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About this blog

Ben Hogan was known for telling those who asked him about the secrets of his swing that he "dug the answers out of the dirt".  Having taken up the game four years ago at 46, I've been doing a lot of digging but haven't come close to finding all the answers. 

This blog is about digging in the dirt and the journey to become a single digit handicapper.

Entries in this blog

You Can't Buy a Lower Score

I was glad to have moved on from Dons craziness but my swing was still a mess.  My wedges and short irons weren't horrible but I struggled with distance on clubs longer than a 7i.  The season was close to over so I had stopped playing golf and was spending most of my time reading golf books and watching golf swing videos when I wasn't on the golf range trying to apply what I'd seen and read.   I was also reading a lot of golf magazines and websites about new equipment.  I read about how m

newtogolf

newtogolf

The Power Triangle, Rectangle, Cube???

Dr. Don told me to warm up while he finished up some research.  I watched him hit some shots then write some notes down into his notebook, mumbling to himself the entire time.  When he walked over to begin the lesson he was visibly excited to share a break through he'd just come up with that would revolutionize the golf swing, "The Power Triangle".  He said he was going to teach it to me because of my athleticism I'd be able to take advantage of it immediately. He

newtogolf

newtogolf

An Apple A Day

I had wasted an entire golf season taking lessons from Bill and was pretty discouraged overall with the progress I was making.  I spent the winter reading books such as Hogan's Five Lessons, The Stack and Tilt Swing, The Only Golf Lesson You'll Ever need and a bunch of others plus all the golf magazines.  If you want to drive someone crazy, set them loose on Amazon Book store and tell them to read a bunch of golf books and magazines.  Every author had a conflicting approach from the other

newtogolf

newtogolf

Unrealistic Expectations

The scramble turned out to be disappointing.  When it came down to it, I couldn't hit the ball cleanly.  There was an obvious difference between hitting off of mats like I had during practice and hitting off of grass.  Most of my shots were fat but unlike on a mat where the club just bounces and hits the ball I was taking up clumps of sod and dirt before making contact with the ball.  I had a lot of practice at fixing divots that day.  With the exception of a few good shots I didn't do mu

newtogolf

newtogolf

It's For a Good Cause

I had six weeks to learn how to play golf well enough to not embarrass myself in front of family and friends.  I know it's sounds stupid because it's golf but I think we all forget how uncomfortable and awkward those first few rounds on a golf course feel, especially if we're not prepared. I did a search on the internet for golf forums and found The Sand Trap.  I stalked it for a few days and then decided to register.  At the time, the site was pretty heavy into S

newtogolf

newtogolf

Golf's Not For Me

When we got back from Myrtle Beach, I dropped my clubs and shoes in the corner of the garage and never looked back.  It was a frustrating experience, I'd never struggled so much in learning how to play a sport.  It was incomprehensible how it could be so difficult to hit a stationary ball off a tee with a golf club.  My wife asked how the trip was and I told her, "I had a great time but golf's not for me".  I explained how encouraging and patient the guys were but I just couldn't get the

newtogolf

newtogolf

South Of The Border

We loaded up our clubs and luggage into 4 vehicles after dinner and headed south for Myrtle Beach.  The ride from Northern Virginia was going to take about 6 hours and we were all pumped to be heading towards what my buddies called Las Vegas East.  They called Myrtle Beach Las Vegas East because like Vegas, what happened in Myrtle Beach would stay in Myrtle Beach. They spent the majority of the ride down talking about golf with a good chunk of time dedicated to the guys making fun of my Knight

newtogolf

newtogolf

Golf Is For Old People

Golf is for old people...at least that's what I thought when I was in my 20's and 30's.  I'd see these old fat guys playing golf on television and it looked so boring, I'd rather watch grass grow.  When friends or family would ask me to join them on the course I'd scoff that my walker hadn't been delivered yet or make some other snarky comment related to golf being for the old and decrepit. In my defense, that's how I remember golf being portrayed in those days.  The professionals all seemed ol

newtogolf

newtogolf



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    • I continued icing the knee upon which I had surgery for at least a week after I stopped feeling any pain. Maybe longer. Anytime I worked that knee as part of my recovery therapy it got iced afterwards.
    • Not a bad idea.  Thx
    • I would suggest to ice as soon as you get home and don’t wait for pain. I did this through all my knee recovery.
    • FINALLY hit some balls this weekend. I did a short range session Saturday.  Hit only 20 balls.  10 with 8 Iron & 10 with Driver.  Overall the foot felt good during the session but I did notice I was not fully turning and was rather flat footed on the last couple of shots.  In the past that usually happened as the pain in my ankle kicked up but this time I did not feel pain...AT THAT TIME.  About 30 minutes after the range session pain clearly kicked in and I had to ice that evening.  I
    • While both of these are true, of the two I'd peg beer as the greater of two evils. It turns out the problem, maybe the greater problem with alcohol isn't just the empty calories, but alcohol also raises your cortisol level. Increased cortisol encourages your body to save/add fat. Chocolate, conversely, particularly dark chocolate, can actually help lower cortisol. I've all but given up alcoholic beverages. This coming from a man with an enviable stock in spirits (particularly Bourbon,
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