Fade and Draw

golf collage 1

I have been “playing” golf since 2004. By playing I mean hitting buckets at the range and not going on the golf course. I took up golfing back in 2004 because my dad started playing.  My dad is an athlete. He was a ping pong champ in Vietnam and played amateur tennis and basketball in California.  As a young girl, I was always interested in sports.  However the only sport activity I got to learn was swimming. I was the kid that had the tutoring and piano lessons after school. I remember joining an after school sports program in middle school and having to lie about why I was home late every day.  I played outside all the time. Despite my mother always putting me in a dress, I manage to still play just as hard.  In high school, I decided to go after tennis and basketball. Why? Because my dad played it. I wasn’t great at tennis so my major focus was on basketball.  I played basketball for 3 years in high school.  I played very well my 2nd and 3rd year. I was 1st string and won awards all three years: most improved, MVP and I cant’ remember the last one.  I left my senior year because I couldn’t stand Coach Martin. I then assisted the freshman coach and help coached for a year. After I graduated high school, I coached a couple years at the local church’s girl league. Those were good times!

In 2003 my dad’s knee took a turn for the worst and he wasn’t able to play tennis or basketball. Even though I was already in college, I still wanted to play the sports my dad did. So I went on ebay and hunted for my first set of golf clubs. Boy was it brutal. My arms hurt and my dad made me practice the golf swing position over and over. I would go as far as 4 bucks in one practice. That’s over 600 swings! Regardless I was with my dad at the Aliso Country Club for many months perfecting my driving swing. I’m pretty good at my drive. Besides golfing with my dad, no other man has ever made the cut with me when it came to golfing so my efforts after that were minimal until I met Joe.

I told Joe I golfed when I first met him. We were at his house for drinks back on my first trip here and he had a putting range that I immediately went towards. I didn’t have any intention on being impressive, I was just being myself. I started talking about last week’s tournament. Tiger Woods did poorly and I had no problem explaining why. So since then, Joe and I golf every Tuesday. I learned from Joe that my swing tends to fade. A fade is when the ball goes right. A draw is when the ball goes left. He’s been the only person who has been able to consistently get me to golf. I love golfing and because Joe is so freaken good, it’s so much fun learning from him! The only course we’ve been on together has been the Turtle Bay Resort. It’s an amazing golf course. There are two, The Palmer and The Fazio. The Palmer is insanely difficult. I always dread going on it because I can guarantee you I’ll lose about 6 balls. The Fazio on the other hand is difficult but so much easier to learn on.

If anyone wants to learn how to golf, definitely get a good set. It matters so much! Also you must hit the ball a zillion times on a golf range. Having a good swing is so important and being good at putting is even more critical. I need a lot of work on my short game. Some days I’m in love with golf, other days I want to break up with it. However every game there’s always an amazing hole that keeps you come back for more. It’s like an abusive relationship, I keep coming back to golfing!

golf collage 2

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