Sunday, December 17, 2006

Freak injury

Over the past 20 months of blogging, I have in numerous posts regaled entertained bored you with tales of my golf game.

Today Carol and I went to our local course anticipating, if nothing else, a pleasant afternoon outdoors in the warm, breezy sunshine. We were indeed enjoying the weather (if not the golf game) up until the 8th hole.

I found my tee shot lying about 150 yards from the green. Trouble was, this hole was a par 3 and the distance from the tee to the green was only 150 yards.

My tee shot had been struck by the toe of the golf club, had slammed into the Plexiglas windshield of a golf cart parked just forward of the teeing area but well off to one side, and had come to rest about two feet from the concrete cart path farther off to the side

Not a good start to the hole.

I surveyed my next shot before addressing the ball. I had to hit it directly over the cart path, but keep it low to stay under some tree limbs. The old "line-drive bullet" was clearly the shot I needed to make.

I addressed the ball slightly back in my stance, closed the clubface to de-loft the shot, and took a mighty swing. My 5-iron contacted the ball cleanly and it fired off the face of the club!

However, I had evidently de-lofted the shot just a tad too much. The ball travelled two feet straight ahead, deflected off the edge of the concrete cart path (which couldn't have been more than a quarter-inch high at that point), and ricocheted up and back. Right into the back of my leading wrist as I continued my forward swing.

Now my wrist was traveling rapidly toward the green, but the ball was travelling MUCH MORE RAPIDLY away from the green when the two made contact. And let me tell you; a golf ball is MUCH harder than the back of my wrist.

Carol missed the rapid-fire action of the ball, but saw my club fall to the ground as I grabbed my wrist with the other hand. The ball meanwhile, proceded sideways about 20 yards and stopped by her feet.

To say that it "stung" would be like saying that hitting your thumb with a hammer "smarted a little."

That was the end of my golf for the afternoon, and tonight I have a nice, round reddish bruise on the back of my swollen forearm.

No, nothing's broken. I don't think anything is even significantly damaged.

Other than what little pride I still maintained on the golf course. That, I fear, is the major casualty of this whole affair.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

"And tonight, on Extreme Golf..."

Karyn Lyndon said...

Glad the ball didn't make contact with a more sensitive spot...like your head!

Anonymous said...

I really hate to say it, but do you think a certain force of the Universe, a force we don't like to name, might be to blame here?

I'm glad to hear you're not mortally injured, certainly. But I fear that this "force" might be doing what it can to drive you back into your home.

Candace said...

Hahahaaaaaaaaaaa! I'm laughing because of all the times guys will say "oh, it's an old football injury..."
Now, you can shrug (painfully) and say, "oh, it's an old golf injury..."
Hahahaaaaaaaaaa!

kenju said...

Ohm you poor baby! I am sorry. Maybe the universe is trying to tell you somthing?

Duke_of_Earle said...

r.e.: Good comment, except that the spot might be called "Extreme Uncoordination" (or other noun) but most would probably not describe that activity as (strictly speaking) "Golf."

Karyn: Sensitive spot? My head might have been the only spot with hardness approaching that of the golf ball (according to Carol). A good rap on the noggin might have done some good, in fact (acording to Carol).

Viki, and Kenju: I appreciate your concern, both for my physical wellbeing and for the unnamed forces of the universe which may have been at work. I hadn't considered that angle, but will do so now, perhaps in a post later today.

And Candace: Your heartfelt sympathy for my pain and suffering is also, um... appreciated. Sort of...

John

Badabing said...

I'm glad you're okay, Duke. How's the golf cart? ;-)