Sunday at Bear Creek

My buddies prefer to play Bear Creek, which is not trying to be one of the 100 Greatest Golf Courses in the United States. There are times it might not be the best course near my home. The greens are barely alive and the tee boxes tend to be uneven and overgrown. The fairways are flat and the rough can hide a ball.

They have one course that is mostly par 3s that Ron likes. He says that we can play them quickly, and that's true. It does have water that is like a magnet for Ron's ball. In the span of a year, you could easily count the number of times that Ron hits over water on the first try.

I'm sometimes better, but not last Sunday. I hit a very nice drive on the 10th and immediately put my second shot in the water. It happens.

We played the back nine twice because the course was busy. The starter told us to start on the 10th and we raced around. When we made it to the 18th, there were 7 carts lined up at the 1st hole. Ron and I agreed to play the back nine again. He had a Super Bowl party and we would have spent at least 2 hours waiting to do something on the front nine.

Another feature of Bear Creek is that it's patrons seem to be unable to hit the ball straight. I think it's a prerequisite to get a tee time. There are a few holes on the course that you hurry through because you are in the firing range of another tee box. Luckily, most are right-handed and their preferred slices are flying the other direction, but sometimes you duck someone who has discovered a hook.

The greens were soft instead of the usual rock hard because of the frost from the cold front. That made green reading more of an art because your ball navigated other pitch marks. The ball would also stop rolling, which made downhill putts very difficult to play.

We had a good time. We didn't worry too much about the score. It's Bear Creek.

Back to Aikido

January was not a fun month.

February will be better, but we've been hit with two solid cold fronts that make travel something to be avoided.

I made it Aikido once in January. I planned to go at other times and either work or slippery roads changed my mind.

I talked to Sensei and we are back on track. I spent most of the class practicing ukemi, which teaches balance.

Aikido from Tomiki to Aikikai

I have always been interested in Aikido. In 2001, I joined a dojo for six months, which was Aikikai ( a later variation of Aikido). I quit because I hurt my hand falling to the mat, I made the mistake of trying to catch myself instead of falling correctly, and things were changing in my life. I had recently been laid off from my programming job, I had moved so that the dojo was a long drive, and it was easier to be on the couch.

In 2007 I started again. I joined a Tomiki Aikido dojo in Houston. It sounded interesting. This type of training can be very formal. I liked the people in the dojo and stayed long enough to be promoted to second level (nikyu), which is two levels below a black belt. I liked it but for various personal reasons I wanted something different.

In June I joined an Aikikai school. My experiences with Tomiki have helped me but it has also been a sea change.

Aikido has an emphasis on posture and using the large muscles. Working through it has improved my golf game.

Writing in the new year

OK, I am writing more for myself this year.

I have spent the past four years working as a technical writer for one of the largest software companies in the world, creating user manuals, white papers, and other customer-facing documentation. My team broke up last year and I am now the sole writer here, which is good and bad.

My buddy, Ian, has returned from Arizona. He and I play golf at least twice a month on the weekends. He's better than I am by about 10 strokes a game. I picked up a set of Callaway wide sole irons and a Cobra driver in the past six months, which have improved my game.

Now I'm working on the short game. I say that every year.

More on that later.

I changed schools in Aikido. That was a big change for me.