On the Course: Off course, all day
The Aspen Times
Aspen, CO Colorado
ASPEN ” From optimism to dejection in 1.2 seconds. My relationship with golf is as frustratingly simple as that.
I was all smiles as I walked from the driving range to the first tee Sunday at the Aspen Golf Club. A minor swing change had me feeling comfortable and confident with every club. As I teed up my ball, one of my playing partners pointed out the ideal part of the fairway from which to attack the green.
He should’ve saved his breath. Seconds later, I awkwardly drew the club back, struck the ball and watched as it darted to the left, clipping three different pine trees before coming to rest in the rough. I hope no rare birds were nesting nearby.
In one fell swoop, my balanced swing had disappeared. I looked like someone using every muscle in their body to cough up a chicken bone lodged in their trachea.
It gets worse. It always gets worse.
My second shot veered to the left once again, and when I finally spotted the ball, it was resting on an adjacent Aspen Junior Golf practice green, a few feet from a group of startled youngsters. One man jokingly suggested I “Pick a hole and putt out.”
Instead, I took a drop and, with the group watching my every move ” they were either teeming with curiosity or they accurately sensed that their lives were in danger should they turn their backs ” I managed to find the actual green some 30 yards away.
Here are a few more highlights (or low-lights) from an afternoon spent embarrassing myself and making a mockery of the game of golf:
– In an attempt to channel my inner Phil Mickelson, I eyed a clearing between two imposing branches and attempted to punch a shot through. My ball drilled a tree trunk, bounced backward and landed at my feet.
– One of my drives on the back nine landed on Highway 82. ( If anyone finds a Titleist 2 by the roundabout, I’d like it back.)
– I lined up a putt 5 feet from the cup, pulled the putter back and through, then watched hopelessly as the ball screamed past the hole and nearly trickled off the green. I went on to four-putt. My playing partners had another laugh at my expense. I decided I have about as much touch as an ax-wielding lumberjack trying to play a Steinway.
– I attempted a chip over a small body of water on 18, but the ball struck the hozzle and made a splash landing. I go on to record an eight for the hole and a 108 for the day ( that’s 69 cents a shot). On the bright side, you get more for your money when you put up bowling score-like numbers.
– I decided I’ll spend next Sunday on the couch ” or some place far from the junior
golfers.
Jayne Gottlieb: The Yogi advocating for ‘aliveness’
For yogi and self-proclaimed ‘positivity spreader’ Jayne Gottleib the quintessential Aspen philosophy of ‘Mind, Body and Spirit,’ is not just an ideal but a lifestyle.