Lesson from the links

Thankfully, an uneventful day. No flare ups. I held my tongue and kept my sanity. Perhaps I'll get some sleep tonight.

We had our golf lesson today at Ruth Park in University City. Once again, I didn't think ahead. The lesson was at 1:00 in the afternoon. Fine for me, but the high midday sun was a bit much on Dad. He started to get pretty shaky towards the end. I think he thought we'd actually PLAY golf, even though I've repeatedly told him these are lessons.

He's been playing golf for decades, although not recently. I, however, have never really enjoyed the game enough to want to learn. Several years ago, Dad gave me a full set of clubs for my birthday (hint, hint.) I was living in Santa Fe at the time and I did, in fact, take lessons at a beautiful course on Cochiti Pueblo. The setting was spectacular but the desire to practice wasn't there. This time is different though. It's not that I like golf any more than I did ten years ago. But, now I see these lessons and frequent trips to the driving range as SOMETHING to do to kill time and occupy my father. He seems to enjoy swinging a club, so maybe golf will be my savior. And maybe, just maybe I'll find something to like about the game. I've just always found it too boring and too time consuming. Right now, however, consumption of time is precisely my goal.

One thing I did learn today:

I was having a hard time getting good contact with the ball. Oh I was hitting it but it just seemed to flub off the tee and not go very far. The instructor noticed I was trying too hard to hit it. He was right. I was swinging the club like a mallet and the ball was a rodent. This was not golf. It was a game of Whack a Mole at the state fair.


"Let's try this," he said. "Get yourself lined up and close your eyes. THEN swing the club." I laughed. Yeah right. Close my eyes? "Just try it!" So I did and I'll be damned if I didn't hit that ball perfectly. Not once, but at least a half-dozen times. I was amazed.

I was trying so hard to hit my mark, I was missing it. Actually, I was half-hitting it. I was crushing it straight into the ground so it couldn't go anywhere.

When I stopped trying so hard and had faith that everything was lined up right, I clobbered that ball with my eyes closed.

Good lesson for life there. I think the golf lessons have already paid off, even if I do have to play 18 holes looking like a panelist on What's My Line!