Scratching the Itch

As many of us know, golf can be such an addictive game. In many ways it can be ugly like so many other addictions that are far worse for us. Golf can consume you. It becomes distracting because you think about it all of the time, taking away from your focus at work. Or maybe, just maybe, you’re out with your significant other at the nearest outlet mall and you’re at… Marshall’s. 

Your wife is looking at – ahem, stuff – and you see a mirror. It’s full-length. Unbeknownst to you, your unconscious mind (my psychology professor was adamant that there’s no such thing as a subconscious) kicks in and unknowingly you start working on your pivot.

Golf, you can’t stop thinking about it. You crave it. You NEED it. You haven’t stepped foot onto a golf course, it’s driving you bonkers. You need to scratch that itch. 

This is something that I’ve personally been going through since my 2023 golf season got railroaded by some amputations back in June and then again in July. The initial procedure was imminent and scheduled for the fall. Unfortunately the diabetic foot ulcer regressed quickly and the date got moved up. The plug was pulled on my season and I was sidelined. 

After the second amputation in July one of my first thoughts was about golf. Most notably, how would it affect my golf swing. Until you lose all of your toes you don’t realize how important those appendages are in everyday life. Let alone the importance of them as far as the golf swing goes. 

The wheels were turning and have been ever since that initial thought. In order to protect what remains and have a playable golf swing, would I have to make serious changes. Changes to my set-up, mechanics, and action. Would it require a total overhaul? Honestly, the worst part of being away from the game for long stretches is that you think too much about your swing. 

So now it’s December and your amputation sites are healing. The original site is fully healed while the rest are healing but well behind. After months of not thinking about or touching a golf club or a golf ball, you’re at home rehearsing your pivot. Everything that you thought of regarding the changes, you apply. Slowly, you’re pulling yourself up off of the canvas. You could’ve been knocked out, but it’s only a “standing 8-count”. 

If only you could scratch that itch. Apply it in a practical manner even though you know that you shouldn’t. If only you could grab a wedge and a ball and put a club to the ball. Feel the impact. Something that’s quasi-familiar. JUST A LITTLE TASTE. 

Like an addict that’s addicted to substances, you make a reckless decision to grab a wedge, golf ball, and your 17-week old puppy. Now you’re at your spouse’s workplace and there’s a lot of grass. Nay, a field. The perfect place to let your pup off of the leash and introduce her to golf. You have her “sit”, “stay”, and “leave it”. For the first time in months you address the golf ball. You strike it – a little thin – and she tracks the golf ball in the air. She locates the golf ball in the 2” long dormant grass and returns to you. Dropping the golf ball after a couple of “drop it” commands she drops it at your feet. Perfect!

You address the golf ball again. You make a pass with a pitching motion and you strike it clean. The pup – a female yellow Labrador Retriever – tracks and retrieves the golf ball. Again, she drops it at your feet. You repeat this a number of times while practicing your chipping and pitching.

It isn’t much but you scratched the itch. You felt “it” and for a brief time you got your fix.

Until The Next Tee!!

#fightandgrind #thenexttee