Swinging
Get your mind out of the gutter! I don't mean THAT kind of swinging.
Now that the weather is slightly cooler I've promised Craig that I will learn to play golf. It's not that I really want to but he wants it badly so I've agreed for him. It might not seem like a big deal to most people but for me its a huge undertaking.
You see, I was born to a mother who played semi-pro softball. I grew up around it and loved it, so by the time I was 13 I was playing girls' fast pitch and womens slow pitch at the same time. By the time I was 14 I was playing Junior Olympic. I take softball seriously, even the last few years when I was just playing co-ed. Up until about 10 years ago I played in an open league, if that tells you anything.
What does that have to do with it? Well, a golf swing is totally different from a softball/baseball swing. I can hit a golf ball, but my problem is that I try to manage the golf swing in the same manner as softball and that is totally wrong. Plus, I try to power it the same way and that causes me to pull the club around at an angle.
And if all that isn't bad enough, I have another issue. Because I watched my mom from such an early age I used to go into the back yard (when I was only 3 and 4) and use her glove and pitch back. I'm left handed, she's right handed. So i learned to field like a right hander and hit left handed. Craig insists that is actually better for a golfer and he wanted me to learn to hit right handed, but I couldn't even hit the ball that way, so we bought left handed clubs.
If all this wasn't bad enough I have a husband who can play with a single digit handicap. He's not currently in the singles but that's only because he doesn't get out there as often as he'd like to, though that appears to be changing with every promotion he gets, because he is constantly taking some of his clients (CVS pharmacy... Craig is project manager at C&B and he handles the CVS account) out on golf trips and has been flown out for their golf tournaments as well. He says it's not a problem for someone like him to play with someone like me but I think its b.s. He's just being kind and I don't want to make him miserable on the golf course because I know he loves it so much.
So I'm thinking about taking some private lessons without him knowing so that I can surprise him one day. I told him that I'd start working on my swing once it cooled down some, so now that it's a bit cooler outside I'm going to start. My question is this; is it ok for me to go and practice hitting (just in the yard) while I'm at home alone during the day or do I take too much of a chance of picking up some bad habits since there wouldn't be anyone here to correct me. Or is it better to go ahead and do that just to get the hang of swinging? I don't know, but if anyone out there DOES know, please let me know.