I won’t sugar coat it. I’m going through a mid-life crisis. I’m fast approaching my 50th birthday and it finally hit me that I’m not going to live forever. Maybe I should have realized this sooner, but what can I say? I’m a late bloomer. So I’m crazy, which a lot of people do when they get to mid-life and start taking stock. This is the point where some may decide to blow up their lives by getting a teacher, or go down the cliche sports car/hair plug route. I don’t have the energy for a boyfriend or the money for a sports car, so I’ve decided to take the mature route and try to be really, really good at golf. I want to get to zero by the time I’m 50. That gives me roughly a year to gain a level of skill that most golfers dream of but few ever achieve.
Piece of cake, right?
You know the statistic. Approximately one percent of all golfers are putters. Most of us never even try. Not really. Maybe we take a lesson or two, promise ourselves we’ll devote a short work hour to games every weekbut then we get bored and just hit drivers on the range until our shoulders hurt. It takes a lot of time and energy to get really good at golf.
What if I gave it everything I’ve got? For a year. The best training, the best equipment, the right training aids and drills…what if I play an embarrassing amount of rounds? Can I break even in a year? Before I turn 50?
I know this is an ambitious project, and you might argue that I’m a fool to even try. I would disagree with you. I don’t have a preternatural gift for golf. I am a 13 handicap who reads the greens at a third grade level. I never had any instruction and really only started playing golf a few years ago. OK, I played a little golf in high school while working at a country club, but gave it up in college when it became too expensive and time consuming. My break from sports lasted for 25 years. I only started playing golf again a few years ago on a whim, dragging my high school clubs out of the garage to play nine holes with some buddies. But you know that “Afterschool Special” where a kid tries pot at a party and ends up addicted to crack a few weeks later? It was exactly like that. I hit a good 7 iron and fell head over heels for the sport. Complete addiction. You should see my closet; nothing but golf shirts. I think about very little else during my waking hours.
I realize that getting to zero before I turn 50 is not a realistic goal. The chances of success are slim. Tackling this goal at any age is fraught with adversity, and attempting it in middle age comes with additional complications. I have 49 years of accumulated damage to deal with. My shoulder mobility is…less than optimal. Do I execute a proper turn and get my arms in the right plane? That shit is hard. This is also the age most golfers begin to lose distance. And then there are the time constraints that plague most middle-aged people. I have a full time job. I have two teenage children and a wife. I have a wife who often wonders (out loud) why I would spend so much time and money playing a glorified lawn game.
It won’t be easy. There are no guarantees. But that’s the point. I want to make the most of the next chapter of my life and try to accomplish something really difficult. Something few people can achieve. And I have some advantages. I’ve spent the last three decades working in adventure journalism, which has kept me in good shape and forced me to learn new skills, from downhill mountain biking to rock climbing to finding water in the desert (seriously. I know how to find water in the desert). I am very good at sports and I am very good at learning new things. But most importantly, I am mesmerized with PRocess to get better at golf.
I like to walk nine at lunch and throw balls on hard lies and try to stay out of trouble. I like to take my 7 iron to the range and try to figure out how open I can leave the face before the ball starts to fade. I’ve played a lot of golf over the last two years and have gotten my handicap up to 13. But I hit a plateau. I stopped upgrading. This is what happens when you get all your exercise tips from Youtube. I never had lessons. I just took my baseball swing and applied it to golf. I know I can’t scratch it with that swing, so I’m rebuilding it from the ground up with the help of a trainer. Sam Hahn, CEO of LAB Golf, reached out and offered to be my golf/life guru. He’s helping me rebuild my swing, from grip to line. We send each other videos all the time. It’s adorable. If Sam Hahn can revolutionize putting, he can help me become a better golfer, right? Right?
So yes, even though the odds are against me, I think I have a chance of success, however slim it may be. The worst that can happen is that I spend too much time and money playing a game I love. There’s also an element of public humiliation, but damn. Life is short. I want to do something nice while I can.
And training is just the foundation of my plan. I will attack my golf game with fitness and speed training. I will pursue the mobility conundrum with yoga and assisted stretching. I will deploy smart training aids and technology that helps me quantify every aspect of my game and (hopefully) help me better manage the course. I will find the best equipment to help me get closer to the holy grail of golf. Scratching. When I turn 50 years old.
And I want to share everything I learn with you. In this weekly series, I’ll keep you updated on every step of the process, from grip training help that works to the shaky thoughts that drive me crazy. I’ll detail my successes and setbacks, letting you know what works for me and what was a waste of my time. Because I want you to use this project to help you on your journey to getting better at golf, whether you’re trying to hit the tee or break 90 for the first time.
Because scratching is the goal, but this project is about the improvement process.
So let’s get better at golf together.
