I was fortunate enough to get into golf when I was a teenager but once I got to college my regular play fell off the map completely.
I suppose my handicap never got better than a 15 or so for regulation courses but I played a local par 3 course (any fans of Sinaloa GC, Simi Valley, CA out there?) like crazy so my short game was always my forte.
Anyway, it was maybe a month and a half ago that my lovely bride of almost two years now said something about enjoying golf watching on TV. There happened to be a tournament on TV that weekend so we watched the final round one Sunday afternoon. I think she might have fallen asleep before it finished (not to say that she didn’t enjoy watching it) but I was really pulled into the match and now back into the game itself.
Since then:
- I’ve made it a point to try to hit the driving range every other day
- I’ve purchased new shoes and gloves
- I signed up for lessons with a local pro (we’ve met twice thus far)
- and I’ve developed tendinitis in my fingers/hands
That’s right… tendinitis. At first I though maybe my grips were too thin and hitting steel shafted irons off the driving mats were bruising the bones in my hands. Then I thought maybe just doing too much too soon (I try to hit ~85 balls each trip) might have torn the muscles in my hands like I’m prone to doing in my arms and chest when I ambitiously workout every 6 months. But as far as I know, there are no muscles in your fingers just ligaments and tendons that give you grip strength.
The more I read about tendinitis the more I’m convinced that is where my pain in coming from. My finger was even exhibiting behavior similar to mild trigger finger. The pain is especially bad for some reason in my left pinkie finger (yes, my instructor says my grip is in good form… well since he changed it anyway).
I’m going to give my hands a break for a week and then ease into the range again starting with closer to 30 balls the first time out. I can’t wait to feed the golf hunger but my body says otherwise.
They say you should do everything in moderation… but did they really mean golf as well?
BTW.. Bryan Coombes & Greg Witherall, if you ever read this send me a message. I think of you guys every time I get out on the course.
