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Is The Executive Golf Course Hurting My Game?

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Whenever I take my kids out to play some golf, we head over to the local executive course.  Obviously, the length (or lack thereof) suits  their games for the time being.  Also, the convenience of the course is second to none.  I haven’t yet had to make a tee-time.  I just show up and get on.  And the course has never been crowded anytime I’ve been there. 

But in the few times I’ve played the executive course, I couldn’t help but notice one thing at the end of each round – my score.  It’s just not good.

Now, to clarify, my score is never very good, no matter where I play outside of mini golf.  And I’m not talking about my score in relation to par.  I’m talking about the actual number at the end of the round.  The problem is, it’s right around what I would shoot for nine holes on a regular course.  There’s something wrong with that, no?

You gotta figure, with a relatively easy and open layout, short holes and not much in the way of hazards, I should shoot pretty well here.  But it’s quite the opposite.  So why is that?  My thought is that I let the course get in my head. 

Is that possible?  Can a short, easy course take over my mind?  Do I unconsciously try to play differently here?  For instance, maybe I’m trying to reach that par-4 in one because, at an executive course, I can.  Then, when I follow up my executive round with a real round, am I carrying my bad habits over?  That could be the problem.  

So what’s my solution?  Do I have to stop golfing with my kids until they’re good enough to play a “real” course?  Well that’s not going to happen.  So my other option is to take back my mind.  I have to learn that just because I can doesn’t mean I should.  I guess that’s a lesson all golfers need to learn at some point.  How many times have I said to myself “Yeah, with a good shot, I can reach that green.” Well, that doesn’t always make it a good idea. 

I just have to make sure I have the same mindset on both the executive course as well as the “real” course.  Because if I don’t, before I know it, that awful score at the end of my round is going to be bested by my kids.  And I’m not quite ready to deal with that yet.

Swing ’til you’re happy!                  

A Little Golf Education.

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We all know the importance of an education. It gives us the opportunity to advance in our careers. It gives us a foundation of knowledge to which we can expand. And as we also know, an education is not always something learned in the classroom. There’s hands-on or on-the job learning, street smarts, self taught and google.

Being in the learning/teaching spirit, I thought I would ask a few golf related questions to my non-golfing fiancé and test her for some basic golf knowledge. Here goes:

Q: What is the main objective of golf?
A: To get the little white ball in the hole…more so, an excuse to get out of doing stuff around the house. hmmmm

Q: Where was golf invented?
A: Scotland. I am impressed.

Q: Name three professional golfers.
A: Tiger Woods, that Mickelson guy and you. 
Q: Me? 
A: With the amount of years and time spent on the course you should be pro…ouch!

Q: What’s a birdie?
A: When you hit the ball in the hole under par and you and your buddies high five each other and jump around like idiots.

Q: Why don’t you play golf?
A: If I wanted to cart stuff around an be pissed for four or five hours I would clean the garage, which by the way isn’t going to clean itself.

Well, I think that concludes this Q & A session. I believe it was quite the learning experience. Her knowledge of golf is pretty good and my knowledge of what’s good for me is much clearer. We can always learn something from one another.

Hit’em long…yell FORE!!! 

Let’s Celebrate The American Worker By Golfing!

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Is it just me, or is every day we get off from work just another excuse to get in a round of golf?  Don’t get me wrong, any opportunity I have to play golf is fine with me.  But should I feel guilty about it?  Obviously, I’m sure the original intentions of holidays like Labor Day and Memorial Day were not intended to be treated like just another Saturday or Sunday.  But yet, that’s what we do. 

Most Americans have no idea what the meaning of Labor Day is.  Most have no idea what we are even celebrating.  But we sure do know that it’s a day that we can sleep in.  It’s an extra day of golf for us.  It’s another day to throw some meat on the grill.  Is that wrong?

I understand that a holiday is a holiday.  The intention is to celebrate it.  It doesn’t matter how, I guess.  Every holiday doesn’t need to be celebrated with a parade, barbecue or fireworks.  But at the same time, these holidays shouldn’t turn into “Retail holidays” either.  If you’re looking forward to Labor Day simply for a sale, you’ve got issues.

But I guess I’m not innocent here either.  I am also one of those who looks forward to sleeping in.  I look forward to throwing something on the grill.  I look forward to a possible round of golf.  So again, is that wrong?  Is it wrong even if I know the meaning of Labor Day?  Or any holiday for that matter.  I mean, I work hard all week.  Doesn’t that, in some round-about way, make it OK for me to enjoy Labor Day however I would like without feeling guilty?  I mean, I’m not required to join the military on Memorial Day.  It isn’t necessary to get my kids gifts on Christm….oh, wait.        

Am I over thinking this?  I just don’t want to feel like I’m an unappreciative jerk who doesn’t care about the reasons we have these particular holidays.  I mean, I appreciate the struggle gone through in the past, I truly do.  But at the same time, I sure do enjoy a day off of work now and again.  And I sure do enjoy the chance to play some golf!  And ooohhh that grill…

Swing ’til you’re happy!         

Have Clubs – Will Travel.

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An airport such as JFK in New York City can be a bit overwhelming at times. I’m pretty sure most international or large airports can be this way. The more streamlined you are the better. Meaning the less baggage you have the easier it will be to navigate through that urban jungle. Recently, while at JFK waiting for some family to arrive, I noticed a man who was very upset at the condition his golf clubs were in post flight.

I believe this gentleman made two mistakes. The first being he used a soft golf club travel bag instead of a hard case and secondly, he let airline baggage personnel handle his clubs. WRONG! Everyone knows or has a pretty good idea of what happens behind the scenes with luggage at an airport. I always worry that my suitcase will come down the carousel busted open and that I would have to get on the conveyor belt and collect all my stuff as everyone watched and laughed.

Everyone can learn a lesson here. Just look at what happened to Lee Janzen’s clubs a year ago when he was traveling to play the Shriners tournament. His clubs and bag somehow managed to be dragged or who knows what happened. Check out the custom grinding job Delta did to his wedge in the pic above. 

What is the best way to transport golf clubs when tavelling by airplane? Well, let’s check the options. We can do what the first gentleman did and use a cheap soft travel bag. We can splurge on a hard case and hope the latches and hinges hold up. We can use a service like UPS, FedEx or a private forwarder to ship them or we can leave the clubs home and rent a set wherever we go.

In my opinion, it’s always nice to have the clubs you’re comfortable with. You don’t want to be on the course and play even worse than you normally do because of the clubs. Actually, that could be a good excuse especially when you are playing with people you don’t know. “Ah man! If I had my 60 degree I would have been on the green in two…” Heard that crap before. What it comes down to is cost and value. What is the most economical way to bring my clubs with me?

It’s all relative. If you travel and play a lot it is worth the $200-$250 for a good quality hard flight case plus the extra baggage fee the airline hits you with. If you don’t play as often but are travelling to play somewhere there are services that will ship your clubs. For example, it might cost $90 to ship a standard golf bag and clubs roundtrip from the east coast to the west and back. It’s less if you compare it to buying a case and paying the extra baggage fee but if you’re traveling and playing more than 2 or 3 times then this option can get costly but you are also paying for peace of mind. Decisions, decisions.

What do you do when traveling and playing?

Hit’em long…yell FORE!!!

Chip Shots: Veni, Vidi…Golfi.

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This picture got me thinking. The Romans are credited with a lot of innovation and what-not and I know golf’s history goes back to Scotland. What I’m trying to find out is if anybody before this ever played a game where they hit little round rocks with a stick? I wonder if golf’s history truly does start in Scotland. Not taking away from the Scots’ contribution, I love golf, but just curious to see how far back it actually goes and where any influences have might come from.

Anyway, just wondering. Especially considering the Romans were indeed in Scotland at one point (71-213 AD)!  

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