GolfStinks

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I Get My Golf Advice From a Guy Who Doesn’t Golf

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golf_senseMy friends, I’m about to take a leap of faith. I’ve decided to change the way I approach my swing, my putting, in fact my entire game. And I’m entrusting this momentous metamorphosis to a man who doesn’t even play golf.

Yep, I’m an idiot.

I’ve just finished reading a book called “Golf Sense – Practical Tips On How To Play Golf In The Zone” (Front Runner Publications, 2010). It’s a book that follows nicely on the heels of another golf book I read recently; “Straight Down the Middle” (see my review HERE).

Both these books are, as it happens, similar in that they don’t really give swing advice, rather, they attempt to put you in a golfing state of mind. Where Straight Down The Middle helped me find “inner peace” on the course, Golf Sense provides you with practical exercises to help you keep that inner peace going throughout your round.

The irony of it all is the author of Golf Sense, Roy Palmer, states right in the introduction that he doesn’t even play golf! I almost closed the book right then and there. But, Mr. Palmer was nice enough to ship me the book gratis from across the pond in England – I figured the least I could do was read it (all the misspellings idiosyncrasies of the Queen’s English included).

I was originally inspired by this golfing inner peace (or getting in the zone) from the movie The Legend of Bagger Vance – the scene on the tee when Bagger is explaining to Junuh why Bobby Jones is so good (“he’s in the field”). To me, there’s just something about letting go of all the BS in your head, getting out of your own way (mentally) and just letting your natural swing emerge – it just sounds like the way a golf swing is meant to be executed.

So as I digested Mr. Palmer’s book, I felt his writings and exercises (many of which can be done without a club and while you’re actually reading the book) would really help me find that happy place to exist in during a round. For example, he points to tension in the swing as a major cause of poor play – tension that you may not even know you have since habitually, you’ve swung the same way for so many years.

But realizing the cause of your poor golf shots is only the beginning. Golf Sense is packed with simple ways to put you in (and keep you in) a calm and relaxed state of mind on the course (which will translate into a more relaxed swing, and subsequently lower scores). I have to say, I’m anxious to give it a try.

So my plan is to put Mr. Palmer’s book to the test. Beginning in the new year, I am going to practice a few of the exercises at home. Then, once the weather gets warmer, I will move to the range and finally to the course. I’ll post sometime next season about how I’m progressing.

If you’d care to join me, feel free to get your own copy of Golf Sense HERE and email me (info@golfstinks.com) with your own experiences using this method. Stay tuned…

Oh, it’s Your Birthday? Here’s a Free Round of Golf.

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Can you get free birthday golf?
Can you get free birthday golf?

My birthday was yesterday. I like Halloween, so I can appreciate my birthday being two days later. But in reality, my birthday is mostly associated with election day.

More presidents, senators and governors have been voted into office on the day of my birth than I care to remember. And I hate to say it, but it’s always a bit annoying to drag myself down to the polls and stand in line to vote on my birthday – but hey, that’s what being an American is all about.

I’ll tell you what wouldn’t be annoying to do on my birthday though – play golf! I know, it’s already 38 degrees in the morning here in the Constitution State and it’s topping off at around 53 in the afternoon, but I would still enjoy to get out there and play – especially for free.

Well, free golf on your birthday isn’t out of the question, no sir. I was perusing through our Twitter followers the other day (twitter.com/golfstinks) and came across a Twitter handle entitled twitter.com/FreeRoundofGolf. A few clicks later and I was on freebirthdaygolf.com – a site run by (it appears) a guy named Mark Hainsworth.

Mr. Hainsworth has compiled a list of 320 golf courses that will give you a free round of golf on your birthday. Sound too good to be true? I thought so too…There had to be a catch. But so far, I haven’t found one.

I signed up on freebirthdaygolf.com (requires only a first name and email address) and waited for my confirmation email, which I received promptly. I then was able to download a PDF document listing the 320 courses (complete with working links to the birthday specials).

The courses are listed alphabetically by state (most courses are in the US, with a few in Canada) and I scrolled down to Connecticut. Turns out my state has only one course listed: Eastwood Country Club, a 9-hole, regulation sized golf course in Torrington, CT. I clicked on the link and sure enough, I was taken to a page on Eastwood’s website that explains you get a free round of golf to be used within one week on either side of your birthday.

So, what did I have to do to take advantage of Eastwood’s generosity? You can see for yourself HERE. But basically, I filled out a form (this time I had to provide my address and phone #, but still no credit card) and immediately was taken to a page where I could print my free birthday golf voucher! What’s more, since my birthday falls between October and March, I am able to redeem my free round through April 30 2011!

OK, I know out of all the courses in CT, only one is on this list – and it’s only a 9-holer. But I don’t think I care – free golf is free golf! My second home state (where my wife is from) is New Mexico, where there are three courses listed and two of which I know are awesome 18-hole tracks. Go ahead and check if there are courses in your area. Or, if you know of a course not on the list, I’m sure Mr. Hainsworth would like to know.

Perhaps if there’s enough interest, more courses will start offering little incentives like free golf on your birthday – which should hopefully entice more people to play golf in the first place. So hats off to Mr. Hainsworth for compiling this list – I plan on using my free golf voucher next spring.

What if You Could Play Every Round with a Pro?

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So I’m hitting balls into the simulator at Dick’s Sporting Goods a few months ago, trying to find a new driver (see story HERE). Anyway, the pro helping me (yes, Dick’s hires PGA pros for their golf department) is named Ralph.

Ralph is a down-to-earth kinda guy and is completely amused that I write for a blog called Golf Stinks. After a few minutes of chatting, he begins telling me about an idea for an app he has – one where he can be (sort of) on the course giving advice to thousands of golfers all over the world at the same time.

This idea intrigued me and I told Ralph he should get busy developing said app. He agreed, I purchased my new driver and went on my merry way. Of course, I completely forgot about Ralph’s app idea – until about two weeks later when I received an email from Ralph explaining he had gotten a developer and Golf Pro To Go was about to become reality.

You’ve gotta hand it to old Ralphie-boy. Not many people would be inspired by talking to someone who claims they stink at golf, but it appears I had some effect on Ralph to realize his dream app – and he didn’t waste any time getting started.

Fast forward just a few short months and the Golf Pro To Go app is developed and on the iPhone app store – ripe for downloading at just $0.99 cents (Droid version is in development). But how does it work? Here’s the deal: Golf Pro To Go asks you a series of questions, which, when answered, will explain exactly how you should play whatever shot you’re faced with.

Let’s say you’re on the tee with the wind blowing right-to-left. There’s a water hazard on the left side of the fairway and grass conditions are wet. A few taps taking less than 30 seconds will give you a text-book approach to hitting your shot: “Tee up on the left side of the tee box and aim down the right center. The right to left wind will push the ball left. With trouble to the left, choose your target far enough right to allow for the wind. Wet conditions will eliminate roll.”

More complex shots are also covered (e.g. if the ball is above or below your feet or what the specific slope of the terrain is). You can also save shots – so, like me, when you’re faced with the same approach (side-hill lie, from the rough) again on the next hole, you can easily tap right over and get a refresher on how to play from that position.

Sounds simple enough, but with golf, sometimes all you need is to regroup and refocus, and Golf Pro To Go helps you to do just that. Ralph is still tweaking some things though – there’s no putting, chipping or trap play included in this version, but he assures me they’re working on it for future versions. But for a buck, you really can’t go wrong – it’s worth the dollar alone just to give you a chance to breath and mentally prepare – all just by tapping through the shot you’re faced with before you actually take it.

As a thank you for inspiring him to develop his idea into a reality, Ralph has agreed to give five Golf Stinks readers the app for free! Just email us HERE – first 5 to do so win!

Book Review: When to Regrip Your Ball Retriever

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imageFor more than a year now, we here at Golfstinks have been telling you not to take your poor play and high handicap too seriously. We’ve posted many colorful articles on this blog that we hoped would instill in you the necessary frame of mind to enjoy golf while still stinking at it. In fact, we plan on posting many more of these types of articles.

But to help you along, I’ve come across some great reading material. Whether in your favorite arm chair or on the porcelain throne, these books are sure to increase your laughter with every page-turn. Endorsed by former U.S. presidents and CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies, “How to Line Up Your Fourth Putt” and the recently released “When to Regrip Your Ball Retriever” should be part of every golfer’s book collection.

My copies are now on my bookshelf – wedged right next to Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons. They’re the perfect compliment to each other. I feel it projects to others that: “I’m trying to get better, but I’m not gonna lose any sleep over it.”

Author Bobby Rusher presents his material as a golf instructional manual of sorts. But you wont find advice on how to properly grip a club – instead you’ll find a chapter entitled “The Insignificance of Proper Grip.” My other favorite chapters? “How to Hit a Dunlop 2 From the Rough on your Second Shot, When You Hit a Titleist 1 From the Tee;” or “What to do When you’ve Parred the Course by the 11th Hole;” and the always popular “Body Blocks and When to Use Them.”

One of Mr. Rusher’s more compelling chapters is entitled “The Importance of Realizing that Most Golfers are Bad Golfers.” He explains that when he played Pebble Beach (he shot 141 there by the way), he was intimidated because he feared he would embarrass himself on one of the world’s greatest courses. But he quickly realized that all the other golfers on the course that day were bad too. It took him 6 hours to complete his round because the group he was following was just as terrible.

Of course, I’ve been using the term “chapters” but, these are each typically one page of light and comical reading. The reality is, Mr. Rusher’s books are sarcastic, laugh-out-loud pointers and cheats about taking a light-hearted approach to your stinky golf game. And if you can laugh at these books, you’re one step closer to enjoying golf despite how bad you may be at it. Hats off to you Bobby Rusher – you’re a true stinky golfer.

To help our readers start their book collection, Golfstinks has secured a set of both books to give away to one lucky reader! Simply post the phrase “I Love My Ball Retriever” on our Facebook page, and we’ll select one random winner from those posts on October 29th! If you end up not being our winner, you can email Bobby directly HERE for more info or to purchase either book (hey, the holiday’s are coming up *hint* *hint*).

You Know that Local Course You Love So Much?

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I’m a public course man – my golf “high” comes from playing different places every week. But when you’ve played as many as I have, they all tend to blend together – fairways, greens and traps meld with each other as if they were all part of some impressionist painting – only when I step back and take-in the big picture do courses’ most striking features reveal themselves.

But this time of year in the northeastern U.S., the golf season is winding down. Some of my golfing buddies have already stowed their clubs till spring. Even I find myself scaling back; playing 9-holes more frequently. And usually when I play 9-holes, it’s at one place that I never forget about: Sleeping Giant Golf Course.

I think every town or region has a Sleeping Giant Golf Course. If it doesn’t, it should. Sleeping Giant is the quintessential local 9-hole golf track: it’s short, but not an executive layout. It’s well-groomed but not Augusta. It’s a confidence booster but taking risks can hurt you. The price is nice, but not pathetically nice.

Perhaps one asset the course has over some of its 18-hole brethren is its scenery. The course is nestled in the shadows of, well…the Sleeping Giant – a formation of hills that “resemble” a person sleeping on their back. Native tribes of the area used to call the Giant “Hobbomock” and thought it to be an evil spirit. Coupled with the Native American folklore, the Giant sets a dramatic backdrop to the course – especially this time of year, when he is ablaze with oranges, reds and yellows (see photo at top).

Despite being pretty close to civilization, Sleeping Giant Golf Course gives you the feeling that you’re miles away from anywhere. Usually I’ll arrive with one other playing partner (many times my dad, who’s in his 70’s and still playing) and we’ll be paired up with other father/son or father/daughter combos. It seems no matter who you’re paired with, or if you run into a wait on a particular hole (typically the 7th – a short par-4 where everyone goes for the green but ends up in the left woods) you still find yourself completely enjoying the round.

I had my first eagle at Sleeping Giant (dropped a wedge-shot from 125 yards); played the last two holes in the dark multiple times; and almost parred the course…twice – only to miss the same 4-foot putt both damn times on the 9th (a brief aside – typically I don’t shoot anywhere near par, but I know this course so well, not-to-mention it’s a relatively easy track, that if I’m on my game, I have a chance).

Sleeping Giant Golf Course embodies so many great little tracks out there. The PGA Tour (or even the Hooters Tour) will laugh at the notion of playing there; the Golf Digest or Golf Magazine top course lists will never give it a second thought (or even an initial thought); but you know it exists. And you love it. And that’s all that matters.

If you reside where it’s about to get cold; get in the car and go play that course (you know the one I’m talking about). Oh, and forget about your score and just enjoy – take a step back and take it all in…remember, this is why we play golf.

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