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Viewing posts for the category Still a Rookie

All beginnings 14: My most difficult opponent

Posted by: Kai in Still a Rookie 10 months ago

But the longer I play the courses in my area, the more often I can be found on the greens, the more it crystallizes that I am often no match for a particular opponent.

All beginnings 13: Golfing is like driving a car

Posted by: Kai in Still a Rookie 10 months, 2 weeks ago

You've passed your golf course entrance exam, completed your membership, and received your DGV card. Now nothing stands in the way of my golf career. With all my freshly acquired knowledge and skills (a big word for my bungling on the course), I wanted to quickly improve the club target of 54, which is not officially called a "handicap" until 36. Easier said than done.

All beginnings 12: Club membership - Part 2

Posted by: Kai in Still a Rookie 11 months ago

In the previous article in this series, I asked what comes after the license to play golf, and I already gave the first of the possible answers: Full membership in a golf club. This text will now provide information about a second possibility.

Mark's first "walk with ball accompaniment"

Posted by: Mark in Still a Rookie 11 months, 2 weeks ago

Anyone who writes about a topic and operates a website on it should already be familiar with the subject matter - and ideally still have a pronounced passion for it. How else do you justify your desire to communicate with the world?

All beginnings 11: Club membership - Part 1

Posted by: Kai in Still a Rookie 11 months, 4 weeks ago

You've passed the course-readiness test, and the equipment for the first steps of your golf career is ready. Now you can finally get started. Can it really?

All beginnings 10: Golf course license passed - and now?

Posted by: Kai in Still a Rookie 1 year ago

Done, finally: The course is over, the basics learned. And now? There are many ways to start your golf career. But for the most part, it also comes with a cost.

All beginnings 9: The exam day - Part 2

Posted by: Kai in Still a Rookie 1 year ago

The practical exam round for the Platzreife is almost complete. It didn't go well, but not so badly that I had to set myself up for a repetition. Now I'm standing on the last green, with exactly one stroke left to pass the golf course license test. The upcoming putt is not impossible, but also not easy to make. Full concentration is now the order of the day.

All beginnings 8: The exam day - Part 1

Posted by: Kai in Still a Rookie 1 year, 1 month ago

The circumstances are immediately familiar: After we have struggled out of bed early Saturday morning and dragged ourselves to the golf course, we are again greeted - just as at the beginning of the course - by light fog and unpleasant coolness.

All beginnings 7: The way to the golf course license - Part 2

Posted by: Kai in Still a Rookie 1 year, 1 month ago

Even before I held a golf club in my hand for the first time, there were friends who wanted to proselytize me for the game on the long courses. One very special couple once took me out for a round. I was just a spectator, but quickly got an impression of how much the game with the small ball is subject to special rules.

All beginnings 6: The way to the golf course license - Part 1

Posted by: Kai in Still a Rookie 1 year, 2 months ago

It is a foggy and unpleasantly cool spring morning when the golf course license course begins. If these are the conditions that accompany a golfer in his hobby, then it should be a short pleasure for the members of our group. After all, everyone already has the pictures in their mind's eye that show a glorious summer afternoon, where one has to look for a place in the shade rather than put on a thick and warming jacket. But we are far away from that at the moment.

All beginnings 5: The taster course

Posted by: Kai in Still a Rookie 1 year, 2 months ago

The keyword "golf course license" has now come up several times. Conversations with golf-playing colleagues always boiled down to this, because: "without a license to play the game is only possible to a very limited extent".

All beginnings 4: The first lanes

Posted by: Kai in Still a Rookie 1 year, 3 months ago

When I stand on a teeing ground for the first time, tee up the ball and look at the distant green, I still feel strange. Is this me? What am I doing here? And why? It will take some time before this very spot on the tee of the first hole will give me the inner peace that I have come to love.

All beginnings 3: Tasted blood

Posted by: Kai in Still a Rookie 1 year, 3 months ago

The ball machine at the driving range spits balls into a small green plastic basket, it rattles and the colleagues seem to change. With this sound, the end of the working day officially begins for them. Until just now, they were still talking about workdays: About problems and conversations that had characterized the past eight hours. That's over now. The colleagues show me some warm-up exercises. As with any sport, you shouldn't hit the ball with cold muscles; strains can quickly end the game before it really begins. The necessity of warming up makes sense to me, but I only participate half-heartedly. After all, I'm only supposed to try it out; it won't put too much strain on my muscles. But my colleagues are attentive. If I didn't sweat at least a little, the risk of injury would be too great. All right, I'll comply, even though it's already annoying.

All beginnings 2: With prejudices

Posted by: Kai in Still a Rookie 1 year, 4 months ago

My colleagues grinned at me meaningfully when I came on duty one morning. At first I didn't understand, but the hints soon shed light: After work, they would go out on the course again, play a few holes - and I would be there. Yes, I had agreed and now I couldn't go back.

All beginnings 1: The snap idea

Posted by: Kai in Still a Rookie 1 year, 4 months ago

Play golf? Me? A crackpot idea like no other." - Those were the first thoughts I had when talking to active golfers. The situation was completely unsportsmanlike, because the conversation took place on the premises of a newspaper editorial office. The golfers were colleagues who liked to play a few holes on the nearby golf course after work in the summer. And as they were talking about bringing their "silverware" the next day to hit a few balls in the evening, I happened to be standing there.  I sensed the fascination that this sport must have held for them and asked about it. I knew nothing about golf, only the usual prejudices. And that explained my first thoughts when my colleagues asked me if I would like to come along and give it a try.

That was close!

Posted by: Kai in Still a Rookie 1 year, 4 months ago

"Unpleasant or perhaps dangerous things always happen only to others." I'm sure I'm not the only one who goes through life with this basic thought. Because if you should always expect the worst, even the worst, then you should no longer dare to leave the house. Well, actually one should not even leave the bed. The fear of accident or misfortune, of inconvenience and trouble would probably be too great. But since I often not only have to earn a living, but also play a round of golf now and then, I am regularly driven out of bed. And as I am sitting here writing these lines, my credo seems to be true. The poor others.