Fore Us All

SV day 1

Tucked

I’ve spent A LOT of time on my golf swing.

When it comes down to it, just swing like a kid.

CLUB FACE

Choppin up clubs and making stuff.

Adding my trinkets to next week.

Stay tuned for some unique. Everything is 1/1.

KIRBYYYYYYYY PUCKETT !!!!

Coming to ya JN⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

ROCK ON

Mark or strum

GRANITE

Tag coming to you AIR

GUS

Tag coming to you my friend

THE SHOP

I cleaned it.

It won’t last.

That’s a good thing.

3 PUTT GAME

We play a game where if you 3 putt you’re now the holder of the “palena”.

If you’re the one who holds the palena at the end of the round, you owe everyone a 5 spot.

Sometimes we couldn’t remember who had the polena.

Now you get this ball mark.

We will never forget again…

EL HOSEL

1/1

5,6,7,8 !

MP 14

Back from the dead.

For sale soon along w more.

Heads only or will build to your specs.

Things are happening

HEAD TAGS

Made these for cataloging and posting purposes. Been a little while since I put my penmanship to use.

Drop off day at the plater to put a fresh coat on.

HOMEMADE

Mom came through w St. Nick.

Welcome home.

DM if you’re interested.

Peace to you this holiday season.

FORE REVIEW - TRUE LINKSWEAR PANTS

I’ve owned a lot of pants in my life. There are very, VERY few that have made my HOF.

These did in the first week. I wore them, washed them and wore them again.

Here are the 5 things I love about these All Day 5 Pocket pants.

1 - I’m 6’2” and about 215 and these are the first high tech pant that doesn’t squeeze the life out of my legs. Incredibly comfortable w a lot of stretch (even the pockets!).

2 - Even though this is a very tech heavy pant, it’s easily disguised as classic and timeless.

3 - Light weight but still has enough there for winter wear.

4 - Washed and dried as recommended and they fit just as good out of the box.

5 - My wife likes them.

Seriously. It’s a REAL nice pant.

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WARM UP RANGE

We had a brief acknowledgement of what the purpose of the warm up is prior to our round the other day.

Conclusion :
The purpose is to gain as much confidence mentally while getting physically ready in whatever amount of time you have.

This all came about because it was 35 degrees out and no one was on the range. Rather than getting a bucket and hitting from the range tee I walked out on to the range and hit the balls in the rough. I put all the balls in juicy flyer lies and watched them fly effortlessly. The large majority were struck in the center. The direction and flight were on target. Confidence was sky high. The light bulb went off….

There should be a warm up range with the tee cut at a first cut height. Juicy flyer lies. Confidence builders.

That’s what I need before a round.

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BEHIND THE COUNTER

My old boss and mentor was a peoples pro. Life of the party, friendly to everyone but would also tell it like it is too.

He owned his shop and he, like every pro who owned their shop, took great pride in it.

He sold a pair of shoes to a member once. A transaction that had taken place many times before. The member left happy and went to play.

At the turn, the member came in red faced and upset.

“Pro!!! These shoes you sold me are the WORST shoes I’ve ever had. They don’t fit right and are killing my feet! Take them back!”

Pro was embarrassed and felt terrible. He was also confused.

The member took the shoes off and handed them over. Before he could run for a back up pair of shoes in his locker the Pro stopped him.

He felt inside the shoes and sure enough….there was all the tissue paper still jammed in the toe of each shoe.

They laughed.

He put his shoes on and walked out happy for a second time.

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OUT LOUD

There’s so many times I step up to a shot with a general idea of what I want to do in my head. It’s really amazing how vague I can be.

That can’t be good.

I started talking quietly out loud to myself and told myself what I wanted the shot to do.

It didn’t take long. It wasn’t weird. All I did was paint a clear, verbal picture of what I was trying to do. Much like a caddy/player does on each shot.

It helped. It made me commit more.

I became my teammate and caddy.

Try it. Play better.

(HEAD)COVER

When this beautiful headcover came to me in a vision of targeted marketing, I couldn’t resist.

The real hair. The high quality embroidery. The vibrant colors.

It all got me. I had to have it.

Thank you, Birdie Boss Golf for this high quality Ronny B headcover. It will surely tighten the dispersion and add yards to every drive I hit while staying classy as all get up.

PICKING RANGE

If you’ve worked at a golf course on the golf side, you’ve probably picked the range.

It’s a right of passage.

There’s nothing like the feeling of opening that metal fenced door and taking your seat at the helm of what is typically a cart that has seen better days.

Depress the gas pedal and wait for that motor to turn over fast enough to actually propel you forward.

The picker gang comes to life and starts a symphony of metal on metal squeaks and bangs.

The ball picking drums start to roll and suck up about 53% of the balls you run over.

Yep - there’s nothing like picking the range. It’s great.

Just don’t…

Run out of gas
Get it stuck
Tip it over

Then it’s a terrible job.

Let me know any good range picking stories you have.

TOURNAMENT GOLF

Ben Hogan said something to the effect of “tournament golf and golf are about as different as ice hockey and tennis.”

The 3 footers that you casually backhand in the center are now some of the most pressure packed moments of your round. The routine parts of your game suddenly feel heavier. Each shot counts.

The first tournament I ever played in was a Minnesota section assistants event. We drove about 4 hours to get there and I had to SPRINT to the 7th tee to make the 8am shotgun on time. I was so nervous I didn’t know I was nervous.

My 1st hole, I hit a decent drive down the middle and had a short iron left that I hit right at the flag. It came up 15 yards short and plugged in the green side bunker. Made 7.

I blacked out for the next 4.5 hours. I came to just in time to remember hitting the wrong ball on my final hole after I hit a good drive and knocked it on in 2 on a par 5. Made 7.

Shot 93. I was humbled, embarrassed and demoralized.

That day gave me a new found respect for tournament golf. Something I knew nothing about. I learned a little bit more each tournament round I played.

I got better in events but not that much better. Shot some average scores here and there but never really excelled. Tournament golf is hard for me.

Here’s your challenge for next time…

Hole every putt. No more gimmies. Give yourself a small glimpse of what tournament life is like.

Who knows….you might like it.

PAINT

My wife paints here and there and the kids do it more frequently. Usually I’m the cleanup guy but have started doing a little painting myself.

My painting handicap is in the high 20’s which is perfectly displayed in this one of my golf bag leaning against a tree.

Ya, it’s a golf bag. And yes, that’s a tree.

My golf game and painting have a lot of similarities though. There’s a few good strokes, but mostly a bunch of imperfect ones. And somehow at the end of the day, it resembles golf.

TURN AROUND

We’re told to focus on the next shot. Move forward. Don’t look back. We’re always plotting our way, 1-18, keeping our pace.

However I encourage you to turn around every now and then. Take in what just happened. Soak in a memory and snap a mental picture. Reflect and enjoy the view from the other side. Because some of the best views on golf courses are behind you.

WEEK AWAY

I took an “unintentional” week away from golf while we were away for the 4th. I didn’t mind it.

While up north, we make no plans until 15 minutes before it happens. We call it the 15 Minute rule. I came up with the name.

Golf just never came up this time. That’s ok.

The TV was rarely on and I spent more time attending to camp fires than I did instagram.

However, the golf meter is blinking red and it’s time to plug back in.

We’re first off at 7:30am

The Golf Net

I bought this net 6 years ago. Have loved it. I couldn’t venture a guess at how many balls we’ve hit into it. There’s still nothing wrong with it. However it started taking up too much space and we put a new net in that’s on a track so we can slide it away.

Brilliant.

I offered the old net up to some neighbors and it sparked an inter-couple battle.

It was unintentional.

Behind the Counter: PERSONALIZATION

It was spring time and Titleist was offering their buy 3 dozen and get another free and you pick the personalization and number on the ball. A good deal which many of the members took advantage of.

These could be tricky with the amount of precise data that needed to be entered into their website for ordering. It was inevitable that I’d miss spell an order at some point and need to reorder. I dreaded the screw up.

While in the shop one afternoon a member stopped by to pick up his golf ball order. His last name was Monson but everyone called him “MONS” and thats what he had stamped on the side of his golf ball.

I handed him his box of 4 dozen and he eagerly cracked them open to check out his supply for the season. His reaction was immediate and unhappy.

“Nick, these aren’t my golf balls. These say SNOW on them.”

I shuttered at the thought of screwing up and having to reorder. I was embarrassed. He handed me the golf ball for inspection and confirmation.

I smiled.

I turned his golf ball upside down and it changed from SNOW to MONS.

We smiled.

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FORE WRITE

A reflection on golf during the pandemic.
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At the club I used to work at there was an aging group of players. In their time, they WERE the club. Now they are group of close friends whose better golf days are behind them. They’ve moved up a tee or 2. They rarely play from a bad lie and the friendship circle around the hole is ever expanding.
 
One day a gentleman who is part of the group asked me to put a new grip on his putter. We grabbed a few and he selected the one he thought was best. He disappeared up to the bar and I told him I’d run it up to him when I finished. 
 
Now every single time I’ve ever put a new grip on someone’s club and handed that club to them, the first thing they do is grip the club like they’re going to play a shot. It’s only natural.
 
Not this time though.
 
I handed the putter to him and without hesitation he tested his “raking” stroke. You know, when you miss a three-footer, reach across the hole and either rake it back to yourself or rake it right in the hole.
 
A smiled crested his face as he said it was perfect. 
 
We laughed. It still makes me smile. ⁣⁣⁣

Got a favorite?

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Do you push or pull the sand when raking?

⁣Is there a right way?
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