So, I was just scrolling through some stuff, and saw the news about Steve Stricker. Man, that’s a tough break. Sounds like he’s been dealing with a nasty disc issue in his back for a bit. He even talked about it, apparently, said he was getting cortisone shots, but now it’s messing with his strength. Lost a bunch of tricep and grip strength, he said. And now, he’s had to pull out of the Galleri Classic. That stinks, especially since he’s been crushing it on the PGA Tour Champions – what is it, 18 wins there? And he was Player of the Year just last year!
It’s always a bit of a downer when you hear about athletes, especially guys like Stricker who are still so good at what they do, getting sidelined by injuries. You know, you think you’re managing something, trying to push through, and then your body just says “nope.”
It kinda reminds me – and this is gonna sound like a weird comparison, I know – of my old “King Pins” bowling team. Yeah, seriously. We weren’t pros, not by a long shot, just a bunch of us really serious about our Thursday night league at “Strikes & Spares.” I was captain, took it way too seriously, probably. Had my own custom-drilled ball, the fancy shoes, the whole nine yards.
Anyway, for months, I started getting this nagging pain in my elbow. Just a dull ache at first. I figured, you know, just bowl through it. Classic stubborn idiot move. I even tried one of those compression sleeves, thinking it’d be like a magic fix. Sort of like Stricker’s cortisone shots, just trying to keep going, right? But it wasn’t really fixing the problem.
Then came the league championship. We were in the final frame, game tied. My turn. And as I went into my backswing, I felt this sharp, hot pain shoot up my arm. My grip just completely gave out. The ball sort of… slipped. Went straight into the gutter with a pathetic thud. Didn’t even make it halfway down the lane. We lost. It was so embarrassing, and my arm just felt useless. All that strength I thought I had, just gone in an instant. Pretty much like Stricker describing losing his grip strength.
I had to drop out for the rest of that season, what was left of it. The doc said it was some kind of tendonitis from overuse. “Repetitive motion injury,” he called it. Said I needed to give it a long rest. My team, well, they were nice about it, but I knew I’d let them down. That sucked more than the pain, almost.
I tried to go back the next year, but it was never the same. I was always a bit tentative, scared of that pain coming back. My average dropped like a stone. Eventually, I just sort of drifted away from the league. Sold my custom ball to some guy for twenty bucks. He probably thought he got a steal.
So yeah, when I read about Stricker having to stop, and that feeling of losing strength in his hands and arms, it hit a nerve, no pun intended. It’s not just about the physical pain; it’s about something you love, something you’re good at, suddenly being at risk because your body isn’t cooperating. It’s frustrating as all get-out.
Guess it just goes to show, whether you’re a world-class golfer or just some dude who took his bowling way too seriously, bodies have their limits. Hope he gets that back sorted properly. It’s no fun being on the sidelines.