Off The DL And Excited To Play Golf Again!

Tomorrow will be the first 18-hole round for me since I sustained the right hip injury on July 7 and I am quite keyed up and a bit nervous.  I have eased back into golf activities during the three-week layoff by not doing anything in the first week, focusing on short game practice the second, and playing two nine hole rounds on my little executive course this week.  The hip feels good but not great and I’m still a little hesitant to fire them at the start of the downswing.  As a result, my timing is off and I’ve been pulling the ball with a slight over-the-top move.  To compensate, I’ve gone with a shorter backswing which has promoted good contact, but not solved for the pull.

At the conclusion of today’s nine, I was tempted to hit a bucket of balls but felt that might be pushing it and opted instead to putt.  Fortunately, the layoff has not affected my short game and it remains sharp with all clubs and shots.  The total reset away from the Stan Utley changes has been a godsend and I am now in love with my Cleveland CG-16 58 degree wedge.  It took about six months to get used to these wedges and it’s clear now that when you are a weekend golfer, you must be patient after an equipment change.  So is Rory McIlroy a weekend golfer since he changed equipment?  He doesn’t play much on the weekends any more. . .but I digress.

So it’s out to Rattlewood tomorrow and it’s a good course for the comeback because the premium is on short game and putting and not great ball striking.  Hoping I’m not rushing things but sitting on the bench in the middle of the season is killing me.  Hope I’m up to the challenge!