Lessons in Humility

A few days ago I finally was able to begin a painful, arduous process that I have been looking forward to and also dreading for years. And no it's not hair replacement surgery for any of my smart ass friends who may be reading. I'm not balding, it's just a little thin, you jerks! Anyway, this past Christmas my wife purchased 2 golf lessons for me from a local instructor with a tremendous reputation. The instructor has provided tutelage to a few LPGA golfers. It has been a long time coming. Besides my family and (most of) friends, golf is one of my deepest passions. It is an ever changing and evolving process towards betterment. As you golf, you battle the course, the weather, your opponents, but mostly yourself. Overcoming all the external factors is much easier than the issues that arise between your ears. Over the many years of my golf there have been some great shots, but unfortunately the bad shots far outweigh the good. Enter lessons. What better way to enjoy golf than to get better from somebody that knows what their talking about.

The amusing side-note to this tale is that I have been politely suggesting for the past 5 years that lessons would make an excellent gift. Christmas and birthdays would come and go, but no lessons. My wife isn't exactly thrilled at the notion of me becoming a better golfer. She's not a mean person by nature, but when I start playing the golf I want to play, I may never slow down and she knows this. Honestly though, she doesn't have to worry about that. The cost of this blessed bastard of a sport is a little ridiculous at times and will always be the speedbump to keep me in check. Nonetheless I bought my wife a very special piece of jewelry for our 5th anniversary last summer and low and behold on the Christmas afterwards I finally received my lessons. Coincidence?

Without getting into lot of technical babble about the golf swing and grip, it was a very humbling hour lesson. Basically, an instructor who has viewed and analyzed thousands of swings knows a bad swing when he see one. Mine is bad. He took video and showed it to me. He didn't say it was bad, he didn't have to, the video did. He is in the process of correcting my major flaws and get me on the right track. Rome wasn't built in a day. I process everything he teaches me, and go to the driving range and work in front of mirror with his suggestions. I'll go back in a few weeks and get his assessment and move on to something else with the golf swing. A bad golf swing is just like any bad habit. Hopefully I can get myself on the straight and narrow.