Erik’s Blog: Board Shorts and Business Suits

OK, so I admit, I’ve started to rock a little bit of a tire around the mid section. Nothing big, but noticeable none-the-less.

To try and get in shape in time for my wedding (which is in Hawaii, friends coming out, and I should really look like I actually play out here rather than work on my computer all day long) I’ve decided to cut calories and increase activity. The only problem is, I get way too hungry.

I’m trying and trying, but once 9 pm rolls around, I’m starving! I snack a little, not excessively, as a I used to but I’m still not cutting out as many calories as I’ve wanted to.

That’s when someone in my office, who noticed my disgruntledness (good word) at the candy jar, handed me over this great article from Newsweek titled Filling up with Less. It’s about a little known “diet” called volumetrics.

Volumetrics is essentially watching the amount of calories you take while still remaining full (or as they call it many times in the article, satiated. You eat foods that are not necessarily lower in calories but have higher densities usually as a result from more water in the food. This is called their energy density.

Energy Density = Calories Per Serving / Grams Per Serving

You want to eat foods that have an energy density of less than 1. Foods with energy densities between 1 and 2 are OK but should be limited and over 2, forget about it.

OK, so here we go, time to start eating many more fruits and veggies and get rid of that extra ring around the belly.

As promised I will continue to give blurbs about each blog that I have launched or will be launching in the near future. We haven’t settled on a network name quite yet, and I would love to co-post these at a dedicated network blog but for now this is what you get.

As you may or may not know one of my goals is to become a scratch golfer. Since making that goal, I have realized that it takes a lot of free time to get good at such a sport, and a lot of patience. I have bought many books, read tips online, and hit the driving range plenty of times. Since doing that I’ve become somewhat knowledgeable about the different golf strokes that are out there and to the physics of golf. My swing has improved and if I get a few weeks in a row to work on it, the scores show huge improvements. I just need to stick with it for several months.

I also enjoy, as I work towards my goal, keeping up with whats happening in the world of golf. As I read I also find myself wanting to voice some opinions and spread the word about how the game is evolving and who the new players to watch for are. This is why I have started the Golf Blog www.GettingToScratch.com. It’s a golf news and resource blog featuring tips on swing mechanics, club selection, rules, and general golf knowledge. Right now I am collection golf stories and will be featuring new ones as I get them in.

We will be implementing a featured Golf video as we collect them and posting it in the same video spot that this blog features it’s video. Look for new ones every couple of days. I hope to have a few up about the US Open and how it’s taking people down.

Head over and check it out if you like the game of Golf, or maybe if you want to learn about a new sport. Warning, golf can be addicting once you hit that first great shot. All it takes is one.

Well I finally joined the millions upon millions of American who belong to a fitness club. Let’s just hope I don’t join them in their quest to not use the membership.

Here in Hawaii we have quite a few 24 Hour Fitness clubs, which has recently taken over Bally’s as teh number 1 grossing club in America. I have been reluctant to join because I always had full access to weights and cardio machines in high school and college. Those come with tuition. I never wanted to spend the money to go and workout. Plus I could always do push-ups and sit-ups and go for a run.

As of late I have been working on getting back into shape running and biking as much as my motivation will take me. This past month it has literally rained every single day making my motivation not very high for me going outside and running. I must say though. I have had quite a few runs and rides in the rain, in my defense. My fiance on the other hand is able to go to 24 Hour whenever she likes and lift weights or use their cardio machines, not worrying what the weather is like outside.

Next, looking at what my physique or lack there of has become over the past few years is not fun, so I also decided I needed to lift weights again. Saying is one thing and doing is another. Therefor, I finally figured that if I spent the money on a membership it would force myself to use it. That and I enjoy getting into a lifting routine and have been missing that aspect of working out for quite some time, almost 3 years. This was the final push for me getting the membership. I know a lot of people use this as their reason and then never use it but I hope that spending money I dont’ really have will be motivation enough.

We’ll see how it goes but I think it will be a good addition to the things I am already doing and allow me to get back into the shape that I once was in and hopefully surpass it.

A quick hint for those of you wondering why a slice might have crept back into your drive.

Recently, with what little time I have been spending on golf, I have been working on my middle irons. Mostly my 5, 6, and 7 iron shots. These seem to be the most used by myself as I usually hit my drive leaving about 140 to 180 to the green. These are a little steeper back swings, again I’m using the one-plane swing, and the steeper the back swing with a longer club, the more difficult it is to bring back around to square.

When I went to hit my driver, which I haven’t been hitting, I have seen a slice come back into my shot. In order to remedy the slice I have determined that I need to flatten out my back swing concentrating on keeping the swing on one plane. If I bring the club back and then up over my head it tends to dip my left should (righty) and cause my swing to come outside-to-in. This brings about a slice.

What I need to remind myself when I draw the club back is to immediately angle the club on the same line as the club was on approach. This will give me the proper angle when I initiate my downswing and bring the club back to square hitting straighter shots. I tried this on the last few holes and was successful.

Too often I want to wind up and whack the ball as hard as I can causing errant shots from a poor swing plane. Think about flattening out your shot, keeping it on that single plane and you will help alleviate your slice and properly fix your golf shot. Hope this helps get you to scratch golfing.

When you’re golfing, why should you shoot for the hole? Sounds ridiculous right. Wrong.

Most golfers I play with or see have high handicaps. Like me they’re working down from around 100 and can’t seem to get anywhere. One of the biggest obstacles that I’ve had to overcome is shooting for the hole. What I mean is playing every shoot towards the hole. Since I don’t have a controllable fade or draw I cringe at going for spot right of the hole or left of the hole. My guess is so do you.

Playing on island courses and some of the most difficult in the world (slope and rating wise) I have learned you don’t always need to go for the hole. A lot of times the smart shot is to the right away from the bunkers 150 yards short! Most of the time I would take out my 3 wood and go for the glory. It was hard for me to justify hitting the ball short on my second shot into a par four and then trying to chip the ball close. That isn’t even laying up in most golfers books.

But it works! My scores have dropped quite a bit since I began to shot for a wide open patch rather than between two trees. Here’s some of the thoughts I go through when selecting a shot.

Play It Short on a Par Four

- One of the most helpful things I’ve done to improve my scores is to not go for the hole every shot on every hole. On Par fours where my tee shot has left me a horrible angle into the hole, or in a position where if I over shoot the hole it’s going to go long, dribble down a hill and end up OB, I lay it up. Of course I have worked also on improving my short game in the process, but laying up has shaved at least three strokes off some rounds.

Too often us duffers hit a tee shot to the left and leave ourselves behind a patch of trees that we need to either draw the ball around or shoot a perfectly straight shot dropping, with backspin. Both shots I don’t have in my repertoire quite yet. Instead, why not pull out a 4 iron take a half swing and pooch the ball low under the tree and out in the middle of the fairway. Chip the ball close you could save par, two putt and you get bogey. On your way to a 90!

Why Not Roll it Up

- Another shot that you should add to your bag-o-tricks is the seven or eight iron from 40 yards away. If there aren’t any bunkers in front of you why do you need so much air under the ball? Do you have the skill to drop the ball next to the hole? If I am within about 10-20 yards of the fringe with nothing in front of me I often take out my eight iron and look to get the ball just high enough to create some roll and get it on the green going towards the hole.

My guess is that most of you take out those brand new wedges you bought and skull the ball shooting it straight over the green and into the bunker on the other side. If you watch Big Break IV you noticed that a lot of them shot old English pitch shots where the ball would land 10 yards from the green but roll up in a good position. If you have no obstacles, some decent fairway in front of you, don’t work on your short game. Pull out the 8 or even 9 iron and use the much easier controllable pitch shot.

Long and Straight or Short and Open

- If you are like most you pull out your driver and go for the glory of hitting the long ball dead down the center of the fairway. Unless your playing from the back tees, you don’t need to let the big dog eat every single time. Especially if there is a patch of trees hanging over the right or left edge of the fairway.

On a lot of the island courses here in Hawaii there are short par fours but the designers placed a few trees about 100 yards out from the tee box blocking your route to the hole. You could hug the trees and go over them long or take out a 5 wood and shoot short to a big open patch. Hmm. I usually go hugging trees and shooting long, or at least try. Too often I find myself in the bushes trying to punch my ball at the hole (see previous). Might I suggest the 5 wood next time. 150-170 out is a lot better than 200 out and under a bush.

The biggest take away you should have from this is to not always go for the glory. Trust me. Look ahead to where your shot could be and then look at what some other options are. Start playing for bogey’s on every hole rather than playing for pars. You’ll begin to see the game in a hole new way and look towards scratch golfing like a reality instead of a dream.