Friday, April 08, 2005

Quick post

Hello again. For some reason the computer I was on yesterday wouldn't let me sign in to blogger, so I couldn't publish my last post. So make sure you check out the post before this one, because it's brand spanking new.

But while I'm here, I guess I should give a little report on today's round.

I ended up caddying for the Korean version of Bernhard Langer again. But today was a little different.

I saw him out on the course yesterday taking a lesson with one of the club pro's. So when I realized I'd be caddying for him today, I was a little excited. Did the pro make him faster? Did the pro make him a little better? Turns out, no.

His driver was just about the only thing he had any control over today. Everything else he hit thin or fat, and his alignment was WAY off. Now, I'm not a certified teaching pro, but I think before you start getting into any swing work, you need to make sure that the fundamentals are there. You know, things like grip, posture, and ALIGNMENT. If you're a golfer and you do not aim at your intended target, chances are, unless you make some adjustments during the swing, you will not hit it at your target. My man had a 73-yard shot. He elected to hit a sand wedge. Alright, fine. He checked the wind, his lie, and took a few practice swings. Okay, we're still fine. Then he sets up a good 20-yards right of his intended target. I suppose I should have said something, like, "what the fuck are you doing?" But he was already having a bad day, and I didn't want to make it worse. So anyway, he ended up skulling it way right, and then looking at me like he didn't understand.

I had one amazing moment today. And I know it's not really anything noteworthy, but if any of you were to caddie for this guy, you would've felt as accomplished as I did. He was about 180 yards from the front of the green, and because he had pushed his tee shot he was in the rough. To try and speed up play, I improved his lie before he got up to his ball. Okay, so far, so good. There were some overhanging branches that would clearly impede his intended ball flight, and right before he hit the shot, he paused and looked at me.

"Do you think those branches will get in the way of my shot?"

"Maybe. What are you hitting?"

"A 7-iron."

Knowing full well that if he doesn't hit it thin or fat, he will normally hit the ball high, I suggested that he hit his 4-iron. So, he traded me for the 4-iron and hit his shot. It was beautiful. The ball just made it under the branches, and he caught it pretty well.

"Wow. Thank you."

Yeah that's right. Who's your daddy little Korean man?

And by the way, I'm Polish. So technically, since my people are made fun of constantly for no conceivable reason (yeah, people think we're stupid, but how did they come to that conclusion?), I feel I have the right to be frank about any other race or culture. It just comes with the territory.

But again, I digress.

So that instance was cool. but before I go, I wanted to bring up one more interesting point. To speed up play and to try and improve my tip, I've been told it's a good idea to cheat for your players. I can't remember who told me this, but it actually works. Your players are in a better mood (they have no idea that their ball was actually in a horrible lie), and usually they'll hit it farther and longer so you don't have to go chasing after another wayward shot. At first, I was totally opposed to the idea of cheating for my players. Because let's face it, golf is a game of integrity and skill. But I know how moody players can get if the cards aren't falling their way. So screw it. I'm cheating for them.

That's it for now. More to come. Obviously.

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