My New X22's

I slept until almost 540am. No biggie. Started my exercises right away. Coffee was done brewing. Before heading out with Frankie I poured a cup of coffee then took my Dexilant. Once again, it was clear and 54 degrees. Even though I’ve been running the irrigation system daily, parts of our lawn are drying out from a lack of rain. Not complaining though. Most other lawns are totally brown – dead looking. We need some soaking rains badly, but just not on the weekends or during my runs.  After coffee, Frankie, mediation and stretching, I headed out for my run. It was 635am when I hit the door. The time passed quickly. I was back home in the blink of an eye. I gave the small area of the lawn that I treated with a second dose of Round-Up a once over. Looking good – dead. I don’t plan to sod it in until this dry spell ends. I’m figuring the last week of September. Mindy and Bella were milling about the kitchen when I got back inside. Bella commented about how quiet it was without Jacob at home to torment her. Mindy left for work at 730am – on time. Reminded Bella that she was to come home on the regular bus, and then reminded me that she and Bella would most likely be gone when I got home after work. It was Bella’s first night of gymnastics. I hoped to cut the lawn. Been 9 days. Bella and I were ready by 750am. We took Frankie out with us to the bus stop. She played with Woodie. After the kids were safely on the bus I gave Frankie one last opportunity to relieve herself before heading off to work. I made it a point to take my golf clubs, shoes, gift card, and coupon thinking that I might stop in Golf Galaxy for my club fitting at lunch time. Work went smoothly. Come 115pm I left for lunch and headed to Golf Galaxy as previously planned. I sought out Jeff, the store manager. He gathered the necessary gear and directed me over to the hitting nets. He had me warm up with my current 7-iron before using the Mizuno fitting system club. That seemed to make perfect sense. After making 3 or 4 swings with the Mizuno fitting system he showed me the results – 72 mph swing speed, 13 degree launch angle, and tempo number of 4. There was another number too, but can’t recall its relevance. He then plugged those numbers into the computer where it spit out a good, better, best recommended shaft type, weight, and flex. Lastly, he measured my hand and finger length, and then my arms from the ground up to determine the optimum shaft length and grip size. I wasn’t surprised that the program recommended graphite with a regular flex given my slightly slow swing speed. I was smack dab in the middle of the normal grip size, but it recommended a shaft length of – ¼ to ½” shorter than normal, again, not a surprise given my stature. It also recommended a 2 degree flattening of the lie, but Jeff cautioned that shortening the shaft by ½” already changes it by 1 degree. We discussed doing the additional 1 degree or leaving it alone. We agreed to leave it as is. After all, that can be done easily right in the store later if desired. Finally, it was time to choose the actual clubs and shaft. Just as I figured he might do, Jeff tried pushing me towards a Mizuno, the maker of the fitting system. And I must admit, I hit that particular club head on average 10-15 yards further than the others. But my mind was already set on the Callaway X-22’s. As for the shaft, while I loved the feel of the custom graphite, which would run me a lot more, I decided to go with the Callaway graphite in a regular flex. It was only 7 grams heavier than the Mizuno recommended custom shaft. Jeff said the clubs should be in within 7-10 days. We settled up. I am excited about my new clubs. Of course I’ll need to get a new bag now, too.  Back to work by 230pm. The afternoon breezed by. Talked with Mindy late afternoon where she reminded me that she and Bella would be gone by the time I arrived home. I shared my plan to cut the lawn, but didn’t really want to. I love to relax after work – not do more work. Part of the maturing process I think. I left work a few minutes late. It was 555pm when I arrived home. Mindy said I should expect Jacob home by 6pm. I waited for him before heading out to mow. I couldn’t delay another day. Parts of the front lawn were as long as 10”. Jacob got home at 615pm. He said he was still ill but feeling much better. Good! I asked that he keep an eye on Frankie while I mowed the lawn. He willingly agreed. I opted to skip whacking and edging, instead moving straight to mowing. I started the rear bank first then the front. I left lots of clippings out front where the lawn was the thickest, longest, lushest. I expected that. Moving onto the tractor, I stirred up a dust bowl out by the new tree house due to excessive dryness. I had to be mindful of getting the dust/dirt in my eyes. I was done with the mowing by 730pm or so. Mindy and Bella got home while I was putting away the mowers. After locking the shed I realized I forgot to mow a fairly wide strip on the east side of the house. I remember thinking I would get it with the Deere. Oops! I decided to blow off the walk and drive before getting the push mower back out. I finished both tasks just ahead of 8pm. I had eaten a small piece of Bella’s leftover meatball sub before heading out to mow. That's it. I was really hungry. After a quick shower I made myself a bowl of Mindy’s cucumber salad topped with turkey pastrami. It was yummy! After my healthy dinner I kicked back on the sofa to watch a little bit of the Reds game. They were losing 3-0 in the 7th inning when I joined, but I was sure they would come back. Mindy headed to bed at her usual 930pm. I promised to join her in short order. The Reds went to the bottom of the 9th inning still trailing 3-0. They managed to score a run and then load the bases with 2 outs. Ramon Hernandez came to the plate and smacked a hard line drive into right-center. I thought it might clear the bases for a walk off win. Somehow, though, the right fielder snagged it on a dead run. Reds lost, but an exciting finish just the same. I powered down the house, put Frankie in her pen, then headed for bed. Mindy didn’t budge. She was out.