Looking for #14…

I carry 13 clubs. I am currently looking for number 14.

Unfortunately, I live in Seattle. Thanks to the recent playoff run of the hometown Seahawks, our near record setting weather has become a national story. In case you had not heard, it rained for 27 straight days. There was one day of reprieve this weekend before it started raining again.

I’m not complaining (actually, that is exactly what I am doing). I have played quite a bit of golf over the last 27 days. I have raingear, and I don’t mind getting a little wet. Actually, the temperatures have been decidedly mild over the month long stretch. 50 degrees can be down-right balmy when you are constructing an arc.

What does the weather have to do with the number of clubs in my bag?

Good question. The answer is everything. Before the weather, I had to buy new golf clubs. Then I had to replace those. Eventually, I ended up with stiffer shafts and a different mix of lofts and lies than I had had previously. Playing frequently has helped me learn to hit everything, but because of the weather, I have no idea what my real distances are. I am pretty comfortable with a 7i or 6i, but for the life of me, could not even guess the difference between my 3i and 5w.

How can I justify spending money I don’t have for a golf club I might not need? Well, the real problem is that I already justified the expense; I just want the satisfaction of doing it. I want the adrenaline that buyer’s remorse brings. I want to go to the range and fight the urge to hit a new golf club over and over and over. Material satisfaction is the light at the end of my rainbow. If only it would stop raining…