I just passed the 1.5 year mark following my surgery for a torn rotator cuff, torn labrum, torn bicep, and bone spur removal in my right shoulder. Yeah I went big. Since my shoulder surgery on February 14, 2019 (yes, Valentine’s Day) I’ve done months and months of rehab and work to get the shoulder back to functioning properly. During the rehab period I developed “frozen shoulder,” a situation where scar tissue and inflammation builds up around the surgery. That condition causes lots of pain, soreness, stiffness and slows down the recovery. I had special treatments in rehab as well as a cortisone shot to reduce the frozen shoulder, but none of that worked.
17 more days in the sling
I’m happy to say that I’ve been soreness and pain free in the shoulder for about a month now, and I attribute most of that to….. any wild guesses? Mountain biking. I’ve taken up mountain biking this spring and summer with a new, very expensive, Specialized bike. I’ve done a ton of riding and there is a lot of work that goes into it in terms of upper body. There is lots of pulling, pushing, stabilizing and so forth. The shoulder did not like that for the first few weeks, but I believe that all that movement eventually broke up the scar tissue. Now I’m at about 95% range of motion with no stiffness or soreness.
Hit My First Golf Balls Since November 2018
After several weeks of being pain free, I decided it was finally time to try and hit a golf ball. I had been getting a few clubs out each week for a few weeks and making some light swings in the backyard to eval the shoulder and see if it was realistic to try playing. I finally pulled the trigger and hit a small bucket about five days ago. I was a little paranoid about overdoing it, so I didn’t swing super hard. I started off with some light drivers, not wedges. Driver is my warm up club and I figured hitting a club that doesn’t contact the ground might be a better introduction to ball contact for the shoulder. I then hit a few pitching wedges, 8-irons and even a couple of 5-irons. Then back to some 56 degree wedges. At that point I was about 3/4 through the small bucket and the back started to tighten up and I got a little tired. It was also about one billion degrees on the range. Summer here is super hot and dry. So I called it a day.
I was quite surprised at the lack of “bad” shots in the range session. There were two or three nasty shots that appeared about 20 balls in, but mostly the shots were high and accurate. They were not long though. I measured my “good” drives with a laser and they were around 245 yards. Not as long as I was two years ago. The irons didn’t seem to lose much distance though.
Pain Free
I waited a few days to see if there was any soreness in the shoulder or any repercussions from the session. I did have some small sore spots in the shoulder, but that may have also been attributable to crashing and rolling down a small hill on the mountain bike. It’s all back now and I plan to try hitting a few more balls this weekend. If that goes well enough, I might try to play nine holes.
Another report will surely follow.
Special event! New Royal Albartross golf shoes are in for review. It has been a long time since the last pair I reviewed, the Royal Albartross Blackjack. I’ve anxiously awaited the next opportunity to experience the luxury, performance, comfort and style of a high-end hand-made Italian leather golf shoe.
Strider Monochrome Hybrid Overview
The Strider Monochrome Hybrid is a sneaker style shoe which would work great on or off the golf course. The shoe is made from a combination of Italian leather and suede uppers and treated anti-bacterial canvas. The inner lining is super soft; made from natural calf leather.
Sizes
The Monochrome comes in six sizes: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. There are no half sizes.
Review Soon
I’m about to start wearing these around the house during the Covid-19 lockdown and whenever I get on the course for practice or rounds. Stay tuned for my full review.
It has been awhile since I’ve had a post for the “Random Stuff You Find on the Golf Course” feature here, but it might be my favorite topic. I’ve found everything from porno DVD’s to snow shovels in trees to toothbrushes. Today’s edition is brought to you by local golf buddy Brian Pointelin.
Cue the B52’s song “Rock Lobster”
Above is a lobster Brian found just off the 18th fairway at Mountain View Golf Course. How did it get there? It may have walked from the nearest beach, only 688 miles. It may have been brought inland by a swallow. It would have to be a large swallow though. Perhaps it escaped from one of those “live” lobster cases in the fish section at the grocery store. That’s more likely. I wonder if this lobster sacrificed itself so the other lobsters that escaped with it could make it.
That’s the interesting thing about random stuff you find on the golf course. There has to be some story behind how and why it ended up where it did.
Man I tried to get this post out by the 4th of July a couple of days ago, but the new “every day” polos from Tropical Bros arrived just before the 4th. I wore the Stars N Stripes polo 2 out of 3 days over the 4th of July weekend and I was very happy with the fit, style, and performance. And it is soooo patriotic! Fantastic.
Stars N Stripes
This polo features moisture wicking, which helps keep the wearer cool and dry in the summer. I just did a big hike up and ski down here at Alta Ski Area while wearing the Stars N Stripes. It was over two miles to get to the last remaining skiable snow, and by the time I had made it to where this picture below was taken, I’d climbed over 2,000 vertical feet as well. In other words, it was a strenuous climb. But I was nice and cool and dry with my Tropical Bros polo. I’m not sure this is what “Tropical” Bros had in mind, but I’m about obscure and challenging activities along with golf.
I did make a few swings in the Stars N Stripes. Super comfortable. The soft fabric moves with the swing and doesn’t bind or stretch restrict the body contortions of the swing. And when I swing, it is pretty contorted.
Features
The Stars N Stripes is made from a very durable poly spandex fabric. As mentioned, the fabric helps pull moisture away from the wearer. These types of fabric are a dream to maintain as opposed to old school crappy cotton. Polys and spandex almost never wrinkle. They can be worn right out of the dryer. Oh, and the polo can be washed and dried in a dryer. No worries about, ahem, shrinkage.
Sizes
To accommodate even the largest of customers, sizes range from small to triple-extra-large.
Final Thoughts
This is one super comfortable and light polo. There are so many great places this one will come in handy from the golf course to the beach, to even the ski slopes. Show your patriotism and snag a Stars N Stripes. You’ll be thrilled with the purchase.
I watched that hot Neflix movie 365 Days. I needed a cold shower after that. Now I have one, in a bag. In for review are some nice looking self care products from Duke Cannon, including cold shower face and body wipes.
We are in full summer here in the northern Utah desert. The air is so dry and temperatures so hot. I could really use some cool-down wipes on the course, after a bike ride or hike, or just walking the dog. I’ll be putting this in the life bag immediately.
The lovely bride will be commandeering the bloody knuckles. She’s a former fighter and current workout fiend and has very rough hands from all the weight lifting. Her knuckles are in fact bloody sometimes.
We will have an arm wrestle to see who gets to use the Cannon Balm lip balm, but I’m afraid I’ll lose that battle.
Stay tuned for the full evaluation soon!
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