YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT? Learn How to Play Golf?
What Goes Around Comes Around, Even When It Comes to Learning How to Play Golf
One of the untold requirements of marriage is doing things with your spouse that you might not want to do so that, in turn, they will do things you want to do. It is a give and take thing so I decided to let him teach me how to play golf.
He is not all that skilled at the sport, but he enjoys it. Therefore, he assumed I would enjoy it. After many attempts, he finally got me to agree to go to the driving range with him. “Do I need to watch a golf swing video to get the proper golf swing?” I asked. But he said he would be able to give me some golf swing instruction.
“First off”, I asked, “why do they call it a driving range? I see NO cars there.” Then the idea of being out in the heat and possibly sweating came to my mind. OMG, I really don’t want to do this. But we drive over there, pay to borrow a bucket of balls, haul a golf bag with all the essentials up a hill and over to a spot where we are going to “drive” the ball.
Then, my husband sticks this little toothpick like thing in the ground, sets a ball on it, and tells me there’s a sweet spot. I’m thinking, there is nothing sweet about this whole thing. Next, he tells me how to stand and what to aim for (like I didn’t see that little ball there).
Ok, great! I’m ready. Or not. I swung and missed the whole thing. So I realized my golf technique was in need of improvement. Immediately, I looked around to see who might have been looking. Ok, so far so good. No one was starring at me-or worse…laughing. Since the ball was still there on the toothpick, I just put the golf club behind it and prepared again. This time I looked around to see what the others are doing. It looked like you were supposed to shake your butt back and forth a few times before you swing. I was hesitant at first, because of my weight. I was afraid that the momentum would be a problem. What if my butt and arms didn’t swing in the same direction at the same time? I could get hurt! But I was willing to risk this for HIM! So I practiced the set up several times and stopped just short of actually hitting the ball. Now that I was convinced that I would not be harmed by hitting the little ball, I was ready to actually hit the thing.
So I swung the club back into the air, came down and hit the ball. I nearly fell trying to make sure I did the proper “follow through.” Immediately I started screaming! My hand felt like it was on fire. I had a huge blister. I felt a ringing sensation in my hand. To make things worse, the ball only went about two feet, and I put a huge hole in the dirt.
My husband came over and comforted me. He said it gets easier and more fun with practice. So, being a frugal person, I walked over and got the same ball, put it back on the toothpick and prepared again. This time, I had to make sure the club was not positioned on my new blister.
After several drives, it was clear to me that I was running out of places on my hand for blisters-some of which had busted, and the ground was getting pretty beat up. Fortunately, I hadn’t given up many balls as most of them had landed in my retrievable area. So I decided that it was time to show support for my husband instead of trying to golf. So I sat down and watched him while my mind pondered on what I was going to make him do with me to make up for all my pain and suffering!
P.S. He also suggested I get more tips at http:learninghowtoplaygolf.com