Its official.

According to the German PGA I may now refer to myself as a Golf Teaching Professional. Bear in mind that I may not call myself a PGA Teaching Professional yet, this honour takes 3 more years but hey I’m quite proud of myself and the 1st step is now behind me!

So, old or not, follow your dreams, its worth it! Oh, and have some fun on the way too.

Keep on swinging.

Cheers

Geoff

I don’t say my golf game is bad, but if I grew tomatoes they’d come up sliced.
Author Unknown

I’ve spent most of my life golfing. the rest I’ve just wasted.
Author Unknown

They call it golf because all the other four-letter words were taken.
Raymond Floyd

The ardent golfer would play Mount Everest if somebody would put a flag stick on top.
Pete Dye (His golf courses reflect this belief!!!)

Golf is played by twenty million mature American men whose wives think they are out having fun.
Jim Bishop

It took me seventeen years to get three thousand hits in baseball. I did it in one afternoon on the golf course.
Hank Aaron

Golf is a game in which you yell “fore,” shoot six, and write down five.
Paul Harvey

Give me golf clubs, fresh air & a beautiful partner, and you can keep the clubs and the fresh air.
Jack Benny

Have you ever noticed what golf spells backwards?
Al Boliska

The only time my prayers are never answered is on the golf course.
Billy Graham

Reverse every natural instinct and do the opposite of what you are inclined to do, and you will probably come very close to having a perfect golf swing.
Ben Hogan

Go play golf. Go to the golf course. Hit the ball. Find the ball. Repeat until the ball is in the hole. Have fun. The end.
Chuck Hogan

If you think it’s hard to meet new people, try picking up the wrong golf ball.
Jack Lemmon

It’s good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling.
Mark Twain

Don’t play too much golf. Two rounds a day are plenty.
Harry Vardon

Golf is a game in which one endeavors to control a ball with implements ill adapted for the purpose.
Woodrow Wilson

A golfer’s diet: live on greens as much as possible .
Author Unknown

Gone golfin’ … be back about dark thirty.
Author Unknown

Born to golf. Forced to work.
Author Unknown

My body is here, but my mind has already teed off .
Author Unknown

Golf and sex are the only things you can enjoy without being good at them.
Jimmy DeMaret

May thy ball lie in green pastures …. and not in still waters.
Author Unknown

If I hit it right, it’s a slice. If I hit it left, it’s a hook. If I hit it straight, it’s a miracle.
Author Unknown

The difference in golf and government is that in golf you can’t improve your lie.
George Deukmejian

Golf is a game invented by the same people who think music comes out of bagpipes.

Cheers

Geoff

Contract with German PGA and with Steven Rogers of Oberstaufen-Steibis Golf Course signed and posted today….
Wish me luck please!!!
Keep on swinging!!!!

Cheers
Geoff

Just a quick thank you for the comments, support and jokes that you shared with me over 2011. I will continue the fight for the “older” folk by giving 2012 a good kick up the butt and working hard at my qualification process.
May all your dreams come true in 2012, (apparently it may be a very short year), may all your drives fly straight and true, your approach shots be pin seekers and all your putts a mere formality!
To the golfing gods please look down on your humble golfing servants kindly.

Have a blast and remember…..keep on swinging!!

Cheers

Geoff

47 years old and about to become an assistant teaching professional just about says it all.

When I moved to Switzerland over 10 years ago this was what I thought I would like to do in my “new” life. Sadly the Swiss PGA had an age limit of I think it was 35 then and I was too old to start . Meeting all the other requirements did not seem to matter, I was just too old.

So for 10 years I keep trying to find a way to do it. My handicap kept fluctuating (in the wrong direction mostly!) and I almost gave up on the dream. After some encouragement by certain friends and family (you know who you are….) I finally called the German PGA around 10 months ago. I had heard that they offered the course as a correspondence course and weren’t ageist!

I started my course in July this year. This was the 1st step in the process of becoming a fully qualified member of the PGA, a process that will last another 3 years. To be quite honest I was very nervous as I have never  been the greatest student in the world and now I had to be one in German! There were 77 of us on the course with the average age being around 22 years old. Did not matter to me, I could hit a ball as far (and sometimes further) and as straight (and often straighter..) as most of them so thats one for the old guys! It was tough at times, long drives into Germany to attend seminars and training modules, and then having to try and comprehend what the hell they were saying!

We had 5 examinations at the end of 5 months studies over a period of 4 days, some theory and some practical. Initially I managed to pass only 3 of the 5 but then went back and rewrote knowing full well that I had to pass this time, both the C trainer examination and the entrance test, or it would be another year before I could try again!! I passed and am very proud of myself.

Yesterday I was offered a position as an assistant Pro at Golfclub OberStaufen Steibis and have had accepted. The head pro is an Englishman by the name of Steven Rogers and really seems to be a nice person. I will be able to do part time work as I have a day job as well with OnOff which I really am enjoying. The course is only around an hour from St Gallen so come on over and visit me please.

The point I am trying to make is that we should never give up on anything that we think is right for us or that we are really passionate about. Never give up people, never give up on ideas, never give up on dreams no matter how crazy they may seem to you or others. Be patient, be determined and don’t take “no” or “never” for an answer if you believe.

Thanks to all that have helped in the many ways that they have even if they never knew they were helping.

I will chase all my dreams, crazy and less crazy, and want you all to do just the same, its fun!!!!

Be patient and never surrender.

Merry Christmas and a Happy Happy New Year.

Keep on swinging.

Geoff

Thanks to all that follow my blog for your kind comments regarding my passing my tests. For some technical reason these are not appearing on my blog. I am in the process of trying to find the solution to this.

Keep on swinging!

Cheers

Geoff

I passed, even with the tests being in German. I passed!!!!!!!!!!! So now I move onto the next year and lets see where this takes me. Its going to be tough I am sure but hey thats what makes it fun! You see, you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Keep on swinging!!!!!

Cheers

Geoff

Anyway, I have never broached the subject with my wife. I think deep down I just did not want to know the truth, but last night she went out again and I decided to finally check on her. Around midnight, I hid in the garage behind my golf clubs so I could get a good view of the whole area when she arrived home from a night out with ‘the girls.’ When she got out of the car she was buttoning up her blouse, which was open, and she took her panties out of her purse and slipped them on. It was at
that moment, crouching behind my golf clubs, that I noticed a hairline
crack where the grip meets the graphite shaft on my 3-wood. Is this
something I can fix myself or should I take it back to the pro-shop where I bought it?

Signed,
Golfer In Distress

Found this while working and had to share it with you all.

RULES FOR BEDROOM GOLF

1. Each player shall furnish his own equipment for play — normally one
club and two balls.

2. Play on a course must be approved by the owner of the hole.

3. Unlike outdoor golf, the object is to get the club in the hole and
keep the balls out.

4. For most effective play, the club should have a firm shaft. Course
owners are permitted to check shaft stiffness before play begins.

5. Course owners reserve the right to restrict club length to avoid
damage to the hole.

6. The object of the game is to take as many strokes as necessary until
the course owner is satisfied that play is complete. Failure to do so may
result in being denied permission to play the course again.

7. It is considered bad form to begin playing the hole immediately upon
arrival at the course. The experienced player will normally take time to
admire the entire course with special attention to well formed bunkers.

8. Players are cautioned not to mention other courses they have played,
or are currently playing, to the owner of the course being played. Upset
course owners have been known to damage players equipment for this reason.

9. Players are encouraged to bring proper rain gear for their own
protection.

10. Players should ensure themselves that their match has been properly
scheduled, particularly when a new course is being played for the first time.
Previous players have been known to become irate if they discover someone
else playing on what they considered to be a private course.

11. Players should not assume a course is in shape for play at all
times. Some players may be embarrassed if they find the course to be
temporarily under repair. Players are advised to be extremely tactful in this
situation. More advanced players will find alternative means of play when
this is the case.

12. The course owner is responsible for manicuring and pruning any bush
around the hole to allow for improved viewing of, alignment with, and
approach to the hole.

13. Players are advised to obtain the course owners permission before
attempting to play the back nine.

14. Slow play is encouraged. However, players should be prepared to
proceed at a quicker pace, at least temporarily, at the course owners request
(Course time is Four to Five Hours).

15. It is considered outstanding performance, time permitting, to play
the same hole several times in one match.

Keep on swinging!

Cheers

Geoff

I have been lucky enough to arrange a really really good deal at Arabella Golf Course near Cape Town, South Africa.

Included: 2 weeks in a beautiful home overlooking holes 6 and 7, includes breakfast and supper and some good South African wine with your meal. There will be drinks such as fruit juices, cold drinks (it gets hot in South Africa!!) and snacks available to nibble on.

Excluded: Flight, lunches, car hire, golf, and travel insurance.

Dates: 16 January 2012 to 29 January 2012

Price: CHF 2450.00 per person sharing/single supplement of CHF 500.00 i.e single person pays CHF 2950.00

I need to confirm this by latest 20 December 2011 so if interested call (079 743 4616) or mail me as soon as possible.

Keep on swinging.

Cheers

Geoff