Monday, May 22, 2017

Senior Golf - It Ain't Easy

Since my last post, I've played two round of golf - and turned 60!

Somehow, age creeps up on you and before you know it - WHAM!  The big 6-0 is here.

Now, I'm not a complainer about age - I actually love being 60 (all 5 days of it).  After all , I'm in good shape, have a great family, and a somewhat decent golf game.  So, no complaints.

But, I have noticed a few things that age hits you with, that have affected my golf game.

No - not distance. I know a lot of people have told me that you lose distance as you get older.  So far, I still hit an 8-iron 150 yards, so I can't say that's the problem.

Mostly, it's the ache's and pains that creep gradually work into your bones.

The last two rounds are a great example.

Wednesday (my birthday), I took off and played at Swan Lake (with Dan, Dave and Eddie).  Very pretty course, with no driving range.
This in itself is not a problem, except for those of us that needs to warm up before a round.  (me and my 60+ year old friends).
I like to swing a club a bit to loosen up, and hit a handful of balls.  But, that wasn't going to happen.  Luckily, the weather was awesome - so I was naturally warm.
I also pre-gamed by taking two Advil.  Since I couldn't really warm up, I wanted to be sure I don't pull a muscle.
This is what Senior Golf life is.  You no longer play 18 hoping for a hole in one, or to break 80.
You play 18 with the hopes of not injuring yourself.

My play on Wednesday was not spectacular -mostly due to my driving.  I had one good drive and the rest were horrible.

Saturday I played Eisenhower Park Red (with Peter, Mike D, and Liam - the latter two are GolfMatch buddies). I drove the ball better. But, as  Saturday's weather turned into Early Spring (Cool, windy, cloudy), my back started to get cold - and tighten up (Hello 6-0).  So, I popped two Advil and took 4-5 holes to finally be able to swing normal again.

My thoughts now are that I might not buy those new woods for my birthday - perhaps just a large bottle of Advil!

As I mentioned my Birthday - I'll also touch a subject on one of my new presents.  The Garmin Approach S20 GPS watch.   I've had the Garmin G6 for a few years and love it - but I wanted a watch lately.  This one was simple to use, easy to read, and gave you layup distances, hazard info, etc.
And, it maps out your hole!  Here's the shot log for the 2nd hole on Wednesday
Notice I picked a hole with a good drive and a par!
Now I can analyse my game (ad-naseuum) and try to fix things that are not yet broken!!

The other thing I did was adjust the weighting on my TaylorMade M1 driver as suggested by Mark on GolfMatch.  By aligning the weights both at the back, it makes the club much more forgiving.

I made the change in between the last two rounds and noticed a huge difference in the ball flight of mis-hits.

So, this week looks to be rain all week, and chilly.  Not golfing weather here in NY.  So, I'll try to get out over the weekend a few times.

Until then,

Keep it in the Short Hairs


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