” I Have Never Swung A Baseball Bat”

I have heard this response for almost all of my six season of coaching golf. Every season I get golfers who have never picked up a club, so after I show them how to grip the thing, I asked them to swing it like they are hitting a pitched baseball. The title of this thread is almost always the response I get! I am talking never. If I was able to transport myself back to the 1950’s,60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and even as recent as the 90’s, I doubt I would hear this as much as I do. So what the hell happened?

In my un-humble opinion, I am going with video games and the internet as the culprits. As for video games? I have played them since Pong first came onto the scene. Played them through college, and even to this day, I play Tiger Woods’s golf on the Play Station. Thing is, it does not take the place of my physical activities. I had one player a few years back actually tell me he worked on his golf game all weekend long. I was thinking he spent hours at the driving range grinding away. Nope, he told me he played Wii golf! As for the Inter-Net? It is as addictive as any drug and it is virtually free. Kids, as well as adults, are able to create a universe where they are god. Almost any behavior is acceptable, and there is virtually no accountability for any actions. Like being a kid sans parents. So why would kids want to leave their insulated domain and venture into the real world of physical activity?

Don’t know if I have an answer to this. I know when I was a kid I would take a hand full of golf balls and hit them from the back yard to the furthest fence post fo our three acre farm. I would walk to them with my dog Mandy, and hit them back. I would repeat this for hours, five to seven days a week during the summer. I would also spend hours a day bouncing a tennis ball off of the water-pump house to sharpen my defensive skills for baseball.

I guess for a kid who has never swung a bat, the answer is “Well it is about time you tried it.” Of course, with me, they are swinging a golf club. I guess they gotta put down the controller, or mouse and start

Staying On The Porch: Hillbilly Continues His Blog Free Weekends

I look forward to Mondays, almost as much as I do Friday afternoon. Well, that’s a bit of a stretch! But taking a couple of days off from writing my random thoughts and views on the affairs of the world is kind of nice.

It can be overwhelming at times when I see acts from our government that are blatantly unconstitutional, immoral, or both. And the only defense, or offense high have is my vote, and my keyboard. Sometimes in order to solve a problem, one has to step away from the problem. I virtually go on a news lock down. I watch golf, NASCAR, and dvds. I do yard work, I bbq, meet friends for beers, and generally spend too much of my change!

So I guess I need to start each Monday by saying hello and thanks for continuing to stop by this little blog that I have. I know I ain’t the best writer, the best cook, or the greatest political analysts in the world, but I do have a whole heck of a lot of fun thinking I am.

So happy Monday to all of you, and I will continue to make an effort to stop by all of you who are following the Hillbilly!

God Bless;
John