Crowne Plaza

Last week I attended day 2 of the Crown Plaza Invitational at the Colonial in Fort Worth. This was the first time I attended a professional golf tournament and it definitely will not be the last. I had a great time. I didn't stay very long though because it was very hot and I forgot my sunscreen. I know what you're thinking. Tony, black people don't need sunscreen.

1. Yes, we do! I burn on my arms and nose.

2. I'm half white.


Anyway, I got to see the best golfers in the world up close. Very close! At one point I was so close I could have reached out and touched Phil Mickelson's man boobs if I wanted to. I didn't want to.



The night before the tournament I tweeted Y.E. Yang (local Pro Golfer) telling him to look out for a 'brotha with a blue shirt on' and to give me a 'head nod'. Surprisingly, he responded "I'll try, but no promises". Cool! Don't get me wrong, I'm not the kind of person who gets 'Star Struck'. My heart doesn't start racing and I don't break out the pen and pad for autographs when I see a celeb or big athlete. I just like to say "what's up" and maybe brag about my encounter on twitter and facebook later. I've met Dan Marino, Sugar Ray Leonard, Danny Glover, Ben Stein (cool as hell), and a bunch of other athletes (Apolo Ohno is tiny). No big deal.
Back to Y.E. Yang. So, I'm at the 10th and after he hits his tee shot he starts walking to his next shot and looks right at me. I feel it. He's about to give me the head nod. Then he looks to my left. I follow his eyes and there's another black guy with a blue shirt on! What the hell? Y.E. doesn't make any expression and keeps walking to his ball. I thought I'd give it another shot and started walking to the next hole. The other blue shirt black guy followed me! "Why are you following me man? I understand there is strength in numbers, but we do not always have to stick together. I do not feel threatened with the 99 to 1 white to black ratio here. Back off a little please." I said this in my head of course. I see this often though. In large crowds different races voluntarily segregate themselves. I also see where it is not so voluntary.....


Like in Theater.

Everyone knows the stereotype 'blacks are always late'. As an African American male I am here to confirm this stereotype is 97% TRUE. The only reason I say 97% is because I am never late, so I'm guessing there has to be others out there like me. Haven't met them yet, but surely they must exist. So the next time you're in a theater survey the landscape of the audience and pay very close attention right around the time the lights go out and the previews start. This is when my brothas and sistas show up. And because they are late, they all end up in the same area of the auditorium; the very undesirable first two rows right in front of the screen where you can't see anything because it is too close.


How the hell did this blog go from watching a PGA tournament to segregation in movie theaters?
I'm losing it.

Fore!!

I can tell by my girlfriends' face after she reads my blogs that she is wondering why I don't talk about her more. In order to avoid sleeping on the couch, I will do that in this blog. But first...I have some other things to get to.



Minutes after posting my last blog, I received my new golf bag. (Amazon pulled through!) I didn't need a new bag, but there is a reason for the purchase. A few months ago I was at a sporting goods store in the golf section looking at some iron sets. The Calloways and Adams sets were cool, but I fell in love with the Mizunos. I don't remember the model. I only remember that when I picked them up, they felt right. I decided then, my next set of clubs will be Mizunos. I don't, however, feel like I'm good enough yet to own them. So, I set a goal for myself. Once I am able to hit under 100, I will get myself a new set of Mizuno irons. For motivation, I bought a Mizuno golf bag to remind me of the task. I'll get there this summer.



To help me accomplish this goal, I have a new Golf Instructor. I had an instructor early last year, but I didn't get much from him. He was trying to teach me his 'specialty' swing. I think he called it the 'tornado' or 'hurricane'.... Or maybe it was the 'tsunami'. I don't remember. All I do remember is that I was not progressing at all. (Was is called the 'twister"?) Anyways, late last year I switched to Stacy Mapel a certified PGA Instructor. After only one lesson with Stacy I was swinging better than the 3 hours of lessons with the previous guy. Stacy is great! He tapes my swings at the end of the lesson with a high speed camera so I can watch it at home later and compare it to my previous lessons or pro golfer's swings. When I go a long stretch without a lesson, I can catch up pretty quick just by watching the last lesson video and listening to the commentary. Anyway, if you live in Dallas/Fort Worth area I highly recommend contacting Stacy for lessons at stacymapel.com. You won't regret it. I have no doubts he will help me start hitting in the 90's.



If my road to hitting under 100 is too boooring for you, follow pro golfer John Raser on his journey to the PGA Tour. John is fun to follow on twitter (@johnraser) and he has an interesting website and blog (gospeedraser.com). Holla! If anything, read his February 19th blog and see if you can contribute in any way.



Alright, That was too much golf for one blog. There was something else I was supposed to talk about. My diet! My diet is temporarily on hold because my mom is in town. I can't say no to real German cooking right? I've consumed more carbs and sugar in the past 3 days than I did all of February. I'll have to start making up for that starting this Sunday. My weight goal is in sight.


There was one other thing I was supposed to talk about. Oh well, guess I'll get to it next time.

Later.


P.S. Sleeping on the couch isn't that bad. :-(