The Writer's Life 7/2 - Fore!

After not playing golf at all last year due to concern about my right hip, two things have surprised me. One, the absence of pain (knock wood); two, my ball striking is no different than it was before the hiatus. In fact, it's a little better, and this despite the fact that we've lost five rounds to weather. I expected it to be the last thing to come around, especially since I'm now 62. Surprisingly, age has not yet become a factor. Although my chipping was decent today, I've been struggling with it since Cuz and I visited Ocean City about nine years ago. Don't ask me how it happened. All of a sudden I started hitting the ball with the edge of the club instead of the face, and it got into my head. I dreaded every chip shot and even began to use my putter from off the green. The psychology of golf is fascinating. The ball is just sitting there, waiting to be sent on its merry way. Somehow, the way is frequently errant. Today my ball-striking was above average, and my putting was below. I had only a single one-putt, and two three-putts, missing a pair of those dreaded two-footers that put so much pressure even on golfers having a friendly game sans wagers. I know what makes them so hard to sink. The mind says: "Don't you dare miss this." I shot 88, despite having 37 putts. Cuz, on the other hand, had a phenomenal round with the putter, sinking seven from ten to thirty feet. He struggled with his ball-striking but still ended with a respectable 90 because of his prowess with the flat stick. When we first started playing together in the 80's, I'd call him "laser" whenever he got on a roll with the putter. We resurrected the term today. To put into perspective, if he'd putted like I did today, he would have shot a 98. I felt at my best physically today. The lower humidity and two Ibuprofen had me feeling as close to young as I get these days. It was gorgeous out there, and we did not have to wait at any tee after the first hole. And the course has held up, despite the heat. Only the tee boxes are suffering. Still, they are a far cry from what they were 25 years ago, when many were bare and a big rock was needed to hammer a tee into the ground. Kudos to the crew.

The floating book shop will reopen tomorrow.

Visit Vic’s sites:
Vic’s Third Novel (Print or Kindle): http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic’s Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic’s Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic’s 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic’s 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic’s Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f