Rotator cuff injuries?

I've been away from golf for many months now due to intense shoulder pain. I went to the doc and he said it was likely a partial tear and impingement of the rotator cuff. I dutifully performed the prescribed exercises and laid off playing for 8 weeks.
Then I tried to play again and was in pain by the 7th hole. So then I went to physical therapy for a while and will admit I stopped because the pain stayed the same.
I went back to the home exercises and stretches and was very careful about what I did with my right arm. I thought I was doing better.
Nope.
Played 18 on Sunday and had intense pain after the round and lingering pain for days. I hit a few balls on Wednesday - and I mean a few - and have been in constant pain since.
So I guess it's back to the doc and I fear the worst.
Talk to me folks............. anyone been through this with their dominant shoulder?
I keep hearing that the rehab from surgery is very intense. I'm OK with that but I would like to know whether your problem was fixed by the surgery.

New Activity

Wow suddenly I see that many people have been visiting this blog and there is nothing new posted. I'll fix that now.
The most searched item that brings folks here is "Golftec"
It would appear that Golftec is doing well and our swings aren't. LOL
For the record lots of teaching professionals are using similar technology to Golftec. I saw the other day that a major golf chain is now offering the option of logging in to your lesson videos and instruction online so if you don't have a Golftec near you or you want other options check around, most teachers are using video instruction.
Unfortunately the pro I had started to work with and was due to revisit is no longer at that location so I didn't get back. That is why the process was stunted. Apologies.
Even worse, I have been nursing a rotator cuff injury for months now so my ability to work on my swing is nil. In fact I have played once since July. I'm feeling ready to try again and am hoping that I do not have to have surgery.
Fingers crossed everyone!
In the sweltering heat of July & August I didn't miss the long rounds on busy courses too much, but now it is my favorite time of the year for playing golf and the weather is perfect. The pain is hardly noticeable and I am desperate to return to the game I love.

Which brings to mind - I wonder if Tiger is getting ready to play again emotionally? I find it hard to believe that he isn't chomping at the bit to get back on the course. Don't you?

What an Open at Royal Birkdale! 2008

Wow that was very exciting! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I know many will clamor that the wind was too much a part of the championship but strong wind is integral to links golf in the UK. Being able to formulate a game plan and play the shots that are needed is a great skill. Keeping to that game plan and being able to remain focused when the wind blows like that is an extraordinary feat.
I played in the UK for 6.5 years and played in horrid weather and winds similar to the winds at Birkdale on Saturday. What you don't see on camera is that the wind is deafening and your swing is definitely effected. It is very easy to destroy a swing by the end of 18 holes and take months to get it back in a groove. You see you keep manipulating it to get the results you want, shortening it, altering the path (very easy to get flatter and flatter), etc. Anything to get the ball around!
I digress.........
I love Royal Birkdale and was glad to see it presented so nicely. Padraig Harrington is a very deserving champion and he played some incredible golf over the last nine holes - he played like a true champ. Ian Poulter really showed some good stuff too. The USA side in the Ryder Cup looks in trouble again!
The drama provided by Greg Norman was great stuff - just unfortunate that he couldn't last the full 72 holes. I wasn't surprised when I heard that he had lost his legs. That was some tough walking in that weather - again I know what that feels like after 18 to go out and do that everyday in those winds for 4 straight days when you haven't been playing much is going to beat you up.
Thanks to all the competitors for a truly engaging Open Championship. I hope you emjoyed it too!

Tiger, knees, Majors and mental powers

I know, I know it's the talk of the town. Every town.
What can I add? Not sure but here it goes.......
Like all of you I watched the US Open and could see that Tiger was in pain. There were times I thought why is he doing this - and yes I know he wants to win every time he steps on the course but with potential permanent damage? That is a very high risk.
When I heard him say that the pain was on the follow through - after impact - I was suitably impressed. Knowing that each time you follow through you will experience severe pain would for most of us be a deterrent from following through, it didn't seem to thwart him.
There was a point on Friday that I could empathize and really knew where he was at - you could see that he was zoning in, using all his impressive mental focus to ignore the intense pain.
Anyone who has played injured knows this feeling. In some ways it helps you to be more focused on the task at hand because you must eliminate everything else in order to keep going.
Along the way he seemed to find a way to swing with less pain and win.
Yes win. With what we now know is a serious injury that needs another surgery and will keep him out of golf for the rest of '08 and goodness knows how much longer.
Stunningly I saw that some golf fans and golfers thought he was 'faking it'.
What we know about Tiger is that he isn't a fake.
We know he is mentally intense and we know that he is an extraordinary athlete.
I for one will miss his play and the excitement that follows his pursuits of victory. No Tiger at the Open Championship (British Open for the Americans). No Tiger at the WGC events and no Tiger at the Ryder Cup.
I've heard people say they'd like to see more of everyone else.
Well you will now
Hope you enjoy it
Me I'll watch but I'll be missing Tiger.
Hope the surgery goes well and that when he comes back he is fully healthy.

Scrambles - ugh!

Dear, dear, dear I must admit scrambles aren't all that fun for me. This week I played in a scramble in the ladies league I play in. Now this is really messy. My current handicap is 11 the next on my team was a 31, then a 36 and rounded out with a 40. Ugh. Two of the ladies were very nice and wanting to enjoy themselves and play decently. Then there was the 'B' player at 31 who was saying as we teed off the first, "we really need a birdie". Now the thing is ladies scrambles don't have the scandalous scores of men's scrambles so really 4-5 under is usually in the running.
You'd have thought that miss 31 was playing for the Open Championship. Poor Miss 40 went from being nervous to being a wreck, as Miss 31 kept saying, "oh crap there goes another one", "we really need to make these putts", etc.
I think it was the third hole when I told Miss 31 to calm down, enjoy the golf and stop acting like anything short of a birdie was life shattering.
I then spoke to the two others and told them I wasn't trying to 'win', just play golf - if we played well, great, if we didn't let's enjoy the day.
I did have to stay on Miss 31 but the others definitely relaxed and played better.
LOL and we wound up in second place!
The point of posting this isn't solely to gripe - although that felt nice - it is a reminder of how powerful your mindset is in this tricky game. Miss 40 wound up having a blast and playing pretty darn well for her - because she wasn't stressing, I reminded her that her shots were no more important or less important than any of ours - we all hit bad ones we just had to hope that we didn't all hit bad ones on the same shot :- )
As we finished up she said she'd play more often if it was this enjoyable and she played that well.
I heard this today...............
I was watching the LPGA today and Lorena Ochoa had another stellar round and when asked after the round how she explained her current run of extraordinary golf, was it her swing or her attitude she said it is my mind (attitude) my swing hasn't really changed.
Hold that thought!

Counting your chickens

"don't count your chickens"
a few weeks back a friend I play golf with regularly missed an exceptionally short putt. She had mentally counted a par for herself and didn't pay enough attention to her putt and wound up missing it. We started talking about how often each of us does that on the course, sometimes we hit a bad drive and mentally say, "I'll be lucky to make bogey". By doing so you usually take par out of play when sometimes you can still do it.
Interestingly I have learned to deal with the bad tee shot or a bad approach shot pretty well. BUT when I hit a bad lag putt or hit a poor pitch shot it is natural for me to immediately give up on the hole. I work on this every time I am out there and it is getting better, but it is still a fight.
The one that sneaked up on me last week went like this. Tough par 4, uphill and OB to the right. I killed the drive - long and dead center of the fairway. As I walked to it I was totally thinking birdie. I had a short iron in, I'd been hitting my irons well so felt very confident. Too confident.
When I got to the ball it was in a horrible lie, suddenly my mood changed. I played a shot that was the right distance but was left of the green.
Now I was like no problem I'll take a par, but I was disappointed that birdie was off the table (realistically anyway). My disappointment was what I was thinking about as I chipped and I left myself a downhill, side hill 30 footer.
Bam now par was realistically out of the question and I was really fed up and would be lucky to two-putt.
Fortunately I did two-putt, for bogey.
So from thinking birdie as I approached my ball to a bogey as I walked to the next tee.
So from here on out you won't find me counting my chickens before they hatch. It is an instant recipe for losing focus and not performing.
As they say play each shot with complete commitment and not thinking of scores or other things. Otherwise you may get ahead of yourself and wind up not thinking about the shot at hand.
In golf the shot you are playing is the most important shot of all.

Without confidence a golfer is little more than a hacker

This is a Bobby Jones quote. I hadn't seen it before today and I really like it. Of course we have all seen the gentleman that thinks the world of his golf when actually he is just really bad at math and the rules of golf. Let's exclude them for now.
I will use myself to explain.
I have always struggled with the short game - putting and chipping to be exact. About 4 years ago I had a revelation; if I didn't get nervous/anxious which for me leads to tight muscles my results were quite good. However if I approached the shot as if I would prefer to be struck by lightning on my way up to the ball things didn't go to well. Shocking, ay?
Despite having this revelation I still struggle at times to keep my head in the right place. I haven't been able to play much for quite a few months now and my game is rusty. To be fair it isn't as bad as it could be but I don't have faith in my abilities. This leads to some half hearted play. And half hearted play doesn't lead to good results and then I lose interest in playing.
At that point I officially am a hacker.
I will say that the awareness of the process and of my mind's effect on my game is very empowering. I can take control and approach the game with a sense of confidence (in this instance think being fully committed to each shot) or I can slop my way round the course.
When I do the latter I would be better off staying home and walking my dog.
Earlier this week I played and it was a round that demonstrated what I am talking about. I had a difficult time getting to the course, wasn't particularly wanting to play because my game is rusty and my front nine was horrendous. I considered leaving.
But I didn't, I recommitted to the round and instead of thinking, 'gosh I wish I had my swing back' I believed in myself and kept an attitude that would be consistent with having your game in top gear. The back nine, which is the harder nine, I played in six less shots than the front nine.
So remember, "Without confidence a golfer is little more than a hacker", Bobby Jones