The getting to know you thread.......

[dcg1952]

Greetings----I'm Dave, 53 y/o, live in the suburbs of the always overcast Pittsburgh. I'm a family practice physician and started playing seriously in 1990 after being run over by too many 18 year-olds playing softball. I was a competitive swimmer in high school and college, still do it as much as possible for exercise--which hasn't been much the past couple of months. Managed to survive a stage 3 kidney cancer in 1997 and decided work wasn't the only thing in life. (I've never had a dying patient tell me,"I wish I had spent more time at the office."). Golf has turned into a wonderful time for me--playing, studying the swing, trying to improve, etc. I'm always amazed how many times I've shown up some place as a single and end up having a great time with the group I join. It's almost as though the game creates a bond between its players. Am I making sense? Anyway, came upon TGM several years ago and found it REALLY fascinating--and landed at the TGM site, Chuck's, Brian's and now here. Spent a day with Lynn recently and have a post in the Clubhouse section. The fog is lifting, albeit slowly. Have a wonderful wife, Carolyn and a 21 y/o daughter, Kristen who is a junior at Auburn. This is REALLY a great thread--nice to put some info with screen names. Would love to meet and/or play with any of you--let me know if you get near the "Burgh" or near Auburn and maybe we can sustain the lag together. Have a GREAT golfing season everyone! Dr. Dave

[RickPinewild]

I’m Rick, 56 years old, recently retired and living in Pinehurst, NC. Originally from the Atlantic City, NJ area. Married with a 26 year old son. Started golf at 21 when I got out of the Air Force. Met my wife at the driving range. Started doing golf club repairs in 1978. My claim to fame is I once caddied for Dean Martin and reshafted Rocco Mediate's 5 iron. My current handicap index is 8.5, but with the TGM help I’m hitting the best quality shots I’ve ever had.

[golfquest]

Hi, My name is Stan, I didn't pick up golf until I was 56. I had a fractured foot playing slow pitch and decided the young kids should continue and enjoy that game. My first set of clubs was my fatherinlaw's and he was 6' 4'' and I am 5'8''. yes, they were custom made for him. Didn't take a lesson until I was around 60. Then became interested in Natural golf and had a lesson, but was disappointed, although I stayed with the palm grip until the last few months. I tried IMA and several others, I have a very slow swing speed around 70 mph. So, I dream of hitting a drive 200 yards.. I am retired and raise about 200 different type of roses and judge them on a local and national scale. I live in east central Iowa and the winters can be rough although this year was not too bad. As I actually read this forum, Brian's, and Chucks forum and I then go out and hit balls in the snow trying to emulate what I thought I read. I smile when you say the weather is bad and it is the 40's. Our courses are opened early this year and we been playing in that weather until this week. I am retired computer programmer and analyst and had the opprotunity to go to Australia, Puerto Rico, and Canada. I have two sons who work and have a Celtic band that is very popular in this area. My wife thinks it is great that I work in the rose garden and golf because as she calls me 'never sit still' is out of the house. I would love to fly to Atlanta and have a lesson and get straightened out on what I am doing. I thought I would be a hitter since not very flexable, but seem to do better using the swingers method. I hit a driver about 160 and a 3 wood about 150 and I use irons only around the green. I have a driver, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 wood in my bag. Best golf moment when I hit a hole in one on Good Friday last year. I hit a 13 wood on a par 3 , 111 yard. Don't worry Yoda, I will never expect to hit 220 yards if I do get to take a lesson, you can relax.
Wife calling we have four grandkids and we are babysitting the 15 month old while young son going back to college. All of you have a great golfing season this year and remember 'Have fun doing it'.
Stan

[krpainter]

Hi, I'm Keith, a 37 year old father of 4 (2 girls and 2 boys). I work as a database developer with a large defense firm (Raytheon). I live in Maryland, not to far from Baltimore (go O's & Ravens!).

I am a former (hopefully!) hacker that went through Yodification last month and I am starting to see some consistent progress. I can't wait to start playing on a consistent basis now that spring is finally here.

Besides golfing I enjoy woodworking (built all the cabinets and desks in my office) and being active in my Church.

Two of my kids have expressed an interest in playing so I want to start working with them some this summer. I think it will be a great activity to do together as a family...and I don't think my wife would mind me playing nearly as much if I am bringing the kids along!!!

Anyway, thats about it. This thread has been awesome for seeing the diversity of backgrounds on this forum, and getting a little background knowledge on some of the regular posters.

Keith

[mgjordan]

My name is Matt and I am 20 years old. I grew up about 10 miles from Lexington, Kentucky, but moved to Gulf Shores, AL when I was 18. I am back in Lexington now going to school at Eastern Kentucky University. Right now, my major is psychology, but I will probably double major in psychology and English. I have played golf since I could walk, but started playing seriously when I was 14. I hurt my arm pitching in Little League and didn't want to play baseball if I couldn't pitch, so I started going to the golf course with my dad. I found The Golfing Machine when I was 17, but couldn't really understand it until I attended Lynn and Chuck's workshop in Pine Needles. I have continued to study it with the help of the internet forums and I will be an AI sometime in the near future.

I was the 3rd ranked player in my region through high school and I have been a sratch player. My low round is 67. I haven't played a 'real' round of golf for several months, but I do drills every day indoors. I hit balls about once a week, but now that the weather is getting good I will be practicing and playing quite a bit. I am going to try out for EKU's team during the spring semester. I am competitive and golf isn't much fun for me if I'm not playing competitively.

My other interests outside of TGM and golf are reading, writing, learning, entrepreneurship, and watching movies. Most kids my age don't really have any interests and I think that is one of the biggest tragedies in America today. Learning and listening to other's opinions will never hurt you. Anything you learn will be of benefit at some point during your life and I hope I never stop. My motivation for studying psychology is so I can teach people how to succeed. Success begins in the mind and I would even argue that it is nothing more than a mindset. I think success, in any endeavor, is an artform that must be learned. I am particularly interested in sports/performance psychology and how the mind can be used to reach extraordinary levels.

[Matt]

My name is Matt and I'm 19 and from Wisconsin. Currently in Minnesota for college and I'm enjoying it. I first got into 'this stuff' in the fall of 2000, my freshman year of high school. When my book arrived, I asked myself what I was getting into - little did I know. Back in the day I played a spectrum of sports but really got into golf around the age of 12. I found myself progress from a 90s shooter in 8th grade to a 1-handicap last year with the help of numerous people - my AI in Wisconsin, Lynn, Chuck Evans, and many others.

Golfwise, I enjoy playing competitively, bantering about the swing, and watching the lightbulb turn on in peoples' heads when I show them something. I have two golf-related jobs, so I'm always around the game somehow and can practice and play all the time. I've qualified for and played in the Wisconsin State Amateur the past two years and had some great learning experiences. In 2003, I was the youngest player to make the cut at age 17. My goal this year is to play whatever competitive events I can and get my handicap to scratch or better.

Thanks to Lynn, I was able to attend the first Secrets of the Golfing Machine Workshop in St. Augustine last spring that he conducted with Chuck Evans. My 'book knowledge' and how it's applicable to my game increased tremendously. I am sometimes guilty of overanalyzing my swing and get frustrated very quickly when my game doesn't reflect the effort I've put into it. Again thanks to Lynn, I visited him in Marietta two weeks ago over my spring break. I realized that I had been overlooking several things that were applicable to my game (Hitting? Hmmm). I'm really looking forward to this golf season.

What else...I don't know what I'm studying in school yet, and I'm not ruling out a golf-related occupation. I'm not playing for the team here, as I'd prefer to 'do my thing' golfwise in the summer and 'live the college experience' during the school year. I'm very content with that. Other interests of mine are fitness/nutrition (I'm in the gym 5 days a week ), playing my guitar, global politics, modern history, digging to find the real stories behind the news, and persuasive writing.

Here's to a great 2005 season.

[FL-John]

My name is John (call sign is FL-John). The "FL" actually is for Florida where I currently reside, but the "FL" is also the first two leters of my last name. I grew up in great Milwaukee, so yes, I do drink Pabst, Old Style and any other cheap beer, while gnawing on a block of cheddar.

I currently work as Manger, Talent Acquisition for a large Real Estate and Travel Services Fortune 100 corp. I have a house in Port Charlotte, FL (we still hate Hurricane Charley), but have started a new job in Orlando, FL.

I played Division III college golf for three years at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Won one tourney in college (second day cancelled due to rain) with a 2-under 70. Avg score on that 40*/25 MPH wind day for the field was 78.

Picked up my first copy of TGM about 6 years ago after reviewing the old Golf Digest article showing Mac's right/left handed swings. Have the inside cover signed by Sally Kelley (for Homer). Have never made the journey to see an AI as of yet, but will soon. Nickanme in college was Leaky, as it was one of the shots I could not hit. Everything, and I mean everything, was right to left. If I had to cut a ball, I'd open the face about 45* and was lucky to hit a straight ball. Other nickname (post college) was Loopy, as my putting stroke can sometimes resemble a Figure-8.

If anyone is ever in SW Florida or Orlando and wants to hit a few, feel free to give me a PM!

FL-John

[Bigwill]

My name is Will, and I live in MI. My wife and I are currently expecting our first child, so I'm currently the happiest/ most stressed/ excited/ nervous guy in the world

I'm entering my sixth season of golf. I don't have a handicap, but I'm hovering around the 95 to 100 mark. The majority of my blowup holes are a result of severe misshits. I'm really long, and have decent touch; it's just that it sometimes takes me 3 or 4 strokes to get to the hole. I purchased TGM in hopes that I'll be able to play closer to my potential than I do now, and I am fully confindent that I am heading in the right direction. Definitely looking forward to this year.