Guys, I need to get out more often. It’s official.
I golfed this afternoon with a friend I haven’t seen for a couple months, and it was *glorious*. Glorious, I say! It was the perrrrfect day to get out into the puffy clouds and sunshine for a few hours. And the course was wide open, so we finished in just over 3 hours 😛 Which was great, because I was able to work in the morning and the late afternoon AND get outside.
It was also fun to hang out with this friend – used to see him more often, and this year has been too hit and miss for my tastes. Used to see him at the writer’s group meetings, but I haven’t been able to attend those for a while because of my work load. We talked books, movies, writing, life. It was very, very nice. We both decided we’re going to check in with each other more often.
I kept score today, and I mean I *really* kept score. I played every single drive exactly where I hit it, and I counted each drop I had to make…of which there were only two…as an extra stroke, just like you’re actually supposed to. I played exactly double-bogey golf, which was quite appropriate given that I was two strokes over par on a good 80% of the holes we played. And I had just enough single bogeys and pars to make up for the couple holes where it all went to shit.
I realize that shooting a 108, which is what I shot, really isn’t that good. I totally realize that 😛 But I do feel very satisfied with my golf day today because it felt like a very accurate representation of my skill level as a golfer. I didn’t do any worse or better than I feel like I usually do. And 108 isn’t THAT bad. I definitely feel like I could get down to playing bogey golf some day. A couple lessons might be needed here and there to teach me technique and practice my swing…but I think I could get there.
I bet you with regular play, I could shoot a 98 pretty regularly. On just three holes today, I added 7 shots over my double-bogey average. If I can eliminate just those, I’d be knocking on the door of a sub-100 score. And that, I believe, is a pretty respectable benchmark. Might be wrong about that…it might be sub-90…but I don’t think so. I think if you can shoot below 100, you’re better than 75% of golfers out there.
That was a lot of golf talk 😛 But every time I play, I really enjoy myself. I was just now telling the Ho about how golf really rewards you for slowing down, uncluttering the mind, relaxing, and finding singular focus with no distractions. It’s *absolutely* a form of meditation. It’s the same motion over and over again, and the moment you tense up or try too “hard,” the golf ball/course will immediately punish you for that. I told Liz that and she said “how like life.” And in an un-ironic use of that phrase. And it’s true!
Tomorrow, it’s work, and then in the evening we drive out to Palm Springs for a quick visit. Looking forward to it. It’s with Kristen and Arg!
Night, guys.
Tonight’s amaze-booty artwork is from, of course, H R Giger.