Fore!

Last week we hit up the driving range, in preparation for the upcoming golf outing. I was excited to use my clubs (and by my clubs I mean my dad's old ones) but was extremely nervous. As we pulled into the parking lot, I actually had some butterflies in my stomach. Seems silly, huh? Well, I am pretty self-conscious about my golfing skills, being that I don't really have any. In fact, this was the first time I swung a club in front of someone other than my parents! Because I never felt ready to subject anyone else to my below sub-par golf game, the majority of my past golfing experiences, which isn't a lot, it has just been my dad and me. And, while we're on the subject, I've lived by a few rules when golfing with him: 1. Do not tee off on the first hole if there are people waiting in line behind us. Rather, drop my ball where my dad's lands. 2. Always politely decline if offered to join a single or twosome we run into along the course. 3. When frustrated, try very hard not to cry. (Shamefully, I actually shed tears one afternoon, after an especially frustrating day.)

Anyway, back to the story...After getting a large bucket of balls, we walked far away from the other people out there (because I was convinced there was a huge spotlight on me and that everyone would stop what they were doing and watch me, and then laugh hysterically at my attempts at hitting the ball) and started swinging. I put my tee in the ground, got out my 3 Wood and.....whiff! Not the best way to start, but the good news is I improved from there. Quite a few were grounders, but I did manage to get some up in the air and most of the balls I hit, I was hitting straight. Now if I could just get some power behind it, hit them up in the air higher, and hit them a little farther out, I would be in good shape. Oh and stay focused. Golf is definitely a game of concentration. And a few things I constantly have to remind myself: stay down, do not try to smack the hell out of the ball (that's when I whiff), and do not get up to watch the ball after hitting it.

The first outing went better than I expected it to and turned out to a be lot of fun. Not to mention it's cheap entertainment. $9 for a couple hours worth of fun!