Well, Color Me Happy! My Team Somehow Pulled Off First Place...

This morning amidst a steady, light rain, my team and I teed off at 9:15 AM with great trepidation. There was loud thunder off to the left and off to the right, but we never saw any lightning, so play was never interrupted. I thought that we'd surely hear the sirens from the clubhouse, but they never sounded. We played on, thinking that we were going to have the worst score of all the teams because we were all playing horribly. The air was so heavy you could have cut it with a knife and the balls weren't going as far as they should have. I found myself having to *club up* on nearly every shot and every shot seemed to play out like a game of craps.

Today was another *shamble* with two *net balls* instead of only one, like we had yesterday. The teams were different too, but once again, I made out like a bandit and scored an awesome team of players. Today I only had one Eagle, 2 Birdies and 3 Pars. Boo Hoo! (whatever!) It was great and I enjoyed the entire tournament thoroughly.

However, today, with the all the wet weather, I had to dress for the rain and knew my hair would get soaked, which makes me resemble a wet rat. It's not pretty, but I didn't care. I was there to play real golf today, with real diehard players and it was such a great feeling being a winner for once. I could seriously get used to this.

I also had an epiphany. I like playing with everyone but my own Mr. Snoots. I know. It sounds really mean, doesn't it? But honestly, the man cannot quit telling me what I'm doing wrong the entire time we play together. Everyone else praises me for every shot and every putt, good or bad, which somehow makes me (or allows me) to play better. If Mr. Snoots could just figure this out we'd be great together. But, alas, I fear he cannot and will not ever be able to be different. This will certainly limit our time playing golf together.

The only thing that really ruffled my feathers a bit today, was the two men on our team insisted on telling me precisely where to putt my ball. You know. Like I didn't have the sense to do it on my own. Yesterday, I sank 16 of 18 putts. Today, I sank 5 putts out of 18. Hmmmmm… There's your sign, huh?

When someone insists on telling you where to putt, I think they have no idea how they are undermining your play, but they are. Of course, they think they are being oh-so-helpful, but it's almost insulting when (without invitation) they say, "Firm stroke right here to this spot." For me, it's like the freaking *kiss of death* and then I usually rocket launch my 3 foot putt to destinations unknown. Thanks a lot guys, but I think I can handle this all on my own, unless you'd like for me to line YOUR putts up for you....

The Nose Knows... How To Improve Your Mental Golf Game

More than a month ago I was reading my friend Heather's blog (Real Women Golf) and she had a new *toy* that she claimed was helping her golf game. Called *Golf Scents*, this new idea was brought about by a golfer and endorsed by a renowned golf psychologist with the idea that certain scents can change our mental game as well as our physical golf game, based on memory and smells being linked to our actions and reactions, during play.

Since I'm always the first one to jump on anything that promises to improve my golf game, I was all over it. Now that I've had a chance to use it for a reasonable amount of time, I see major improvements in my golf game. Mainly, I'm hitting better & longer tee shots and my putts all seem to be drifting over the lip of the cup, disappearing into the hole. The last four times I've played, my score has been right at and around 100, which is an improvement of around 5 to 10 strokes, as well as a new consistency I've not experienced before.

I am going to buy one of these for each of my golfing pals, to give them for their birthdays, although not until after it has majorly improved my own game. Hehehe...

Of course, you must follow their explicit instructions on how to use the little olfactory bulb of wonder, but I am seeing major improvements here, which just confirms what I've thought all along. Golf is 40% physical and 60% mental. Now, through associative learning and conditioned response, scents become a part of your memory.

I have found that it is particularly helpful when playing golf with Mr. Snoots. Golf Scents helps me to remember how well I play when playing with *the girls*. It also enables me to ignore all of his comments like "You just looked up, is all." or "You just hit that too hard for a putt." or "Can't you watch where your ball goes?" or "Maybe you need another lesson." or my most favorite "You just need to concentrate more." For that alone, this little tool is worth its weight in gold.

Apparently, these guys are onto something here. Mind over matter, baby!

Also, I'm sure the new golf shoes I've ordered, because I saw them over at Tales of a Golf Gal, will help as well. They are FootJoys LoPro Collection. I still hold firmly to the belief that if you look good and feel good you're going to play a better game. Right? Well, perhaps in just theory, but mind over matter again. The new shoes should be here any day now, so I'm excited!

Last year, I was reading Patricia Hannigan's blog Golf Girl's Diary and she turned me on to another new gadget, which has helped my game tremendously. The Thumb Caddy, which is a tool that teaches you where to properly grip on your club. Once you get used to it, the grip will just become a natural part of your game.

The other pictures are just some shots taken while golfing over the last few months. It seems like we're always waiting on a group of guys who won't let us play through, so that affords me ample time to take pictures of the golf course wildlife.

This last picture is where my tee shot ended up on our #10 hole. Ummm... Could I get a ruling here please? You can click on the picture to get a better idea of my frustration... Okay, this wasn't one of my better tee shots.

West Texas Wildlife On The Golf Course... A Chaparral AKA The Roadrunner

Since our son is visiting for a few days, we decided to play golf at one of the local public courses this morning, since our course is closed on Mondays. We were also lucky enough to have one of Mr. Snoots' geriatric golf buddies play with us. I think he's up around 75 or 80 years old, but he can still kick all of our butts at golf and he's really funny. Also, I had the pleasure of riding with him in the cart so that Mr. Snoots could ride with our son.

Only moments after we teed off on the first hole, I was thrilled to see a West Texas Chaparral (or as we call them, a roadrunner) just walking around looking for bugs to eat. We never see these on our home course. I couldn't really get close enough to him for a truly decent shot with my crummy Olympus Stylus, but I think if you click on the pictures. you'll be able to see him much better. I thought surely he'd run off as we neared him, but apparently, he is very accustomed to being around golfers, sticking around long enough for me to get a couple of shots. He has bright orange & white stripes on either side of his head and I thought he was a rather pretty fellow. He eventually ran off and we never saw any more wildlife for remainder of the 18 holes.

This public golf course is far more difficult than our club because the rough at this course is REALLY rough, as you can see. I haven't played this course for at least two years and had forgotten how it defeated me the last time. Oddly enough, I stayed in the fairways and never lost even one ball, which was a true shocker for me. Normally, if I slice or hook one into the "rough", I refuse to hunt for it unless it happens to be in clear sight. You see, rattlesnakes love to hang out in the mesquite bush, wildflowers, and tall grass.

Anyway, this course also has a different kind of grass on their greens, which always makes for a rocky transition, for me at least. Oddly enough, I was able to shoot a 108 on a course that is much harder and much longer than ours. So, I'm a happy camper today. I also took a picture of our city skyline so that you could understand how really flat it is out here in the West Texas desert. Of course, the mesquite bush and the Prickly Pear Cactus are taking over once you leave town, but I did notice today that the mesquite is budding, which is the signal spring has sprung. In all the 33 years I've lived here, Mother Nature has only fooled the mesquite once. So, I'm off to my favorite nursery to start buying plants and seeds for my vegetable garden.