Despite feeling like junk today, I dragged myself to the range to hit some balls and get in some work in anticipation of my first round of the year tomorrow. Unfortunately, I’ll have to cut it short as I have a softball practice to run 4 hours after I tee-off which sort of stinks. Either way though, I literally am jumping out of my skin looking forward to kicking off what is sure to be the greatest golf season of my life!

Yes, I’m pretty jacked up…

At the range, I hit the ball pretty well and am really loving my new Nike driver. I’ve been working really hard on my posture in particular and can really feel the difference when I get it right. That said, I think I may be standing up as I make contact with the ball. Plenty to work on for sure!

I also had a chance to get some chipping and putting work in which was nice. I have a lot to learn in that part of my game, I feel like I have stone hands and hit everything either way to soft, or I completely crush it. That said, I hit some great shots today using my sand wedge out of fairly deep rough onto the green.

More to come tomorrow for sure!

One of the best things about the Internet is meeting new and interesting people from around the world. Andy, from Home of Golf TV seems like a great guy and is producing some terrific online videos that I wanted to share.

I’m reposting his first episode because it really sets the stage for what he’s up to but would mention that he managed to snag some time with Nick Faldo recently.

Keep up the great work Andy – we ALWAYS need more great golf shows!

Find the Fairways.com is giving away some great golf freebies… to enter the contest write a blog post (that’s what this is) about “What’s in your golf bag?” And you can also tag another golfer! I’ve been tagged by two bloggers… Scott from Swing Reminders and Pink Diva Golf. How lucky am I to have been tagged twice! Yes!

What kind of golf bag?

• Black Slazenger Stand Bag

What clubs?

• Driver: Nike 4450 I think… ($99 bucks with stiff shaft straight out of the used bin at Golf Galaxy!). Can’t wait to play it for the first time soon.
• TaylorMade R5 3 Wood
• Tommy Armour 855 – love these hybrids!
• TaylorMade rac OS2 Irons
• Odyssey White Hot blade putter
• Warrior (beware of spam) wedges

What else is in Marc’s bag?

• Tees
• Various pencils, ball markers and more
• Swing reminders
• Tape (for my fingers)
• 2 or 3 gloves (no particular brand, whatever is cheap)
• Tons of balls
• A few sleeves of RAW balls
• Old bag of chips
• Half full water bottle

What’s the most important piece of kit in the bag that’s not a club, ball, glove or towel?
Tape for my fingers. Makes me feel like Tiger.

Do you carry a lucky charm?
Not really… if anything it’s my FSU ball marker.

What’s the oldest thing in your golf bag?
Probably a bag of chips or a water bottle that I forget about

Which is your favorite club?
My 5 hybrid.

Ok… I am supposed to “Bag Tag” four others.

Coach Dave (he can post here!)
http://www.golfishardtv.com

Carlos at Itaara Golf
http://www.itaaragolf.com/

Brian and Chuck at Sweet Spot Golf
http://www.sweetspotgolf.net/

Coach Joey or Ken at Golf Gym
http://www.golfgymblog.blogspot.com/

I love these commercials! Good timing too considering our latest poll… (look on the right side) and tell us what kind of golfer you are… risk taker, moderate or if you layup as a rule.

As for me, I’m moderate until you challenge me… in poker and in golf, I like the rush of “going for it.” Bad idea usually, but fun for sure – and usually good for a laugh.

While I fix Episode 14, Posture 2… what a mess! Coming soon!

I want to start this blog post off with some trivia:

What is the only movie that I’ve cried watching, and that makes me cry more every time I watch it? I’ll give you the answer below after talking about inspiration in golf, and in life.

This week has been filled with some amazing moments and terrific conversations. It started out on Monday, when my 4th grade, 6th out of 7th ranked daughter’s basketball team (I’m the coach) upset the #3 ranked team in the playoffs. If that wasn’t enough, we went on to shock the #2 team on Wednesday night after jumping out to a 10-0 lead. At the end of that game, I found myself standing center court watching my girls jump up and down with each other in pure celebration and joy. I got the chills just thinking about this week as I was typing this blog post. You can follow my coaching journey on my “other blog” about coaching youth sports.

Last night, I had the pleasure of spending more than an hour on the phone with Phil Bundy. If you haven’t yet heard about him, get ready. Phil is on a personal quest to play on the PGA Tour. More importantly is why he’s on that quest. Phil takes his own inspiration from his son Charlie. Phil’s quest really, if you think about it hard is about showing Charlie that life is all about dreaming big and having the clarity and guts to go for it.

As a parent, Phil has reminds us all of what is really important in life. As an entrepreneur, he’s given me the inspiration to push forward with Golf is Hard TV. As a golf fan, he’s given me hope that I’ll have a new favorite to root for on Sundays. As a parent, he’s pure validation that I’m on the right track.

One more story before I tell you what movie makes me cry. This one is best delivered via video (see below). I heard about D.J. Gregory a few months ago and chose to ignore it. But like all great stories and all great leaders, D.J.’s story is not going away. I heard about him again this morning on sports talk radio and raced to my computer to find this video:

I’m not a good enough writer to add anything else to D.J.’s story.

As for what movie gets me every time… Rudy of course. Not only is Rudy’s story amazing and inspirational, but Sean Astin will forever in my heart be one of my favorite actors because of it.

Where do you take your inspiration from? Who inspires you to get out of bed every day? Tell me, tell me!