61 days, that`s how long it`s been since my last post. It`s not that I haven`t had much to say, it`s just that I haven`t had the urge to say anything.
Things are going ok on this side. Been working really hard but so not enjoying my job at the moment. At least there are things happening with regards something else and I am really praying that it`ll be a reality soon. I`m basically biding my time until I can finally do something I feel really passionate about again, which most certainly is not the case now.
So, this blog is called The Running Golfer, right? Well, I haven`t been the best runner since we moved back to Joburg. My golf is getting back to where it was and I feel pretty confident with a putter in the hand. The running has however taken a bit of a back seat over the last 6 or so months.
The real problem with that is that I have picked up 10 kg`s over the last 6 months. It sucks and I feel disgusting. It`s incredible how the body just lets go if you don`t look after it. My clothes are "toight like a toiger". Let`s leave it at that.
I got back on the road about a month ago. I try to run 3 or 4 times a week but it`s not always possible. I can`t go run after dark like I did in our estate in Somerset West, it`s just too dangerous. So I can only go on days where I get home early-(ish). I started off doing a minimum of 4 km`s and I had to walk at least once or twice on every run.
The last week I have seen a rapid improvement. I can now run a very comfortable 5 km and it feels great. My pace is increasing and my times are dropping. Heart rate is also getting used to the altitude.
So, at least I am starting to shed the pounds, which is great. Hayley and I have decided to go on a bit of a health kick until December. We wanna look good on the beach you see!
In any case, I know it`s a pretty boring post after 61 days of being incognito but at least it`s something, right?
Showing posts with label Golf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Golf. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
A fairytale in process.... Ummm No.
Ok, so yesterday`s post and "prediction" was not to be. Tom Watson came so close and we all suffered with him. All he needed was a par at the last to create history and surely something so historic that it would never have been beaten.
He played really good golf and gave us so much pleasure during the last few days. It was awesome to see an older guy stick it to the youngsters. The play-off though, was just a step too far. He was finished and when he missed that putt on the 18th, it was all over. Very sad but hey, he still has his name on the Claret Jug FIVE times. Don`t feel too bad for him.
He played really good golf and gave us so much pleasure during the last few days. It was awesome to see an older guy stick it to the youngsters. The play-off though, was just a step too far. He was finished and when he missed that putt on the 18th, it was all over. Very sad but hey, he still has his name on the Claret Jug FIVE times. Don`t feel too bad for him.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
A fairytale in process
It is now Sunday morning and The Open Championship is about to write the final chapter of the 2009 version at Turnberry. Now The Open isn`t just any tournament. It is the oldest major championship in golf (the 2nd oldest being our own South African Open!). It isn`t known as the BRITISH Open but just as The Open. It is a very, very special thing.
Legends of the game have won The Open and held aloft the famous Claret Jug. Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Lee Trevino, Bobby Locke (South African with 4 Open Chamionships to his name) and the list goes on.
On this list you`ll find the name of a certain Mr Tom Watson 5 times. His first win was in 1975. He followed that up with wins in 1977, 1983,1980, 1982 and 1983.
He is 2nd on the list of all time Open winners behind Harry Vardon. Although it must be argued that Harry played in a time when there were much less, shall we say, competition. He also won 2 Masters and 1 US Open title to take his tally to 8 majors.
Tom Watson played in an era dominated by Jack Nicklaus and to a lesser extent Gary Player and Arnold Palmer. Keep in mind that these 3 are reckoned to be some of the best of all time and it becomes clear that 8 major titles is no small feat.
Now, coming back to The Open Championship and Turnberry. A certain Mr Tom Watson was the leader after the 1st round. We all got nostalgic but it was never gonna last. I mean the pros these days are super fit, with mechanically perfect swings, the best equipment, coaches, mind coaches, fitness coaches, media managers etc etc. You get the point.
But, after round 2 Mr Watson was still leading. To put that into perspective, the world best player, Tiger Woods failed to make the cut. Now, a 59 year old who recently had a hip replacement was leading. Once again, I thought 'nice story' but it could not possibly last.
Round 3 came and went and guess who was still leading? You guessed right, Mr Tom Watson.
So here we are, on the last day of the biggest major in the world. A 59 year old still the leader after 3 rounds. The oldest man to ever win a major was 48 years of age. Could it be?
I will be on the edge of my seat today, willing Tom on to the claret jug. These stories are so rare these days. A wily old campaigner who drives the ball about a 100 yards shorter than his younger counterparts but who has a silky putting stroke and wonderful short game. This is a fairytale in the making but instead of they all lived happily after the announcer will proclaim:
"and the Champion Golfer of the year, Mr Tom Watson"
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Tiger Woods - The Greatest
I am a Tiger Woods fan. No, in fact I heart Tiger Woods. Now that is quite a big statement coming from a South African. Let me explain. Ernie Els is a national treasure and one of the most loved sportsmen in this country and I heart Ernie Els too. He is the man here in SA. Tiger has beaten our own Ernie Els more times than we care to remember. He has broken SA hearts too many times to mention. Ernie has a host of runners up finishes in Major Championships and the most of those are due to a certain Mr Woods.
Yet, Tiger Woods is one of my, and all my friends for that matter, favourite sportsmen. He is awesome. The best golfer to ever grace the planet. Simple as that.
So what did I see on Sport Centre this morning? Tiger the caddy. Tiger was the prize in a competition sponsored by Buick called "Tee off with Tiger". Now Buick is one of Tiger`s main sponsors, so it is understandable that he would lend his support. So now you have the world greatest sportsman, caddying for weekend golfer like myself. What does the worlds best do? Sit back and take the obvious adoration that would come his way. Walk around with the swagger of someone who is the best in the business? No, this is what Tiger does and that is why he is a true great.
Hopping from a cart, Woods walked up to 59-year-old John Abel, doffed his cap and extended his right hand. "Hey, I hear you're looking for a caddie. I'm Tiger Woods — pleased to meet you."
Monday, October 20, 2008
My funniest golfing moment
Ok, as you can see I have my groove back, just like Stella. Suddenly I have a lot of posts running around in my head and not enough time to post them all! At least it beats the dreaded bloggers block.
This specific post is dedicated to my funniest golfing moment. Not something I am especially proud of cos it was pretty stupid but it was very funny!
It starts off in a region of our country called Mpumalanga and more specifically a town called Hazyview. Now Mpumalanga is the home of the Kruger National Park amongst other things and also the forestry hub of our country. A beautiful place! It is also a mere 4 hours from Johannesburg, so a perfect place for a weekend away.
My Father-in-Law has timeshare in a Southern Sun resort called Sabie River Sun and it is one of our favourite getaways. The whole family goes and we stay in a bungalow and just have the best time. There is so much to do for the whole family. Depending which bungalow you get, you could look out at hippos in the dam, onto the golf course or one of the many swimming pools the resort has to offer. Truly a great place!
So on one of these holidays, my father-in-law Clive, my brother-in-law Mark and I were playing a round of golf. The golf was great and we were having a very nice round. Kyle, Mark`s son, and I were sharing a golf cart and he was doing the driving. This was against the rules because Kyle was under aged (11) and not allowed to but what the heck, I`m a rebel if nothing else.
We were at one of the par 3`s. It is a pretty tough hole. Roughly 160 metres with half an island green, the whole front and right side of the green is surrounded by water. The flag was on the right hand side of the green, about 3 metres from the water. So we all tee off. Clive goes to the left of the green and Mark hits into the green side bunker on the same side. I hit a pretty good iron and finish about 3 metres from the pin but with a tough little breaking putt facing me.
So now we arrive at the green, I pick up my ball and start cleaning it. Clive hits a great chip and then Mark gets ready to hit out the bunker. This is a pretty tough shot though. If he leaves it short, he`ll have a very tough putt for par and if he hits it too hard, even just a bit, the ball would end up in the water behind the hole. So Mark hits it but I see it`s too hard. Now keep in mind that Mark has already lost about 9 balls and is fast running out of replacements! I flick into action and rush to stop his ball from going into the water, very aware of the fact that I would get a lot of pats on the back for my gallant behaviour in saving a golf ball from drowning. Focusing on the ball, I have a good feeling about stopping it from going into the drink. In the nick of time I stopped it with my foot. Unfortunately my body does not stop with it but momentum carries me forward. Then I realise that I do not have any Terra Firma under my feet anymore and am in fact running on air. I forgot to focus on the edge of the green, which is followed by a drop of about one and a half metre into the dam.
At this point of time a lot of things go racing through my mind. I still have my putter in one hand, my golf ball and towel in the other and my legs are still moving as if running. Suddenly I am gripped by concern as to what is under the water. Crocs? There are crocodiles in some of the other dams on the resort, so why not this one? Sharp rocks? What if I hit the water and a huge rock shatters my leg on impact?
So, I did the only thing I could and went into the tuck position. I pulled my knees up and braced for the impact. It all happened very slowly. I hit the water and went down. I was completely submerged. I held onto my Odyssey putter and my golf ball cos it was a Titleist Pro-V1 and they are very expensive. Then I felt something solid under my feet. I was at the bottom of the dam! RELIEF! I decided to push up with my legs to get to the surface cos I had no idea how deep the dam was. It felt like I had sunk about 2 metres. As I did this I was out the water like a cork. I stood there, in thigh high water, soaked, my golf cap drifting away. If I had landed on my feet, my shorts would have been wet but I assumed the tuck position and now I was wet from head to toe. I looked up at my golf partners / family and they were literally rolling on the green laughing. Then the realisation hit me, I had just jumped into a dam on a golf course.
I was utterly embarrassed but I must admit it must have been hilarious to see. I waded out the dam, the long way around cos it was too high to get out where I had entered. I was sopping wet. After a minute or five, with my golfing partners / family still laughing hysterically I lined up the birdie putt and promptly holed it!
My dignity took a big knock that day but at least I saved a golf ball. Strangely nobody remembered that fact....
This specific post is dedicated to my funniest golfing moment. Not something I am especially proud of cos it was pretty stupid but it was very funny!
It starts off in a region of our country called Mpumalanga and more specifically a town called Hazyview. Now Mpumalanga is the home of the Kruger National Park amongst other things and also the forestry hub of our country. A beautiful place! It is also a mere 4 hours from Johannesburg, so a perfect place for a weekend away.
My Father-in-Law has timeshare in a Southern Sun resort called Sabie River Sun and it is one of our favourite getaways. The whole family goes and we stay in a bungalow and just have the best time. There is so much to do for the whole family. Depending which bungalow you get, you could look out at hippos in the dam, onto the golf course or one of the many swimming pools the resort has to offer. Truly a great place!
So on one of these holidays, my father-in-law Clive, my brother-in-law Mark and I were playing a round of golf. The golf was great and we were having a very nice round. Kyle, Mark`s son, and I were sharing a golf cart and he was doing the driving. This was against the rules because Kyle was under aged (11) and not allowed to but what the heck, I`m a rebel if nothing else.
We were at one of the par 3`s. It is a pretty tough hole. Roughly 160 metres with half an island green, the whole front and right side of the green is surrounded by water. The flag was on the right hand side of the green, about 3 metres from the water. So we all tee off. Clive goes to the left of the green and Mark hits into the green side bunker on the same side. I hit a pretty good iron and finish about 3 metres from the pin but with a tough little breaking putt facing me.
So now we arrive at the green, I pick up my ball and start cleaning it. Clive hits a great chip and then Mark gets ready to hit out the bunker. This is a pretty tough shot though. If he leaves it short, he`ll have a very tough putt for par and if he hits it too hard, even just a bit, the ball would end up in the water behind the hole. So Mark hits it but I see it`s too hard. Now keep in mind that Mark has already lost about 9 balls and is fast running out of replacements! I flick into action and rush to stop his ball from going into the water, very aware of the fact that I would get a lot of pats on the back for my gallant behaviour in saving a golf ball from drowning. Focusing on the ball, I have a good feeling about stopping it from going into the drink. In the nick of time I stopped it with my foot. Unfortunately my body does not stop with it but momentum carries me forward. Then I realise that I do not have any Terra Firma under my feet anymore and am in fact running on air. I forgot to focus on the edge of the green, which is followed by a drop of about one and a half metre into the dam.
At this point of time a lot of things go racing through my mind. I still have my putter in one hand, my golf ball and towel in the other and my legs are still moving as if running. Suddenly I am gripped by concern as to what is under the water. Crocs? There are crocodiles in some of the other dams on the resort, so why not this one? Sharp rocks? What if I hit the water and a huge rock shatters my leg on impact?
So, I did the only thing I could and went into the tuck position. I pulled my knees up and braced for the impact. It all happened very slowly. I hit the water and went down. I was completely submerged. I held onto my Odyssey putter and my golf ball cos it was a Titleist Pro-V1 and they are very expensive. Then I felt something solid under my feet. I was at the bottom of the dam! RELIEF! I decided to push up with my legs to get to the surface cos I had no idea how deep the dam was. It felt like I had sunk about 2 metres. As I did this I was out the water like a cork. I stood there, in thigh high water, soaked, my golf cap drifting away. If I had landed on my feet, my shorts would have been wet but I assumed the tuck position and now I was wet from head to toe. I looked up at my golf partners / family and they were literally rolling on the green laughing. Then the realisation hit me, I had just jumped into a dam on a golf course.
I was utterly embarrassed but I must admit it must have been hilarious to see. I waded out the dam, the long way around cos it was too high to get out where I had entered. I was sopping wet. After a minute or five, with my golfing partners / family still laughing hysterically I lined up the birdie putt and promptly holed it!
My dignity took a big knock that day but at least I saved a golf ball. Strangely nobody remembered that fact....
A Happy Anniversary and a not so Happy Anniversary
Today is the 1st anniversary of the Springboks winning the World Cup in France last year! How quickly the time has flown by. To celebrate, I will be watching the final tonight and reliving all the great moments. What a day that was! Riaan and Sally spent that weekend with us and Riaan and I had an absolute ball, as you can well imagine. I remember walking around the garden at 02:00 in the morning cos I was just on such a high after the win.
Today is also the 1st anniversary of the last time I played golf. Riaan and I played Erinvale the morning of the world cup final. Can you believe that I haven`t touched a club for the last year? It`s crazy to contemplate but a reality unfortunately. Certainly makes the name of this site seem a bit ODD. Hopefully the plans we are putting in place will result in lots of golf with my mates in the new year. I cannot wait.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
My gorgeous wife, me and an awesome day
Today was a pretty cool day. We attended Hillsong Church Cape Town and Pastor Phil Dooley was once again awesome! He is one of the most gifted speakers I have ever come across and he always gets the most amazing messages across!
Some GREAT news is that Hayley and I are going to a Hillsong United Worship evening in November! They have scheduled 2 worship nights here in Cape Town. We are so excited. I`ll hopefully get to see Brooke Fraser sing Hosanna, how cool is that? The night promises to be a huge blessing and I cannot wait.
I digress, back to a great Sunday! After church we headed out Simonstown way to see if we could spot ourselves some whales. We did, not the best sightings but at least we saw a few of these amazing creatures. One specific one was jumping and playing. Great to see. I heart whales.
We got home and this was the sight that greeted us. Phoebe had made herself very comfortable in the afternoon sun. These dogs of ours are such characters.
We then settled in to watch some very serious sport. Manchester United drew 1-1 with Chelsea, after leading for most of the game. It was a great match and a perfect example of why I love it so much. Then, onto the Ryder Cup. I watched basically every minute of golf over the weekend and found it an incredible event. Hats off to the USA for winning the cup for the first time since 1999. Some of the golf was breathtaking. I predicted however that Nick Faldo would cost the Europeans the trophy and that proved right. How clever am I?
Lastly, you know how much I love sunsets, this was the gorgeous one that graced the Cape tonight.
Monday, June 23, 2008
the Running GOLFER
Ok, so by now you get the "running" bit. What about the golfer bit?
Well, there isn`t too much to the golfer at the moment. In fact, I haven`t touched a club since 20 October 2007. I remember the date well cos we became the World champs at the rugby world cup that day. That was my last round. I played with a few buddies, Riaan, Henk and Fisher at Erinvale, a beautiful course here in Somerset West which has hosted 2 SA Opens (both won by Trevor Immelman who used to be a member here).
I remember the round pretty well. First nine I played pretty well. I shot 39 and was pretty consistent. Wheels came off a bit on the 2nd nine and I came in with a 44 which gave me an 83 for the day. Pretty decent considering the conditions and the fact that it was only my 3 round in 6 months.
We moved to Somerset West in May of last year. I left my regular four ball in Jhb and with that, also my regular golf. I was a member at Reading Country Club and it was a convenient 5 minutes from home. We also played a lot of golf at Germiston CC. Lots of fun. Riaan was my golfing partner and we won MUCH more than we lost. We had a regular competition called the SFAQ Cup and it was serious stuff! Riaan and I played against Quinton (Riaan`s brother) and Andre (our Springbok buddy and also the best golfer I know). It was INTENSE. Played for big money and the right to keep the cup until the next time.
I miss those days but for some reason I dont miss the golf as such. More the cameraderie and the 19th hole!
I was a pretty decent golfer. Handicap around the 8 mark with a lowest of 5. Best round was a 76 in the wind at Germiston, a day where I beat Riaan, a 5 handicapper at the time, Andre 3 handicapper and Quinton 5 handicapper. I was a decent driver of the ball but a terrible putter. Damn those knee-trembling 5 footers for par.
Now, I enjoy my running more. Maybe because I haven`t even thought about playing golf in such a long time. I still watch a lot of it and will always be a golfer at heart.
I`ll be back on the fairways but I`ll be more interested in how my new levels of fitness will affect my golf than I will be in how far I hit my Cleveland driver. Incredible how life takes you in different directions. Who would have thought, me a runner?
Well, there isn`t too much to the golfer at the moment. In fact, I haven`t touched a club since 20 October 2007. I remember the date well cos we became the World champs at the rugby world cup that day. That was my last round. I played with a few buddies, Riaan, Henk and Fisher at Erinvale, a beautiful course here in Somerset West which has hosted 2 SA Opens (both won by Trevor Immelman who used to be a member here).
I remember the round pretty well. First nine I played pretty well. I shot 39 and was pretty consistent. Wheels came off a bit on the 2nd nine and I came in with a 44 which gave me an 83 for the day. Pretty decent considering the conditions and the fact that it was only my 3 round in 6 months.
We moved to Somerset West in May of last year. I left my regular four ball in Jhb and with that, also my regular golf. I was a member at Reading Country Club and it was a convenient 5 minutes from home. We also played a lot of golf at Germiston CC. Lots of fun. Riaan was my golfing partner and we won MUCH more than we lost. We had a regular competition called the SFAQ Cup and it was serious stuff! Riaan and I played against Quinton (Riaan`s brother) and Andre (our Springbok buddy and also the best golfer I know). It was INTENSE. Played for big money and the right to keep the cup until the next time.
I miss those days but for some reason I dont miss the golf as such. More the cameraderie and the 19th hole!
I was a pretty decent golfer. Handicap around the 8 mark with a lowest of 5. Best round was a 76 in the wind at Germiston, a day where I beat Riaan, a 5 handicapper at the time, Andre 3 handicapper and Quinton 5 handicapper. I was a decent driver of the ball but a terrible putter. Damn those knee-trembling 5 footers for par.
Now, I enjoy my running more. Maybe because I haven`t even thought about playing golf in such a long time. I still watch a lot of it and will always be a golfer at heart.
I`ll be back on the fairways but I`ll be more interested in how my new levels of fitness will affect my golf than I will be in how far I hit my Cleveland driver. Incredible how life takes you in different directions. Who would have thought, me a runner?
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