March 26, 2010

Brutal Winter...finally out playing again.

what i learned golfing with Ben today:

before we started, Ben said, remember that time i hit that awesome shot? playing with confidence is a huge thing, i tried to tell him over and over how good of a golfer he was. on the first hole, his confidence soaring he hit a 45 foot putt literally to two feet. his next putt rolled by the hole by 15 feet....but oh well. you win some and you lose some.

he also had a two footer that he looked at and said: i can really score this one daddy, after he missed it, he looked at his four footer coming back and said: i can really score this one.

i think the biggest lesson i learned today is simply to BE PRESENT IN THE MOMENT. This is so hard for us in life, and especially in golf. always thinking about the last shot we chunked, the bad putt we just hit, the three putt on the last green, etc. etc. etc. golf experts would say: just be present on this shot, don't worry about what is next or what was last. BE PRESENT IN THE MOMENT. Ben does this really naturally, most kids do. he wiffed 5 times, hit the 6th one and got a huge smile on his face, he didn't let the last 5 misses ruin the join of a well struck shot ont eh 6th one. he found a tennis ball on the course and was so excited to bring it home to hank the dog. every time we got in the cart he had great joy just from driving the cart down the path. the kid was living in the moment the entire time.

i was struggling. i was dealing with some emotional issues this day and wasn't really enjoying the moment. wasn't fully present, wasn't really enjoying the time with my Son Ben...i was somewhere else, thinking about other things. distracted and not enjoying the time. i finally turned a corner on the 7th tee...got focused, thought about my shot put everything else out of my mind and hit the best shot i did all day, a three wood that went 215 yards and was tee high about 15 feet from the pin. i wonder how well i would play if i was in the moement all the time. i also hit an incredible 4 iron on hole 9, 160 yards, uphill and into the wind to 15 feet. unfortunately i hit my putt 4 feet past the hole and missed the come back for a three putt. i was already writing the chapter in my head and the pressure got to me. it's hard to know that if you miss a putt, you're goign to have to tell the world about your three putt. also, shot a three wood from 235 out into the woods and lost a ball. mental game.

Ben was finding pinecones, playing wiht animals, eating popcorn and lemonade, having the time of his life because he was fully present in the moment. i was somewhere else, not fully present, and it was ruinging my ability to have a good time, and making it very difficult to play good golf. BEN TAUGHT ME TODAY TO TRY TO LIVE IN THE MOMENT!!!

round three, sam, ben uncle jeff.

the importance of putting. sunday, october 18th at milburn.

highlights from the importance of putting: letting kids chip on and then putt...time for an experiment. how many putts does it take from 20 feet?

highlights:

27 putts (including down off the green and down a hill, pick it up and throw it back up onto the green.)

a putt that rolled off the green (which we've all done...) but what made this one special was that it rolled off the green AFTER it rolled over the flagstick, which was 15 feet past the hole. need to work on the touch.

two different lip outs, on the same hole, from 2 INCHES.

used to just use the 7 iron to putt, i'm too cheap to buy them a putter as well...had to change that when they started putting divots in the green. (not sure the club woould like that too much...)

golf with uncle jeff: rules: no talking when someone is hitting, unless its your daddy, then talk all you want.

ben's quote: 'uncle jeff, are there really alligators at this golf course?'

first hole putting it looked like two kids playing street hockey more than acutally putting the ball into the hole. i really need to teach these kids how to putt.

Sam was excited because he got an 11, and ben only got a 6!

story about uncle jeff and how far he hits the ball...club fitting man crush...do you know what that gets you? it gets you down $125 on my, which is a tremendous amount of money since we don't even bet that much. drive for dough, putt so that you don't miss three putts under three feet at mens league and get beaten 7 1/2 to 1 1/2. work on the putting!!!!

funny putting aids?

round #2, Sept 9, Milburn CC

Lesson Learned: Don't play scared golf.

Had special time tonight with Ben. (explain special time). do things that they really like to do, and if it happens to be eating popcorn and drinking lemonade and driving a golf cart around, then everybody wins.

It was raining at the end of the day and i started feeling bad about trying to talk ben into playing in the rain. so i called him to ask him if he wanted to do something else instead. when he got on the phone he said to me: daddy, can i just bring a rain jacket and play golf in the rain.

that's my boy.

on the 4th hole there is a bridge that goes over a big ravine so the walkers don't have to go all the way down and up. as i was about to tee off, ben saw the bridge and asked me if he could walk over it. He was heading over that way (most times my kids don't wait to actually recieve permission, they just ask...) and i said, sure ben. just look out for the crocidiles that live under there.

he stopped in his tracks, looked back at me with a terrified look, and after remaining frozen for about 10 seconds started running back at me as fast as he could, with boths his arms raised high in the air (so the crocidille would eat his arms?) screaming: CROOCIDILLEEE!!!

He kept running for about 40 yards until he stopped and turned around to look at me again. luckily it was a rainy night and there weren't any other golfers around or we probably would have been asked to leave and never come back (which would have been just fine with ben now that he thought there were crocs on the golf course. remind me never to take him golfing in florida.)

the rest of the round, all he could think about and talk about was crocidles. i hit a drive in the woods and he said: right in the trees where the crocs live. he said he knew a croc was coming close at one point b/c he had something in his tummy that told him that. he said if you eat three bowls of honey nuts and three bowls of colored chicken then your tummy will tell you if there is a crocidile close and if its a mommy daddy or baby croc. (wonder if that's how the croc hunter lived so long? who knew?)

at one point on a par three over water, he said: don't hit it in the water, that's where the crocs live.

how many times do golfers got through that thought process? don't hit it in the water, that's where the double bogeys live. don't chunk it into that sand trap, that's where the ____ lives, don't miss this three footers, that's where...

paper tiger: two new swings thoughts: don't miss it. followed by don't miss it, you asshole.

Dr. Bob: our mind doesn't recognize 'don't'. don't hit it into the water, subconciously our mind is thinking all about the water.

we play scared golf alot, it kills our scores.

stories of when i've played scared golf? against larison 36 holes match. hole #31 he triples and i pull into a tie, next hole i chunk a 3 irone into the junk, take a penalty and hook the next one 30 yards left of the green. scull my chip up and over 3 putt of 8 on a par 4. check please.

Round # 1, Falcon Ridge, Aug 22

What can i learn playing golf with my 4 year old son, Benjamin?

At falcon Ridge, i learned to not take things too seriously. 9th green, putting for birdie, really wanted to make it b/c i hadn't played all that well...asked Ben to go get the flag out of the cup for me. right before i lined up to hit the putt, he shouted, look Dad, i'm an airplane. he was holding the flag out and spinning around in circles on the 9th green. Wish he would have picked the 6th green, one that wasn't right next to the pro shop...i lined up again, hit a smooth stroke on the putt....and missed. and didn't really care. i wasn't taking it too seriously.

the chip on #2. i gave ben a ball and dropped it on top of a hill by the green, 10 feet above the green in the rough, tight pin placement, water behind the green. An impossible chip for a 4 year old. he swung the club and the ball dribbled down towards the green, bounces probably 5 or 6 times, and trickled onto the green and to about 2 and a half feet from the green. it was an incredible chip...(try to do this in 10 shots, see if i could get closer...) i looked at him and said, Benji, you are an incredible golfer! He said, i know Dad, that's because i'm learning from you. Little did he know how much i was learning from him.

hit a bad shot, said a cuss word bringing my hand up to my mouth ( a move i learned from KU basketball coach, bill self...) and ben asked: did you hurt your hand daddy? apparently he thought i got a boo boo and needed a kiss.

7th hole cart girl. bought him some peanut butter crackers (not peanuts) and sprite, asked him if he wanted to play this hole or just sit in the cart and eat his snacks. his reply: stay in the cart and eat snacks.

2nd hole approach shot. lined up, just about ready to hit, and ben shouts out at me "daddy, i need to go peepee' (and tiger thought dealing with camera men was hard...).

4th hole, in the junk, should have hit PW, why hit PW when you have a .01% chance of ripping a 4 iron out of the weeds, 190 yards to within 10 feet of the pin? so i hit the 4 iron...and dribbled it out about 20 yeards ahead. and then i lost that ball. hit it fat into a fairway bunker...short of the green, hit a terrible chip, three putted for an 8 on a par 4. About to get really mad...and thought to myself...i'm out here with my son...why am i taking this so seriously?

next day...playing at milburn....shot came to rest right up against a tree...tried to hit it, tree pushed the club away from ball and missed, next time tried it it shot out pretty far to the right (guy had to jump out of the way to avoid getting hit...) took a deep breath and told myself: don't take it too seriously...chipped up, two putted for double and ended having a great round that day.

Paul: you aren't good enough to get that mad.

benji trying to hit his 7 iron on the green. (really need to get him a putter...)