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Cincilefti

Cincilefti

Even Shoulder Surgery Couldn't Keep Chris Litzinger Away From Golden Tee

Chris Litzinger misses his right arm.

No, it wasn't cut off! Just cut into. Litzinger's right shoulder went under the knife back in October and ever since his Golden Tee skills have been, well… a little off.

He was missing putts, slicing shots and shooting some of the worst scores of his career. Was it aftereffects of the surgery? Was it the lingering pain he felt after every shot? How about the fact that he's playing left-handed!

Yes, with his right arm stuck in a sling, Litzinger has been pumping out rounds "southpaw-style" under the name "Cincilefti" - a spin off of his normal "Cincinnasti" nickname. And here's the thing, he's getting pretty good!

Besides being one of the best players in the history of the game, Litzinger is one of the most prolific Golden Tee players to ever spin a trackball. This past year alone he’s played 1,000's of games and knew it would be hard to take an extended break from the game to recuperate. But he wasn’t going to let something as small as shoulder surgery keep him away for long. After a few less than stellar rounds the Team USA member is back shooting in the -20's. Not bad for a one armed man!

IT's Sean O woke Litzinger up from a post-Thanksgiving Day nap to check on how the shoulder was doing and to see how one of the best Golden Tee players in the world has been dealing with his handicap.

Memories of when Litzinger could bend his right arm. Thanks to his surgery it took over a month before he could strike this pose again. SeanO: First off, how's the shoulder feeling? Chris Litzinger: It's doing good. I'm still not allowed to bend my elbow or do anything with it that will put strain on the bicep. I can't even pick up a cup of water. SeanO: Wow. That's pretty rough. Especially around the holidays. So what exactly did you have done to it? Litzinger: I had arthroscopic surgery to repair a labral tear. Plus they shaved off the end of the clavicle. I was pretty extensive. SeanO: Shaving and repairing. Yeah I'd say that's extensive! Sounds pretty painful. Litzinger: Actually it wasn't too bad. The doctors gave me some really good pain killers (laughs). I just had to have my arm in a sling for four-and-a-half weeks. SeanO: So that all being said, how long after the surgery did you wait before playing Golden Tee? Litzinger: (Laughs) I waited about a week. My first game I shot -9. And then I shot a -12 and another -9 and I said 'this is too frustrating.' So I gave it another week. Of course Jeff Allums HAD to set up the WVGA tournament for the week after I my surgery. AND I had to play Steve Miller. I got knocked out in the first round (laughs). SeanO: That's a tough break. Especially considering you're playing left-handed. Litzinger: Yeah I learned pretty quickly that I'm not ambidextrous (laughs). There's a pretty good learning curve. I can't really follow through. And left handed thumb putts are impossible. The most frustrating thing my first few rounds was putting. I was missing so many putts! My scores didn't start improving until I started playing with Chris McClain because he could tap in my putts. SeanO: Well that answers my "what was the most frustrating part" question. Lets talk about your scores. I've been hearing that you're putting up some great scores. Litzinger: Yeah I can shoot in the -20's again and I put up a -28 a couple nights ago. I was actually on a -30 pace on Cypress. SeanO: Jeez! This is depressing. I can't break -20 with my dominant hand! Litzinger: (Laughs) Yeah, knowing what I know about the game has helped. I finally have some direction on my shots. Before I'd try to hit a shot and it would shoot off right for no reason. I don't do that anymore. Plus I can use both my thumbs now that I don't have to wear the sling anymore. SeanO: You didn't know what direction your shots were going and you could still beat me. I'm giving up the game. Litzinger: If it makes you feel better A-1's are a lot harder. I have to kind of slap at it. It just looks weird trying to hit it lefty. SeanO: Thanks for the pity. So how often do you play now? Litzinger: I've scaled it back a lot. A few times a week. I rarely go play by myself anymore. I play more socially which has been fun. I changed my name to "Cincilefti." I've actually been enjoying the game more. SeanO: Well that's always a good thing. Your buddies ever give you a hard time about playing lefty? Litzinger: They'll crack jokes from time to time. They're actually pretty happy about it because me playing lefty has evened us out. I can still beat my friends but now they stand a chance. Before they never wanted to bet. Now they're always saying 'you want to play for money right' (laughs). SeanO: I'm not surprised! I'd be doing the same thing. Of course, we've already established you would still clean me out. Not that you're doing awful with your left arm, but when will you be back to 100-percent and using the right arm? Litzinger: From the day of the surgery it should take 8-12 weeks to be completely healed. Being a physical therapist I'm not going to chance it. The surgery was a little too expensive (laughs). So come February's PCC I'll still be hitting left-handed. SeanO: Does it ever bother you that you're semi-laid up during the holidays? Litzinger: No, not really. It's really the perfect time because there's no softball or anything else. I will miss out on my yearly ski trip with [Graig] Kinzler. SeanO: Yeah, I don't think skiing is the best thing after shoulder surgery. Litzinger: Yeah, probably not (laughs). SeanO: Anything you learned or can take away from your time playing left-handed? Litzinger: No, not really (laughs). SeanO: Really? I talked with Sobe and he says playing lefty for a while helped his game. Litzinger: Yeah, him and Kinzler both can play lefty and I've heard they're both really good. I just can't believe how trained your hand-eye coordination has to be. I still can't pull back with my left palm and feel accurate. But I still want to play against those guys. I can't wait to get Sobe, Kinzler and me together for a lefty competition. SeanO: Think you can take them? Litzinger: Probably not (laughs). SeanO: Well good luck. Thanks for letting me disturb your nap. And take care of that arm. Litzinger: No problem. It was fun chatting with you.

 

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