Hacker Lowers His Handicap By 9 Strokes

I had the pleasure of meeting up with Ron on a cool morning at the Frisco Lakes Golf Club in Frisco, Texas.
Ron carries a Cleveland Hibore 9.5d driver, Cleveland 1-3-4 Hybrids, Calloway irons, a 56 degree Cleveland wedge and an Odessey mallet putter.

I noticed one unusual club that Ron pulled out of his golf bag while we were on the driving range, it was a broken piece of PVC pipe with a very jagged end. It was from a residential water sprinkler system. I had visions of Ron using that specialty club for numerous things like impaling his playing partners should they say something he did not like or using it to, well I only have other unpleasant thoughts and my vivid imagination to consider what Ron uses that CLUB for! I have to admit I have never seen that club in another golf bag in my life.
Ron's explanation for the specialty club was that he used it to help practice a proper alignment! Yea, everyone rips up their neighbors sprinkler system, brakes off a piece of pipe, puts it in his golf bag and tells everyone it is to help practice their alignment! I mean the pipe still had mud on it! IF any of you readers have ever seen this type of specialty club in another golf bag PLEASE tell us where in the comment section.

Ron plays with a regular group of golfers on Friday morning and some times gets in another round on Tuesday mornings. He shot an 85 last Tuesday. He had the normal grimaces and discussed how that 85 could have been an 80 with just a few more putts or a better chip and so on. I think all hackers have similar thoughts after a round of golf.

Ron said the toughest course he ever played was The Trails in Frisco but a little later he changed his mind and said it was the Oneida Golf and Riding Club in Green Bay Wisconsin. He said he shot a 110 that day. He must have kept hitting the ball over into the riding trails!
All of us hackers have had days where if I hit it right, it's a slice. If I hit it left, it's a hook. If I hit it straight, it's a miracle!

Ron has enjoyed great rounds of golf at the El Conquistador in Arizona, Pine Forest in Houston, Texas and The Tribute Golf Club in The Colony.

Ron and the other regular members of his group like to play a game called the Quota Game when they play. The game allows for some gambling based upon your golf skills and a players handicap.
Some hackers, but I am sure not Ron's regular group, can have a tendency to be somewhat generous while playing with friends. They can give mulligans to their friends after an errant shot lands in a water hazard after a really ugly shot or a four foot putt with a big break in it can become a gimme. However, if you have a wager for a cold beer or some money and that friendly neighbor you play with can change from Mr. Nice Guy to Freddie Kruger who is ready to slice you up in a New York minute if you want to bet on a game. Just play nice fellas!

Ron was very pleased with how his game has improved over the last year by lowering his handicap from a 20 to an 11 handicap. I asked him what he had done to improve his game so much and he responded:
He now plays twice a week compared to once a week last year. He has really worked on improving his swing tempo while at the driving range. Then there was his purchase of the Cleveland Hybrid 1-3-4 clubs. Ron said the Hybrid clubs were much easier to hit than his old long irons.

I thought Ron might have said that he improved his game due to better practice habits by using his neighbors sprinkler system to improve his alignment!

I think Jimmy DeMaret said it best:
Golf and sex are the only things you can enjoy without being good at either of them.

Well I just realized that I have used two key words, Sex and PVC Pipe. Man, if someone comes on the Internet searching for sex or PVC pipe and they get a golf blog, that just might really confuse some poor sole!

If you have comment about how to improve your game that you want to share or if you just want to comment on the blog, please do so. And remember:
Golf is a game invented by the same people who think music comes out of a bagpipe. So try to enjoy!
Lee Trevino