I'm slowly going crazy!

7/28/10

I'm frustrated. It's raining and I can't go golfing. Luckily, it's raining and I can't cut the grass either. I was going to take a break from golf because instead of being an enjoyable, relaxing, activity, golf has recently given me frequent head and chest pains. I played Renaissance last Monday. After controlling my excitement about my club face discovery, I wanted to test my theory. I was right. I hit the ball with greater loft and more accurately. What I also realized is that for everything that I learn, I forget twice as much. I think I get too excited. I'm in such hurry to put the club face on the ball properly that I don't set up properly, or I lose my rhythm in my backswing, or I aim wrong, or I change my swing plane. You get the picture. I tried writing down swing thoughts, but after a bad shot, they pretty much go to hell. Lately I've been driving worse that Lindsay Lohan with a gram of coke on her nose as she tries to elude L.A.'s finest. Seriously I slice so much that I should open a pizza parlor. It is maddening. Especially when I know I can hit better drives. Not being able to get off the tee sabotages my entire round. I hate taking a drop every effing hole and I hate having surveying my way through poison ivy to search for my latest casualty. So Renaissance was alright. I had a rain delay, and then started the back nine where I linked up with a guy named Anthony. He was a decent player although we both were a bit jittery when we first started playing together. It's like sex(no homo). At least for guys anyway.. When you're by yourself, you remain calm and perform normally. You know what to expect. It's the same thing you've done a million times. As soon as you throw another person in the mix, you get nervous and start fumbling around like you've never done it before. You start trying shit that you don't normally try, and the situation quickly turns into a mess. Literally. Back to golf. Anthony and I both calmed after a hole or two. By the way, I'm not sure if I like that sex metaphor I just used seeing as how I'm talking about playing with another guy and putting balls in holes and so forth. It's just hard to separate the two. The lines feel blurred. It sounds like I'm writing a bad, gay, romance novel. Back to golf again. We both had the same practice mentality. So, we took our time and since no one was behind us, we took liberties with the course without being disrespectful to the game. In other words, we hit s a lot of bad shots until we hit a good one. Me more so than Anthony. I always thought that I was level headed and had a tranquil demeanor, but I guess I was wrong because after a few bad shots, my game really degenerates in to something that has very little resemblance to golf. Getting off the tee is where it starts. The 100 degree weather doesn't help. I might have adult ADD. I lose my focus like Mel Gibson loses his temper. I however, don't start using racist epithets or threaten to kill anyone. In a nut shell, the game is driving me crazy. It's even affecting my writing. I just rambled my way through this entire post, and have no idea what I said. Does anyone have ay Ritalin?

My thoughts on LeBron and the Heat

Not a bad “Decision”

7/20/10

So I know this is supposed to be a golf blog, but first and foremost it's my blog. I love golf, but basketball is my first love so I wanted to talk about LeBron James joining the Miami Heat along with Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade, who resigned with the team. Personally, I think he should have joined the Chicago Bulls. He along with Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer, and Joakim Noah would have formed a nice nucleus. LeBron, Wade, and Bosh are a nice nucleus too, but with so much star power it will diminish LeBron's legacy from a competitive standpoint. Not so much Wade because he's already won a ring as the focal point of the offense and overall leader of the team. Bosh was destined to be a complimentary player regardless, so he has nothing to lose.

I thought James wanted to be considered the greatest individual player ever. He may eventually enter that conversation from a statistical point of view, but not from a championship perspective. Jordan, Magic, and Bird have all stated that they would have never joined forces for various reasons. Mainly because they were too competitive and wanted to prove that individually, they were superior to one another. It must be taken in to consideration that they all won titles with other future hall of famers as compliments. Especially the Showtime Lakers who had James Worthy and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. They were both perennial All- Stars and dominant players at their respective positions. The Celtics had a formidable front line with Mchale and Parrish along side Bird. Mike had Scottie. It has always taken multiple stars to win a championship.

Most recently the Celtics had the other Big Three. Kobe had Shaq, Wade had an aging Shaq. To me, Wade did the most with the least( and the most help from the referees). The 2004 Pistons may go down as the only team in history to win a ring without a future Hall of Fame player among their starting five but they had great chemistry and a better starting five than I can remember since the Lakers in the 80's. The Spurs had David Robinson and Tim Duncan on their first championship team. Then Tony Parker and Manu joined Duncan. You need stars to win, but I guess I'm from the old school and want to see the elite players compete against each other and not with, unless it's for the National team. The young guys call it “Hating”.

I will say that I do recognize the new generation. More good players are available than in generations past. The young guys don't all have the same “me against the world mentality” that many of the previous era players did so they don't mind teaming up. I guess they didn't grow up on 2Pac like I did. I wish 2Pac and Biggie would have formed a super group with Jay Z. Most of these ball players(even the bench players)have been coddled and praised since they could walk, or at least since someone realized their athletic potential. If an iota of talent was evident, they were crowned Kings(pun intended) and given anything they wanted. They are in the business for the love of life more so than the love of the game. It is a different mentality, but not necessarily bad unless you're a basketball purist. At the very least, the Heat will be entertaining to watch, and I will have a good view of every game they play here in Charlotte because I've got season tickets!

That brings me to my final point. No pun intended ahead of time. The comparisons to Jordan are way off aside from his freakish athletic ability. I always thought that LeBron was more Magic than Mike due to his size, ball handling ability, and court vision. Not to mention his jump shooting woes. My contention is that the Heat will do best by having LeBron play point guard. Good coaches build around personnel, and if Erik Spolestra wants to keep Pat Riley in the stands, he'll put LeBron at the lead guard position and let him run the show. Remember, Pat Riley coached Magic so I'm sure he's aware of LeBron's skill set.

What would LeBron be doing otherwise? Coming off picks and shooting jumpers. Probably not the best option. Will they isolate LeBron and let him go to work. Maybe sometimes, but again not the best use of resources with so many other good offensive weapons on the floor. LeBron should feel like Dorothy from the Wizard of OZ . “Big Z, I've a feeling we're not in Cleveland anymore.” Dwayne Wade was physically tired of having to do so much last season. He had to score, distribute, rebound, defend,lead, and more. Now, his load is lightened tremendously. He can still, and will, take games over at times, but he doesn't have to set foot in the paint if he doesn't want to. LeBron and Bosh are good for twenty rebounds collectively. Also, LeBron can use his superior size in respect to other guards, along with his vision to distribute the ball in the half court pick and roll sets, with Wade coming off screens and Bosh either rolling to the basket or popping out for mid range jumpers.

With another small forward in the line up (like Mike Miller who can spread the court with his shooting ability) they will be an even tougher match up. Opposing teams will have to pick their poison. LeBron will still score plenty, especially in transition off of the turnovers the Heat will create. They will be amazing in fast break situations as well, and we'll get to see LeBron use his talents more freely and effortlessly than in Cleveland I'll go on record as saying he'll average a triple double for an entire season at some point during his tenure with the Heat!

So, I'm not mad at “The Decision”, although I prefer Kevin Durant's low key approach to reporting his contract by tweeting. I just want to see good basketball and I think the Heat will provide great entertainment. They still have to go through Orland, Boston, and the Lakers to win a championship, so they can't get sized for rings quite yet! I'm excited about next season in the NBA! I guess summer league hoops will do for now.

The Tradition 7/14/10

I went to the range yesterday and hit like a tour pro. Ok maybe not, but I did strike the ball better. I was excited, so I came home and signed up for around at The Tradition through EZ links. Once again I played for $20 at a Carolina Trail course that I've heard good things about. I was supposed to go off with a random threesome, but they teed early, so I was by myself. Yes! I started with another sliced tee shot. Then, I hit a chunky second, but it was straight. I wrote my self some notes to help think through my shots. I'm focusing on keeping my weight down. I don' care if I hit them all fat. Focusing on keeping my weight down and swinging through the ball helps my rhythm. I still think I need to work on my wrist release. Something feels a little off. When I play alone, I usually consider it practice. Maybe because I hit so many bad shots to start that I can't consider taking the round seriously. Maybe because no one else is around to remind me that I had a snowman on the previous hole. Today, I just wanted to enjoy The Tradition, which I thought was a really nice course. Highland Creek may be prettier, but I think it's a matter of preference. I'm learning how to hit different shots, and how slight changes in club face position completely changes shots. Still, my goal is to put solid shots together consecutively. Getting off the tee is usually the key, but solid ball striking with my irons is what is keeping me from better scores. I practice my short game a lot, so I'm comfortable around the greens. Nothing exciting happened today, but I enjoyed the round. My unofficial score was 102. Writing down my swing thoughts helps. I'll keep working. Hit 'em good!

What's up Wood?!

Charles T. Myers 7/12/10

My boy Joey and I went out for our weekly round. Charles T. Myers is a decent course in east Charlotte off of Harrisburg road. It was built on a landfill like the Renaissance Park course. We bought our rounds on EZ links for $20 a piece. Good deal. We headed to the back nine, and this random guy pulled up behind us. He started talking about which tees to play from, and then shook our hands and introduced himself. “Well, I guess he's playing with us,” I thought to myself. Not that I minded. I just didn't know. He introduced himself as Wood. He was a about my height and lanky. He wore a brown tee shirt, jean shorts, and sandals with a blue tooth ear piece. Joey has his days from the tee, but usually he plays his irons well. Wood had a decent swing that produced a low ball flight. I crushed my first tee shot down the middle about 260 yards. I had about 80 yards to the green, but no worries, I shanked it well right. I never start well. It has become a mental hang up that I have to overcome as I improve. Joey was consistent as usual. He shoots around 90 regularly and with better drives, he might be in the 80's regularly. Wood wasn't hitting his drives far or high, but they where straight. He got a phone call on the 12^th or 13^th hole and played while talking on his blue tooth. We didn't mind, but it was funny to watch this lanky fellow in jean shorts and sandals hitting low line drives while talking about insurance on an earpiece. I think he got par on the par 5 13^th while talking. I got a bogey. Wood told us that he was in town on business from California. He rented some clubs and they sent him out with us. On the par 3 14^th he put two balls in the water before finally getting across, but well short of the green. He realized he was using a lob wedge. He had read the club upside down, and apparently the pro shop had too because there was no 7 iron in his bag. He was pissed. Wood only played nine holes with us because he had a meeting to attend, but he was a cool dude, and probably shot lower than either of us. The rest of the day I shot progressively worse as usual, and Joey beat me as usual. I've got to make some changes, but golf is a hard sport in which to instruct yourself. We finished just before a storm let loose on the east side of town. We drove to lunch in a torrential downpour. Storms seem to keep chasing me off the course. Oh well, it was fun. I'm off to the range. Hit em good!

Thanks Unc!

I wanted to give a quick shout out to my Uncle Nigel who, upon reading of my consistent loss of golf balls caused by faulty mechanics in my golf swing, donated a generous bag of balls to further my experimentation. Seriously, he gave me like three dozen balls and kept me from falling further in to debt in order to finance my golf habit. So, thanks Unc, I look forward to losing all the balls you've bestowed upon me.

Shrek, Phil, and Tiger

The guy who looks like Shrek won the Open Championship. ESPN's coverage was ok at best. Tiger didn't contend and neither did Phil. I watched as much of the British Open as I could. I like courses with trees better. I don't mean any disrespect to the "Home of Golf" , but watching great golfers look clueless and uninspired was uninspiring. I understand that every course requires a different strategy but it just wasn't as fun to watch as The Masters or even the US Open. Probably just my American bias. Louis Oosthuizen played well. He was the only player that made birdies and didn't give them back to the course. The weather frustrated everyone else, but he was fortunate with his tee times the first two rounds, and he plodded along over the weekend. I like to see lesser known golfers win. It gives me hope that someday I can beat my friends who are currently better golfers than I am. I now know the two most important aspects of Golf. Ball striking and Temperament. The difference between good and great in golf is minute. You have to be able to avoid trouble , and you can't lose poise when you do. That's how Oosthuizen won. Great ball striking and a great attitude. Congratulations is in order to Shrek! ESPN had too many analysts. They talked a lot. I would have rather heard Jim Nance all week. I like Mike Tirico. I really like Scott Van Pelt, but they switched it up more than Roy Halladay on the mound. I din't see enough shots to get a greater appreciation for the perils of the course. I get that St. Andrews is hallowed ground, but even Old Tom Morris would like Augusta or Quail Hollow for that matter. As for Tiger and Phil, they didn't come close to winning. All that tells me is that the conditions were tough, and that there are tons of other great golfers. It makes what Tiger was able to dod for so many years all the more impressive. Phil is a great player, but he seems a bit aloof. He has an 'aww shucks' attitude. Like golf has never been the most important thing in his life. His wife is recovering from breast cancer. So is my mom. Golf shouldn't be the most important thing in his life. I still get the impression that he is just happy to be wealthy, and to have won a few majors. I'd be happy with that too. Maybe he just has good perspective. Can't fault him for that. Tiger's desire and putting ability always separated him from the field, but now he just looks old. Whenever I see images of him earlier in his career, I realize how worn and beat down he looks. Too much sex and debauchery with random women who aren't your wife will do that to you. Even if she never finds out. So he may never be the same. Maybe his will be a story of redemption and resurrection, but maybe when you sell your soul to the devil, there is a price. There's a good a blog by Joe Posnanski on CNNSI.com discussing whether Tiger will ever be the same. He makes some good points backed by facts. Check it out. p1-tiger-woods-ap.jpg

Highland Creek 7/9/10

I wanted to play a nice course today. I decided to use the rain checks that Kevin and I had already used once. It worked like a charm. I probably owe Kevin a round of golf though. Highland Creek is a Carolina Trail course. Some people think it is the best public course in Charlotte. It is one of the nicer courses I've played.

It was nearly 5pm when I started my round on the back nine. The skies were overcast and a slight drizzle began falling. You could tell a storm was coming. I didn't have time to practice at the range, so I took a few extra shots from the tee. They were pretty erratic. The first was a hook. The next was a slice. The third finally hit the fairway. I still get anxious at the beginning of a round. Even when I'm alone. My ball striking just is not good right now. I usually hit the ball thin these days. I'm feeling my way through shots, but I probably need more instruction.

On the 18^th I put six balls in the water from two different locations. The tee shot is risk reward. The further you aim down the fairway, the more water you have to carry. The green borders the lake as well, and if you aim for it and miss from the fairway, you're in trouble. I never want to put a number in the teens on my score card. Once I get frustrated, course management is out the window. The guy behind me watched me play the hole. After I finished, I waited so he could play through but he said another group was playing quickly behind him as well. I suggested we play together as a courtesy, and he suggested I go ahead. Whatever. I shot in the 100's again. I really was just practicing, but I still would have liked to hit better. I'm having a hard time hitting good shots consecutively. It was still enjoyable until the storm caught me on my 16^th whole. Ironic that I got rained out using rain checks. Can't beat a free round on a nice course. Until next time. Hit em good!

A quick recap of The Wild Wing/Make A Wish tournament

I'm writing nearly two months after the fact, but I thought I'd recap the tourney since I had pictures to put up. Wild Wing has an annual tournament to support Make A Wish every fall, and this year was the first annual spring tournament. It was held on May 10, 2010 at The Divide Golf Club. The Divide is a nice Carolina Trail course. The accommodations were first class. A charter bus took us from the Wing to The Divide. We had nice little gift bags and a box lunch. Wild Wing and Make A Wish do a really good job and the proceeds are donated to help grant a wish for a sick child. Cecil and Diane Crowley are the founders and owners of Wild Wing. Dave Schearer is the GM of the Southwest Charlotte store. I'm not sure who is involved from the Make A Wish organization, but maybe I can find out and give them credit as well. The turnout was great and the weather was nice for early May. I was excited because this was my first golf tourney. Captains choice, best ball, shotgun start. I played with my boy Kevin and my boy Charles from Wild Wing. We didn't plan on winning. We just wanted to have fun. Our team started on hole 3 I think. I had just gone to Golf-Tec and straightened out my drive so I hit some good shots off the tee. We were focused, and once we settled down, we hit some nice shots. We just couldn't putt well enough to make birdies. I really have been on a mission to improve my game so initially I wasn't drinking. About half way through I realized that I was taking myself way too seriously. I also wanted to lay off the booze for a spell, but there was a beer girl(or girls) at every turn. I'm not an alcoholic(that's what they all say), but I have been known to indulge myself by having an adult beverage or twelve. Long story short, I fell off the wagon, had a few drinks and the tournament became much more exciting. Or maybe that was just my heart rate and blood pressure rising from the Red Bull and vodkas. The slight, to slightly more than slight, buzz caused me to hit some great shots and not care about the bad ones. Driving a golf cart drunk is no safer than a driving a car drunk. Especially when the drivers are me or a Cagle. I think we played a few extra balls on a couple of holes and still shot even par. Unfortunately we didn't win. I was too far gone to care if we came in last. As we were finishing, we ran in to our buddy Ratliff and his team. Ratliff is a gambling man and a world class shit talker. I don't remember the conversation at all, but we were all three sheets to the wind and feeling jumpy. So Ratliff challenged me to a long drive contest......against his boy. His boy was modest, but obviously he could hit it a poke or the Mouth of the South wouldn't have wagered. We turned around five golf carts deep and zoomed to the 2nd tee talking trash the whole way. I was feeling good about my chances. I think I talked Ratliff in to hitting

with us since he was doing so much talking. We teed off simultaneously and drove to find the balls. I hit it ok but not as clean as I wanted. Damn. I lost to his boy by about 20 yards but beat Ratliff. Good enough for me! Ratliff kept talking and I think I still owe them both drinks. We headed back to the club house for dinner and awards. Things are really fuzzy from there on out. I know I ate well and listened to the Make A Wish Story. I think Kevin and I headed back to Wild Wing and somehow I made it home....eventually. It was a good time for a good cause and broke me in to tournament play. I've had a headache ever since, but that may be from the guys trip to Atlanta the next weekend. Sorry, no pics of that!Hit em Good!

Green Meadows

July 1, 2010

So today I wanted to play an inexpensive round as usual but I hadn't booked an EZ Links time and I didn't want to venture far from home. A guy I know from a bar in Charlotte had mentioned that Green Meadows golf course was cheap and close to my house. Sold! Just what I needed. I found directions through Clickit and headed out. I live right near the Charlotte/ Mt. Holly border and the course was about 5-10 minutes down the road in Mt. Holly. It was basically in my back yard and the lady said that after 3pm it was $20. Sold! It was 4:30pm. She started me off on the back nine because she said they had the "Dog Fight" tonight and I needed to be out of the way by 6:00pm I was waiting for Mike Vick to appear in a Jake Delhomme Panthers jersey with about 3 dogs, 10 goons, and $20,000 cash. Seriously, I thought it was a multi use facility. The "Dog Fight" actually referred to a some sort of golf blitz where a bunch of golfers keep their scores and handicaps for points and prizes. I was informed of this by a little guy who couldn't have been older than 11. He was practicing on one of the par 3 holes and sticking shots within 5 feet of the hole. I asked him if he was going to show me how to play the hole and he excitedly responded, "I'm practicing, this is the $100 hole!". To quote Allen Iverson, "We talking about practice......Not a game....Practice!". " I supposed to be the franchise player and we talking about practice!". That kid could already be a ringer in my circles. I wonder if he got the cash? Anyhow I think the course is under new management, and it was in decent condition. It took about three and a half hours to play. The fairways were backyard grass and most of the greens were in good condition. The course was only about 5400 yards from the "tips" as they say, but it played trickier than you'd expect. Or maybe I'm just not very good. That could be it. If a par 3 course is considered a pitch and putt, then this was a drive, pitch, and putt. If the course were a basketball player it would be Doug Gotlieb. Not flashy or super athletic but efficient and crafty. Most of the fairways fed into one another some how and there were tee boxes everywhere. I looked the like a black guy riding around lost in the country. Which is exactly what I was. My first tee shot from the par four 10th went (what I thought was) way left. Another guy had hit his tee shot from the 18th right near mine. He said that he'd been hitting them straight up until that point. I said that I had shanked the shit out of my first drive of the day. He then told me that I was still in the fairway. I looked around and low and behold after hitting the ball 100 yards to the left I was still technically in the 10th fairway. I went on to chunk my next shot and bogey the hole. That's the Wali I know. After about 12 holes I realized that there weren't any bunkers. The courses primary protectors are the big well positioned oak trees everywhere. I mean it's a really open course and there isn't any tall grass or much water, but those damn trees seemed to step in front of every shot I hit. I think I had 5 shots knocked down by trees. I lost 3 balls and that was 3 too many. I don''t want to make a lame blind joke, but people with bad eye sight could hit those fairways blindfolded. Somehow, I kept missing them. There were a lot of uneven fairways and changes in elevations around the greens. I continuously tried to use the flop shot I've been working on to chip around the greens, and I kept hitting it 20 feet up and 2 feet forward. I'm pretty sure I made the course much harder than it is. I mean I've broken 100 once and that was at Sunset Hills which is like beating a three year old at checkers, so I know how to complicate things. I did like the design of the course and for $20 I was satisfied. I started to lose focus after about 12 holes. By the end of the round I was playing best ball by myself. I figured I might as well practice like that little kid. I shot a 9?-10?. It was nice to find a course really close to home that didn't hurt my wallet. I'd probably get more out of it by not using my driver. It's kind of like an ugly friend with benefits. I'll go back when I'm hard up and just want to swing my clubs. If you're ever out near Mt. Holly then it's worth a few hours and a few dollars. Hit em good!