Golfing with Barb Wire 101
May 16th, 2007 by msdanielle
So yesterday I had my first golf lesson. Woohoo! My instructor: Mr. Gary Lee 
If you guys don’t know, Gary plays golf regularly with his friends, and since I’m old now, I’ve decided to pick it up too. We went to the driving range right after work, and I picked up a brand new white glove and grabbed a medium bucket of golf balls. I was ready. I’d never swung a golf club before, and it was really awkward for me. Picture me hacking down some weeds with a machete. OK, maybe not that bad. I don’t know about any of you who play, but for me it really feels unnatural. Anyway, because I grew up in gymnastics, form and flexibility wasn’t my problem; I immediately found my plane. My biggest challenge is making my swing look and feel natural.
Golf is a funny game when you think about it. You stand planted in one position, wind yourself up like a toy, and Whack! You try to hit a ball into a hole. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it’s easy.
I realized recently that I’m really out of shape, and no I don’t mean to say “I’m fat.” I mean, I grew up with a decade of soccer and gymnastics under my belt, but haven’t played either in years. I didn’t assume golf would be very physically straining, but I was really surprised when I woke up this morning. Pretty much all of my muscles were sore, from my calves to my abs, back, and shoulders. My first thought: “This is gonna be fun!” If you have any pointers for me, feel free to leave me a comment. Right now I don’t really know what I’m doing, but I can hit the ball at least 10 yards! And if you’re wondering what the deal is with “Barb Wire,” that’s Gary’s nick name for me because he says I’m one of those “wirey strong” people! Hehe…
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was it coffee that helps gets rid of soreness? i remember reading an article about that. not sure if you were to drink it before or after.
well i know that drinking it after doesn’t help….
here’s the article.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16562844/
“Those who consumed caffeine one hour before the maximum force test had a 48 percent reduction in pain compared with the placebo group. Students who took caffeine before the near-maximum force test showed a 26 percent reduction in soreness.”
i’ll drink a cup of coffee before we leave the office next week, and not drink it the week after, and see if there’s any difference!
“She’s Wirey”
I hate golf, but only because it hates me back. And I do mean “back” literally, kills my back, and I’m sure its because I have the worst form ever.
Bowling is my game of choice…
i bowled for the first time in my adult life last year.
i did really well and got like a 156 and 125. but my left leg was killing me for 3 days! hahahaha
Oh god, no. Save yourself now. Taking up golf means you’re doomed to aimlessly pursue perfection for the rest of your life.
Save yourself hours (and eventually years) of frustration and just head straight to the clubhouse for the “post-round” cold beverage.
Actually, golfing is quite fun but I haven’t played in years. The one suggestion I would make is keep your grip firm but loose (aka don’t try and strangle the club) and just use a nice, easy swing.
As amateurs, you’ll often see women scoring better than many men because the guys try to mash the ball and that often has a negative result on your swing. Good luck to your golf adventures!
i’ve been hearing this a lot. like, men just hammer the crap out of the ball and don’t have much control. women have more control but not enough power. thanks for the words of encouragement!
As long as you’re not as bad as this guy.
that was awesome
i need to take notes on my first course excursion. we’ll compare notes
Video will be posted next week guys . . . . she really doesn’t have a bad swing . . . . just working on the flow and rhythm of the swing now to get some Michelle Wie-esque power!
Hahah when I pictured danielle golfing, I immediately thought of Michelle Wie
That’s what they tell me. The Michelle Wie thing.
wasn’t the name Barb Wire used by Pamela Anderson in a movie of the same name? She was some bounty hunter or something with that name… dunno if I’d be proud of that… that was a bad movie! hehe
Swing feels awkward… I can relate to that.
I’m right-handed but I actually play golf left-handed because it feels much more natural to me. I never could get the hang of swinging a golf club right-handed.
Lol, I am the exact opposite. I’m a lefty but I do things like play golf and hockey right-handed. I also swing a baseball bat righty whereas my oldest son is a righty and he swings lefty.
when i played soccer i could shoot right or left footed, so i’d be center, or left or right wing. the other team couldn’t tell which way i was gonna go! lol
The golf swing seems very unnatural to me too. Almost like your body isn’t meant to bend in those ways. I find a baseball swing much more natural but my favorite sport will always be tennis
Here’s a tip… I find that I hit the ball best when I’m not trying to force the club. I kind of just let it drop instead of trying to push it through with as much force as possible!
I started playing Golf last summer and I know exactly what you mean by it feeling unnatural, but with time and practice you cant imagine yourself hitting it any other way.
I also found out that it was very tasking sport (Even though it doesn’t look it). Recently I went to the driving range with my roomate and after hitting over a hundred balls, the next day he couldn’t move. He had ridiculous back pain, he had to call in sick for work and actually go see a doctor about it. This is someone who is in both a soccer an basketball team.
So far I find the game really interesting, it will be fustrating in the beginning (I asure you), but if you hang on you’ll love it.
just make sure gary teaches u the placement of ur feet, the weight distribution of one side of ur feet during the upswing and then the shift in weight at the moment u downswing… u should be able to feel it in ur feet…..everything starts with ur feet….then learn the swing…. once that’s done, u can start aimin and hitting
happy trails
Hehehe.. I know exactly how you feel. I myself grew up with flexibility (tae kwon do, yoga and cheerleading, etc) and when I was first taught golf all I could think of was “be natural! be natural!”
I had the same image in my head when I first played - holding a machete while hacking down on some weeds. That was how it felt like. Hope your games gets better though!
[…] (that’s Ms. Danielle to you) shares with us her first golf experience with coach and fellow blogger, Gary Lee. Her performance reminded me of the time I shot a 72. Its […]
Hey…that’s awesome… you’re gonna have so much fun with this. The swing always feels awkward at first but soon it’ll seem much more natural. Don’t grip the club too hard…I was doing that for a couple of months before someone finally corrected me…you should be holding it like you would hold a live sparrow in your hands, that is, strong enough so it won’t fly away but loose enough so you won’t hurt it. Hope that helps. Anyway just have fun with it … and buy lots of cute golf clothes!
wow thanks for all the tips and feedback! i’m sure i can at least handle patricia’s advice of finding some cute golf clothes
my biggest challenges i think are coordinating all of my body parts so it looks like one fluid motion, and getting new glasses bc i’m near-sighted! LOL
Develop strength and distance, then worry about accuracy. Its possible to get low scores driving the ball 225+ in the rough. Its not possible when you can only drive the ball 125.
Swing hard. You will develop the muscles needed to control the golf club. Oh yah and learn how to swing in balance.
well we’re going again tomorrow. i’m not expecting much change bc i didn’t practice since last week and i’ve been eating poorly
i will keep your tips in mind! 
First of all, and most important….. Enjoy yourself.
I’ve just started golfing again, after a 28 year lapse (I’m only 40… yep I golfed until 12)
And always remember, it’s not you against an opponent, you against yourself and against the course.