Bunker Mulligan "Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." ~Mark Twain

Well, it’s almost noon. So far I played 18 holes (not very well), bought groceries, picked up a new storage shed at Sears, unloaded it, and mowed the grass. All that’s left to do is set up the shed.

As I walked off the course today, one of the marshals was headed out to the back nine. I told him he shouldn’t go out there right now. He looked at me with a question on his face. I told him I stunk it up so bad, the wind needed some time to clear the odor.

While playing poorly today, I did a lot of philosophizing. People who don’t play golf, or those new to the game try to equate it to hitting a baseball or tennis ball,, or some other moving object. They can’t understand why it is so hard to do.

Their analogy is wrong. Golfing is like pitching, not hitting. Being a really good golfer requires the same kind of skill as being a major league pitcher, only you use a club rather than your fingers and wrist. Actually, you use a club and your fingers and wrists.

A pitcher goes into a game hoping to have “all his stuff.” So does a golfer. A pitcher works with speed, direction, and ball spin. So does a golfer. Hitting the ball is not the issue, hitting it with the right spin, speed, and direction is everything.

A pitcher may throw a fastball, curve, slider, and change. He needs to “spot” each of these in a way that keeps the batter off balance. A golfer hits tee shots, irons, sand shots, chips, and putts. Each of these is different in the same way as pitches. And each must be hit to a specific spot for the player to score well. Today, I had none of my “pitches” working, and played bogey golf. Had I been a pitcher, the manager would have pulled me no later than the second inning. Each shot requires different skills and feel, especially close to the green.

For those of you unfamiliar with the game, next time you watch, think of the analogy. A long drive is a fastball, a good sand shot is a finesse changeup, and that long snaking putt that drops is a curve ball that caught the corner.