TurboDog Posted April 18, 2002 Share Posted April 18, 2002 I used to be an avid golfer. I'd play twice a week and go to the range once. But I stopped playing 2 years ago. I played one scramble tournament last year and maybe went to the range twice. In the last 10 days, I've been to the range twice and played 1 round of golf. Here's the problem... Lately I've been working on speed excercises, scales, runs, etc. I was getting pretty damned fast. The night after I went to the range, I tried some speed stuff and my pinky just wasnt cooperating. So I just figured I was having an off night and put her away. Next night, same thing. I played 18 holes Sunday, and ever since I've noticed my pinky just isnt doing right. Last night I worked an hour on speed triplets on 2 strings like this: (numbers indicate fingers) -----------1--2--4---4--2---1-------- --1--3--4-----------------------4--3--1 -----------1--3--4--4--3--1----- --1--2--4--------------------4--2--1 and some 6 string runs like: -------------------------------1-2-4--- -------------------------1-3-4--------- -------------------1-2-4--------------- -------------1-3-4--------------------- -------1-2-4--------------------------- -1-3-4--------------------------------- Even after an hour of this, I dont think I could do it near as fast as I could 2 weeks ago. Is it coincidence, or does it have something to do with maybe my golf grip? I know this sounds crazy, but I can't think of any other reason. I'm thinking my pinky is reverting back to the old golf days with muscle memory/strength. When i used to play golf regularly, I was mostly a rythym player and I didn't have any real fast chops. Man this sounds totally nuts, I know. I have a scramble tournament again this Sunday, and after that I'd be more than willing to closet the clubs if it's gonna hurt my guitar playing. Any opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted April 18, 2002 Share Posted April 18, 2002 Hmmm, don't know...seems like just a couple of golf games might not be enough to really tell...there could be another problem that you might be overlooking. I can't say. But, you haven't had any minor injuries, have you? Hate to see you give up golf, if golf is something you really like. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlb Posted April 18, 2002 Share Posted April 18, 2002 I think you are on to something because I golf and I have similar experiences. Last sumer I played in a tourney and then had to play that night....man I was junk! I felt like I could only play simple triads without screwing up my timing. It has happened more than once at practice as well. I think I'll search for a conection between the two.....Oh No! choice between golf and guitar! Next it will be masterbation....we're all screwed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Dan Licks Posted April 18, 2002 Share Posted April 18, 2002 I play a different instrument, Sitar, but it is a stringed instrument where you have to maintain a fine balance between strength and flexibility. I am also an instrument maker, so I am constantly abusing my chops, not cutting them up so much, but just doing a lot of hard gripping work with my left hand. When you swing a golf club you are doing the same, (except I get paid to grip ). I have definitely noticed that at times when I have had to do a lot of gripping, the strength part of playing is fine, but the flexibility suffers. I find it helpful to loosen up my hands now and again by just doing the open-close number over and over until my forearm burns. Then shake it out. So I would suggest that you work your hand to keep it loose in between strokes. The guys you are playing with will think you are wield, but then, you will have lots of time to do it while walking the 245 yards down the center of the fareway from your t-shot. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboDog Posted April 18, 2002 Author Share Posted April 18, 2002 Holy Shit! I think I am on to something. I thought maybe I was being foolish. Tedster, no injuries at all. Not a thing different other than 1 round of golf and 2 trips to the range. Thing is, I used to play so much, that my grip is something my hands/fingers will always remember. So when I get back to it, maybe my hands/fingers revert to a different type of strength and flexibility. I dunno. I know a lot of rockers golf these days. But do any fast players? Maybe my technique differs from theirs enough where the difference is more notable. I'll probably go to the range tonight. Maybe I'll practice some afterwards. I'll keep you guys posted. If I had to give up golf, it wouldn't be a total heartbreak. Although i'm pretty good (mid 80's, well after a few weeks of playing). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Dan Licks Posted April 18, 2002 Share Posted April 18, 2002 Uuuuuhhh, Mid 80s. Do you mean age? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboDog Posted April 18, 2002 Author Share Posted April 18, 2002 I usually shoot mid-upper 80's. I'm actually 92 years old. Or maybe I'm 80, and shoot in the mid-upper 90's? Or I'm 30 and shoot 9 holes in the lower 40's. Or I'm 40 and shhot 9 holes in the lower 30's. Ahh, who can remember. If you're only as old as you feel, well then yes, I am mid 80's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Dan Licks Posted April 18, 2002 Share Posted April 18, 2002 Well, you know what they say about teaching old (turbo)dogs new tricks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Lander Posted April 18, 2002 Share Posted April 18, 2002 Hey Turbodog, If you're pinky is tightening up after playing golf you're gripping wrong or the grip is too fat. That little finger should only be resting on the club, gripping if at all. The grip is with the middle & third fingers on that hand. If you want proof, move your grip up until the pinky is off the cap & hit some balls. You'll do just fine once you realize the club isn't gonna fly away. If you're using the interlock or the Varden grip you're really only using 4 fingers & the pads to maintain control & grip. You will unconsciously tighen your grip enough to hold the club anyway. Remember...softly... Our Joint "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it." The Duke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHAN Posted April 19, 2002 Share Posted April 19, 2002 I dunno. I've played golf and guitar my whole life, and never saw a correlation. Either that, or golf has robbed me of the opportunity to be a ***[THUNDERCLAP]*** ***************GUITAR GOD****************** So Many Drummers. So Little Time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfjunkie Posted April 19, 2002 Share Posted April 19, 2002 i think if you keep practicing both regularly, things will get back to normal. just don't do anything that hurts (golf or guit). like dak mentioned, a pretty light grip works for me. and no finger-crossing. hey, welcome to Dan Licks! it's the first i've seen you here. you did mean that you get paid to grip golf clubs, right? i think you might be the man- austrian luthier/pro golfer sitarist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfjunkie Posted April 19, 2002 Share Posted April 19, 2002 oh, sorry- Mr. Dan Licks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted April 19, 2002 Share Posted April 19, 2002 I think this is why your golfing is hurting your guitar playing: - The sport of choice for the urban poor is BASKETBALL. - The sport of choice for maintenance level employees is BOWLING. - The sport of choice for front-line workers is FOOTBALL. - The sport of choice for supervisors is BASEBALL. - The sport of choice for middle management is TENNIS. - The sport of choice for corporate officers is GOLF. AMAZING CONCLUSION: The higher you are in the corporate structure, the smaller your balls become. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak Lander Posted April 19, 2002 Share Posted April 19, 2002 Originally posted by wager47: oh, sorry- Mr. Dan Licks.Yeah, & ya better be nice to the old codger too. Hell, he's older than I am. Yippee!!! Our Joint "When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it." The Duke... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Dan Licks Posted April 19, 2002 Share Posted April 19, 2002 Originally posted by wager47: oh, sorry- Mr. Dan Licks.Thats ok. The Mr. is just because for some reason I couldn't get registered under Dan Licks. I'm not big on formalities....jes' call me Dan... I don't play golf. I don't really even like golf, but I have to say, the Tiger is a gas to watch! What a swing! I get paid to "grip" tools, which hurts my hands, and to "grip" my sitar, which hurts my hands even more! Yeah, I'm new here. I am just another fugitive from the Dark Side (HC forum). Some nice cats over there, and the recording forum can be very helpful, but the general tone is too adolescent. Too much axe grinding and flaming. I like to have fun and I like to learn, so I swallowed Myles' bait and, well...here I am. I like it here. More old farts like me! Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Dan Licks Posted April 19, 2002 Share Posted April 19, 2002 Originally posted by daklander: Originally posted by wager47: oh, sorry- Mr. Dan Licks.Yeah, & ya better be nice to the old codger too. Hell, he's older than I am. Yippee!!!Don't get smart, young feller! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
not coaster MODERATOR Posted April 19, 2002 Share Posted April 19, 2002 Originally posted by Lee Flier: I think this is why your golfing is hurting your guitar playing: - The sport of choice for the urban poor is BASKETBALL. - The sport of choice for maintenance level employees is BOWLING. - The sport of choice for front-line workers is FOOTBALL. - The sport of choice for supervisors is BASEBALL. - The sport of choice for middle management is TENNIS. - The sport of choice for corporate officers is GOLF. AMAZING CONCLUSION: The higher you are in the corporate structure, the smaller your balls become.anyone for a game of marbles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Dan Licks Posted April 19, 2002 Share Posted April 19, 2002 Originally posted by wager47: oh, sorry- Mr. Dan Licks.Hey wager, What is the picture under your moniker. Looks like a double bass tuning gear?? Just curious.. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboDog Posted April 19, 2002 Author Share Posted April 19, 2002 Lee, I'm not corporate, and I'm not an officer, so I guess you're way off. Better luck next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfjunkie Posted April 19, 2002 Share Posted April 19, 2002 Originally posted by Mr. Dan Licks: I am just another fugitive from the Dark Side (HC forum). Some nice cats over there, and the recording forum can be very helpful, but the general tone is too adolescent. Too much axe grinding and flaming. too much axe grinding? i thought you were a luthier! yeah, that's a tuner on my Kay upright. i need to take a better picture of it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Dan Licks Posted April 19, 2002 Share Posted April 19, 2002 I don't grind um, I grind um up! Thought so. My specialty is double basses. Lots to grind up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Capasso Posted April 20, 2002 Share Posted April 20, 2002 Originally posted by Lee Flier: I think this is why your golfing is hurting your guitar playing: - The sport of choice for the urban poor is BASKETBALL. - The sport of choice for maintenance level employees is BOWLING. - The sport of choice for front-line workers is FOOTBALL. - The sport of choice for supervisors is BASEBALL. - The sport of choice for middle management is TENNIS. - The sport of choice for corporate officers is GOLF. AMAZING CONCLUSION: The higher you are in the corporate structure, the smaller your balls become.Lee - that's pretty good.... My take on golf is the same as Bugs Bunny - I get tired running them 18 bases.... Tom (running back to the bass forum) www.stoneflyrocks.com Acoustic Color Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip McDonald Posted April 20, 2002 Share Posted April 20, 2002 First off, I'd like to just say I HATE GOLF. Ok, having said that, you've got nothing to worry about because what's happening is you're exercising a muscle group that's being ignored playing guitar. Some muscles are temporarily gaining strength; which in turn slows you down because a tight muscle is a slow one, AND when there is a muscle imbalance occurs that make you clumsy. I ride mountain bikes "a fair amount". It makes me clumsy temporarily from gripping the bars for so long BUT - only when I do it more than I'm accustomed to (which is often these days because I'm not riding on a "regular" basis). So it's to be expected. The upside is that if you play through it you'll probably gain speed after a day of working at it and then a day of laying off it a bit. But of course that effect will wear off if you don't stay on it... You can also injure your hand, because of the muscle imbalance you're not accustomed to, so you'll have to be hyper aware of what's going on with your hand to adequately take advantage. If you don't want to try to "take advantage", then the thing to do is to lay off a day and let your muscles loosen. Which is to say, let them atrophy... Guitar Lessons in Augusta Georgia: www.chipmcdonald.com Eccentric blog: https://chipmcdonaldblog.blogspot.com/ / "big ass windbag" - Bruce Swedien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nollykin Posted April 20, 2002 Share Posted April 20, 2002 Originally posted by Chip McDonald: First off, I'd like to just say I HATE GOLF. Heh. Here here! You go ... guy! "Money, Bitchez and Cheese!" http://www.playspoon.com/nollykin/files/voxline.gif "I never thought about it, and I never stopped to feel - But I didn't want you telling me just what to think was real. And as simple as it comes, I only wanted to express- ...But with expression comes regret - and I don't want you hating me." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveMusic Posted April 20, 2002 Share Posted April 20, 2002 I don't know the answer to your problem, Turbodog but I think it's possible that the two are related. This coming from a golfaholic. It does seem a bit suspicious, although not altogether out of reason. If you are hitting range balls for hours, I could see how it could affect your speed playing. I don't know cuz I don't play fast. SIDEBAR: Years ago, beginning my golfaholic ways, I started weight training. Like an idiot, I went to the gym, worked out, then went to play golf with two All-America college golfers at a swank country club. Crowd watches us tee off. First tee, first shot, I topped the damn thing with a driver. Cold topped it. And I do not top shots. The damn thing was sitting up there all purty on a tee and I topped it. I could have died. Needless to say, I didn't play golf right after working out anymore. Totally screwed up my rhythm. My muscles were spent. And I think it's possible you are doing something similar. Maybe ever so slightly. Enough to screw up speed guitar. > > > [ Live! ] < < < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip McDonald Posted April 21, 2002 Share Posted April 21, 2002 Originally posted by Nollykin: Originally posted by Chip McDonald: First off, I'd like to just say I HATE GOLF. Heh. Here here! You go ... guy! How about this? I go to the Augusta National every year, and I DON'T EVEN WATCH THE GOLFERS... In fact, most of the time I'm thinking "man oh man... just give me 1 hour in here with my mountain bike, just 1 hour...". (sorry, I always turn extreamly anti-golf this time of year. Everyone in town turns into a golf pro, you hear crap like "oh yah, saw Olazabal shot 3 under on the 9th" "Tiger pulled hard on the 4th today" or some such while standing in line at the grocery store, golf golf golf Masters Masters Masters everywhere, people from Florida who drive worse than people from Aiken S.C., golf golf golf, had an extra room mate (for a total of 3 not counting myself) in town to chaffeur Hyper Rich Corporate Bastards around during the tournament, I had to hear the Golf Channel all week long coming out of one of the other room mate's room, then he turns up on the cover of the local entertainment weekly decked out in golf clothing as a model for crap you can buy for golfers... AHHHHHHAGAHGAHG!!!!!!!!!! Screw golf, but I love it to death that Tiger keeps winning, forcing Big Racist Rich and Snotty Snoots to have to deal with a black guy kicking their ass at their elitist sport. Ahem... anyhow, picked up one of the room mate's silly expensive forged clubs today, to see what muscle groups are affected by swinging... I noticed that it makes your forearm muscles very tense to keep the club from twisting through the arc; on his graphite clubs they're more balanced. I can imagine a day of swinging the heavier clubs would work the upper end of the fore arm, which would make fast picking clumsy, and make scale playing from one side of the neck to the other clumsy. Which is why you should all just put the clubs down and buy nice mountain bikes, you'd be in better shape AND it strengthens your grip. Come on, don't you want to confess the golf cart is a lot more fun than the golf itself? Ahhhghghghhh.... Bring on the Spanish Grand Prix! Guitar Lessons in Augusta Georgia: www.chipmcdonald.com Eccentric blog: https://chipmcdonaldblog.blogspot.com/ / "big ass windbag" - Bruce Swedien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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