08.31.06
Posted in My Training at 2:39 pm by Cherry Bomb
Tonight was another lazy night of practice which, again, almost didn’t happen. After going to dinner with some friends, I headed home to grab my cues.
I have really been letting myself slack this week since I know that I’m just getting back on the horse and, also, I won’t be able to practice for three days this weekend. I hate that!
Anyway, I just “piled rocks” for about 15 racks with moderate results until, again, I realized my attention was slipping. I started taking easy shots for granted and decided to change things up. I decided to pile rocks without letting the cue ball run into another ball.
Typically, I practice keeping the cue ball off the rail. This is something new I started doing just a few months ago. Of course it’s helpful to spread the balls in a friendly manner for this exercise, but sometimes you find yourself squeezing the cue ball in between balls like it had eyes. It’s great!
Right outta the gate, I shot five racks without a miss, running into one ball in the third rack and one in the fifth. My high run for the night, 58 balls.
Then, I just spread some balls and ran some 8ball racks. It was a pretty mellow evening of practice.
Three and a half hours later, stretched and went home.
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08.30.06
Posted in My Training at 1:20 pm by Cherry Bomb
Last night was a much better session than Monday night. I almost didn’t even stay to practice.
I had my clinic and had one new person, Lupe, and two regulars. I’m always happy to see women in the class. I was a bit sore last night from playing tennis with Chisolm on Monday but I toughed it out nonetheless.
Teaching a class can sometimes really get you in stroke quickly. It can make you pay attetion to the detail that you may take for granted otherwise.
I decided to start right off with “keeping the cue ball off the rail”
In the first 5 racks, I had 1 to 2 misses in each rack.
Next 3 racks with only 1 miss.
Next 3 racks with 2 misses.
Next 4 racks with 3 misses.
Next 5 racks with 3 misses.
Then, I ran 56 balls without a miss. I was pretty happy with that result for where I’m at in my training right now. I had no expectations for myself but really enjoyed the moment.
In the third rack of the 56 ball run, I had four tough finishing shots. They were all long-distance snip-draws where there was a slight angle and I had to throw the object ball and kill the cue ball. It’s very typical to over throw this shot at this distance but I was remember my stop shot exercises and just really dialing in on the exact contact point of each of these shots. I was very proud of myself when I made them.
Afterwards, I piled some more rocks and stretched and went home.
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08.29.06
Posted in My Training at 10:30 am by Cherry Bomb
After about two and a half months of schlepping off, last night was my first official night of training again. The extent of my pool in the past couple months has been once a week during league and a few nights while Fast Mikie was in town. I had made a commitment a couple weeks ago that this week would be the week I get back to work.
The evening started off well. I finally got my cue back. It had been in the shop for as long as I’ve been off the wagon. I guess I’m a bit rough with it. Chris refinished it for me. There were quite a few nicks & dings in it. Oops…
I headed to Table Steaks East around 10:30p.m. after a hearty meal with my good friend.
I started with nothing but stop shots. I shot 4 sets of 10 perfect stop shots with one miss in the first and last set. I focused on nothing but dialing in on my cue tip to cue ball and the exact spot on the object ball. They felt great and it feel really nice to have my cue back in my hand.
Next, I just “piled rocks” (throwing all 15 balls on the table and shooting them off in no particular order). I missed one ball in the first three racks but then missed three balls in the next two racks. I noticed my focus slipping so I had to take action.
I switched to “keeping the cue ball off the rail” (spreading 15 balls on the table and running the rack without letting the cue ball touch a rail). After 13 racks, I had 0-2 misses in each rack. Though these results are not impressive to me, my stroke felt great! Most of my misses were tough shots from overstroking a ball and getting out of line. I was very happy with the way I was hitting the ball.
Three and a half hours later, I stretched and went home.
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08.06.06
Posted in Interview, Misc, Practicing at 12:01 pm by Cherry Bomb
Can you believe Tiger Woods went for an entire month this spring without touching a golf club? The thought of hitting a golf ball and everything associated with it reminded him too much of his father. No longer around to share his love for the game, “my dad was my best friend and greatest role model, and I will miss him deeply,” he posted on his web site after his father’s death on May 3, 2006. It takes a fierce competitor and an incredible human being to overcome the loss of such an inspiration and continue winning.
“I really had no desire to get back to the game of golf because of all the memories,” said Tiger in a CBS News interview. How did he do it? How did he overcome such a devastating loss and return to win the British Open Championship only two and a half months after his dad’s death? What did he have to do to prepare?
First, he needed to make the decision to do it. After a disappointing third place tie at the Masters Tournament in April, where Tiger was obvious distracted by his, at the time, very ill father, he returned to the British Open with a reinforced, familiar attitude. “I’m here to compete and play and try to win this championship. I know that Dad would still want me to go out there and grind it and give it my best, and that’s what I always do.”
Next, it’s back to basics. “Anytime you take time off and start back, you always work on your fundamentals: grip, posture, stance, alignment.” Funny… It sounds a lot like pool fundamentals. As it brought back sweet memories of his dad, Tiger would smile as he practiced sometimes up to 14 hour a day.
Recently, Tiger was quoted saying, “I’m here to win the tournament, and all my energy is going toward that. We’ve gone through a lot already. Hitting a golf ball around like this is actually the easy part.” Though his father was not forgotten, his focus was directed towards one thing only. Also, laying the groundwork by developing solid fundamentals makes the rest of it cake! In his interview with CBS News, they described it as “instead of bringing a rusty swing and an uncertain putter to the tournament, Woods is toting a bag full of confidence.”
Having taken time off twice before for extended stretches, Tiger describes, “It’s just one of those things where it’s your preparation, your practice, your attention to detail when you are preparing.” What a beautiful statement. Sloppy practice equals sloppy play and sloppy competition.
“Dad was always adamant,” Tiger said. “If you’re ready to play, play. If you’re not ready, don’t play.” On this day, July 23, 2006, Tiger Woods was ready to play. He played for the love of the game. He played for his fans. He played for his family. And most of all, he played for his late father, Earl Woods. On August 6th, Tiger won the Buick Open making him the youngest player in PGA tour history to reach 50 career wins.
Tiger turned his loss into an inspiration. He was extremely disappointed when he didn’t win the Masters Tournament in April because he knew it would probably be the last one his father would be around for. However, he didn’t let that disappointment become a distraction. In fact, he used it to fuel his drive to work harder and to win the British Open. Competition is competition, whether it’s in pool or in golf. There’s a lot we can all learn from a champion like Tiger Woods.
Am I a golf nut? No. I played a little in high school. I just admire dedication and determination in anything.
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