Yesterday (Sunday) I had my now weekly grudge match. The Sunday game is a foursome which includes the director of golf at my home course, me and two brothers. The two brothers are very entertaining. One of the two is a senior player, but possibly the most consistent player and best putter I’ve ever played against. This guy is deadly, though he’s 30 yards shorter than me. Not all about length.
We took our grudge match to a cool course next to Utah Lake called Talon’s Cove. Talon’s Cove can play very tough if you don’t hit the tee ball straight. There are links style rolling hills everywhere, but the rough is FAR deeper than that of Scotland. Miss a fairway and you’ll be lucky to even find your ball. If you do, you are looking at bogey or worse.
After starting with a bogey on the first hole I plugged along to hole #6, where I hit a poor tee shot. I ended up in the greenside bunker, short left of this par-3 green. The sand was as hard as Interstate 15. I hit my bunker shot to about 30 feet. I showed the guys how hard the sand was by pounding the back of my wedge into the ground. Right when I did that, something very bad happened. I knew it the second I felt it. I pinched a nerve in my lower spine which sent an electric shock to my lower back. I then felt the tingling of the muscle tissue around the nerve, which was beginning to spasm. I knew what I was in for. Soon I’d need help putting my own socks on. My back was toast. (more…)
Now is the time of year here in northern Utah where the weather isn’t exactly sure what it is doing. 7 days ago I played golf and most of the courses in the Salt Lake area were open.
One foot of snow this morning...
Certainly no courses are open now, based on the one foot of snow in the front yard this morning. Time to bust out the long boards and the Longboards and hit the ski slopes.
The weather here in Salt Lake is at that unique point where one could decide to either golf or ski. If you’re crazy like me, you do them both on the same day sometimes. Today though, there was some fresh powder up at Alta. At only a 20 minute drive from my house, it proved to be too irresistible. I bailed on watching the Northern Trust Open on TV and decided to go find some pow pow.
This is an official good luck post for my buddy Bryant Jacobs, who is playing in the Northern Trust Open pro-am today at Riviera Country Club. Bryant, pictured below 2nd from the left and next to me, was injured in Iraq by a road side bomb.
Bryant is 2nd from left, I'm 2nd from right.
“Bry” has gotten the golf bug and now addicted just like me. For more info on Bryant read this link, “A friend and inspiration lives” and this one too, “Injured Iraq war vet and golf buddy gets new home.”
GOOD LUCK BUDDY!
January 10 is the birthday of two excellent golfers. One is Ian Poulter. The other is one of my favorite golfers in the world, my dad. Pops turned 75 today and still hits my old Titleist 983K driver damn near as far as I hit whatever driver I’m playing that week. He’s a heck of a golfer and as a team we’ve paired up to win many tournaments. We’ve also felt the pain of missing out on winning or placing in tournaments by one damn stroke…
My Dad and me in Goblin Valley, 2011
My dad is also a hell of a skier. Check the video below from last year, when he was 74. If I can move like that when I’m 74, I’ll be very satisfied. Hell… I hope I can walk.
My dad introduced me to the two best outdoor activities there are, golf and skiing. Sometimes I’m a little irritated that he introduced me to the beautifully irritating and fabulously frustating game of golf.
Hats off. Tipping back a cold one in honor of my dad. Cheers to you Pops. See you on the slopes or the fairways…
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