My Latest Adventure On the Driving Range...

I went and hit balls the other night at Woodley Lakes Golf Course, the one place near my house where you can hit off grass. I'm sorry, that should be typed "grass," since by 4pm the only undisturbed turf is underneath the plastic tee markers that divide each spot on the range. So I do what I always do and surreptitiously move one of the markers a foot into someone else's spot and start hitting.

Anyway, what made this particular trip to the range special was the middle-aged Asian man next to me who I noticed early on was stopping to watch me hit balls. Like many people, on the range I'm incredible. You want to see a high fade? You got it. A low three-quarter under-the-wind draw? As you wish. Just please don't make do any of those things on the course.

So after watching me off and on for five or so minutes, he finally came and stood right next to me and said: "Swing very nice... your arm... very... smooth... yes?" "Thanks," I said, fairly sure I was receiving a compliment and not being propositioned. Then the compliments turned to questions as he started making practice swings in front of me: "Where...you...impact? Impact? Hit...ball?" I showed him where my body is at impact and he reacted like I was David Leadbetter or something, "Ahhh! Yes!!! And then... follow-through... (he swings)... follow-through (swings again) VERY important.... yes?

I realized I was in deep at this point, so thus began the world's most nonsensical golf lesson. I showed him my clubface position at different points in the swing, talked about the importance of turning through the ball, how Annika even turns her head before contact, even the subtleties of weight transfer.

With every swing I was feeling more confident about my teaching abilities and the fact that I was making a real difference in a stranger's golf game. Until he said something that completely threw me: "Yes, yes, now try again."

I wasn't giving him a lesson. He was giving me one.

Oh well. I got some extra range balls out of it.