3Resurrection - Day 8. Legs & Back

Legs & Back today. I squeezed out one less pull-up than I did a couple of weeks ago, and that's okay because I've been out of sorts. 67. I'm still wary of giving it 100% intensity. I'm holding back for some reason. I've got to really start bringing it again.
For the first time, I skipped Dreya's 3 direction kicks and the sneaky lunges. They do nothing for me, and I usually just rush through them anyway. It shortens a long workout by about five minutes, which is welcome. Another thing, after the close grip overhand pullups in round 2, is it my imagination or is Tony about to pass out? He looks like he's in trouble, and then he kind of stumbles. "I'm falling over!" he says. Then the guy does 60 of those those 60-40 squats straight up. Wow.
Well, I bought dad a DVD player that can play DivX. Fuck it. It's only $70. Problem is, I bought it online at JB HiFi, an Australian retailer. It's a good chance they'll mess the order up. When I order books through Japanese Amazon, they often arrive the evening of the next day. It's unbelievable. I can imagine a group of guys standing at attention around the computer. "We have just received an order!" screams the stock controller, ripping the sheet from the printer and shoving it into the hands of a uniformed stock hand. "Go! Go! Go!" In Australia the I imagine the guy doesn't notice an order has come through for hours because he's too busy having bongs in his car out the back. We'll see. I figure it's probably the same amount of money as I would spend buying all the genuine Lost DVDs for him, and then afterwards he would have a DVD player that could play any downloaded stuff I wanted to send him.

3Resurrection - Day 7. ARX

I was pretty slack on the weekend. I did Shoulders & Arms on Saturday after missing it on Friday, and then I only did Ab Ripper X yesterday and not the Insanity workout I was supposed to. I can feel the motivation slipping. I've also been eating pretty badly. There are a lot of little cakes and chocolate things around the house because of Valentine's day, and I've been helping myself to those. Usual stuff. Today is February the 22nd, exactly one month before my 36th birthday, so I'm going to get in the best shape that I can for the photo I'm going to take on my birthday. That means no more missed workouts, no more overdoing the snacks and stuff. So I'm going to catch up on my workouts today and tomorrow. Legs & Back tonight, then Insanity, ARX, and Patience Hummingbird Yoga tomorrow. Insanity in the morning, ARX after work, and Yoga at night. That will put me back on schedule.
I'm completely over this cold, except the lining of my sinuses and nostrils apparently weakened to the point of bleeding. It's stopped now, though my nose is full of scabs, and it's really annoying. It was unlike any cold I've ever had. I wouldn't even call it a cold. Let's see. Hay fever-like symptoms for a day or so, then a really, really sore throat, then bloody mucas, then a headache for a couple of days, amounting to about a week of suckyness. Maybe I have a new virus, and I'm now a fundamentally new type of human, changed at the DNA level. Maybe better, maybe stupider.
So what else? Will and I went to the Okazaki Nature Experience Forest, and we climbed a large hill together. There was some pooz on one of the steps, which he loved. As soon as we got home he drew a picture of us climbing this hill with pooz on the steps. Last night we had eel, which was nice. I suspect it's the sauce they cover it with that is nice, and the eel meat itself is not that nice. I watched "Capitalism: A Love Story", Michael Moore's new movie, and again marvelled at why Americans haven't taken the guns that they supposedly value so much and shoot dead every elected official in the country and start again. For all their bluster and bravado, they are great at putting up with being treated like pieces of shit.
I was watching Lost a couple of weeks ago and I thought, I wonder if dad would like this. So I bought the first season on eBay for $10 and sent it to him. You could say he liked it. He watched the entire 24 episodes in 3 days. Nothing if not compulsive, my dad. It'll be the only thing my sister and I hear about for years. That, and how he has just wants to be left alone. He can't just like something, it has to consume him. So now I have to get season 2 to him, and then 3, 4, 5, and 6. I hope he has a player that can play DivX or it's gonna cost me hundreds.

Tiger

Anyone who knows me knows there is no bigger Tiger fan than me. He has meant so much to me the last ten to fifteen years, made me feel lucky to be alive.
Does he owe me anything?
That's the question I keep coming back to. And I have to answer that he does, because I feel betrayed by what he has done. Honestly, I feel humiliated. Only a fraction of what his wife is feeling, of course, but there it is. I'm a fan. I hoped my son would possess the same qualities as Tiger seemed to have. Dedication, discipline, a fearless heart. If it was just golf, then fine. But here was the greatest athlete in the world playing my sport better than anyone thought it could be played, and to top it off he seemed so... what? Square? Trustworthy? Dependable?
Your speech was fine. You seemed genuinely sorry. To admit your mistakes in front of your friends and mother (who looked really pissed off the whole time) took guts. Probably more guts than if you did it in front of the press.
Your foundation? Could not care less. Your wife? Yea, she's great, Tiger. And if she had any sense she'd never have anything to do with you ever again. But that two year non-divorce contract is probably too good to refuse. The paparazzi? They took a photo of your mother going shopping. So what? And the Buddhism? Spare me. I live in a Buddhist country, and there's seemingly only one commandment in Buddhism; you can doing anything if you don't get caught.
But you got caught. And only then did you think about what you had done.
When are you going to play golf again? I thought you were going to answer that question.
Anyway. Basically it was "I'm sorry. Leave me alone." Okay.
The irony is, after ten years of the greatest ever golfer, golf is in a terrible state, and it looks like 2010 will be disastrous. Golf put all it's eggs into Tiger's basket too, and now they're all broken and we are left with Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk.

3Resurrection - Day 3. Chest & Back

I couldn't get up yesterday morning. I just couldn't do it. So frustrating. That meant I had to do my workout after my lesson with Nori last night, which meant I wasn't done until about 10:30. Still, it's got to be done. I decided to skip the warm-up and cool-down, which reduced the workout to a mere 40 minutes. Probably not the best thing to do, but time! I just don't seem to have enough of it now that I'm working 5 days a week. It sucks. I also had a headache yesterday morning, which a couple of aspirin took care of, but why? Not enough something? Too much something? The only difference between yesterday and every other day is that I had an extra hour's sleep. And I thought that was a good thing. Anyway, I did Chest and Back, and did it at about 80% intensity. I didn't want to go too hard after a week lay off and a cold.
Tiger's coming back! The shitstorm begins on Saturday morning. He's going to hold a press conference, but instead of answering questions, he's going to be sitting with a group of friends talking, and a camera will be there to record it. Is it going to be like that Elvis concert, just him and a bunch of friends riffin'? Jim, you have a question?
Yes, Tiger. Why wasn't holing putts to win tournaments, with thousands of people roaring, and winning millions of dollars, enough to satisfy you? Are you telling us that despite all your achievements and wealth, you still felt so incomplete and restless that, for example, you just had to fuck the waitress at your local coffee shop in your car in a church car park? And even when you got caught doing that, and were basically blackmailed into giving an interview to Men's Health, you didn't stop, but in fact became even more brazen? Did your dad know? Also, will you keep insisting on being a phony, even though everyone now knows you are a sleaze?
I watched a show on the golf channel last night, a review of the '09 season, which he dominated without winning a major. Every little snippet of interview they showed of him, I couldn't help adding at the end, ".. and now I'm going to go fuck a stripper."
My opinion? He will talk about how he will never talk about this, it is between him and his wife, he is sorry, all that. "He is looking forward to it," says his manager. WTF? He will be back at Bay Hill for Arnold Palmer's tournament, and then the Masters. He will not change. I kind of want to see how he reacts if the only thing that he has left, his golf game, leaves him too. But it won't, because he is the best ever.
Looking forward to the interview too.

3Resurrection - Day 2. Yoga

This cold really kicked my ass. I haven't worked out for a week. I've got a real scabby dry nostril now, and every time I try and get some dried gunk out of there it bleeds. I'm feeling a lot better, though. I used the break to reevaluate what I have been doing, and thinking about how easy it would be to slip back into lazy habits. I walked past an old guy outside his house this morning having a smoke. Ah, that first smoke of the day. He probably had just finished breakfast, and if he is like I was, had rushed it to have the smoke. I felt a pang of envy. But then I remembered that I had already done 45 minutes of yoga, had a huge, healthy breakfast, and had been there when both my sons woke up. Can't get much better than that. Inhaling a poison isn't gonna ice that cake. So this week I keep coming back to one thought. If I stop now, then this is as fit and healthy as I am ever going to be. Even if after only a few months of dogging it, if I decide to recommit, it would take a year to get back into this kind of shape, and then I would be a year older. So is this it? No. I want to get in better shape. I don't want to go out like this, taken down by a stupid virus or cold or whatever it is. So I'm going to start round 3 again. I'm going to call it Resurrection. Not like Jesus, more like Alien. Coming back hard.
I've made a schedule more in tune with my lifestyle. LOL. Lifestyle. That's funny.
Monday will be my day off, and Tuesday will be Yoga and Ab Ripper X, or visa versa. Just as long as one Yoga and one ARX get done in these two days. The start of the week is a drag, and this is usually the time I would miss a workout because I was tired or couldn't be bothered. So I'm going to work my schedule around that. The other days will be the same as what I have been doing, alternating between a P90X resistance workout, and an Insanity workout.
I would like to find a 30-minute stretch workout for Mondays and Tuesdays if I can. X Stretch is great, but it's too long.
I'm going to mix the workouts up a little, too. I might throw in the odd One On One With Tony Horton workout now and then. Hey, not afraid to mix shit up, me.

Noob Golf 2

Today I'll discuss clubs and balls.
There's only one ball to use. Titleist (pronounced Title-ist, not Tit-leist) Pro V1, or Pro V1x if you are cashed up. They go long, feel great, and last forever. They are the best ball. Tiger uses Nike balls, but when I used one it looked dull after a couple of holes and scuffed up really easily. You can use a Titleist for two or three rounds and it will still clean up good. 90 percent of the pros use Titleists.
Woods
Drivers are in many minds the most important bag in the club. They are not (that would be the putter), but the driver is a close second for most club players. Hitting the fairways makes golf that much more enjoyable and stress-free. Over the last ten years, drivers have been getting larger and longer. Buy a high-quality driver that looks good and straight when you set up at the ball. Again, as usual, the well-known brands make the better drivers. Titleist, Calloway, Mizuno, Nike. For these companies, the driver is where the glamour is, and they spend a lot of money on design and promotion. Get one you like the look of, and treat it good. The benefit of spending a lot of money on a club is that you are going to treat it a little better than you would a cheap one.
Most sets come with two woods, a driver and a fairway wood. The fairway wood goes in and out of fashion. It's a little bit of an ego thing, because no-one wants to be seen hitting a wood off the fairway unless it's a par five. They are useful from lies in the rough, much easier to hit than a 2-iron, but from the fairway you should be able to hit a 2-iron just as far. Get one, but get a 3-wood, one with a bit of meat to it, not a little dinky 4- or 5- wood.
Irons
The best brands for irons are Titleist and Mizuno. There are a lot of different types of clubs, and if you buy a reasonably priced set from a big brand, chances are they will be pretty good. You want a set of irons 2 to 9, all the same kind. Most sets come as 3-9 with a pitching wedge and sand wedge, but order the 2 iron and dump the wedges. I prefer blades to cavity backs, but they aren't as forgiving. If you are just starting out, cavity backs are the way to go, but they can sound a bit clunky. I'll never forget, we had pennant match at Tullamarine, and there were people everywhere, and my mate hit a Ping 2-iron off the first tee. It made such a horrible sound that everybody stopped and looked up, and then started laughing. Just one of those moments. The blades have a smaller sweet spot, but you can feel exactly where the ball is going to go the moment you hit it. With cavities it's much harder to tell. Tiger uses Nike blades, but they have to pay him tens of millions of dollars to use them. This is why in 2003 Phil Mickelson said Tiger "has inferior equipment. Tiger is the only player who is good enough to overcome the equipment he's stuck with." Of course Nike threw a fit and Phil apologized, but he's right. Buy high quality clubs. Used clubs are fine, if they are high quality and "straight". Scratches and small dints are fine – bent shafts and hossels are not. Make sure the grips are in good condition. Unless you are unusually tall or short, off the rack clubs are fine. If you are average height and off the rack clubs don't suit you, you are the problem, and you need to get a lesson and work on your address and position at impact.
Wedges
There is an incredible variation of wedges around, but I prefer a fairway wedge with about 56-7 degrees loft and a sharp leading edge, and a 60 degree wedge with a flange that can be used around the green or in bunkers. Another, less lofted sand wedge might be useful if there are a lot of bunkers on your course, or a chipping iron (a wedge without much loft) if the greens on your course are large. It will only take a few rounds at the one course to realize what you need. Just be sure that the role of each wedge in your bag is clearly defined in your mind. There's nothing worse that having 60 meters to the pin and not being sure what the "A" or "U" or "P" or "L" on your wedges stand for, or which one you should use.
You need a putter. This amounts to 14 clubs, the limit you can carry in your bag. This is the club that will make or break you. Collect them. Have one in your bag, one in your car, and a couple at home. If the one you're using is not working for you, change it. You want a putter that is straight, square, and solid. Don't get a putter that is too reflective. The rays of the sun can be reflected in your eyes and be distracting. Make sure the putter shaft is the right height for you. The head can be heavy or light. The grip thick or thin. Whatever works. Best brands are Ping, who built their company around their putters, and the Scotty Cameron brand putters from Titleist, which are awesome. But basically, if it's putting the ball in the hole, who cares what it is?
A final word regarding equipment.
Clothing. You need a couple of pairs of slacks, a couple of shirts, a couple of jumpers. Some clubs let you play in jeans, and I do sometimes, but I recommend buying a real awesome plaid pair of slacks. This is golf, and your pants should reflect that. Keep a jumper in your bag for if it suddenly gets cold. Long-sleeve undershirts can be worn underneath shirts for a warm, baseball look. Buy a comfortable cap, and consider sunglasses if you squint a lot or play in sunny climates. Good sunglasses for golf can be hard to find. When you are addressing the golf ball, you are looking down at it, and in many cases, underneath the lenses of a lot of sunglasses. This can be distracting. Make sure your whole range of vision is covered by the lens by trying them in the shop.
Buy a towel that can be clipped onto your golf bag and wash it regularly. Before each round, dampen the end of it to make it easier to wipe you clubs and ball with. Clean your clubs after each shot, making sure that there is no dirt in the grooves. These grooves give you control over the ball when you hit it. Clean your ball every oppurtunity you get. Rememeber! Golfers like to play a round with clean balls!
That's it. You are ready to play. Golf is an expensive sport to play. You've already spent several hundred dollars, and that is if you've been conservative. But if you keep your equipment clean, and treat your clubs with respect, you will only need to buy balls, tees and gloves for the next few years.

I think I have the plague

I'm at work today, though I really shouldn't be. I don't have many sick days left, and if we want to go to Hawaii again in March or April, then I can't afford to take too many more days off. I took yesterday off and hung out at home, watched some Lost, had a couple of naps, but I didn't feel any better at the end of the day. My throat is really sore, slight headache, aches and chills. Fuck knows what's wrong with me. I kept thinking about the English skit show Man Stroke Woman talking about "man colds" and how they are worse than the usual colds. I think I have a man cold. I'll put the video up when I get a chance. Needless to say, workouts are out of question, and will be for a couple more days yet. I think I'll keep doing Ab Ripper X every second day, but apart from that, no go. I'm not sure what I'll do yet, probably just start the week again. I'm hoping to get back into it on Saturday.
I just watched the episode of Lost that ends with the creepy shot of Libby in the mental institution with Hugo. WHAT THE FUCK IS SHE DOING IN THERE! My theory with Lost is that Hugo is in hell and everything is a delusion of his, and that this episode, "Dave" season 2, is the key to the whole show.

"No! Noooooo!"

R3 Day 20 - Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance, ARX

I have felt a little run down for a while now. I had hay fever most of last week, and I have a sore throat since Saturday. I haven't at any stage felt absolutely awful, though. It's hard to tell if I'm getting sicker or getting better. It's not enough to stop me from doing a workout, though yesterday I just felt that I have been going at it pretty hard recently and needed a day off. I haven't done Yoga for so long now, and I've skipped it for another week. Too bad.
I think I'll start taking a few more pictures of what's going on around me. Maybe it might be interesting for friends and family to see where I live or things that catch my eye. I'll have to start making a habit of carrying my camera around with me. My new mobile phone camera is pretty good, too. I took this photo at the kid's centre in Toyohashi on Saturday. How did it come out, I wonder as I type this. If it's any good I'll use it instead of my fragile, screwy digital camera.

"Tickets, please."

UPDATE: I did ARX after work, and then by the time I got home my throat was really hurting and then some aches and prickly sensations. No workout today either. Might take the day off work tomorrow if I feel like this in the morning.

R3 Day 19 - Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance Rest

Will was sooky all weekend. I took him to a cool kid's centre in Toyohashi. We took a bus to the station and a train to Toyohashi, which was cool, and then we went to the kid's centre. I watch other fathers come in with their son, and the son sees all the toys and games and cool stuff and shoves their coat into their father's arms and runs off to play. Mine is crying after ten minutes because his hands "are sweaty". I'm not really sure what to do with him when he's like this. It is really annoying.
So we come home, and I put Thomas on the TV, and go upstairs to do something, and when I come down, the TV screen is black, but I can still hear Thomas. But there is a little white star in the middle of the screen. It turns out that Will has smacked the TV with a plastic golf club. When I asked him why, he said that he didn't want to watch this episode of Thomas, but another one. Jesus effing Christ. I didn't get upset. I probably whacked the TV harder than he ever has when I was a boy, it's just that back then they were made of glass and steel, not bloody plasma. So there you go. Last night we went out and spent over $1000 to replace the TV he broke. It was Junko's parent's TV, so I was obliged to replace it. If it wasn't I wouldn't have bothered and gone without for a while, just to see what life was like without the endless fucking distraction of the thing. But no. Got to have a TV. Not having a TV in the house would be a revolutionary act, wouldn't it.
Workouts went well. They feel like the only thing I have any control over recently. I did Ab Ripper X and Insanity Plyometric Cardio Circuit on Friday, which was mad, Shoulders & Arms on Saturday, and yesterday I did Legs & Back, which I usually do on Mondays. I did it yesterday because doing L & B on Monday is really hard to get up for mentally. And after the weekend I felt like blowing off some steam so I brought it big time. I'm only doing consecutive pull ups this time. As many as I can each round without stopping. So I managed 68 yesterday. 2 more than two weeks ago. I also did Ab Ripper X afterwards. I haven't done that for a while, L & B and then ARX. Messed me up.
I saw Pink on Oprah talking about P90X. Damn. Can you imagine the sales spike? She did say Tony was "annoying" though. Yea, he is sometimes, but not that much. She's bigger than John Farnham In Australia, isn't she?
Tonight I'm going to do Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance. I'm enjoying Insanity. I find that I go harder at the start and last longer at the end. I still haven't finished one workout 100% yet, though I feel like I'm not too far away now.
UPDATE: Had a rest tonight. Tired, throat a little sore.

I know you're hurtin'...

I just watched the first episode of the Biggest Loser. I kept having to check that it was actually the first episode because they rushed through it so much that at times I thought they were recapping last week's episode. Really strange. We didn't see them train at all, or meet the trainers at all, and then bang! there's a weigh-in and someone's eliminated. SLOW DOWN SHOW! So today I checked the forums and discovered why. I'm sure it made news back home, but one of the contestants was done for possessing child pornography a couple of weeks ago. So they have had to go back and totally edit out this guy and his wife from the first episode. It must have been panic stations down at channel 10. Luckily, this guy and his wife get eliminated in the second week, so hopefully it will return to normal soon. I wish they had explained it first though.
Can I just say that apart from being fat, these contestants have one thing in common. White. When I was watching the clips of them leaving their homes to go to TBL camp, it was the same scene over and over again. A bunch of fat white people standing outside a recently built suburban home waving goodbye to two really fat white people. As I watched them I thought, "That could be Bayswater", "That could be Wantirna." "Hey, that's Glen Waverly." My god. I'm no PC freak, but how about a little multi-culturalism?
On the positive side, it's fun to hear the 'ol rising octave at the end of every sentence common to Australian women. I did a google search and it's called Uptalk. "I really don't like myself? I have to do this for me? I want to do this for my kids?"
Highlight* Two fat women sitting on the couch. One says of the other, "I'm worried that Caitlin is eating herself to death?" (uptalk). You know Caitlin is thinking, "don't worry about me, bitch. Have a look at your-self." Another highlight, the snarky Principle and emergency teacher. Polite and rude at the same time. "We have a boss-employee relationship, so..." Well, you are both employees, really. You don't own the school. "I always have my hand in the biscuit jar." pause. To her partner - "So do you."
Shannon. 215 kg. WTF. I couldn't believe he had collapsed and was crying before walking even 500 metres!
The first episodes of TBL are great, because they give you the opportunity to really fucking blast people who are fat, stupid, and lazy, and make you feel a little better about yourself. But the awesome thing about TBL is that it turns this on it's head, and the ones who really want to change work so hard that they actually become sources of inspiration. Awww.
So a weird first episode of TBL, but at least there was a reason for it. I guess they just want to get the first couple of weeks out and done, and then hopefully they'll calm down a little and spend a little more time establishing how shit and lazy and pathetic and disgusting these people are, so they can inspire us all the more. Awww.

R3 Day 15 - Chest & Back

I did Cardio Recovery on Tuesday, which was much harder than I expected, and then I did Pure Cardio yesterday morning, which was much harder than I expected. Obviously, I am having trouble with my expectations. I didn't do Cardio Abs again this week. I was just too tired. I've got Chest and Back tonight, but I have hayfever at the moment (2 in the afternoon) and I feel really gluggy and head-heavy. But I am looking forward to busting shit up tonight.
I got the results back from the Japanese test I did in December. I left the letter on the table and waited for Junko to come home and open it for me. While I waited, I thought about it. I did not do the work. I could have, should have studied a lot more. In all honesty, I deserve to fail. I thought about how I should react to failing, and that I shouldn't get down on myself but instead use it as motivation to pass the test next time, and as a lesson that if you don't do the work, you don't get the result you want. We all know that, but only in moments like this is it so stark. So Junko came home and opened the letter, and yep, I failed.
No I didn't. Hah! I passed! 64%. The passing percentage is 60%, so I just made it. No lesson learned, only success! I was really surprised, actually. 56% for writing/vocabulary, 82% for listening, and 59% for reading/grammar. So I kicked ass in the listening, which ironically is the only one I didn't study at all. I guess I do it every day without realizing it.
So it's a relief that i didn't waste the application fee, and now my resume actually reflects the truth (in this respect). And now on to December, and to level 1!

Noob Golf

Looking over the blog entries of the last few months, there is less and less fitness stuff, and more and more dross. I want my blog to be motivating, inspirational, entertaining, informative. Most of all, I want positive passion in my blog. I could rant for hours about things that shit me, but that doesn't do anyone any good. I tried inserting some Japanese here and there, and more recently, music. But the truth is, neither really interest me enough to keep writing about them. But there's one thing I could write about forever, and that's what I'm going to do.
It's a new section called "Noob Golf". If you are new to the game, or you're thinking about pulling out that filthy set of clubs from under the house and having a bash, then this section will be invaluable. If you play golf regularly, then I hope I can shave a few shots off your score, and make the experience as pleasant as possible.
When you are doing something that is new or you are not good at, it can be humiliating. That's part of the process, and part of the fun, kind of. But one thing you don't want to be is a noob. If I was starting golf, I wouldn't want other golfers, better golfers, to look at me and think, oh shit, noob. Is it vain? Sure.
Living in Japan, which is golf mad and full of practical people, I've come to see golf from more of a logistical point of view. There are golf shops everywhere, and driving ranges everywhere, which are always packed. But, and here's the main thing, the avid Japanese golfer might only play once or twice a year on a real, actual course. It's more about tinkering with clubs and equipment and practicing than anything else. So today I begin by talking about equipment.
What do you need before you step on to a course, and how can you avoid noob mistakes?
Today we'll talk about the bag, and what you need to put in it. I'm not talking about clubs or balls today. That's a whole nutha' post.

First, whatever balls you use, you will need half a dozen with you at all times. Asking a partner for a ball when you have just hit your last one out of bounds or in a pond is the final humiliation for a golfer, and it means you'll probably have to keep asking them for more before you finish. You never, ever want this to happen. Buy a box of a dozen, put half of them in your bag, and replenish them. Also, as you play, keep an eye out for lost balls. Never walk past an out of bounds fence or a pond or river without giving it a glance. These balls are great for practice, or for those rounds when you are playing horribly and don't want to scuff up or lose a new one. But be discriminating. Never pick up a ball that you wouldn't pay money for.
You never want to think about tees. Buy a heap of them, long, short, white, pink, anything, and put them in a resealable bag and forget about them. You should never break a tee. Insert the ball and tee as a single unit, and wiggle it around a little in the turf so that it has room to room. Not so much that the ball cannot be supported, but enough so that it is not jammed into the turf like a concreted post. You want to carry two tees in your pocket at all times, right pocket for right handers; a long one for your driver, and a short one for everything else. Colour depends on your mood, but bright, fluoro colours are popular because they are easier to find after you've hit your tee shot. Another use for the tee is to clean the grooves of your irons, though really there should never be dirt or mud in your grooves. More on that in another post.
Always have a ball marker in your pocket. Most professionals use a coin, but coins can easily be kicked away by careless partners unaware of where your marker is. Use plastic, bright coloured markers with the single spike on the bottom.
Finally, have a ball mark repairer in your pocket. A nice, steel one. Some players use tees, but they are not designed to lift turf and can break easily. Use a ball mark repairer and learn how to use it properly, and enjoy the process because often it means you've hit a nice iron into the green and have birdie putt coming up. On the greens you want to be calm, you want the right tools for the job, and you want to be a perfectionist.
Keep your card in an easily accessible pocket in your bag, with a pencil that can be clipped onto the card. If you keep your card and pencil in your back pocket, you will be forever losing these pencils when you are taking your glove out of your back pocket, which is where you should put it when you are not using it. Not your side pocket. They always seem to fall out of side pockets, and it makes it harder to find your marker or tees etc.
Buy a glove, maybe two. They last a while, but really deteriorate quickly when playing in the wet. Speaking of wet, buy an umbrella, and wet weather gear. Wet weather pants are great to wear not only when it's raining, but also when it is muddy, because they protect your pants. Make sure they have slots so you can access you pant pockets.
Other things to keep in your bag? A box of band aids for blisters or bleeding calluses. Sunscreen. A hat (a spare one). A hand towel. Tissues or wet ones for emergencies (you might be miles from a toilet but only feet from dense woods). Pencils, spare cards, lighters if you smoke. Set aside a pocket of your bag for your keys, phone, and anything else not a permanent item. Make sure this pocket is empty of other things, and make sure it is always closed or sealed when you are not needing it. If you finish a round to discover your phone or keys are missing, the only choice you have is to wait and hope that someone playing behind you happened to find them and pick them up, or to retrace your steps (they could be miles away).
Buy a nice pair of shoes, and look after them. While playing, occasionally use a tee or your ball mark repairer to scrape mud and grass off the soles of your shoes. They can build up around your spikes and make things quite slippery. After the round, brush grass or mud off your shoes and give them a wipe with a cloth. Make sure that your spikes are on tight, and replace ones that have fallen off. Avoid the shoes with those silly flaps over the laces, but also ones that look like sneakers. You're playing golf, not basketball. Two-tone shoes always look great.
Get a practice bag, and slowly fill it up with balls you have used a few times, and balls you have found. They should always be white, and clean. You don't need more than twenty.
Apart from the shoes and the practice bag, everything should be in your bag all the time. You can buy a monstrous bag like the pros use, though I really don't see the need. I recommend buying a light-weight carry bag, but only if it has retractable legs that pop out when you place the bottom of the bag on the ground. The bags these days are incredibly light, and when you get the straps worked out, rather conformable. I prefer them for a number of reasons over a bag and buggy. First, they fit in any car boot, and preparation involves getting it out of the boot and nothing more. Second, you can walk anywhere on the golf course. You are not restricted to paths and roped off areas. Third, it is much easier to manage them if it is raining. The only thing that bothers me about them is having to also carry the damn sand bucket. Having to carry that is a pain, and I find that I have usually forgotten to pick it up somewhere in the first few holes (unintentionally, usually). Consider a plastic flask thingy that can hook to your bag.
Some of you may not want to carry your bag but prefer to pull or push it. Buy a buggy. Buy one with wide, plastic wheels, not the pneumatic type, and buy one with a seat. If you have a small carry bag, buy a small buggy. A big bag, a big buggy. Be warned that with a buggy, you can only push or pull them (usually they are pulled behind you) which upsets your usual stride, which can lead to the same problems you think you are avoiding by not carrying your bag – namely, a sore back. Battery-powered buggies can help, but here you are getting complicated, and we want to avoid that. So, with bags and buggies, go light, go slim, and go easy.
Next time, I'll talk about clubs and balls.

R3 Day 13 - Insanity Cardio Recovery

Yesterday I did Core Synergistics for the first time in ages, and I really enjoyed it. The last week I've really got back to dripping sweat workouts, which was missing in the second round of P90X that I did. Insanity is kicking my ass, and Core Synergistics is the best workout in P90X, in my opinion. And yea, Adam does 13 prison pushups and says straight up that he did 18. I can only assume that they cut some film out of there because they judged it was too long, but it doesn't look like it. They hardly ever do that. If they didn't, then he just straight up lied about how many he did. Weird. Today I've got Insanity Cardio Recovery, which looks pretty chilled out and only goes for half an hour. I was going to get up this morning and do it but Joey Jo Jo woke up at 1 and was restless for ages, so I turned the early alarm clock off and got up at the usual time of 6:20. He is a real light sleeper. Will sleeps like a log, but Jo is the opposite. I didn't really take this into account when I decided I would get up early and do the workouts. Ah well.
When I posted my very first blog entry more than a year ago, I also sent a mail to some of my friends. It read:

I was thinking, if any of you are interested, I can send you the DVDs, an example schedule, and give you access to the blog and you can do the program too and enter your own experiences. We can do it all on one blog. The program's really easy, just 40 minutes a day, but it's pretty effective.

Now I'm asking again. I don't know if they read this blog regularly, but Stevie, Shannon, Brad, Mick, Paul, and anyone else reading that I know, no names, but some of you were looking a little sloppy the last time I saw you. I'll send you all the discs you need for free, and all you need to bring is some dumbbells, and IT!
Think about it.