GolfStinks

A Golf Blog for the Rest of Us!

Golf, Hacks and Apps.

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green gridThis past weekend the guys at Golfstinks.com headed out for a quick round. It was nice to have everyone together doing what we love. Although it wasn’t so nice for the course to have four hacks making a chopped salad out of the rough and fairway…and green…sorry about that. Nonetheless, the day couldn’t have been better weather-wise.

Amidst the salad making, a joke was made about misreading the greens and how I should have used my “green reading app”. That got me thinking. What if there was an actual app that did that. I’m sure some designer out there can engineer a way using the camera and gyroscope, which every smartphone has, to survey the green somehow and show where the breaks are.

Would that even be legal? I’m guessing no. This could seriously lower scores and handicaps. Not to mention change the odds for golf betting matchups. Not for nothing, companies make a living on illegal golf aids. If that’s the case they should come out with it and let the brass ban it from competitive play.

Could you imagine Phil or Tiger setting up their smartphone on a little Nike or Callaway tripod? The day that happens is the day I stop watching golf all together. Leave the gimmicks and gadgets to the suckers…I mean consumers. Oh well, off to the practice green. Now, where’s that darn smartphone…?

Hit’em long…yell FORE!!!

Nothing Better Than New Clubs…

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WarehouseNew to me that is. You know the saying, one man’s trash is another man’s golf equipment…or something like that. I like to consider myself a “Jeff Smith” when it comes to golf. The frugal golfer if you will. Buying golf clubs can be quite taxing on the wallet especially in a down economy. I lucked out on my set of Mizuno’s. It just so happened that when I walked into my local golf shop there sat these barely used beauties. And luck was definitely the factor there. If I walked in a day later they would have been gone and I really despise paying retail for anything.

That was a handful (or two) of years ago and times have definitely changed. Thanks to the internet I can scour the world for pre-owned golf equipment right from my home. Unfortunately, it eliminates the local pro shop but it ups my chances of finding what I want. Using my trusty researching skills (google) I came across www.golfbidder.com and was pretty impressed at the pre-owned inventory available. The clubs are discounted and come with a warranty! Sites like this can be useful to us hacks on a budget. I see it like buying a pre owned car – no sticker shock.

You know, I think a great idea for local golf shops would be to connect with sites like this and offer their services to custom fit clubs to golfers. Create a network of companies with pre owned inventory and make it exclusive to shops. The golfer can go  in and get custom fitted. The measurements are sent out to these pre owned inventory stocking companies and if there is a match the local shop can offer the option of a pre-owned, discounted and guaranteed set or new. This eliminates any quality issues or uncertainty we may have with purchasing clubs online.

It doesn’t have to be just with custom fitted stuff only. The customer can buy whatever they want. I feel this can bring back the Mom and Pop shop and give people a warm fuzzy feeling inside knowing they got a deal and someone local they can turn to. Just my $.02…

Hit’em long…yell FORE!!!

Last Minute Golf Gift Ideas

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It's never too late to get something for the golfer in your life!
It’s never too late to get something for the golfer in your life!

Contrary to popular belief, the most popular shopping day of the year is not Black Friday.  It actually changes from year-to-year, but the busiest day normally falls sometime in December.  However, most husbands and boyfriends would likely believe that December 24th is the busiest shopping day of the year.

So for anyone out there who falls into this frame of mind when it comes to holiday shopping, if you have a golfer on your list then maybe I can help.

See, the problem with buying gifts for golfers is that you really can’t buy the main things…clubs.  There are too many options, choices and variations.  In other words, too many wrong choices to make.  So you have to try sticking to the simpler things.  For instance:

How about a box of Callaway Tour iz golf balls? Sure they may run you about $50+, but it would be a much appreciated gift especially for a golfer, such as myself, who would not normally spend that kind of money on golf balls.

Got a little extra money to spend?  Maybe a little gadget like this would be nice…

It’s a Garmin GPS watch.  OK, so it’s about $250, but hey…it’s got lifetime course updates!

Or, maybe you have a golfer with a sense of humor.  Maybe something like this would do?

It farts when it returns your ball!  And after all, fart jokes never really get old, even for golfers.  So combining golf with a fart joke?  How could this gift go wrong…

Face it, we all save some of our holiday shopping for the last minute, be it intentional or otherwise.  So if you’re struggling with any last minute items, I hope I helped.  Otherwise, we here at golfstinks would like to wish everyone Happy Holidays and all the best for the coming new year!

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to the PGA Draft

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Anybody catch the NFL Draft this past weekend?  If you’re a football fan, then you probably watched at least some of it.  Even if just to see what your favorite team did with it’s top pick or two.  I know I was tuned in for quite a while.  And I thought breaking it up over three days was a mistake, but boy was I wrong.  Some co-workers and I, who all happen to be Patriots fans, we’re discussing the first round on Friday morning in anticipation of the upcoming rounds.

It seems kind of funny doesn’t it?  Watching teams just pick their players, some of whom will not even make the team.  But that’s how big the NFL is.  It sometimes seems the draft is second in the sport’s popularity to only the Super Bowl.  And it’s only getting bigger.  Now it’s in prime-time, broken up over three days.  And this year, an unprecedented five international players were drafted (players not from the U.S. but attended college and played football here) as well as an American born player who attended college in Canada.  The sport is now truly going global.

About a year-and-a-half ago, I asked the question “What if PGA Tour golf was a team sport?”   Now, after tuning into the NFL draft for a while, it got me thinking about it further.  As I said, the draft is a big event for the NFL and it’s fans – maybe second only to the Super Bowl.  Well, if golf was a team sport, then why not the same intrigue there?  After all, the PGA doesn’t have a “Super Bowl” of it’s own (although it should), but it does have four majors that are always popular.  And, like the Super Bowl but on a much smaller scale, these are the only tournaments that non-golf fans really care much about at all.     

Now when I say teams, I don’t necessarily mean that teams such as the Florida Whiteshoes or California Earthquakes have to be created, although that would be great, wouldn’t it?  But it could be something like Nascar does with teams – owners, but still individual drivers.  Or, they could be sponsor teams such as Team Callaway, Nike or Ashworth, etc.. 

Imagine Team Nike drafting someone out of college or the amateur rankings with the #1 overall pick.  Follow that up with Team Callaway trading out of the #2 spot in exchange for the #5 pick and another player on the tour.  I don’t know about you, but this sounds like fun!  Although, obviously individual player sponsorships would probably get in the way here.       

Additionally, it could also be a good way to bring attention to college golf.  See, you don’t have to be a football fan to know who Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III is.  But truthfully, I can’t name one college golfer right now.  I’m sure there’s a college golfer who is somehow ranked as the #1 golfer in the country at that level…but I have no idea who he is.  That seems wrong to me.  But something tells me that if there was a big event to introduce these guys to all the PGA Tour fans, that would probably change.   

Ahhh, listen…I’m just a football fan who’s excited about my teams draft picks.  I’m one of those people who feel the draft is pretty exciting.  To me, it’s almost like an unofficial kickoff to the preseason, or at least a halfway point between seasons.  After all, the first preseason game is just over three months away.  I always look for ideas to inject some excitement into golf and try to help increase viewership and popularity among the younger generation.  And judging by the current state of the game, no one else seems to have too many great ideas.

Swing ’til you’re happy! 

A New Kind of Apparel For the Golf Fan

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When you look at a golf blog and see the name Woods, obviously you think of Tiger.  So when a football jersey sporting the name Woods appears on that golf blog, some confusions likely ensues.  But any NFL fan knows that, pictured to the left, is an Ickey Woods jersey. 

And to prove the NFL’s marketing genius, every NFL fan who sees this jersey instantly recognizes it despite the fact Ickey has been out of the league since 1991 and played a total of only 37 games in his injury-shortened career.  Further, his career numbers have been eclipsed by several players in just a single season!

Jersey sales rake in boatloads of money for the NFL.  You can see them worn everywhere at NFL stadiums as well as just out and about.  I have several myself.  It’s a great way for the NFL to market their teams, as well as the players, at the same time.  This is something that the PGA is sorely lacking.  But because there are no uniforms or teams on the PGA Tour, there really isn’t much that can be done about it.  Or, is there?

The golfers themselves can cash in on numerous sponsorships.  But how much does a BMW logo on a players shirt help the tour?  Take a look at Tiger Woods for instance.  Nike has made it’s own brand out of one player.  What’s to stop Callaway from doing the same for Phil?  Or any apparel company from taking on Rory? 

Better yet, the PGA Tour puts out it’s own apparel line.  I have a white PGA Tour polo shirt, so I know they exist.  They could simply start there.  What if fans could purchase shirts, hats, golf shoes, etc. directly associated with their favorite tour player, much the same as a Patriots fan could purchase a Tom Brady jersey?  This way, the players as well as the tour are getting free advertising as soon as someone walks out their front door wearing one.

I remember back in the 90’s when sports jersey sales were really taking off.  Back then, besides a regular jersey from any sport, you could find lots of cross-promotion between sports going on.  Hockey jersey’s with NBA logos and baseball jersey’s sporting NFL teams were not uncommon.  This is a direction the PGA could choose to go.  Not too mention, most of the fans who would be purchasing something like this would be on the younger side – a demographic that the PGA needs to get more interested in the sport.  

But the problem is, not many others besides me seems to know PGA Tour apparel exists…not even the PGA, or one would think by looking at their apparel website.  This site tells you almost nothing about the actual apparel.  Not too mention, it looks like the PGA doesn’t do anything about it either as there is an advertisement clearly marked ’09, as in 2009, at the bottom of the page.  A three year old advertisement?  Yeah…they’re paying attention.

See, something like this, to me anyway, should be a no-brainer.  But instead, a worthless website that generates little traffic, is simply wasting the PGA’s money rather than doing something to generate revenue as well as the popularity of it’s players and the tour itself.

I know this all sounds a little silly, especially to the purists, snobs or the the fans who, for some strange reason, dress like they are about to step onto the course when they’re doing nothing more than watching a tournament.  But to put all of this in simpler terms, at the next tournament you attend, wouldn’t it be cool to see a baseball-style jersey with the back marked “Lefty 01” rather than just a bunch of polo shirts that all seem to blend together? Well, I think it would. 

Swing ’til you’re happy!           

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