Bio of Mike Fisk
 |
Average Handicap – 6.66 Nick Name – In public: Mike -- In private: I’d hate to ask. Average Drive Length - 270 yards In the Bag – Driver: Ping Rapture, 12 degree, Diamana Blue shaft (stiff) 4-Wood: Ping G10, 17 degree, Proforce V2 shaft (stiff) 5- Wood: Ping G5, 18 degree, Aldila (stiff) Irons: Ping G2, 3-PW, 52 GW, 56 SW, steel (stiff) Putter: Ping Anser Preferred Golf Ball: Bridgestone e6+
|
|
MY HISTORY OF PLAYING GOLF: As a kid I hated the game because my old man used to make me caddy for him on the weekends, and when we weren’t on the golf course he was watching pro golf on the Zenith, the only TV in the house. Forget the Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone, Bugs Bunny, or Lost in Space; if we wanted to watch TV we had to watch golf on Saturday afternoons. So I knew who Arnie and Jack were at a very young age. But I couldn’t get my mind around why anyone could actually consider golf interesting, or even a sport. I hated going to Pokashot GC on Saturdays. My older brother Art would get to play, but not me, I had to carry my dad’s bag. Until one Saturday on the 5th hole at Pokashot, dad handed me his MacGregor driver and teed one up for me. I’m 12 years old. I wasn’t all that interested, I’d rather be in a batter’s box somewhere, but I thought what the heck, if I can hit a fastball then this should be a piece of cake—and it was. I hit a shot roughly 200 yards down the middle. Art hadn’t done that in his life. So dad handed me Art’s clubs, told him to shut up, and made him the caddy. Mostly a joke but it sparked my interest. I’d go out every once in a while with Art (but not during baseball season) and shoot mid-90s. That’s about as good as I thought I’d ever be. I couldn’t actually beat Art but I came close on occasion. Art has gone on to become a solid player and can hold his own against most amateurs. I attribute my passion for the game to him. I was a steady 18-handicapper, playing off and on, not taking it too seriously, until around 1990 at which time, during a visit to Dallas, Art put a full set of King Cobras in my hands (woods and irons). Until then, I was playing with an old set of MacGregor Golden Bears and couldn’t hit a 5-iron 150 yards. That for me was ordinary, I didn’t know better. With the Cobras though, all of a sudden I’m hitting pitching wedge 150 yards. That was the turning point, for the first time in my adult life, I was proud of my golf game. Art made some adjustments to my grip and tempo and in less than six months, I went from an 18 handicap to a 6. Of course, I was playing Randolph Oaks most of the time, where I broke 80 for the first time, so there wasn’t much of a challenge, but still, those clubs reduced the number of “oh shit, you stupid mother f…..” moments. “Reduced” not “eliminated!” Unfortunately, it gets away from me at times, and when it does I look for Dan V.W. to see if I can join him in the U.T. tower. |
MY GREATEST MOMENT WHILE PLAYING GOLF:
St Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2001. My lowest round ever: 71, La Loma, Fort Sam Houston. My playing partners: Billy Blackburn, Mark Schachle, and Mike Grosso. Honorable Mention: Beating Art for the first time, on his home course, Buffalo Creek GC, Rockwall, Tx.
MY MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT WHILE PLAYING GOLF
Number one, and the one Steve V.W. won’t let me forget: Standing on the top of the golf cart, reaching as far as I could with my fully extended ball retriever, to knock my pitching wedge out of the highest branch of the greenside oak tree on the 16th hole at Starkey Park in Seguin, Tx, and then hearing a man tell his son, “you see boy, that’s why some people shouldn’t play golf.” Number two, bouncing tee shots off of the Golden Peony Chinese restaurant across Harry Wurzbach from La Loma #9. It’s not easy flying the ball over the O.B. screen to the right of the fairway; you really have to smack it. Just ask Dan.
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT BEING AN IRON THONGER:
The absolute best part of being a thonger: it’s not about the money!! It’s not about the money!! It’s not about the money!! It’s about the game, the camaraderie, the new faces, the spirit of competition, and more than anything else—it’s not about the money!! They’re willing to put up with Paul’s “broken” English and my temper tantrums, we play the game the way it’s meant to be played, and everyone has an even chance of winning, but it’s not about the money. The group has great leadership. We play a different course each week, two major tournaments a year, and we road trip on occasion. But more than anything else; repeat after me, “it’s not about the money!!”
THE BEST AND WORSE PARTS OF MY GOLF GAME:
I don’t have a “best” part, if best means most reliable. I never know what game I’ll show up with. I like to go to the range to warm up before my round and to find the bottom of my swing. So, to say what’s best, that’s hard. Some would say my length off the tee is best, well, I know better than that, I’d rather have Louis’ or Steve’s accuracy then my length. My driver can be like a scud missile launcher—I know about how far the ball will go, just not which way. But if I’m controlling my tee shots and playing from the fairways then the rest of my game will follow. Secondly, course management helps me score better. I don’t try to overpower the courses I play. I will try for yardages where I can hit full irons instead of finesse shots (I hate having to finesse), which leads me to the worse part of my game. I don’t like having to rely on finesse—I’m not consistently proficient…, or is that proficiently consistent?
ANYTHING ELSE:
A personal thanks to Steve V.W. for sponsoring me into the group and for all his work on the IT Board, especially for taking time to complete the on-line rules/handicap training course and assuming the role of the gaggle’s rules/handicap official (don’t ask if you can’t handle the truth), in addition to publishing the monthly Thong Adjuster. Thanks also to John H., Ron B., Mike L., and Jesse F., for all you do for the group. It’s the best gaggle around because of your superb efforts.
MOTTO:
There are more important things to life than golf…, but I ignore them!!