BLING SWING BLOG

Well, the gauntlet has been dropped...or shall I say the line in the sand trap has been drawn! Twelve months from now you will see what lengths we go to, where we travel, the dedication it takes, and the scores we post (even those late night, tipsy/hangover bad scores). Neither of us fancy ourselves joining the Tour, but we would like to be asked to golf for reasons other than "she’s nice" or "they’re fun". Not that we mind being nice and fun, but we are also very amusing, or so WE think, and we plan to up the fun-factor this year. We tend to get included in golf outings and trips because we sort of “bribe” our way in, not because we’re particularly good. I’m not talking about out-and-out bribery, but subtle little incentives that we offer...like the Cosmos we pull out of a cooler on a hot day, champagne in the cart ready to be popped in honor of a birdie (or even a par if it's been a birdie-less day), the disco ball Kim hung from the roof of our cart in order to win the $50 best cart décor award, and post-game dinners that far outshine the day’s play. When you golf like we do, it is always wise to provide enticements that divert one’s attention away from the swing. But by next spring, we want to still be enjoying ourselves AND be better golfers! For me though, it hasn’t always been fun…

My first year golfing, my husband and I joined a local golf club in Park City, The Jeremy. We knew very few members, which turned out to be problematic for me once we started playing. Each golf day as our tee-time approached, I would pray that no one would join our twosome. I was anxious, self-conscious, and generally dreaded the thought of having to play with any unknown, seasoned golfer. After all, this is supposed to be an enjoyable leisure-time activity, right? I just didn’t want to subject anyone else besides my husband to my erratic and sometimes frenzied golf game. Since I only played on picture-perfect days, we almost always ended up paired with another twosome (my luck... almost always two guys playing from the pro tees). I found leisurely golf turning into an aerobic sport as my heart accelerated from the stress. They were usually somewhat forgiving and I would survive the round, but I quickly knew that if I was going to spend so much time learning to love a new post-retirement hobby, I needed to recruit some girlfriends. That day I signed up for The Jeremy's ladies association, put a sign on the bulletin board that said, “New Member: Will Cook for Golf Partners!” Later that summer I hosted a fabulous dinner party thanking the 40+ women that put up with me my first year of golf, and it turned out to be one the best bribes I ever made.

I don’t ever want to lose the fun factor that Kim and I have carefully cultivated and somewhat perfected over the last few years. We are not in the “big girl” league yet (and by big girl I am referring to one's swing, not her big...hair), but if and when we make it there, you can bet that there will still be plenty of giggles. So prepare to laugh at us (and with us), commiserate, cheer us on, and hopefully learn a thing or two about improving your own game through our lessons and experiences. So here's to two girlfriends who really believe that there is more to life than golf, and who want to get the most out of the sport that we can!

Over to you, Kimmie,

Patti