Get the Ricochet app

Ricochet will work fine in a browser on your mobile devices, but for the best experience please download our app.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Become a member.

Tired of the toxicity of social media? Why not join Ricochet for just $5/month? Think of it as an online bar. Come in, have a drink, hang out, say whatever you want. But don’t badger, bully, or berate the other drinkers. That's our only rule.

For Golfers Only

Southern Pessimist
@SouthernPessimist
Join to bookmark18likesJoin to like53comments

When I was 15, my best friend urged me to buy scuba diving equipment so we could dive the clear, deepwater lakes of Tennessee. His family had a boat. Mine didn't, and I did not want to be dependent on someone else for my hobbies. I bought golf clubs instead. It has been a love/hate relationship ever since then. (With golf, not my friend.)

I became a fairly good golfer after years of struggle. I completely quit for 12 years until about four years ago when my friend Ronnie sucked me back into the frustrating activity.

I am back to being a decent golfer. If I were not a very good putter, however, I would struggle to break 90. I will never hit a golf ball as well as Scottie Scheffler does, but I can putt almost as well as he does. I follow his same routine. I pick my line on putts and break the putt into several shorter pieces until I am confident. Knowing the difference between a four pace length putt from a five pace putt is everything. I expect to make every putt inside of three paces.

On every shot with a full swing I think about my foot placement (which establishes my alignment) and maintaining balance throughout the swing. Once I start the swing, the only thing I see is the one dimple on the ball I am focused on.

My expectations are always negotiable with the gods of golf, meaning I accept whatever the golf course chooses to give me. Sort of like fishing.

I am glad I don't have to eat what the golf course gives me, however.

This post was promoted to the Main Feed at the recommendation of Ricochet's members.

Discussion (53)

  • cdor@cdor

    I like your techniques and I am surprised it doesn't yield better results on your score. Is your course exceptionally difficult? Are you playing tees that require more length than you can produce? I was forced to give up the game because of physical injuries in my shoulders and back, but in the last 10 years of playing ( ages 65 through 75 ) I made adjustments by using closer tee boxes. My short game was respectable and the course was fairly short. You are lucky and I am jealous. I wish that I was still playing.

  • Southern Pessimist@SouthernPessimist

    A mother duck with about eight babies waddled across the fairway in front of Ronnie last week. I told him he could get a birdie if he wanted to but if his shot killed one of those ducks I would never play with him again. He promptly shanked it about fifty yards sideways.

  • Southern Pessimist@SouthernPessimist
    Replyingtocdor

    cdor (View Comment):

    I like your techniques and I am surprised it doesn’t yield better results on your score. Is your course exceptionally difficult? Are you playing tees that require more length than you can produce? I was forced to give up the game because of physical injuries in my shoulders and back, but in the last 10 years of playing ( ages 65 through 75 ) I made adjustments by using closer tee boxes. My short game was respectable and the course was fairly short. You are lucky and I am jealous. I wish that I was still playing.

    My course is long and very lush. I can only reach the greens in regulation on the par threes and par fives and I play from the senior tees. I tell Ronnie that if my driving distance continues to diminish, I will carry a pink skirt and transition to the women's tees.

Scroll for later comments
+48 more comments
Join the conversation

You're seeing five of 53 comments. Sign in, or join for just $5 per month, to read them all and add your own.