Mad Dogs and Englishmen…
… and me, out playing golf. In the brutal Texas heat. Or rather, attempting to play golf.
I went to the North Texas Golf Center to practice and play nine this morning. The weather was well in the 80s when I arrived just after 8 AM this morning, with only enough breeze from the southeast to make the flags wiggle. I started off hitting short irons poorly, but soon had my swing grooved and had one of my best practices in weeks going. I spent most of the practice session hitting alternating PW, 9-, 8-, 7- and 6-irons, hitting mostly straight balls, with occasional slight draws or fades. No hooks or slices reared their ugly heads with the irons today.
Next up, I hit the driver. At first, I hit an ugly hook or two, but soon discovered that my tempo was way, way too fast with the club. I then started alternating 9-iron and driver, and got my driver going again, hitting mostly draws, with one high slice thrown in. Distance was pretty short, but at least the balls would have been in the fairway. A week or two back, I took of the 1-1/2 swingweights of lead tape I had been using for a few months; I’m going to put 1 swingweight back on the toe to get the club going a little straighter.
I attempted to hit a few 3-metal and hybrid shots, but gave up and went on to hit full wedges to finish up 2/3 of the basket of balls. I was pretty pleased with that practice as well, though I tended to pull the wedges slightly.
Last up, I went to the short game area and hit a lot of short wedge shots, mostly with the lob wedge. My distances were a bit long today, but direction was generally good, erring occasionally to the right. My last drill was chipping with the pitching wedge, which started poorly, but ended very well, holing three shots and hitting the pin with another. After I ran out of balls, I putted for a few minutes, and realized that I was about to pass out from the heat. I’d already downed a 20 oz PowerAde, but I went in and got another and walked to the course.
On the first hole, some maintenance was being performed on the green (which badly needs some, as it has some large bare spots), so I hoofed over to the 2nd hole and waited while 3 girls and their father played the hole, verrrrrrrrry slowly. I didn’t feel like waiting, so I went over to the 4th and prepared to play. I was a bit woozy from the heat (I soon found out the temperature had hit 98F by this time), hooked a sand wedge way left of the flag, and walked after it. After I chunked a lob wedge, I picked up the ball and went home. If I played any more, I was likely to drop dead. It must have been humid as well, because I was soaked with sweat. Damn, it was HOT!
I was happy with my practice today, but I shouldn’t have even attempted to play golf today, as the temperature was just too hot. And no breeze either, unusual for Texas.