I had an out of body experience today at the driving range at Metropolitan Golf Links in Oakland and I felt it my duty to share the findings.

I don’t want this to come off as a life-chaging moment of total clarity and blah blah blah. It wasn’t quite that impactful. Fact is, I hit my usual share of grounders, slices, chili-dips, and worm burners. I’m the absolute epitomy of average as a golfer and you could argue that I should be better, considering the time I invest in the great game.

So passionate am I about golf that I’m embarking on the dream trip to Scotland in 6 days to play the oldest, gradest courses on the planet Earth. I’ll share the full itinerary before departure on July 30 but rest assured we (my brother Mike and I) are playing the Old Course at St. Andrews and the Alisa course at Turnberry among them.

As I locked in to a groovy groove on the range, I thought about how great it will be to play well on the links in Scotland. As I thought about what was making me strike the ball so well, it led me to a few short tenets that apply to all aspects of my life.

TRUST the club selection and swing according to the plan

SLOW DOWN the take back. There’s no rush getting to the top.

RELEASE the putter down the intended line without regard for results.

THINK your way around the course without over-analyzing or trying to be too cute.

IMMERSE yourself in the moment. Be here now.

Those are the prevailing notions that I will try and carry with me across the pond. Sometimes the toughest thing to do is just slow down and enjoy everything that we have been fortunate enough to have.

My main man Brian Murphy was tossing around the idea of a SF Giants power rankings where we would rank the squad from 1-25. I thought it was a pretty damn interesting blog item at the very least.

Without much Adu (bust?), here is my list as of this moment in time on this ever-spinning orb of life we call Earth. Excuse me if my roster is not reflective of the current squad etc.

1. Lincecum- nearly automatic atht his point

2. Sandoval- The Panda hits everything and is critical to all rallies

3. Cain- Just an unreal #2 starter

4. Rowand- say what you want but since he switched to leadoff, they’ve won a ton. End of story.

5. Wilson (Weez)- Scary as he is he has gotten it done 22 times in the first half. Legit.

6. Affeldt- Nothing like a solid set-up guy. Been awhile since we’ve had that

7. Molina- despite his recent struggles he’s still a clutch hitter and a fairly tough out.

8. Schierholtz- He has made FLew obsolete and brought legit defense to the outfield.

9. Renteria- Fourth in the NL among SS in RBI; the reason he was brought here.

10. Zito- He’s been up and down but better than last year by miles. Recent effort helps here.

Also receiving votes: Winn, Romo, Uribe, Sadowski, and RJohnson

VOTE FOR PABLO

I admit that I’m more enthused than I normally would be about voting for Pablo Sandoval for the National League All Star team because it annoys the great Gary Radnich (9-noon on KNBR 680). It really annoys him to be honest.

At the same time, he is very deserving of the honor and an all-around good guy (as far as I can tell). I would enjoy seeing him in the game Tuesday making my over-voting tolerable in my own mind.

Besides, it’s not MY system that encourages, dare I say demands, such a voting approach. I haven’t seen such shameless stumping by these players since I worked the blacktop while running (successfully) for 7th grade president at Oak Manor.

Bud Selig created all of this. I’m simply making it rain (votes).

It’s something that we haven’t had to deal with in quite some time. The San Francisco Giants’ bats are very quiet tonight in St. Louis. We have begun taking this offense for granted (a good thing) but tonight, it just doesn’t seem to be there.

The best analogy I can make is to compare tonight’s three hit attack (as of this writing) to my current leg situation, hours after just my 2nd run in the past 6 months.

Much like the Giants hitters who presumably know how to get hits and create rallies, my quads, calves, and ankles surely know what it feels like to enjoy long distance running. It’s just not there for either of us at this juncture.

The Giants try and scratch and claw for baserunners and I try and stretch and pace myself to be able to run a simple 4 miles in 40 minutes. Despite our best efforts, neither of us seems to have it today.

I’m reminded of the great Joe Namath meltdown when he says of his former team,” The Jets are stttrrrruuuggggllliing.”  This gem of a quote is often lost amid the Suzy Kolber “I wanna kiss you” jargon that steals the show but it’s a classic nonetheless.

The Orange and Black are trying to keep pace in the NL Wild Card race while I try and keep pace with my former fitness level that allowed me to finish 50-mile races. Both of us seem able to get the job done, although some speculate the Giants need a bat and I need a diet to accomplish our goals.

Brian Sabean’s trepidation regarding trading away a prospect for the likes of Jermaine Dye is not unlike my unwillingness to trade away donuts for a vegetable-to-be-named-later. Both amount to hard choices that may not guarantee results.

I have resolved to mirror the Giants in this double quandary. If they get a bat, I get a nutrition plan. Hopefully we both can make a deep run.