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Reflections on Golf and Life After ECU Injury - Part 10

cipher

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Aug-December 2016 - I decided to take the rest of the year off from worrying about anything golf related.  I had a lot planned for the rest of that summer and fall.  I continued to play disc golf.  I also played in a tournament later that summer.  I enjoyed doing that and it was a great experience.  I like playing in these tournaments because it is how you get an official player rating in disc golf.  A player rating in disc golf is similar to a golf handicap but is also very different at the same time.  For example, after the two tournaments I played, my current rating is 827.  This is probably similar to a 15 handicap in golf or so.  In disc golf a player rating does not really allow any two players to play each other under a system of giving strokes because of the way it is calculated.  That may be one of the biggest differences.  I do plan on continuing to play in these tournaments as I would like to eventually be closer to a 900 rating.  The best players in the world for comparison would be around 1000-1050 rated players.  This means there is a big difference between 900 and 1000 rated players.

In August I was able to take a bow hunting trip with my dad and my son to Wyoming.  Thankfully I have been able to pull a bow back even with the wrist injury and that injury is not really too affected by doing so.  We were going after Antelope, and after a tough first few days of hunting I was able to harvest a very nice potential record book qualifying Antelope on the day before heading back home.  We had a great time and created some great memories with my son. 

 

Spoiler

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I also did a lot of fishing with my son, something he is incredibly passionate about.  He had quite the year for catching many new species of fish and learning new ways to fish.  In early September I took a fishing trip up into the northern part of the state and had a great opportunity to try and catch some Muskie and learn about doing so from @14ledo81.  The plan was to get a nice one in the boat on what is one of Wisconsin’s better trophy Muskie lakes.  Unfortunately the weather just did not cooperate for us but I had a blast anyway.  We did get most of the first day in on the water, Matt raised a couple fish to his bait but they would not bite and I missed one on a top water bait as well.  I am looking forward to working hard this year to get one in the boat.

Cranking those big Muskie baits was great therapy for strengthening the wrist as well.  The wrist continued to heal and I felt the strength and flexibility of the wrist improving slowly day after day.  As the year turned to 2017 it was time to switch up my focus back to a potential return back to the golf course. 

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JonMA1

JonMA1 510

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I don't know much about antelope, but I've heard it isn't that easy to get close enough for a shot with a bow. Nice buck.

Our family spent a week fishing the Menomonee river several years ago and did very well - considering we didn't know any of the good spots.

It's easy to take for granted how nice we have it up here. In addition to an abundance of under-crowded golf courses, we have a great deal of lakes, rivers and National Forest areas. Northern Wisconsin seemed to have even more of that. 

My two sons have both moved downstate to work. My oldest - who is as passionate about fishing as is yours - just hates it down there. At least he has a place to stay when he comes back up north.

When he was like 5, he kept bugging me to let him try out the baitcasting reel. I finally gave in, figuring he'd get tired of fixing the inevitable bird nests. So I showed him some of the tricks and he makes his first cast. No bird nest. Makes a second cast. Same thing. He fished the rest of the day with that reel and had to fix the spool just a couple of times.

Now when he comes back home to visit, I have to switch from golf mode to fishing mode. We are also talking about going out after turkey this spring as well.

Please keep us up to date on your return to golf.

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cipher

cipher 677

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On 4/2/2017 at 6:50 AM, JonMA1 said:

I don't know much about antelope, but I've heard it isn't that easy to get close enough for a shot with a bow. Nice buck.

Our family spent a week fishing the Menomonee river several years ago and did very well - considering we didn't know any of the good spots.

It's easy to take for granted how nice we have it up here. In addition to an abundance of under-crowded golf courses, we have a great deal of lakes, rivers and National Forest areas. Northern Wisconsin seemed to have even more of that. 

My two sons have both moved downstate to work. My oldest - who is as passionate about fishing as is yours - just hates it down there. At least he has a place to stay when he comes back up north.

When he was like 5, he kept bugging me to let him try out the baitcasting reel. I finally gave in, figuring he'd get tired of fixing the inevitable bird nests. So I showed him some of the tricks and he makes his first cast. No bird nest. Makes a second cast. Same thing. He fished the rest of the day with that reel and had to fix the spool just a couple of times.

Now when he comes back home to visit, I have to switch from golf mode to fishing mode. We are also talking about going out after turkey this spring as well.

Please keep us up to date on your return to golf.

Yeah I let my son use a baitcasting reel as well for a bit and he did well at first but ultimately he struggled in windy conditions a bit so we switched him back to a spinning reel for the time being.  I ended up finding him a 7' heavy pole and a spinning reel that he can fish for Muskie and Pike with this year.  His birthday was just in March so that was what he got.  I love being out on the water with him though and the injury has really given me a greater opportunity to do so. 

I strangely have never gone after turkey, but I should probably give it a shot at some point.  Everyone tells me it is a lot of fun.  Let me know how that goes if you can remember to and you guys do end up doing it.  

Will do on the the golf updates.  It has been tough for me to keep up with this blog a bit and to also post as time has been tough with my schedule lately.  I will make sure I finish this thing though and to try and do my best to post some as well and also update the swing thread.  

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