Is this a Bad Sign?

Too much wind to play golf in Hawaii-too bad. I see where one famous teacher said playing in conditions like that could ruin a golfer’s swing.

I now feel much better about my ruined swing, playing here in Wyoming, with a lot of wind that must be what happened.

Hope they do get the tourney going, feel like watching some golf later today. The first pro tournament does tell me that warm weather is getting closer, not farther away.

 

Remember- There are two ways a golf ball bounces: unfair bounces, and bounces just the way you meant to play it.*

*Not sure where I saw this first but always thought it was appropriate

Golf The Times They Are A Changing

I’m more than a little surprised that the Long Putter will be illegal soon. I have played for a long time and seems like the only other ban I have seen was when the USGA came down against Sam Sneed and the crochet style putting.

Here is my list of ten changes I have seen in 50+ years of playing golf that might have been banned but were not.

1.       Metal heads for woods

2.       Metal shafts

3.       Graphite shafts

4.       Oversized heads for drivers

5.       Cavity back clubs

6.       Cut proof balls

7.       Cavity back (open back) putters

8.       Giant weird looking putter heads

9.       Hybrid irons

10.   Lob wedges

11.   Dozens of design changes to golf balls (this one should be 10 ¼ )

STRETCH Turn-Turn-Turn

Don’t forget to stretch, no matter how old you are. I have recently got into a bad habit; well actually I am revisiting an old habit. Get to the course, ride to the first tee take three or four violent practice strokes with my driver and hit away with shot number one. And how does this work? Not so good. What I have found is that if you stretch, regularly, at home you will not have to feel like a fool stretching for 10 minutes while the rest of the foursome makes fun of you.

The most important stretch, trunk twisting, just like with the club, back to target, chest to target, can’t hit it if you can’t turn.

But I don’t have time to stretch at home-yes you do-in the morning shower, 50 turns, 25 each way, nice and slow. And stretch again after dinner or supper if you grew up in the Midwest with me.

No skipping of days-do it and your back and your foursome will thank you.

Easy tip – yes it is-but only if you do it, I have not missed a day in over a year. Is my game better-NOPE-but my back is.

Columbus went around the world in 1492. That isn't a lot of strokes when you consider the course. ~Lee Trevino

Thoughts on Harry Ted Potter Jr., John Daly and Q-School

So another new winner on tour—Ted Potter Jr. wins at Greenbrier. Missed five straight cuts then wins, shows just how fickle this game can be. Looked like he was heading back to Q-school (the last one) and instead he has two guaranteed years on tour and a ticket to the Master’s.

And what is going on with John Daly? He is looking like the Daly of old. If he can come up with enough sponsors’s exemptions I think he will win his card back. Fans love him and he is proving he still has game. He needs four years to reach 50 and the seniors tour, I expect he will be welcomed there with open arms, he flat out brings in fans and $$$. Hard to keep a player with a 70.1 scoring average out of tournaments but some of these good-old-boy tourneys remember too many of Daly’s bad moments. Hope they open up and let him play. He is playing this weekend so I will set my DVR as we will be on the road to a family reunion (please feel sorry for me, it won’t help but I need it).

The Web.com Tour instead of Q-school and everyone needs to earn a card through a year on this tour, good-old-boys at work again. This concept is as bad as the BCS and the Hockey (let everyone in) playoffs and the NFL Pro Bowl. Golf never has reached the viewing numbers it would like and this will not help. Will we see the good young players on other tours (Europe, Australia) come to America for a year in the minors so they can play the PGA tour? NOPE!

Winter Golf and Snow

Can't play at 7,200 feet this time of the year. Good news is I will retire in June so next fall and winter I may go south a way's and play. Love fall, love football hate the golf weather. We have had 2 nights where we were -16 and -12 and so far 23 inches of snow--nothing like dreaming of warm weather and good golf.

Golf and Snow

Here in Wyoming at 7200 feet looks like golf is over for a few months. We are expecting a foot or so of the white stuff in the next 20 hours. So to keep all my readers happy (most of you don’t need this because it is still warm and green where you live) here is the best golf joke I have heard lately.
I love golf. I live golf. I dream golf. If only I could play golf!

Giving Golf for Christmas

This is a bit tricky. If you know exactly what is wanted, golf stuff can be a great gift. If you guess, giving golf for Christmas can and likely will be a disaster. I give my kids (all grown-up) golf balls every year. But I know what is good, what they like and what they play. Not sure anyone should pick out a bag, clubs or balls for Christmas, stick with shirts, sweats, bad ties, books and food items. This stuff they can re-gift—now that I think of it bad golf gifts could be re-gifted for bad golfers.

Tiger's Got A Brand New Putter

So Tiger’s got a brand new putter. He ditched the Scotty Cameron Newport 2 he has used for years in favor of the new Nike (surprise) Method 003 in the last tournament of the year. Wonder if the change will stick this time.

Stewart Cink and Lucas Glover are already using this model and looks like Tiger thought he needed to give it a try. It has a different look than the Scotty Cameron, might take some time to get used to how it looks at address. I thought Tiger looked pretty comfortable on my TV screen with the new putter. Changing from the more conventional looking Cameron to the semi-mallet is a huge for the greatest golfer on earth and may take more than one tournament to find the correct feel.

The putter is a little pricey for this old guy (who once putted great with a fourteen dollar K-Mart putter) and at two and a half bills I will pass. I think for most of us a putter in a mid price range will look and feel good. If you want to compare brands, prices and styles before going to the shop or range, I like this site—GolfPutters.net.


Oh by the way-Think Tiger will put a Ping grip on this new putter like he always did with the Newport 2?

Spring

Spring is here, finally. Four months since it reached fifty degrees—and it was 52 today—yippee!
Weather man says high of 24 and snow Friday. I just can’t seem to get it right.

Grandkids--Gotta Love Um

Grandma takes our grandson 'Alex' to swimming lessons every Tuesday and Thursday and sometimes they let me tag along. Yesterday the instructor had the six kids playing a game. They were in the shallow-shallow end and when he called out SHARK!!!, all the kids would kick the water like mad. They did this two or three times and then it was question time. (You know the teacher thing – check for understanding) He said Alex—“what do we do when I yell SHARK?” Alex answered, “Swim for the boat.” From the look on his face I knew that the instructor had not spent much time around five year olds.

Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympics are over--four more years before I, once again, become an expert in pairs skating, short track and down hill. Guess I will watch a little Basketball.

New Health Plan

Just thinking about health care and all the time congress is spending on it—and all the money. After much sitting and thinking I believe I have the answer. I am sure that many members of congress read my blog postings and this blog will make it easy for them. Here they are- 4 things we need to do for American health care.
1. Give all Americans dual citizenship with Canada—we can all go there and stand in line for care.
2. All- meds half price on Tuesdays at Wall-Mart. Didn’t someone once say,” Heal thyself?” If no one ever said it, I just did, and I like it and I like the half price meds.
3. Every Friday all businesses will close from noon until three and all Americans will walk two or more miles. Some might even start to like it.
4. Tell China we are out of money, cancel our debt and give everyone the same health insurance as members of congress get.

-N-

Snow and Green Grass

Well—it’s October and that means snow in Wyoming and green grass underneath. I really hate this time of year, the constant scooping of snow from the lawn and garden so that I can mow and weed. Then more snow, more scooping and more mowing and weeding. I tried something a little different this year I duct taped (or is it duck taped—you know the gray silvery stuff) anyway, as I was saying before I so rudely interrupted myself. I taped with that gray shinny tape my snow blower to the front of my lawn mower, looks a bit funny when I do the driveway but works like a charm on the lawn.
Despite the snow (three times so far for a total of a foot of snow) my garden still looks pretty good. Why do the weather people on TV and radio now refer to snow storms as snow events? Despite three separate snow events my garden still looks pretty good. Of course most of it (tomatoes and onions) is in the garage. I pulled some carrots today and they were quite tasty, thank you. The rest of the garden really does not look so good, its mostly dead beans, dead peas, dead radishes, dead strawberries, dead herbs of all kinds (don’t like most of them anyway) and lots of dead flowers. And so as I started—Well –it’s October and so much for gardening this year.

Keynesian Economics

We hear so much today about the economy and the trouble we are in world wide, reminds me of my old college days and my study of John Maynard Keynes, and his Keynesian Economics. All I remember is raise taxes when times are good to cool off the economy and lower taxes when times are bad to heat up the economy. If Keynes was right, he is dead now so we can’t ask him, then we should not have cut taxes during the high times we were all living with our MasterCard’s and Visas and times were good. Hummmm—Keynes also believed that government deficit spending might be okay in times of recession or especially depression. Maybe we are doing the right thing running around bailing everyone but me out of financial despair.
So I have been sitting around thinking some, I am good at thinking, and I believe I can solve this countries and maybe the worlds economic woes by doing the following.#

1. Every Thursday is free day at Wal-Mart.
#2. All fast food, everything is .99 cents.
#3. Congress recesses until 2012
#4. Network and Local news shows—all cancelled—replaced by Looney Tunes.
#5. Take peanuts and pistachios off the endangered foods list
#6. Instead of giving millionaire CEOs a big bonus, just let them give each other a big hug and wish each other well and then let the stockholders have the bonus money.
#7. A chicken in every can of chicken noodle and a cracker in every barrel (I have no idea what that means)
#8. Slash Green Fees on every golf course in the world by 50% (this one is personal)
#9. This one seems simple—a jobs program that works. Jobs for those that can—where, maybe in some of the failed businesses the government may eventually have to operate.
#10. Some businesses will fail, let them fail and reorganize, if they are worth their salt they can make it. Not everyone is happy all the time—and everything does not have a happy ending.
-BONUS-
#11. To save everyone a little money, let us, as consumers, choose what TV stations we want and pay for those. Skip the rest of the fluff.
#12. Required in every school—classes in manners, common courtesy, self sufficiency, basic economics, and appropriate language and dress. WOW I am showing my age on that one.
#13. Elect me, “the old guy that got to thinkin’,” President—I’ll take care of you—after myself of course!

Well there you have it; I may have been sitting and thinking too much.

Number 44 Our new President

Today we have a new president number 44. I watched the inauguration and much of the additional coverage and was highly impressed with everything. If we could keep that same feeling of patriotism, togetherness and usefulness all year long everyone on earth would think—wow, they really are the greatest nation on the face of the earth.
Good Luck President Obama and God speed.

John G Neihardt

Today it the birthday of the great John G Neihardt, I have read “Black Elk Speaks,” at least a half dozen times. As a kid growing up in rural Nebraska we were fed a steady diet of Neihardt and I am sure that, at the time, I did not appreciate him as I do today. If you have never experienced any of his stuff, take a look, what a great writer he was. He was first published at 16 and last published at 90, a remarkable career.

He is a word sender. This world is like a garden and over it go his words like rain, and where they go they leave everything greener. After his words have passed, the memory of them shall stand long in the West like a flaming rainbow. —Black Elk

http://www.neihardt.com/jgn/index.html

Christmas

Seems to me it’s starting to be all about the retailers and the economy this year. I sincerely hope Christmas is not becoming just another holiday to get people to spend money—we already have enough of those. Is it just me or are we starting to lose the meaning of Christmas? Growing up I loved Santa Clause and hanging the Christmas stockings and decorating the tree and could hardly wait for Christmas morning. It is one of two great Christian holiday’s world wide but now we mostly hear moaning and groaning about it not helping the economy enough.
As for me, I can’t wait, some of our kids and grandkids will be here and we will open presents and enjoy the day. And for at least one day I will not worry, not at all, about the economy.

It's Almost Time to Vote

It’s almost time to vote, we have one debate left to make up our minds. That is unless you already know who your guy is.
The economy is making a real mess of the candidate’s promises for less taxes and help with everything from health insurance to house payments.
If you have not made up your mind yet write in the old coach, if I win I’ll do something, not sure what. But here is my best try.

• I will put a chicken in every pot—opps, think FDR already promised that.

• Read my lips, no new taxes, opps, think Bush # 1 said that.

• Snow in the months of December, January and February only.

• A law against cell phones in the grocery store—“do we need butter, honey? How’s the milk, and did you say we were out of crackers?”

• Gas prices to remain at $1.25 per gallon

Large government grants will go to

• Inventors working on a trash can that will separate and recycle after I throw everything in.

• Someone that invents a car that runs on air

• A peace plan that works

• And finally to a member of the U.S. House or Senate that is elected to be a statesman not just a politician.

• Oh and a large grant to me so I can get a place on the beach in Hawaii during Wyoming’s six or eight months of winter.



Can’t wait for the election to be over so my taxes will go down, my business will be saved, my health insurance will be paid for, the air will be cleaner, we will be respected around the globe and all will be good in the world—again.

Our New Vice President will be --

I’m watching the Vice Presidential Debate as I write this blog so if I end in the middle of a sentence I must have had a heart attach.

“What could cause a wise old guy like you to have a heart attach,” you ask.

If one or the other says any of the following—

1. Anything about balancing the Budget
2. Something that would bail me out
3. Lower gasoline prices
4. That someone has figured out something about Iraq and Afghanistan.
5. I’m starting to think about turning to the Baseball Game—don’t count that one.
6. Start paying down the deficit***or is that too much like number one?
7. Lucky for me I caught myself, on number six above, I typed defecate instead deficit-wow- talk about a Freudian slip. Good thing I caught it before publishing, might have messed up my chance to win a blogging Pulitzer.
8. The guy I’m running with is a dud but elect me as VP and the country will be on the right track
9. We caught Osama ben Laden.
10. I will, we will, when elected—Bla, Bla, Bla *-* Bla, Bla –About ready to turn this stuff off.
Same old promises I will vote for the one that is telling the truth—now who is that?

Remember, regardless of how you feel, get out and vote, vote early and vote often.

One final note, be sure to …………………………

Young Again

Good News—I think!
Read in today newspaper that age 65 is today’s 55. Is that good? I am in between and was almost looking forward to retirement but maybe I should wait until I’m 75 because that would be 65.
I really am pretty healthy – but then again if I’m 60 now, in today’s world that is 50—young enough, should be healthy.
Except for a really messed up big toe (not doctors lingo), bad hip, sore shoulders, bum elbow, high triglycerides, (no idea how to spell that word and my computer is so old the spell checker has never heard of it before), high blood pressure, high cholesterol, low income (starting to get high so I tossed that one in), I’m felling pretty healthy.
I over eat a little and under exercise, my hair fell out and I lapped over my belt buckle a bit. Can’t remember things like I used too, and run into more stuff and drop more things than I did a few years ago. I can’t get to sleep and when I do I wake up with a sore neck. Allergy season ends when cold season starts, leaving me sneezing every day of the year except my birthday when I stumble around in shock and marvel at the fact that I am really feeling ten years younger than my birthday.
Can’t seem to remember what time of the year white shoes are in and black shoes are out. Need to rest more than I work and think every candidate for office is a young whippersnapper.
Other than those few maladies I feel ten years younger than I did before I read today’s newspaper.
Can’t wait for Monday morning—back to work almost a youngster.