    

I talked with Joe last night, and I realized I really miss him and our conversations.  I try not to think about what this pandemic has taken from us, but one of the things we are missing out on was a trip I wanted to give to Joe.  We went to Boston after I got my Masters, and it was mostly his treat.  My reason for wanting to take him on a trip was his turning 50.  Postponed.  Cancelled.  We’ll do it later now, and that is a bummer. 

My forehead looks really comical right now, too.  It is dotted with circular band-aids that are meant to stop the blood.  I had much of my millia removed today at Durango Dermatalogy, so my forehead was ravaged today, and now it is polka dotted with band-aids.  This was the perfect time to do it.  We came right to the cabin home afterward, and it’s near the middle of our summer.  I just counted, and it’s thirteen band-aids, but I just removed the one between my eyes, so it was fourteen.

B and I just got off the phone with Danielle.  Her crew is still in Casper, Wyoming, and they are doing some training this afternoon.  When I left the car, B asked Danielle to tell her everything, and she lamented that she hates long distance relationships.  I think they are very much in love, and it’s just really hard.  Firefighting keeps their minds busy, but as soon as they are off, they think of each other more, and that just stinks knowing they are apart right now.  I don’t know if they can stand another season of firefighting without each other, but I also don’t know what that might mean for their future together.

We had a long talk on Facebook Messenger Video Chat with...

How to Chip and a Glimpse of Success

Written on 7-8-2020.

        I’ll talk about how my short game worked well at Green River later.  I had my second lesson with Luke today, and we focused on chipping, so I want to talk about that first.  This lesson focused on a 9-iron chip that Luke says should land the ball at a spot 30% from the starting point.  Or, maybe a better way to say it is fly 30%, roll the rest of the way.  Then, and this is where it got a little complicated, he said it would go up 10% from there with each club with more loft and 10% down with each club with less loft.  In other words, a pitching wedge would/should land at about the 40% mark (10% more), and an 8-iron would land at the 20% (10% less) mark and roll more.  Sounds like I would used the same motion, a putting type motion, and I would want to get the ball rolling as soon as possible.  All of this to decrease the margin of error in chipping.  Makes sense to me.

We never got to putting, and his lessons go really fast.  It’s like playing a round with Guy.  We tee off on #1, and then we are putting out on #18 a few minutes later.  With Luke, we start talking, and I start swinging, and then we are driving the cart back up to the pro shop....