The Streak At 100: A June Round In Michigan

The Streak At 100: A June Round In Michigan

June marked a bit of a milestone, as I reached one hundred consecutive months of playing golf in Michigan.

Likely to the surprise of no one, I played that 100th consecutive month’s round at Washtenaw Golf Club, the 120-year-old course that looms large in my golf life.

Reaching 100 was almost inevitable once I hit 96 in February. The first two months of the year really are the only ones in which play is in doubt. March, while chilly, usually finishes snow free. December often has snow, but also has cold but dry stretches. I have played on Christmas Eve, and the day after Christmas.

The rest of the year affords golf weather that ranges from chilly to hot. Geography plays a large role in that. I played a round in July in the Upper Peninsula that was as cold as any I have played in Ann Arbor in October.

All that said, barring some sort of catastrophic event (God Forbid), there really is no doubt I’ll extend my streak to 105 through November.

For my 100th round, I teed off at Washtenaw on June 3 at 5 pm. The sun sets this time of year just after nine, so there was plenty of time to finish the round. Indeed, I ended up playing 24 holes that evening.

Unfortunately, I did not play well. I have at some point developed a case of the shanks. It started off with a few random dead right squirts and quickly accelerated into a full crisis.

By my Monday round at Detroit Golf Club for the Rocket Mortgage Classic media day, it had become downright embarrassing. It was the kind of cringe worthy bad where your playing partners won’t look for fear of catching the plague.

My playing partner and friend-in-golf Bill Hobson of Michigan Golf Live offered a ray of hope, though. He shared a drill that he had learned from teaching pro Greg Babinec at Crystal Mountain: Making an Omelette.

The idea of the drill is to set up at the range with two balls; one in the striking position and the other just outside. The idea is to hit the inside ball without hitting the outside. That, in theory will correct the swing plane and stop the shanks.

It’s called “Making an Omelette” because in theory, the outside ball is an egg, and hitting it will create an eggy mess.

Here’s a video I found on YouTube showing the drill.

I’ve got some range work to do.