Playing hurt, knowing when it's time and getting ready again...

Lucky for me I'm not even close to having all these possible injuries now, but having some lumbar or lower back problems has been bothering me the past couple of weeks and the it reared it's ugly head on Thursday, I drove to Skåne from where I live in Norway to play the first tournament of the season on Wednesday and when I awoke on Thursday morning I knew I it was going to be a struggle. I have played hurt before, both in basketball and golf but this time it was hard to produce anything close to my best. I did everything possible to get things in order, stretching, rolling and more stretching but because of the very cold and windy conditions my lumbar never had a chance to loosen up and stay in working order, 

Those who know me, know I have struggled with some lower back problems the last years, but I really thought it was going to be ok with all the preparatory work I have been doing this winter but alas it wasn't to be this time around. I was going to play three, two day tournaments up until the start of May and then there is a month laps in the schedule that I was going to use for practice in getting ready for the summer season from June to Sept - that's when the bulk of the tournaments are being played and knowing now it was time to rest a few days, get some treatment and then back at getting ready again... that's the plan anyway and that means I have almost 6 weeks until the summer season starts, which should be more than enough time. 

Hope everyone that follows along is doing good, have no injuries yourself and that life is treating you fair. Hope that the summer brings many a warm day, lots of time to be outside doing whatever it is that you enjoy. I'm trying to think that everything happens for a reason, and that my back was incorporating and making it hard is just a sign that I need to have patience and keep doing the leg work in order to compete,,, 

Again, thanks for all the good thoughts and encouragement I have been receiving. Know that it's so much needed, especially when things don't go according to plan and one has to reevaluate which steps forward will lead to the results and goals one has... 

The Serg - Perseverance - Peace of mind and the finding of ones form within oneself and love....

He did it. Finally got that monkey off his back. Of all the days to do it too, birthday to his mentor and idol Seve. If people can't see that all things are connected here on this crazy, spinning globe, even after things like we witnessed on Sunday, well, then I don't know what to tell ya, other than; open your eyes and hearts to the fact that we are all somehow connected to something much bigger that binds us all together in this soup of our existence. No one can tell me any different, I've seen and experienced to many things to not believe and The Serg's win this past weekend is just one small example of how it all might just fit together. Finding peace among the busyness and the seeming randomness of it all is just beautiful to see. Of course I don't know the guy, seen him in person a couple of times but feeling his reaction in the picture above was real and also beautiful. 

It's Perseverance. 

Only a few more days of practice and the season's first group of tournaments is just around the bend. Getting my golfing legs underneath me is coming along well and the finding of some form is also happening day by day. Looking so forward to experiencing myself this season, in a different way than before, I have been working hard on more than just my golf these past months, finding more and more out about myself and what makes me tick. Getting some help in finding ones form is not just about the physical - one has to expand ones mind thru getting wiser, smarter and understanding why you are the way you are. Accepting the things you cannot change and trying your best to change what you can is just so important and learning to love yourself along the way. It can give you a peace that is hard to describe but accepting what you find is just so important. 

It's about Perseverance,

I hope everyone who reads my stuff is doing good in this time we call Easter. Hope that all my readers are with loved ones and the people that make your life worth living. If not physically - then in spirit and good thoughts. Lift yourself up, brush away the doubt of whatever needs to be pushed aside and believe in yourself and yes, in your fellow humans that are probably trying just as hard as you, albeit in their own different ways perhaps but we all have to get busy living... Life is and can be a wonderful thing, people will surprise you from time to time, let you down, hurt you in ways you couldn't imagine but never give up...keep believing that it's all connected somehow and love the journey. 

It's all about Perseverance. 

The Masters and connecting...

It's Masters week and soon the final round this Sunday...I've been watching the Masters since I was a child, I can remember the music best, they have not changed it in all the years it's been showing on CBS. If one is a true fan, you can even hum it without thinking... can you? Hehehe... just wondering. If you ask the Americans in the world who play professional golf, this would be the one to win, the dream of just being in the field, not just winning it, just being there would be a dream come true and I am just another one who agree. Most of my euro friends would say The Open, or as we Americans call it the British Open, as the one they would most want to win. Different strokes for different folks. 

I didn't get to see much of the first round, fell asleep early and wasn't able to keep awake. Been a lot of that in the past weeks, been up early and getting out to the course to practice and play. Only a little over two weeks until I tee it up in Sweden in their mini tour called the Futures Tour. Playing three tournaments in the span of about two weeks. The tournaments are 36 holes and in the past years I have a chance to play a few but this year it's going to be 17 tournaments if everything goes as planned and the junker does not break down. Hehehe. Keeping my fingers crossed for that and am planning on having using a good amount of time to get to the different tournaments. Use a couple days to get there and play some courses on the way. That will be fun. 

Have played a few rounds now, it's been a couple of months since I have been able to tee it up and the ball striking is getting there. The amount of poor shots is getting fewer and fewer plus the short game practice I have concentrated on this winter seems to have been paying dividends. It's all about connecting with the ball solid and trusting it. Getting there and I am hoping by the 21st I'll be firing on almost full cylinders.., I don't have any high expectations for the first three tournaments, but one never knows with this crazy game, one can get hot for a couple of days and put up a couple good rounds after one another. Looking forward to the whole of the season and playing a 'full schedule'. 

To get connected with oneself or others one has to be free to do so - one cannot have things hanging over oneself not allowing it to happen. Being free to make the choices without fear is just so important to feeling safe. Without that. it's just not gonna happen. One has to swallow the fear and believe in yourself. See what you want and concentrate on that.. The Law of Attraction is just so important and the mind is just so powerful. Getting out of ones way is just so key and I am trying to do just that. Just trying to live my life, one day at a time, planning as good as I can in accordance to my resources and talents. Seeing what I want to achieve, trying to feel what it will be like and let the power of our incredible mind lead the way,

Hope everyone who reads my blog is doing good and living the life you all want. Chasing after the dreams that each and everyone should have. Believing in yourself and the one life you have been given. Dare to go for it - dare to dream big and love each and every minute of the journey. 

April Fools Day - A fool's life...?

This is where it all began for me and this game I so truly love. By finding balls with a friend along the left side of hole 10 when I was 8 and then hitting them back onto the driving range with a club I'd borrowed from my friends mother. I wasn't a member at first and the owners wife, a Greek lady, who spoke funny English I thought, was mad at us, even looking for balls in the woods\brush wasn't to popular. I remember telling my father about her and suddenly we were members and I started picking balls for the Head Pro Scott Nash instead. I can remember his first attempt to help me with my game, he just wandered over to me one day while I was digging into the dirt and showed me how to hold the club correctly - man that was a weird feeling I remember thinking, how am I going to hit the ball now? Well, it didn't take more than a few swings and I stopped digging and started playing...

I never thought I'd come this far actually. I was a hoopster, a basketball player really- that was my first love in sports but there was something about that little white ball that I couldn't get enough of during the summer. I'd even skulk on the basketball practicing many times and walk up to the club and spend hours just playing, chipping and putting. Bugging Mr. Nash in his shop and always asking for tips about this funny but addictive game. He always, well, almost always just smiled and had something positive to say, I'm sure sometimes he'd had enough of all the questions I'd have and was to busy but I never really saw him get mad or be cross with me or anyone for that matter. He was a popular guy and a good teacher. Putting was his nemesis, at least that's what he said and occasionally I'd see him practicing those 3 to 8 footers and I'd see the frustration mount- I understood then how important it was to learn to roll the ball well and I'd copy his drills. Being a good putter is like having a secret weapon and is the difference between winning or losing. I learned that from him and I am forever grateful. 

Spending hours and hours this winter on it - more than I ever have really and of course I'm hoping the accumulative time will pay dividends this season. One has to be, have hope and belief in oneself  to stand there for hour upon hour doing 'the fools work' in a sense. Doing the exact same thing over and over, thousand upon thousands of times and just have faith that it will all pay off in the end. Taking it seriously but playing the game in your mind and seeing the results without putting to much pressure on yourself. Letting it go and being kinda of like a fool in heart. One will never know unless one tries, to give yourself a fools chance of making it but believing in yourself at the same time, the god given talent one has, the eye hand coordination just given at birth and work like a crazy person in search of this fool's life. Maybe in the end it'll be not..not a fool's life but a winner at this game, this funny game that mirrors life in so many ways and maybe just maybe it will all pan out as one can see it in the fool's eye's. 

Most of the courses are opening here in the far north where I live and it's going to be fun, to get out there and play. Remembering each time where I actually come from, Rock Creek Country Club and represent them with pride each and every time. Thinking back to the fool's life of a child who dared to dream big about basketball but ended up seeing that the best game is not the big round ball but the little white one. It's never to late to start, to dream like a fool would, without doubt or self judgement and just go for it. Live the fool's life...

A special shout out to Mr. DaSilva, Director of Golf and everyone else at Rock Creek Country Club!!