Bridging the Golf Between Us

After my second beginner golf lesson, John Hafera, the PGA Professional whom I have been taking lessons with at the Waters Landing Golf Park in Germantown, mentioned the importance of ‘positive thought’ in my game, as I usually tended to dwell on the negative.

I still felt very out of place, and figured maybe getting myself some state-of- the-art equipment might help. Technology has changed at a dramatic pace, and maybe the game would come easier with all the advances. With my clubs, I was essentially showing up to the course to play golf as if someone in tennis walked out of the 70’s and onto a tennis court in 2004 -- taking their wooden racket out of the press and saying, lets play!

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense -- maybe I could actually rattle my playing partners who didn’t know of my deficient game. Much like in tennis -- when you show up for a match with ten rackets and a bag that’s big enough to hold a small adult – the intimidation factor is always important. I figured I would do my research and get the clubs with the biggest, baddest sounding names -- right down to the golf balls.

I decided on the King Cobra 414 Comp Driver -- can’t get much tougher than that, although MacGregor had a V-Foil M-38 Eye-O-Matic Driver that sounded, well… interesting? I wasn’t sure if it could be driven, flown into enemy territory, or used to check your eye site.

I decided the Cleveland Launcher fairway woods sounded like a good choice, and the Nike Air Slingshot Bag. Got the Titalist Players glove, since I was now going to be a player -- or at least look like one.

The hardest part of the selection process was when it came to the balls. The choice: the Callaway Warbirds or the Slazenger Money Balls. I decided on the Money Balls. They would sound cooler when my partners search for my balls in the woods. “Yeah, I’m playing Money Balls.”

To seal the deal, I found the Never Compromise VooDoo Putter… how uncomfortable would that make my partners feel? “Everyone clear the green! Mark’s pulling out the VooDoo Putter!”

Well, I took all my new equipment and headed to lesson number three. I changed into my new Adidas ClimaCool Sligngback golf shoes in the parking lot, like all the cool players do, and headed to my lesson.

Apparently, there was one thing in this whole process I had neglected to think about: I still had to actually swing the club. Some of my shots felt more comfortable, but I can’t say the loan I had to take out at the bank to purchase my arsenal was necessary. As expensive as golf equipment is, I’m surprised they haven’t started selling alarms on golf bags. Maybe that’s next.

This lesson, we worked mainly on my short game, and I was still having problems doing too much with the wrists. In tennis, there are areas of the game that you may not be the strongest in, but you can hide those weaknesses by flourishing in others.
Some players are masters from the baseline, others are strictly good serve and volleyers.

In golf, though, you never hear people say, “well, he’s good with the six-iron; can’t drive, can’t chip, can’t putt – but sure can use that six!”

Boy, do I have a ways to go in this whole process of learning golf. The mastery of each club is so important, as I’m finding out.
John gave me a list of drills and exercises to work on at home, to continue my journey. Hopefully, in a few weeks, I’ll be ready to hit the course for the first real time.

Well, at least I’ll look ready. Playing well may be another thing.