David Schrag examines his navel and the world around it
It’s a shame that our soccer team, now playing so well in the World Cup, has no good nickname. I think I’ve got the answer. The official name is the U.S. Mens National Team, or MNT. If we were Canadians, we could easily play on that acronym and call ourselves the Mounties. But we’re not [...]
Something clicked today on the front nine at Leo J. Martin. I had what my wife refers to as “transcendence” or “flow.” In sports terms, I was in the zone. I was unconscious. (Relatively speaking, of course.) 1st: Solid drive into the fairway. On in regulation. Two putts. Par. 2nd: Pulled the drive into the [...]
Yes, like Anthony Kim, I shot a 9 today. However, unlike Anthony Kim, that wasn’t even my worst hole. I won’t go into details. The numbers today were too embarrassing. But it was pretty clear where the high score came from. Not putts or short game. It was three balls in the water, two lost, [...]
18 holes today at Leo J. Martin (white tees, but pushed pretty far forward). Great: Combined score for 7 holes (1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 11, and 15): One under par! Good: Combined score for 5 holes (5, 8, 10, 12, and 17): six over par. Disastrous: Combined score for 6 holes (4, 7, 13, [...]
Really, a number of things went right today on the front nine at Robert T. Lynch in Brookline. Six decent tee shots. Only 30 strokes from within 100 yards. Three decent recoveries out of three attempts. Only one really poorly struck ball. And yet … double bogey, double bogey, triple bogey, bogey, bogey, double bogey, [...]
I played from the white tees today at Leo J. Martin. In theory, that should have given me a shot at a better score. In reality, it made no difference. Because I can hit a 20-yard shot just as poorly as a 220-yard shot. Let’s look at the numbers: Tee shots: 6 decent ones out [...]
Got on the course today for the first time since I thought up my new golf stats. (Had to play with the sound of thunder in the background to do it. Not smart!) I played the front 9 at Leo J. Martin in Weston/Newton. Here were the results: Hole Yards Par Score Tee Approach < [...]
I am a 29.4 handicap: a decidedly mediocre golfer. And yet in many ways, I am actually pretty decent. I can hit a drive 250 yards into the fairway. I can hit a sand wedge 100 yards, and an 8-iron 150. I can fade and draw the ball. I can get out of greenside and [...]
A college buddy and I have been razzing each other about which team is more likely to collapse this month, the Yankees or the Red Sox. He predicted a Yankees meltdown before the Democratic Party convention, and I pointed out that the Red Sox were the team that typically has a problem in August. Then [...]
Sox-Yanks is about as close to nirvana as you can get in sports. But watching last night’s game was something akin to having your yoga class led by Richard Simmons. The role of “Guy you want to hit in the back of the head with a baseball bat” was played by Joe Morgan. Here is [...]