Golf Life

Keep up on the trends and news surrounding the golf lifestyle.

Do You Bet on Your Golf Game?

August 28, 2013 | By Greg D'Andrea | 1 Comment

A while back, I was asked to partake in a golf betting game called Wolf (we’ve written about Wolf and other popular golf bets like Nassau before). It was my first time betting on my own golf game and it was a bit of an adrenaline rush.

On the last hole, I crushed a drive straight down the middle and decided to go “lone wolf” (which basically means I play the hole on my own against the other three and if I win, I get triple the bet). To make a long story short, I birdied the hole, which effectively voided the money I was down from the rest of the round – I had broken even.

Though I didn’t win any cash that day, there was a seed planted in me and over the next couple of golf seasons, my golf buddies and I would place a little wager on our round – mostly the game of Nassau (front nine winner; back nine winner; and overall winner).

Today, it’s been a few years since I’ve put money on my round, but I do get the urge to every once in a while. And nowadays it’s even easier to keep track of the wager because there are many quality golf apps that are geared toward betting on your round, like Golf Money from POD LLC.

All this being said, I was wondering how many of you bet on your golf round? Do you bet all the time? Have you ever bet on your round? Perhaps gambling is something you will never partake in? Take the poll below and let us know!

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In the Time of PED’s, How Has Golf Stayed Clean?

August 26, 2013 | By Chris Chirico | Leave a Comment

Me and one of my boys were feeling a little under the weather this past Sunday afternoon. So even though it’s a beautiful day, we’re just hanging out on the sofa scanning the channels. I’m hoping we land on some type of a sporting event. Well, in actuality, I’m just hoping we land on something other than Power Rangers. But with the remote in his hand…who knows what we’ll end up watching. There’s a good chance I’ll end up watching the back of my eyelids. But lo and behold, he heads to one of the ESPN’s and says “We could watch high school football.”

So at first, I’m partially satisfied. I mean, even though it’s high school, it’s still football. But after I thought about it further, I began to wonder why the heck we are watching high school football on a nationally televised cable network. A local cable access channel? OK. But, being that I’m in Connecticut and watching two teams from Florida on an ESPN channel? What’s going on?!

Then, this just gets me thinking deeper into youth sports on television. We have high school football being nationally televised. High school basketball, and McDonald’s All-America games are nationally televised as well. And in baseball, we go even further past high school, as every year we are nationally televising little league games!! I can’t be the only person that sees the problem with this. What problem? Over-exposure, that’s the problem.

I could be wrong, but in my opinion, over-exposure is where all of the problems with PED’s in sports begins. When the extra spotlight is put on players who are too young to handle or understand it, pressure is then created at an earlier age. This pressure to perform in front of cameras on a national stage creates further pressure to perform at a greater level than they can naturally. Athletes now feel the pressure at an earlier age to be bigger, faster and stronger than their peers. Enter PED’s.

Thankfully, as far as we know anyway, the PED problem has not yet come to the world of golf – though we have questioned the possibility. And maybe a part of the reason for that is, no one cares about amateur golf. Well, not enough to nationally televise high school golf tournaments anyway. But if it came to that point, do you think for a second the pressure wouldn’t reach those kids as well? Sure, extra strength from PED’s would, for the most part, only benefit a golfer off the tee. So it wouldn’t really help the all-around game. But when a few 17-year old high school seniors are on ESPN ripping 300+ yard drives on a regular basis while reps from Callaway, Nike and Adidas are watching…well…I think you see what I mean.

So after all of these thoughts run through my head, I ended up changing the channel to something else. I just don’t like the idea of over-exposing and promoting kids, who are at an age when they should be playing these sports for fun more than anything else, and I don’t want to help promote/support it. We see what it’s doing to baseball. It’s happening in football as well, although to a far smaller degree. And it’s probably only a matter of time before it finds its way into basketball too. So as long as we keep from putting high school golf on TV, maybe that can be one way to help keep the sport clean.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

5 Ways to Start a Fight on the Golf Course

August 21, 2013 | By Greg D'Andrea | 3 Comments

I’ve never seen anyone go full-on fisticuffs at the golf course, but I’ve witnessed a few close calls (most of which happened following one of the 5 events below). You wouldn’t think the course would be a setting for a throw-down, but when tempers flare, anything is possible.

And in golf, tempers most certainly can flare. Imagine this: You’re having a bad round; 4-putted for triple bogey on the previous hole; hooked your drive OB on the current hole and then…

#1 – Someone hits into your group.
I actually hit into the group ahead of me last week. Now in my defense, I wasn’t trying to hasten their pace, rather I didn’t see them in the woods on the left. After a quick apology shouted down the fairway, all was forgiven. But it could have easily gone the other way. Hitting into the group ahead of you can definitely send the wrong message. I remember once we had mistakenly hit into the same group twice.

Though a mistake, I can understand why they took offense. It had been a long, slow round and everyone was annoyed. So when we roped one by them for the second time, the shouting began. We apologized; they didn’t really accept it; and when we drove up behind them to wait on the next tee, words were exchanged. Though tempers eventually cooled, hitting into the group ahead of you is perhaps the easiest way to start a brawl on the course.

#2 – Someone steals your ball (or purposely misplaces it).
We’ve all claimed to have this happen to us at one point or another; “I swear it was right here…someone must have picked it up.” Perhaps, or perhaps your drive wasn’t as good as you thought. But when you actually witness the thief in the act, that’s another story completely. You see them heading to your ball from 200 yards away and you immediately know they are going to take it – “Hey!” you yell, “That’s my ball!”

What’s worse, they flagrantly steal your ball because you’ve hit into them! I’ve witnessed this on multiple occasions. I’ve seen people kick balls into the woods or a sand trap for being hit into. And when things like that happen, you’re one step away from a melee.

#3 – Someone steals your club.
A couple of rounds ago, I found an 8-iron on the tee box of a par 3. Obviously, someone brought two clubs with them to tee-off and left behind the one they didn’t use to hit. Now, I did the proper thing. I asked the group ahead of us and when it wasn’t them, I left it with the clubhouse manager after our round. But what if I didn’t do the “proper thing?” What if I needed an 8-iron and decided to claim that club as my own? Well, one time I witnessed a confrontation in the course parking lot where one guy spotted his club in another guy’s bag.

Clearly you can assume the guy with the club planned on taking it (after all he was already at his vehicle with his trunk open). The two exchanged words with the accused using the excuse that he simply “forgot” to leave it at the clubhouse when he finished (which was possibly true). But I remember thinking “this could get ugly” until the club was handed over to its rightful owner who then, after a few more choice words, headed back to his car. Remember, if you find a club, do the right thing.

#4 – Swindle someone out of money.
If you’ve ever played for money, you’ll know there are certain things that cross your mind: Are they cheating? Should you cheat? Will they pay up? Remember, when money is on the line, so is your credibility. And if you prove not credible, then you might have to pay the price (one way or another). Keep that in mind the next time a few skins are on the line.

#5 – Continually pointing out what someone is doing wrong.
One time years ago, when Stinky Golfer Chris was just beginning, he was having a difficult time in the trap. After flubbing a couple, the rest of our foursome (including me) started giving him advice. After each of us served up a bit of knowledge (which was promptly followed by yet another flub), Chris finally had enough: “EVERYBODY JUST STOP WITH THE F*$%ING ADVICE! IT’S OBVIOUSLY NOT F*$%ING HELPING!” Now Chris is a good friend, but at that moment, I think he may have been ready to go 12 rounds with all three of us! Fortunately, we’ve all remained good friends. Unfortunately, Chris’ trap play still needs work (see video here).

It’s OK To Stink At Golf

August 12, 2013 | By Chris Chirico | Leave a Comment

One of my favorite sitcoms was always My Name Is Earl. For those who aren’t familiar, the show is about a guy who, for most of his life, was always.., well.., a low-life dirtbag. He lied to, stole from and hurt people both physically and emotionally – just an all-around bad guy. Until one day, by “accident,” he learns about karma. He then goes on a mission to fix all of the things he’s done to ruin people’s lives. I mention this because I saw a re-run of an episode I didn’t remember seeing before. An episode called “Stole Beer From a Golfer.”

In this episode, Earl and his brother convinced a guy that he was a really good golfer who had a shot at the tour even though he was terrible. Why did they do this? So they could get free beer. The poor guy became so obsessed with golf, thinking he had the potential to be great, that he lost his job, his girlfriend left him and he ended up living out of his car.

Obviously, this was a big joke and a far-fetched sitcom. But in a strange way, there’s some truth to it. Simple fact, if you stink at golf, just accept it. If your buddy stinks at golf, don’t hype him up. Instead, let him know. You can’t have your golfing buddies going around thinking they’re better than they are. That’s how they lose money in golf bets. That’s how they end up looking and sounding like idiots, both on the course and off.

Have you ever been around that guy who talks the part, dresses the part and carries the equipment that looks the part, but when he gets out on the course, it looks like he left the game part at home? Of course you have. How do you think he got to be that way? Because he had one of two things – either his buddies hyping him up, or no one to talk him down.

It’s like when you leave your house looking stupid. Or when you have a little too much to drink and you start acting like a fool. You need your friends there to straighten you out before you go too far. Well, it’s the same in golf. You need your friends to keep you from doing anything foolish. And just the same, your friends need you. Keep your golfing buddies in check and have them do the same for you. And above all else, remember…if you stink at golf…you stink at golf. The sooner you accept it, the better off you’ll be.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Golf As A Common Denominator

August 5, 2013 | By Chris Chirico | 1 Comment

Lucky for me, my boss is pretty lenient when I want to take a day off, come in late or leave early. He doesn’t care why. He doesn’t ask questions (though I usually give him the reason anyway). I just tell him “I’ll be in late on Wednesday,” and it’s fine. It’s probably because I rarely take any time off that he really has no issue when I do. I don’t have to come up with ways to play hooky in order to play golf. One time, the other stinky golfers and I were planning on playing 18 during the week. So I walk into his office, put on an obvious joking, fake cough and tell him…”I got a little cough coming on. Looks like I’m going to need next Monday off.” His response – “Sure. Where are you playing?” So you see what I mean.

So when one of our temporary employees (a college kid and friend of my boss’ son) let us know he would be leaving toward the end of the month to head back to school, the head honcho seemed to have no problem with the two of us ditching work early one day later this week so I could take him out for a round of golf as a “Thank you” for a job well-done this summer. Golf is a useful tool that way. Taking someone out for a round of golf is a way to show appreciation. A way to say thanks.

Golf is also a common denominator. You can have two people who may not have all that much in common, but if they both play golf? Well now, they’ll be willing to hang out with each other for hours one day. That’s us. He’s a cocky, confident, college kid. I’m a pretty laid back, working class guy. I’m somewhere around twice his age…maybe more. Other than the fact that he’s a hard-working kid, I don’t know a whole heck of a lot about him. But I know he golfs, and that’s enough to get me to cut out of work early one day.

Who knows? Taking two people who otherwise would likely not be hanging out, and putting them together on a golf course for a few hours, could lead to anything. Maybe he and I become good friends. Or maybe we don’t talk again until next summer if he comes back to work. Either way, I’m sure he’ll appreciate the gesture as much as we appreciated the work he did. But at the very least, we’ll both appreciate the fact that it’s a Friday afternoon and we’ll be on a golf course rather than at work.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Do You Bet on Your Golf Game?

In the Time of PED’s, How Has Golf Stayed Clean?

5 Ways to Start a Fight on the Golf Course

It’s OK To Stink At Golf

Golf As A Common Denominator

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