As we learned from George Costanza, sometimes summer doesn’t turn out exactly how we plan…

This year I thought maybe, just maybe I’d be able to sneak in the 50 rounds of golf I managed to play several seasons ago.  Of course, I think that every year, but with an early Spring that allowed for a handful of rounds before the first of April, I was well on my way.  Granted I didn’t card a sub-100 round on any of those early trips to the golf course, but I really felt like my game was close.

I got 4 more rounds in over a 4 day trip to Ocean City, and suddenly 50 rounds seemed easily attainable.  Of course, I didn’t break 100 there either, but I still felt like my game was close…really…I mean really close.

Shortly after returning from Ocean City, everything came together.  I posted 9 hole scores of 38, 40, and 41.  I was hitting fairways, hitting greens (or at least coming really close), my short game was solid, and I was putting extremely well.  For a three week stretch, I was playing the best golf of my life…and then it happened.  I hit a repulsive little hosel-knocker that ended up in the woods.  I dropped a ball and hit another…and then another.  Before I knew it, I had a full blown severe case of the shanks.

The shanks aren’t like a cold or the flu.  There are no early symptoms, no warning signs.  They’re more like a lightning strike.  One minute your fine, the next you’re frazzled and fried.  For a golfer they’re more debilitating than the yips.  What I learned from my first two bouts with the shanks is that for all the recommended cures, the only way to actually cure them is to play through them.  So play through them is what I tried to do.  After the better part of a month, well over $100 in greens fees, and $50 worth of golf balls, I still had the shanks.  I couldn’t sink a putt from outside 4 feet, and to make matters worse, it was raining…and raining…and raining.

Things certainly weren’t going as planned with my golf game, and then, almost mercifully, about a month and a half ago (at least that’s my best guess), I was bitten by a tick and infected with Lyme disease.

Now I generally wouldn’t recommend Lyme disease to anyone.  Between the chills, the body aches, and the fatigue there really isn’t a ton of fun to be had.  While Bell’s Palsy might be the perfect tool for the aspiring pirate (or for those who simply enjoy scaring small children), it’s a condition that makes it extremely difficult to eat and even speak (truth be told, I think my wife enjoyed the quiet).  The combination did, however, keep me off the golf course for nearly a month.  Just so I’m clear, I am not advocating for Lyme disease, but I must admit, it’s the only thing I’ve found that can actually cure the shanks.

So that’s where we are now, I suppose.  We’re a couple flips away from August (Track Season!), but I’m recovered, back on a golf course, and just recently carded a 9 hole 41 (the front 9 was probably a 60, so we won’t talk about that).  My short game is still good.  I’ve gone back to a belly putter to fix my putting, and I’m going to bring in some professional help to help with the long irons and fairway woods.

I’ve started a new fitness program inspired by Jaacob at Swingman Golf.  I’ve got some great new toys like The Original Putt Trainer, and the Swing Fan (thanks to Dane over at GolfTrainingAids.com), to supplement my TourStriker.  I’ve got a sweet new set of Mizuno MP-52 irons that I won over at MyGolfSpy.com.  The Callaway Tour Van will be in town in a couple of weeks as well, so I’m starting to think it might be time for a new driver.  Most importantly though, I’ve committed to playing and practicing more (even if it is still raining).

If there’s a bright spot it’s that I’m less than a month away from what I hope will be the Ultimate Golf Staycation.  I’ve got tournament scheduled.  I’ve got rounds tentatively planned for Saratoga National and Turning Stone.  With some luck I might even get up to the Sagamore.  I’m hoping to supplement those rounds with some more affordably priced rounds at courses like Orchard Creek and the Fairways of Halfmoon.  I’m totally convinced it’s going to stop raining – if only because it has too.  I’ve missed out on a far too much golf this season, and I’ve got some catching up to do.  I don’t know if I can reasonably make up nearly 2 months of  rain-shortened, tick-infected, golf in one week, but I’m damn sure going to try.