It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… (apologies to Charles Dickens)

The last two weeks have been rough. I’ve been on vacation from work since the Friday before Christmas. I didn’t go anywhere. I just did 16 days of R&R. Not good. I had a total breakdown in discipline.

It’s weird how that happens. In the weeks leading up to it, I kept thinking how much I was going to get done with working out and all that. Didn’t happen. The problem was that I let myself get lazy leading up to the holidays and it stuck.

Well, I managed to dig myself back out over the last several days, so I’m on track now. I got in a fair number of workouts the last two weeks, but not as many as I would have liked, especially given the amount of free time I had. Not at the intensity I would have preferred, either.

Now, on the positive side, the weather cooperated today and I got out for nine holes for the first time in…well, I can’t remember. It had to be November when I played last. As far as score, it was in the upper 40’s, which isn’t good, but there were a lot of positive things to take from the round, especially since I haven’t made a swing in a couple of months. Plus the course was absolutely saturated, which didn’t help matters.

The biggest glaring improvement was putting. That Dave Pelz Putting Track that I got is awesome. I’ve never hit so many putts that solidly. I think all but two were dead on the sweet spot. Unfortunately, it didn’t translate into a lower score, because my misses were going six feet past, and my touch on longer putts wasn’t good, probably just from the long layoff. I definitely feel like when I’m able to hit the practice green more, that my putting game is going to go to a whole new level.

Another positive was my chipping. I don’t know where that came from, since I haven’t worked on it in a while, but I was really hitting it well (I was missing a lot of greens). Maybe it has to do with my work on the Putting Track. Maybe my chipping stroke has tightened up too?

Tweaks

The holidays are over, so I need to renew my discipline. I’m starting to get a little better at recovering more quickly when I stumble, so I’ll keep trying to improve in that area.

I’m absolutely going to continue working with the Putting Track. I’m amazed at the results I’m getting in such a short time. I’m spending probably 15 minutes per day working with it and can already see the difference.

I’m going to try hard to get my gym workouts up to four times per week. I also need to increase the amount of cardio I’m doing. I was sucking wind out on the course today, not having played in so long. However, if my workouts were intense enough, it wouldn’t be an issue. That’s something I need to get better at.

My work in the area of flexibility is paying off. I could feel the difference in my stroke today. I’m going to continue with that, and try to expand the amount of stretching that I do.

I think if I can manage a round or two each month until April gets here, I should be in a good place to start the spring. Every so often, we get decent temperatures throughout the winter, so it’s just a matter of having the decent days appear on the weekend so I can take advantage. At least until the days get long enough for me to get to the course after work.

Even though I had a bit of a rough patch, today’s round helped me renew my attitude and commitment in the short break from the winter doldrums.

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