Wednesday, July 9, 2008

I've got my work cut out for me

There's always something to be done on the farm, and we have to constantly find ways to improve what we're doing.

One such non-farming activity I must improve in: my golf game.

Yes, I'm a dairy farmer and I'm interested in golf.

I ordered a set of clubs last week with the hope that I'd find the time to learn how to play. Now, in reality, I would probably at best find myself on a course 3-4 times a year, even though there's a 9-hole course not five minutes from our farm. But, I've got a big back yard and plenty of fields around that I can at least practice occasionally (there's no driving range around here). I've only actually played once, and that was ten years ago, so I'm a beginner in the truest form.

So I tee up a few wiffle balls yesterday evening. After missing completely on my first couple of swings, I managed to start making contact and could consistently hit the practice balls 5-10 feet.

Not good.

I decided to hit a few real balls into the hayfield next to the house. Of the ten I hit, only a couple could even be classified as decent. I had a few that I barely touched with the club that dribbled a few feet from the tee, and I had a few "worm-burners" that I hit hard but never got more than five feet off the ground. I even had one that sliced so bad it almost landed in the road (about 50 yards to my right).

I'll be playing a round at the end of the month when our State Young Farmers Committee gets together for our annual summer planning meeting. My goal between now and then is to move from "embarrassingly pathetic" to "simply terrible".

Golf tips are welcome via the comments box or email!

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