first time golfing Archives • GolfStinks

My Wife’s First Time

August 15, 2014 | By Pete Girotto | 2 Comments

It was a beautiful August night. A light breeze, clear sky and not an ounce of humidity. We paid our greens fees and…wait…you know we’re talking about my wife’s first time GOLFING, right? Come on, get your head out of the gutter. This is a family-friendly site people.

After the past 7 years we’ve been together I had no idea she never went golfing. She’s been to the range before but never hacked up a track. I figured why not do something different for the first time – night golf! We have a local place here that features an executive par 3 under the lights which was perfect for her. Trust me, it’s one of those places that if you played it during the day you would be wondering why you were even there.

I must say though, the place did let her use a set of clubs for free which was very nice of them. Here’s where the irony began. I was concerned she was going to hold up the group behind us because of mis-hits and whatnot that I think I jinxed myself. It ended up that I was spraying all over the place and she kept it straight…go figure.

The important thing is that her first experience was a good one and I think she might have caught the bug. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or bad thing yet. Especially if she thinks I’ll be paying for her every time. Regardless, considering golf has been losing players I’ve made it a point to try and introduce more folks to this game we love.

Hit’em long…yell FORE!!!

Golf: A Love-Hate Thing.

July 20, 2012 | By Pete Girotto | Leave a Comment

In my last post and the one before, I referred to marketing and it’s use in golf. Continuing with that thought, I want to touch upon the actual significance of marketing to the golf community. Better yet, the importance of understanding our love for the game and sharing it with those who haven’t played.

It’s no secret that “word of mouth” is perhaps the best way of marketing something and I’m pretty sure most marketing gurus will agree. It’s simple; someone uses, participates in or buys a product, service or activity and then let’s their family and friends know the results. It’s not rocket science, there’s nothing complicated about that.

If I go to a restaurant and have a bad experience, my family and friends will know. The same goes with hotels, airlines, etc. In general, we are more inclined to tell others of our bad experiences rather than our good ones. Right? Well, just like every rule (theory, principle or whatever) there is an exception. And that exception happens to be golf.

No matter how bad my round was or how much I disliked a course, I found myself telling my buddies they need to get out there and play. Amazing, right? I stink at golf, mess up shots and curse every other hole (if not every hole) but insist everyone should give it a shot. In fact, my buddies who I introduced the game to still play the same courses we swore we would never play again…but so do I.

Personal experiences are subjective. We can agree to that, right?

Hit’em long…yell FORE!!!

Golfing What’s and Woes

May 25, 2012 | By Pete Girotto | 1 Comment

For the first time in a long time I was able to get a round in on a nice sunny morning. If you haven’t followed or didn’t know, this is also my first time out in almost a year and a half due to 1) Surgery and B…hehehe…2) Our golf season in the Northeast is just that – seasonal. If it wasn’t for winter I would have been out there already.

I have to admit though I was a little anxious. I had no idea what to expect. It was like my first day of school all over again. I was up early, cleaned my clubs, wiped the dust off the bag, remembered my lunch money and was off.

As we got to the first tee it hit me – the first “Golfing What”. What do I do here? Hit the ball. I know that wise ass. My issue was figuring out my distances. I knew when I stopped playing a year and a half ago what my distances were more or less but today is a different story. And my driver, forget it, that wasn’t seeing the light of day.

Since the driver was staying in, I figured I would give the 3 wood a chance. And what a chance it had…right in the friggin’ lumberyard. Can you smell that? That, my friends, is the smell of my first “Woe”. So the driver and 3 wood were sent to the showers and I decided it’s all iron play from here on out. Looking back, it was a wise decision. Just by eliminating the woods and driver I shaved strokes off my score!

We hit a little bit of a back up at the 4th or 5th hole and we end up talking with the group in front of us as they wait for the firm, you know Shanks, Hook, Skull & Slice, to make their approach shots to the green. As we were chatting it up with this group my second “Golfing What” and “Woe” hit me almost simultaneously. What the f@#! is this guy wearing? He had on a ratty t-shirt and dirty shorts! WTF!

I know we try to do our best to keep golf’s traditions alive but I get this feeling that some have put aside golf’s formalities for comfort. Not that I’m a stickler for dress code (I wear cargo shorts and I’ll save that battle for another time) but I think a little decency on the course is expected. Just my $0.02.

Hit’ em long…yell FORE!!!

First Time On The Golf Course

May 3, 2010 | By Chris Chirico | 3 Comments

A few months ago, late last golf season, I wrote about teaching the game to my oldest son. He purchased his own clubs with his birthday money and we hit the range a few times to get some work in before he hit an actual course. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough time left in last year’s golf season to ever make it out.So we hit the range a few more times, went to the indoor facility, and worked on our swings over the winter in anticipation of getting out on a course next season. Well, a few days ago, the time finally came.

However, I wondered where and when I was going to take him. Knowing his skill level, it didn’t seem like a great idea to take him out on a weekend morning where we were going to slow down everyone around us. Also, taking him to play 18 on a course with a few 500 yard holes didn’t seem wise yet either. I really wanted to avoid a par-3 course because I wanted him to have some variety on the holes and keep him from getting bored with the game. Then it came to me – an executive course! It’s perfect! I have one right in town. It’s nine holes, none longer than 290 yards but much more variety than a par-3 course. But now the question is, when do we go? Again, I’m trying to avoid slowing down all the golfers around us.

Fortunately, he’s not only a pretty good athlete, he’s also a pretty good student. So after receiving honors at school for the second time this year, I used that to reward him with a day off during the week and a round of golf. His mother wasn’t too happy about him missing a day of school for golf, but I explained that I’m taking him out no matter what. I told her the choices were either we golf or go to the “gentleman’s club.” OK, before anyone freaks out, that’s just a joke. So Friday morning around 11:00, we teed off for the first time.

His opening drive, of course, slices directly into the parallel fairway. We laugh it off and I tell him not to let it bother him – I promised he’ll get to see me do that a few times today also. And I delivered on my promise.

It was amazing to see him progress from hole #1 to hole #9. It was like he was improving right before my eyes. By the time we hit the seventh, his slice was almost gone! There wasn’t much distance to his shots, but they were pretty straight for the most part. His putting left something to be desired, but there’s plenty of time to work on that.

As the round went on, I made sure to teach him not only the rules of the game, but the unwritten rules of etiquette as well. Not wanting to overwhelm him, I tried to fill him in on as we moved along. Simple things like staying quiet during someones swing, not stepping in someones line, etc…

By the end of the round it was clear this is another sport at which, if he sticks with it, he will excel also. Obviously, I gave him some mulligans and didn’t count a drop here and there. But nevertheless his final score, not that it matters, wasn’t too bad. He even managed to beat me on the eighth hole!

The best part about seeing him play, for me anyway, was that he never took it too serious. He didn’t get upset with himself after a bad shot and he didn’t let a bad shot affect his next one. He smiled and laughed throughout the round. He played the game exactly as you would expect a kid to play it, while still trying to do well. As a matter of fact, the most serious I saw him the entire day was when I let him drive the cart for two holes!

We wrapped the day up by talking about the round over a large pizza and a few sodas. We both looked forward to playing again and will certainly do so for, hopefully, many more summers to come. Although, I did let him know, I’m not always going to be easy on him. Mulligans, believe it or not, aren’t an actual part of the game.

Truth is though, I’m going to have to be hard on him to keep him from beating me soon. But something tells me there’s not much I’m going to be able to do about that.

My Wife’s First Time

Golf: A Love-Hate Thing.

Golfing What’s and Woes

First Time On The Golf Course

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