Current Mood: "Wintertime Blues" -- John Hiatt 

(current condition. courtesy wild Sound Filmaking)

Well, it finally happened. That son of a bitch winter finally showed up – and with a vicious vengeance nonetheless. After a January full of 40 degree weather and hour drives to the shore to take advantage of the precious bonus golf, the Northeast is now blanketed in close to two feet of the unwavering white bullshit that myself and all other sane people loathe with a glowing white hot passion. Or “snow” as some people call it.

With that in mind, it’s time to turn my attention to “indoor golf activities.”

In my case, it’s a little exercise, a lot of reading and – as you’ve probably noticed – “intermittent” writing about my progress and method and trips to the cigar lounge to accomplish said writing.

I know that last one seems counterproductive, but I say dance with the one that brung ya. I didn’t go from a free-swinging hack who couldn’t break 100 to a 2.4 handicap on “clean living.”  

As all of you know, there are plenty of roadblocks on the way to good golf for someone not blessed to be a trust fund baby or a golfing prodigy. Instead of naming them all, we’ll just call it “life.” In my case, “life” has happened a lot lately. Not all of it bad (as you’ll see in the relatively near future) but not all of it good (big ups, Granny! Say hi to Avo for me!) but all of it has kept my laptop at arm’s reach – until now!

So what have I done to improve? Good question. Glad I asked it!

-         

-     - Finished Bob Rotella’s, “Golf is not a Game of Perfect”

-     -  Finished "Zen Golf" by Dr. Joseph Parent

-           -   Began reading Bob Rotella’s “Putting Out of Your Mind”

-           -   Exercised 7 minutes per day (at least) for 5-7 days a week

-           -  Cut extra carbs from morning routine, opting for veggie/spinach/sausage omelets for breakfast

I know a lot of that doesn’t seem like much, but when you were eating “Man v. Food” -type breakfast sandwiches every morning for a year, that’s a shitload of break being completely nixed from the diet. Now if only pizza weren’t so damn yummy….

By far the largest thing in 2017 has been those books. I’m not what you would call a voracious reader, but I’ve already read three books cover-to-cover since January. The first, was “Zen Golf” by Dr. Joseph Parent and the second was a book about money (which has helped, too – but I’m going to keep my personal finances to myself as I’m finally becoming someone whose identity someone might actually want to steal. The third, and most recent was the previously mentioned “Golf is Not a Game of Perfect.”

Both books have paid immediate dividends. Armed with a new focus and a concise yet consistent pre-shot routine, I played some of my best golf of the last 12 months in January. The putting and chipping were easily my best performances of the year, averaging 25 putts per round in the first 5 outings of 2017.

The hardest part of the next couple months will be watching tournaments from sunny parts of the country and looking out at the never-ending blanket of white while I wait to put my gains in the gym and between my ears to good use.

In the meantime, I’ll keep digging and writing whenever I can. I have a couple pieces chambered, too, that I haven’t forgotten about that’ll be up soon.

Until next time…

Hack to Hero: Ins, Outs and What-Have-Yous

"Hey bud, maybe stop talking while I take the picture, huh?"

“A Bad attitude is worse than a bad swing.” – Payne Stewart

Hello!

So, it’s been about a week since I last posted here – a quick return for me! And today, I just have a little more rambling to do.

I may not have written much (or, shit, done much) in the last seven days, but I’ve been thinking quite a bit about the upcoming golf season and all that lies ahead for me. And it seems to me that, for at least a little while, this blog will be more of a hodge-podge of my thoughts and musings about my efforts and work, tips and tricks and lessons learned than any sort of formal blog. Hopefully that’s alright with you.

Some of the things I will be tackling in the coming weeks while the snow hangs around will be:

Dietary changes

I have a few meal plans made up and a couple steps I want to take. Last year, the dietary side of things didn’t really pan out as I am currently still drinking more soda than your average human should, binging on candy and chips and eating pizza three times a week. I managed to maintain my beginning weight throughout the year which, if you saw my work van on a daily basis, you might consider that proof or miracles being things.

Starting this week, I’m going to be cutting carbs and taking in more protein and vegetables. Daily breakfast sandwiches are going to be the first to go – opting instead for egg bowls and omelets stuffed with spinach, peppers, onions, ham, bacon and a little cheese. The pizza will be the last to dwindle as pizza is important.

The Carolla Effect

Anyone close to me knows I worship at the altar of AdamCarolla. The former “Man Show” host-turned Podcast mogul may be considered an acquired taste by those on the liberal left, but for anyone who has ever sat and listened to his poignant, pragmatic approach to life, decision making, re-wiring oneself and getting the most out of this skin-and-bone vessel we’re floating around in, you know that the man could make a living – and in a way, kind of does – as a motivational or self-help guru for anyone willing to look in the mirror and realize that maybe – just maybe – they could be their biggest problem.

(photo courtesy footballmatters.org)

Luckily, under Carolla’s guidance, you’ll also find out that you and only you hold the keys to your rewiring and future success. It’s about getting up and doing. As Carolla says, instead of wasting time debating whether or not you should bring the coffee mug rolling around the floor or your pickup in the house, you just pick up the fucking mug and do it. It’ll take less time and you’ll be better for it.

For me, the hours of free content has been more than a blessed break from the monotony of cruising around Western Massachusetts at work, it’s put a little fire in my belly. Besides my wife’s decree that I can play as much golf as I want until we have kids, the Adam Carolla Show, Take a Knee and Adam & Dr. Drew shows on PodcastOne have been the largest motivating factors in my actually getting this going. Instead of day dreaming about playing in the U.S. Open, it’s time to do it.

Dealing with Defeat

I haven’t mentioned much about the manhood-robbing avalanche of strokes I buried myself under in both the Massachusetts State-Am and Pub Links qualifiers I played in last year, but I will. The fact of the matter is, it was immensely difficult for me to face facts that my handicap, while impressively low, was not necessarily accurate as none of those rounds came with a modicum of pressure. And to go from shooting in the mid-70’s to barely breaking 100 in a tournament was devastating to my under developed competitive psyche.

Since then, I have learned a lot and still have much more to lose. I will tell the story of each event soon, detailing my horrific unraveling, what I learned those afternoons and since, as well as some of the positives from the experiences.

(Photo courtesy Amazon.com)

Books and Such

For Christmas, I was given three books by Dr. Bob Rotella – “Golf is Not a Game of Perfect,” “Putting Out of Your Mind” and “How Champions Think” – as well as purchased “A Good Walk Spoiled” by John Feinstein and “Paper Tiger” by Tom Coyne.

I’m going to do much more homework this year. I’m going to really immerse myself in the game in a way I haven’t before – which should scare those close to me, as they’re already tired of my incredibly specific and obscure golf references and anecdotes. Sorry, y’all.

Helping Hands

On this journey, I certainly will not be alone. While I have no formal instructor or caddie or coach or shrink or anyone else that a Tour Pro might have on the payroll, I have plenty of support from friends, family and industry professionals who have helped me in more ways than I can count since I kinda-sorta started this mission last Winter.

I am eternally grateful for their support and yours, as I know it’s much easier to shit on someone’s dreams and ambitions than it is to throw your support behind it – and I appreciate that!

Until next time! 

-Matt 

The Hack is Back! Reflections on 2016, Goals for 2017

                                            (courtesy eastlongisland.com)

               So, it’s a new year and time for a new commitment. Well, rather, a re-commitment, to a challenge – nay, a quest – that I sort of abandoned last year. Of course, I’m talking about my journey from 30 handicapper to 1.4 INDEX capable of attempting to qualify for the United States Open.

                I know this isn’t the first time I’ve done this here, but I’d like to apologize for not updating this thing since about Valentine’s Day of 2016. I promise you, I would have rather been updating the blog than doing a lot of what I had to last year.

                In defense of my sparse updating schedule, 2016 saw me get married, start a new job, go to the Masters for the third time and lose two grandparents on top of the normal BS we call “life.” That being said, it wasn’t a totally lost year on my journey despite my infrequent updates – so the next couple weeks, I’ll mostly be catching you up on 2016.

                First of all, progress WAS made. I began the blog as a 3.7 handicap shooting 82 in less-than ideal conditions last February. As I sit and write now, I am a 2.4 INDEX coming off a 77 (with two doubles) in equally as frustrating conditions this past Monday. Again, it’s not going to be turning any heads or earning me any checks any time soon – but progress is progress and more than a stroke in a summer is still solid, especially on this end of the spectrum.

                Twenty-sixteen brought a lot of firsts: First competitive rounds, first round under par (sort-of) and my first two rounds of even par. For someone carrying a 2.4 handicap, that may sound kind of nuts – but I don’t make a lot of birdies or doubles. It’s not by choice, but my strategy has long been “par you to death.” Unfortunately, that’s going to need to change. No one qualifies for U.S. Open’s with even-par 72’s.

                That’s why I’m deeming 2017 to be “the Year of the Birdie.”

                Last winter, I said my goal was to hit more greens in regulation – which I did. Crunching the numbers, my percentage of greens in regulation jumped form an abysmal 15% to close to 35%. Putts were also down, as I went from averaging 34.5 putts per round to just under 32 a round.

With jumps like that, you’d think I’d have gotten even better, but I saw a dip in fairways hit and lost ball while trying to overhaul my driver swing in an effort to gain some yards off the tee. Ahh, the plight of the amateur!

With all this in mind, I’m also announcing a slight alteration to the plan. I will not to be dumb as to think I have a snowball’s chance in hell to get to a 1.4 INDEX by April to try and make it to Erin Hills – so the new target is the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. I figure, by then, I’ll have another summer of competitive rounds and about 18 months to knock that final, pesky stroke off the handicap.

Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks as I will be posting a couple more reflections, some plans for the new year and some tips and tricks that helped me in 2016 and that I will be leaving heavily on in 2017.

Thanks for coming back!

-Matt