I practiced at Oasis Country Club here in Mesquite today with my neighbors Al and Gaylen. We hit practice balls for about an hour, with Al watching and giving tips.
Al is a six-time club champ at Oasis. Sorry to say, he lost the championship in 2019 in a playoff. But, he’s still pretty good: his best round at Oasis, from the big boy tees, is 62. (And, yes, he played all 18 holes that day!) He’s 69 years young and “shoots his age” regularly.
I haven’t played a round of golf since around Thanksgiving of 2018. During the past twelve months, I’ve hit range balls maybe ten times. Pretty rusty swing, to be honest. Timing and balance are off. And, I’ve got flabby muscles.
Anyway, Al took a peek and recommended that I shorten my backswing, change my stance a bit, and alter the position of my hands at address. Within a half-hour I was getting a few iron shots in the air in the intended direction. I ended up hitting 1-1/2 large buckets of balls with all clubs.
My timing was off just ever so slightly. I have a case of “over-the-top-itis”, which degrades every shot. Too anxious to hit the ball. I need to slow my swing down, keep my swing inside-out, etc. I’m going to try again next week. Hopefully, the condition isn’t terminal.
Al plays golf with his buddies about four times a week. They gamble and follow up with drinks and food. It reminds me of the good ‘ol days at Bear Creek Country Club where I was a member for many years. Just like Al and his crowd, there were a bunch of us that played together all the time, making small bets, yukking it up and enjoying a drink or two after a round. I miss those good times, although it was an expensive hobby: the country club life costed about $1,000 per month plus food, back when we had some disposable income.
I would like to get my swing into decent shape so I could play a round with my son Jonathan when he comes to visit, play an occasional fun round with my neighbors, or perhaps join my friend Dan Quinn in Yuma in a friendly game when we visit there. I’m sure that, at my advanced age of 72, I will never be a single-digit handicapper again, but if I could shoot in the 80’s I would be pretty satisfied.
In order to do that, I am going to have to get my stiff joints in better working order.
Tomorrow, I am going to have my annual SynVisc injection in my left knee. My orthopedist did my right knee last month, and these shots are good for about one year. When I talk to him tomorrow, I am planning to ask him for a date in September to replace my right hip. It is acting up like the left one did, and I might as well get these things done while I’m relatively healthy and can still get around.
It’s a funny thing that my hip doesn’t bother me when I’m hiking ten miles through the desert, or swinging a golf club, but can hurt quite a bit when I do landscaping, move furniture, or crouch down on all fours: it’s the odd positions that really bring out the pain.
It was the same thing with my old left hip. So, I know it’s time.
I’ve been walking the dogs 2 to 3 miles every day that I don’t hike in the mountains. So, that’s 12 to 18 miles in six days, plus 6 to 10 miles extra when I hike, giving me 18 to 28 miles total per week. You’d think that walking/hiking would burn off a few pounds, but I haven’t noticed that happening!
I bought a neighbor’s ten-speed cruiser bike last week. I’m going to start riding it regularly once I get the brakes fixed. It’s my intention to take it with us on our RV trips, so that I can get some regular exercise in some of the beautiful locales that we visit.
I still need to lose about ten pounds before we go to Mexico with my son Jeff and wife Carol in mid-April. It is definitely harder to lose weight when you get older. Ten measly pounds…
“Eat less, exercise more”: that’s what I need to do!