After a loooong delay
Yesterday, I practiced for the first time since June 17. I had managed to re-injure my back (not while golfing) the day after my last practice, so apart from some putting practice on the carpet, I’d not hit a ball since then. A few trips to the physical therapist and much stretching and exercising, I’m feeling good enough to go golfing again. Alas, the weather is simply terrible here in Dallas; it has been raining nearly every day for more than a month. It has rained so hard on occasion that the golf courses look more like swamps than fairways and greens.
I went to the Hank Haney Golf Ranch on a cloudy, humid day, dodging rain showers and mosquitos. I stretched, paying particular attention to my lower back, and then warmed up by hitting a few pitching wedges at the center green just over the pond. My first few shots were pitiful, but I soon warmed up and hit some decent shots, shorter than usual, and also high ball flight. I then went through the bag, hitting a couple of shots with a selection of clubs. The only clubs I hit well were the longer ones, but my distance was quite short. I didn’t really want to swing hard at the ball and my tempo was off all day. I also had the fats with the sand wedge and never really got over them. I limited myself to a small bucket as I didn’t want to overdo my first practice back from injury.
Next, I went to the green to practice putting. I wasn’t very pleased with my putting, being inconsistent with both direction and distance. Unlike my last practice, where my putting was very good, I never got the ball rolling consistently. I’d made the mistake of getting out my old putter and stroking a few balls; that seemed to throw off the beautiful stroke I’d developed since I built my Wishon S2R Model 3 putter. The old putter went back into the closet. I also practiced chipping, but it took a lot of chips before my touch and feel started returning.
Yesterday was a pretty poor practice, but I was happy to be mostly healthy again so that I can get back to regular practice and playing schedule. The only good thing about the injury is that I’ve been working out each day with stretches and exercises that should improve my golf as much as keep the back injuries away.