Since Thanksgiving, life has really gotten more fun. I was offered a position with a new start-up company in Nevada, and it’s been fast and furious ever since – from marketing a weightless product, to cutting grass this last summer while assisting my son, to living full-time in a Motorhome and now helping to build an incredible company. WHEW! what a whirlwind!
The only unfortunate thing about it is my mind turned from being healthy and fun, to work and fun and I started going back into my old ways. That being said, I haven’t been working out, I haven’t been cutting grass, I haven’t been moving like I was, not to mention I haven’t been eating properly and I have gotten way out of shape and have gained quite a bit of weight back over the last 6 months. I originally had lost over 100 pounds over the past 2 years. I’m getting back on my program after yesterday. UGH!
Anyway, I tell you all this so you will understand the story of my golf outing.
I have a new friend and business associate who lives in the foothills around Reno. This picture is a picture of the course on which he lives. Barry was very gracious when I asked him to coach me and help me get back into the game. You see, it has been almost 12 years since I played golf on a regular basis. As a matter of fact, I was a 3 times a week golfer and put the clubs away when I started a company 12 years ago, never to pick them up again. Before my serious outing yesterday, I have only played at it twice in the 12 year span.
Barry is a great golfer, and I hesitated because it was going to be really embarrassing, but Barry was more than enthusiastic about helping me, so I worked through that fear, borrowed a set of clubs from my partner and headed out from our RV spot at the Carson Valley Inn here in Minden, Nevada.
I arrived at Barry and Blondie’s beautiful Country Club home outside of Reno at exactly 10:30 Friday morning. Barry was ready, so immediately we headed out to the Country Club. I was in awe of the Course, it was just beautiful despite the fact winter is essentially still upon us and it was just beginning to turn green. We checked in and headed to the driving range where Barry was going to assess my situation, give me a few pointers, and if my swing was ok, would then decide if it was going to be too embarrassing for me to play on the course. 😉
The Course is somewhere around 5500-6000 feet above sea level, the air is thinner of course than East Texas (300′ above sea level) so naturally its a bit more difficult to breathe. When you add exertion to that scenario, it becomes much more so. After every swing, I was realizing the elevation. Barry had me hitting several different clubs starting with the smallest and working my way up. Actually I was hitting the ball fairly well, and as usual for me, the better the shots got, the harder I would swing. The harder I would swing, the more oxygen I used. The more air I used the harder it was to breathe, and after 100 balls or so, I was tired. LOL No REALLY, I was tired!
Barry loves golf shoes, he has dozens of pairs and I as usual, for those of you who know me, essentially only wear flip flops. I haven’t owned a pair of Golf shoes for years. I know it took a lot for him to give me a beautiful pair of leather shoes, but he is a very giving person and again was incredibly gracious with the gift. They look great on me btw. haha! There is a reason for telling you about the shoes, so bear with me.
Barry announced that he thought we should go ahead and play. I had a lot of work to do, but I was going to be fine on the course. We stopped for a quick bite for lunch and then headed to the number 1 tee. I was feeling a bit weak at that point, but I was excited. Little did I know they were not allowing carts off the cart path.
For those of you who don’t understand what “cart paths only” means…well, it means that I was in trouble. LOL I was going to have to walk to EVERY ball that I hit. I couldn’t drive up to my ball, get out, hit the ball, get back in and drive on. I was in for a really tough day, with the elevation and being so out of shape. Not to mention I was already tired and I had already pulled every muscle in my body hitting the hundred balls on the range. Oh, and don’t forget the new golf shoes that I had never worn before. BTW, the course is a 6700 yard course. That meant if all I did was walk straight through the course, I was about to walk 3.8 miles up and down huge hills. When you add to that, criss crossing the course, swinging the club another …well a bunch of times, I was in for a really long day. IN SHOES THAT I HAVE NEVER WORN BEFORE!
The first tee was gorgeous!! I shanked my first shot over into the brush. My second shot was fair, and my third and 4th were fair as well. I bogied the hole. I was happy with that, but my breathing was getting a bit out of control. The second hole I actually parred, and I remember telling Barry that it was tough to breathe up here. 😉 On the back of my heal, I was beginning to feel some heat. Oh no, was I developing a blister? Already??
The 3rd hole things started to go down hill. I took an automatic 8. UGH! My heel was really starting to burn. My arms were starting to cramp and my ankles started to swell. Back in the army days, I hurt my ankles and shins on a 60 mile forced road march, and now, whenever I stand on concrete or wear new shoes and walk a lot, my ankles begin to swell and it takes a couple days before I can walk properly. In some instances, I can’t walk for hours after I get up in the morning depending on whether I took a half dozen ibuprofen the night before. I was going to be in a lot of pain this weekend, even if I stopped playing right then.
15 holes to go. 15 holes to go?
Barry was playing really well, and I learned a lot from listening and watching him. He helped me by reminding me of the things to do before I did them. I just always seemed to forget at least one of them. My shots were sporadic, a shank here, a push there. My score began to add up. Thankfully I had several great “comeback putts” as Barry put it and I saved a hole. I remember one 30 yard putt from off the green that dropped like a rock and he just shook his head.
About hole 8 I told Barry I was just going to be a fan and caddie for him. I was playing horribly and I was frustrated. My ankles and blister were killing me and I think I was just not breathing much. “OH NO”, Barry said, “you need to keep practicing.” Ok, Ok, I’ll keep practicing. If only I could control my shots enough to keep the ball near the cart paths. No such luck. As a matter of fact, every shot I made was as far from the cart as you could imagine. The 6700 yard course was turning into a 10 mile grudge match.
Normally in my past, there was a nice break for refreshments at the turn between the 9th and 10th hole. I was really looking forward to taking the shoes off and possibly wearing my flip flops for the remainder of the game. If nothing else a cold refreshing glass of beer and a rest. NOPE, #9 was over and we drove straight to #10. I couldn’t be a baby in front of Barry, I had to be a man and keep playing. The wind began to pick up.
When I left the Motorhome that morning it was 35 degrees, the sun was beautiful, with no wind. It felt great and the temp was supposed to get into the low 60’s. SHORTS and short sleeve shirt was my choice for the day and as I walked out the door, Jill yelled your gonna be cold!! Naaah, I’ll be fine.
I felt my body going through this push for a second wind. For some reason I felt stronger all of a sudden. I was listening more clearly to Barry and to his instructions and I started keeping my head down and slowing my swing. I parred the 10th hole. I didn’t really notice it that much, but not only did I have a second wind, but the wind began to pick up and there was a definitive chill in the air.
I limped up to hole #11. PAR!! AGAIN?? another par? My body started to get cold. I realized the reason I was hitting the ball so well, was because I was so tired and I couldn’t find the energy to lift up my head, and I was too tired to swing as hard as “normal”. LOL Anyway, it seemed that the temps dropped 10 degrees and the wind was probably around 20 mph. I was getting cold.
Getting chilled to the bone, blister had popped at this point, arms hard to lift, limping pretty badly, I advanced to hole #12. PAR!! What? I was really hitting the ball well. Barry just shook his head.
Confidence is a killer sometimes. Especially when you are playing golf. Confidence from a guy who doesn’t play golf, that is. Anyway I got up to hole #13 with visions of grandeur . I was envisioning my parring the back 9. If I could just slap this ball down the middle of this par 5, I might par another one. I rared back and swung with everything I had! Mandatory 8! Hole #14, mandatory 8. #15 double bogy. I had just expended every last bit of energy with a 3 hole adrenalin rush and the realization that I just can’t play golf came on me like a rock. 3 holes to go.
I could feel the blood from my broken blister sticking to my sock. It felt like it was bigger than my foot. I kept looking down at my sock to make sure it wasn’t visible. At the same time, I had been gripping the club so tightly that I had also developed a huge blister on the palm of my hand. I was a hot mess!! LOL
I barely finished the last 3 holes. I stopped chasing my shots and dropped near Barry in order to participate, the wind was up even higher and I was freezing. I looked like an old man by the time we got to the car to go home.
I still had the gall to tell Barry, that before the year was out, my goal was to defeat him on his course. Barry was a bit shocked, as I am sure he was going easy on me all day and was kind and gracious and patient with me the entire time. He looked up at me and nicely said, “after watching you play today, I think that’s a rather lofty goal.” LOLOL
Thank you Barry for a tremendous learning experience. I hope you do have me back, but let’s make sure next time it’s not “cart paths only”, and I will wear the wonderful pair of shoes you gave me several times to get used to them beforehand, and I’ll be in better shape the next time we meet on that incredibly beautiful course of yours.