Last Sunday one of my golf buddies called me to fill in his foursome at the last minute. I hadn't planned on playing but the invitation was too good to resist. I said YES!

Now under normal circumstances I know when and where I'm playing a few days in advance. This invitation came about two hours before the round was to start. "No problem." I told him... "I'll be on the first tee in plenty of time."

This was my first mistake. As those words slid over my tongue, I mentally dismissed the all-important warm up time on the range before the round. I had a few last minute errands to run, but I could be there in time... or so I thought.

My second mistake was to misjudge the drive time. Unfortunately my last minute errands ran a bit long and I underestimated the drive time to the course. And as it turned out... I underestimated by a lot! I also hadn't planned for some the game day traffic on my route. Oops!

Our tee time was 12:51pm and I arrived at 1:18 pm. Needless to say, the group was well into the second hole by the time I arrived.

I wanted to mention another ill-advised brain killer that I experienced that day. As I impatiently sat in that precious time consuming traffic, my mood shifted in a dark and dangerous direction! I was cussing at old lady drivers, yelling at misguided teenagers and generally pissed off at the world. This is NOT a good pre game routine!

I arrived at the course, quickly checked in and hitched a ride out to meet my foursome. I watched as they finished up number two and prepared for my first swing of the day.

A pull-hook into the left rough. The group graciously granted me a mulligan noticing my lack of swing preparation. It was a thin DH drive that went about 160 yards.

I needed to regroup mentally. I shared the disastrous road trip details with my group and managed to yuck it up a bit. But my lack of preparation was not to be ignored. It was ten or fifteen errant swings that jacked my partial score beyond normal recognition.

I was able to salvage the back nine, but the round was one of my worst this summer.

So what have I learned? Well first of all, be certain you can arrive at the course 45 to 60 minutes before the round. Do a specific warm up on the range. Just 10 or 15 shots can work out some of the swing kinks. And it's a good idea to get a feel for your putter on the practice green.

All this in addition to working out game details with your foursome. Choose tee boxes, make bets and get comfortable before the round.

What are your pre-game routines and how do they help you?

I realize I've been delinquent in providing you fresh and interesting golfnoise material. And for that I'm forever apologetic. As a matter of fact, I've had very little on-course link time this summer. I admit it. I've been really busy with other non-golf activities.

What could be more important than golf you ask? Well perhaps I'll cover that in a future post. Suffice to say I've had a busy summer ...off the course.

So what happens to your game when you don't play? That's an easy one. It evaporates, drifts and suffers. That's the friendly way I've been refering to my game. To the few whom I have shared a round with, they just look with wonder on how the simple shots can go so far off line and into the skraggle. 

What's an angry and frustrated golfer to do? Grin and bear it, of course. Golf can be a wicked mistress when she's not regularly tended to. But the punishment for my absence seems so severe. The scorecard tally grows with reckless abandon. Cash literally flies out of my wallet and lands decisively in my opponent's. It's just not right!

Time to rise above the sub humanity of inadequate execution. I'm signing up for a lesson or two. I'm in dire need of some fresh swing thoughts.

I'll explain to my future golf redemptor that I need help in just a few areas. I need some driver consistency as well some long iron work. I also need some middle iron assistance and some help with pitching and chipping. Oh and I could use a good deal of putting advice.

Hmmm. That doesn't leave much meat on the bone, now does it?

So what's happened to your handicap this year. Give us a shout and tell us all about it!