Head Nut's Blog

JUNE 5, 2008 

Any time you need to be reminded what it was like way back when you first started playing the magnificent game if golf, just take a good friend, on who is new to playing golf, out for a lovely day on the links.

"OH THE PAIN, OH THE HUMANITY!" Yes, your day will rank right up there with the  Hindenburg Disaster on the classic scale of AGONY!

Right away let me explain a couple of things... First, your heart is in the right place. There is no better way to learn the game (short of lessons, which we will discuss later) than to get out and PLAY. Second, you MUST get over the guilt that you will feel for getting some perverse pleasure from your partner's "learning curve." Remember, at some point YOU were the "Newbie" golfer who provided the scorce of entertainment for your golfing friends. Beyond that you'll actually enjoy these "learning" rounds.

Aloha Golf Nuts,

Yes, I have been a poor leader over the
past month. I admit it. I have played too much golf and traveled to distant
shores instead of manning up at the Clubhouse of the Golf Nut Society. Now, in
my own defense, I was engaged in Golf Nut related activity, to which the
following LENGTHY blog (with pictures) will attest. I beg your forgiveness for
my transgressions and hope you will find the following both interesting and
entertaining.

APRIL 25, 2008

I Gotta be NUTS! Once again (by now you'd think I'd be used to it) the wind was howling on Sunday. My first official tournament in the Golf Channel Amateur Tour and I'm stuck with three things that just wreck my game; high winds, one member of my foursome who thinks he's in the U.S. Open (and in contention) and a hangover!

I got the call on Saturday night, well into my fifth Mai Tai at a birthday party at Roy's restaurant. I was "in" for the tournament in the morning! Ouch! Oh well, with five down it's too late to turn back anyway...

Let me just say that, although the Head Nut played miserable golf (the hole looked particularly small and seemed to move around ...a lot!) Mr. Steve Miller, the Tour Director, did a magnificent job of executing a great event. Right from the begining it was obvious that the Golf Channel Amateur was a class act. The ladies at registration were cordial and efficient. It was these same women who were kind enough to asterix my score with the notation "hungover."

Hey Nuts,

I sure hope all of you are playing more golf than I am at the moment! I have gone since the Sunday round of the Dragon Ridge Member/Member Tournament (more on that later) without playing any golf. OK, that's only marginally true, I did dash out after  yesterday's "Dear Head Nut..." radio show and hack around at the course. You know the kind of golf I mean... no warmup, no range, mostly "slap and giggle" golf. I guess it was better than not going out at all but just barely.

Happy Monday Golf Nuts,

A quick lesson in good Calcutta Management... if you are playing with a partner you've never played with before, especially one with a 0.8 handicap, BE SURE TO ATTEND THE CALCUTTA! Imagine my surprise on Saturday morning when the golf staff at Dragon Ridge asked me for my end of the Calcutta money for our team, which my partner bought the night before, and the amount was $750...for my HALF!

Now, imagine my surprise when I arrive at the driving range and I'm told that the bidding went directly from $200 to $1,500... Jeez, that sure skips a lot of numbers, doesn't it?

Now, I must admit that on day #1 I was feeling pretty good about that bet, as we opened the tournament with a 2-Man Best Ball score of 64... eight under par ... we were tied for the lead and I had barely contributed to the team effort.

Alas, they just don't pay off at the midway point.

Good evening Nuts!

I've had an interesting day. As most of you know, I underwent my second brain surgery within an eight year time span in late October 2006. It was incredibly difficult for me to recover this time and, in fact, I am still recovering to this day. 

I won't bore you with the gruesome details but I am still be treated for Occipital Neuralgia (PROBABLY SPELLED WRONG) This afternoon I had an out-patient "procedure" (I just love that word) called a Right Occipital Neural Block. This delightful process, as I understand it, is where a Surgeon injects a massive dose of steroids, pain killer and something like Cortisone, through your skull and into a muscle within your brain. OUCH!

Actually, I was under General Anesthesia and didn't feel a thing until later. I'm told it will take as long as 3 to 5 days to have results. What I'm hoping is that my head, which now resembles Homer Simpson's, will reduce in size faster than that!

More Later,

"Homer Simpson" Head Nut #0001 

Hello Nuts,

Today I took my eight-year-old granddaughter out for nine holes. Her name is Donovan Delaney Klimko, she is Nut #5000 and she LOVES GOLF!

Every Wednesday and Saturday she is in a kids clinic at Dragon Ridge Country Club. I really admire the teaching staff at Dragon Ridge, I'm not sure I'd have the patience to work with so many small children. I am always surprised when no one gets maimed during the sessions.

When Donovan was finished, she rode with me while I played a quick 9. She's a terrific caddie and so respectful. Everything was, "Yes, Mr. Donovan" or "Whatever you say, Mr. Head Nut." A real pleasure.

Hello Nuts,

I forgot to tell you... even though I did get "SPANKED" like a mangy dog by the Sadekar Sisters on Sunday, they DID fight over me! Now I gotta tell you that does wonders for a Head Nut's ego! Since we played as 3, someone had to ride alone. Well, Little Sis, Seema was the odd-person-out on the front 9, with the promise that she and Nisha would trade places on #10. Only fair, right?

Well, true to her word Nisha removed her bag from my cart on #10 and I put Seema's bag on while Seema was on the tee. We arrived in the 10th fairway all together except that Nisha had left her golf bag on the 10th tee. I've got to admit, I've seen players drive off and have their bag fall off the cart (and I've done that one, more than once, myself)  but I must admit that is the first time I've EVER seen a player leave a tee WITHOUT their bag!

Thanks for being such a good sport Nisha! But what can you ever do to top that!?

We're ALL Nuts,

Head Nut #0001 

Hello Nuts,

Today is Sunday, March 30, 2008.

I had a great time today. I was fortunate to play 18 holes at Dragon Ridge with two beautiful and talented sisters, Nisha and Seema Sadekar. Nisha is the CEO of Play Golf Designs, Inc. and her sister is a senior at UNLV and a professional on the Duramed Futures Tour, the player development tour for the LPGA.

These girls have GAME! In some pretty unfriendly conditions Seema shot a better-than-it-sounds 73 and Nisha (after a really rough front nine) shot a respectable 81. They both kicked my butt. The Ol' Head Nut played some "goofy golf" and couldn't seem to get the ball through the clowns mouth into the hole.

Watch the web site over the upcoming weeks for a Profile on Seema and a feature story about Play Golf Designs (one of the most original concepts in golf, that I've heard about in awhile.)

Well, got to go practice. I have a game with Seema on April 10 and I bet her lunch (at McDonalds) that she won't hit a single ball past me all day...any pressing would be a "SupersiZe." But I just really hate to lose...ever!

We're ALL Nuts,

Dear Golf Nuts,

Today I spent the better part of 5 hours screening the first 10% of Golf Nut Videos dating as far back as 1987. Even though special equipment was required because most of this video was shot in a BetaMax format (anyone actually remember BetaMax?) It was well worth the time and investment.

Mingled among countless hours of duplicate shots, out-of-focus shots, some bad audio and other technical "issues," were some real GEMS. We're talking solid GOLD GOLF NUT CONTENT.

Our next step is to edit and produce the gems we found. Once that is complete the Golf Nut Society will be launching a new multi-media page, including a Members-Only interactive site where Golf Nuts can receive "Video Email."

Watch for that announcement on April 9 or 10, 2008.

If you have some video clips worthy of being broadcast on GNBG (Golf Nut Broadcasting Group) please send them to: GOLF NUT VIDEOS, c/o GNBG 1656 Liege Dr, Henderson, NV 89012.