Reflections on Golf and Life After ECU Injury - Part 12
I made it back from our Florida trip on Tuesday night. It was great to get away from my crazy work schedule for a bit, and experience a little sun after the winter here in Wisconsin. We were able to go the beach and do a little fishing as well. My son and I both connected with Snook(bass like but longer fish) which is a lot of fun. Any time you can catch a Snook from the beach with an artificial lure, it is a very rewarding experience.
On my lunch break this Wednesday I decided to head over to the range. It was time to give this golf thingamajig another go. I was confident that all the waiting and physical therapy post-surgery had brought me to the point that it was finally time to see how my wrist would hold up to some swings. I purchased the smallest size bucket of balls they had which holds about 30 balls. I did not want to try and hit too many balls at first as I would not be making full swings anyway. I took out a 7 iron and started hitting some little chip and pitch shots, it was going well, so I started adding a little more speed with each swing. This is not really news for those who have seen my swing thread this week, but I was able to work up to about 125 yard shots with the 7 iron. It was actually a little more aggressive than I thought I was going to be on my first time out. The wrist was feeling great though and I was elated that it was going so well! It was hard not to get a bit carried away after over two years of not playing. I even felt the wrist to be strong enough to hit a few light shots with my 7 wood as well.
Today I went back to the range and was able to work up to about 150 yards with the seven iron. It was about 85-90% of a full swing for me. I also hit a few balls with the 7 wood again as well. I was again very happy with these results. The wrist feels a bit sore, but I think that is mainly because after the surgery it had not been used for many of the motions that are needed in the golf swing. Overall it feels sturdy enough though.
Time will tell if the wrist continues to handle repeated swings, especially with the longer clubs. So far it feels great and I feel like the surgery was likely a success. It is difficult to describe how it feels to be able to hit golf balls again after so long of not being able to do so. Simple things like the sound of the ball contacting the face of the club head and the feel of a well struck golf shot are things I missed greatly. I miss the sights, sounds and smells of walking the course as well. I can’t wait to get back out there an experience those. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, my perspective is different now, and should there be any setbacks along the way I will be able to deal with it. However, being able to hit golf balls a couple times this week has felt like an incredible blessing and is so rewarding to do after all this time. One BIG step forward and I am looking forward to completing my return to golf.
7 Comments
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now