GolfStinks

A Golf Blog for the Rest of Us!

5 Reasons I Hate Watching Golf on TV

| By | 5 Comments

Just the thought of watching golf on TV...
Just the thought of watching golf on TV…

Part of my problem with the sport of golf is simply that I find watching it on TV pretty boring.  I love to get out and play, but have no real interest in watching.  Some ask me why and my typical response is that it’s, well…boring.  But I guess, when I think about it, that’s not really a good enough answer.  So in fairness, I should probably get more into exactly what I don’t like or, to me, what makes it boring.

#1.  It’s Too Slow – There’s isn’t much more to say – the game simply moves too slowly.  The worst thing is to see a pro taking four or five practice swings, walking away from the ball, wandering around for a bit, walking back to the ball and taking a few more practice swings before finally addressing the ball and taking their shot.  And we wonder why there is slow play on the course.  Maybe the idea I had a few years ago of a “shot clock” isn’t so bad?

#2. I Can’t Follow a Certain Player – This makes it hard to root for one player.  The network has to move between cameras around the course to get a look at everyone since, of course, there are 36 players out there at once.  So you never quite know when you’re going to have the opportunity to see your favorite PGA pro.

#3. They Are All Too Good – I know that sounds stupid.  However, what I’m trying to say is, there are rarely “bad shots.”  Everyone is just consistently good.  And there is nothing to prevent a great shot.  No “defense” if you will.  Watching a pro football game, the best players get dropped for a loss, picked off or miss tackles.  The best baseball players make errors or strike out.  That stuff needs to be seen.  It’s hard to watch a players’ approach shots consistently land on the green.  It’s like watching pro bowling – strike, strike, strike, spare, strike, strike…

#4. No Crowd Noise –  Spending a Sunday watching football, or being at an actual game, you realize how much the excitement of the crowd increases the intensity of the game, and even has an effect on it.  So having a crowd completely silent for most of the round really takes something away from the “excitement” of the game.

#5. All The Players Blend Together – This is really due to a combination of numbers two and three but, for the casual golf fan, it’s hard to care about, or even tell the difference between, any of the players on the tour.  Outside of a guy like John Daly, there aren’t a lot of great “personalities” on the tour.  Now when I say that, I don’t mean a great personality for a golfer…I mean a great personality in general.

Now, maybe if I was to watch a whole round and try to block out the examples above, I might change my mind.  But the problem is, all of the examples above are exactly why I don’t watch a full round.  Maybe if the tour was to bring in some form of remedy for problem #1 above, that would be a good start for me.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

"Are You Kidding, I Play For Fun!"

| By | 1 Comment

The words above were the actual words spoken by a guy I work with during our last conversation about golf. Such a simple statement, but yet so appropriate for the stinky golfer attitude. And it’s funny because I thought I was a stinky golfer. But my co-worker has got me beat.

Now this guy, he’s a married father of two. Monday-Friday are wrapped up in a relatively demanding job. His weekends are pretty much occupied by his wife and kids. Free time for him, apparently, is a rarity. So when he gets the chance to play golf, it’s a luxury. It’s a treat. It’s his fun time, and he plans on having some fun!

He pretty much summed it up for me in that recent conversation. I was talking about the new golf shoes I had purchased, or more specifically, the reason I purchased them. “My shoes were terrible” I said. “My feet would be hurting by the 11th or 12th hole.” He gave me a look that I can only describe as confused astonishment. “You walk when you play?” he said to me. I said that I try to as much as I can because it’s good exercise. His response? “Are you kidding, I play for fun! Exercise! #$%& that!” I laugh, but for the most part I agree with him. He goes on to say, “I bust my ass and get tired all week! Why the hell would I want to do it when I’m supposed to be having fun?”

I started thinking about my answer to this question. Do I say that it’s better exercise? No, I’m not out there for exercise. Do I mention how I can get a better “feel” for the course if I walk it? What am I a PGA pro?! I couldn’t even explain how a course feels if I laid down naked in the middle of the 15th fairway. So I can think of no other response other than to agree with him. After all, I actually do agree with him!

So I begin to think to myself, how is this not my mentality? I want to play well, but I am also out there to have fun! Why am I exhausting myself? Why am I making stupid excuses? I work hard and get tired all week and it’s no fun. I don’t want to do the same things out on the golf course. I want to relax and enjoy myself. I don’t want to get tired of the game. But if the game turns into work, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.

But now I wonder further, is this part of the reason I’ve had such a lax attitude toward the game this year? I didn’t play nearly as much as I could/should have this year. The opportunities to play were there, I just didn’t purse them. Is it because I’m looking at the game with the wrong attitude? Am I starting to look at the game with less fun than I used to? Did the idea of doing things to try to improve my game, such as the custom-fitted clubs and a balance bracelet, take some of the fun out of it for me and put more of a focus on improving my game? If so, then in my mind I’m heading in the wrong direction with this game.

I never wanted it to be this way. I just wanted to have fun. I didn’t want it to become work. I didn’t want it to become anything more than a good time with my buddies. I think I’m going to have to rethink my feelings toward this game. Is it possible that I’ve begun to take this game too seriously? No, that’s not it. Maybe just a little more serious than I ever wanted to.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Why Is Everyone at the Driving Range Miserable?

| By | 8 Comments

Do you dread the driving range? (photo by Greg D'Andrea)
Do you dread the driving range? (photo by Greg D’Andrea)

We’re in the midst of little league baseball season for my boys. And while one is excelling all-around, the other is struggling a bit with the bat. So yesterday afternoon, we took a trip to the batting cages.

We worked on some things and, next thing you know, he’s getting around on the ball and even putting a bit of a charge into a few. It was good work, and I’m hoping it carries over into his next game.

But one of the most fun things about going to the cages was getting in them myself. I don’t care how old you are, it’s always fun to get into the cage and see if you can still get around on some of those pitches in the fastball bay.

It wasn’t until I stepped out of the batting cage and looked over at the guys out on the accompanying golf driving range; That’s when I noticed something strange – I’m smiling and having a good time while they look miserable and pissed-off. But you know what, I understand that. I understand how they feel. I’m just going to come out and say it right now…practicing golf sucks.

You can argue with me, but let’s be honest with ourselves. For most golfers, it’s just not fun. As a matter of fact, it’s almost like work, if not worse. Why is that? I mean, I can have a good time at the range (either indoor or outdoor), so why does everyone else at the range look so miserable? The only thing I can think of is that these guys take it too serious.

I can see these guys getting angry with themselves on poor shots…and that makes me laugh. Why? Well, it’s simple really. If you aren’t that great to begin with, then how can you get so angry at yourself when you hit a poor shot…especially at the range? Out on the course, you hit them pretty often. You’re not a PGA pro, so what’s the issue? I understand I’m not Albert Pujols, so I don’t flip out when I swing and miss in the cage or hit a weak ground-out in softball. Same with golf – why would I get so angry about screwing up at the range when I stink out on the course? For the record, I don’t get angry on the course either.

And that, as we have said many times here at GolfStinks, is the problem with so many golfers. They take the game way too serious. Serious to the point where they’re taking all of the fun out of it. Now I’m not saying that we shouldn’t all try to get better. Rather I’m saying we should all remember that it is just a game. You should have fun playing it.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

What if You Could Play Every Round with a Pro?

| By | 4 Comments

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!

So What’s Next, An Internet Golf Lesson?

| By | 3 Comments

If you’re anything like me, you have a pretty busy schedule. Between a 45+ hour work week, three kids, my wife and and her busy schedule…I just don’t have a lot of spare time on my hands.

Believe it or not, sometimes I don’t even have time to play golf (even nine holes)! So the last thing I have the time (or money) for is a golf lesson! It may sound crazy, but I just don’t have that extra hour to spare, especially at around $60 a pop.

I’ll admit though, I don’t really try to make the time for a golf lesson because, well…it’s not really a high priority. I play golf for fun. Not to be a pro. I probably play softball more often than golf, but I’ve never considered hiring a batting coach! So why would I consider doing it for golf?

That being said, I would still like to play a little better. I would like to make that slice I have go away. I’d like to be a bit more consistent. But I sure don’t want to pay a healthy chunk of my paycheck to do it. So where does someone like me turn? How about the same place people turn for just about everything else…the internet. Now I know what you’re thinking – “How can you get a legitimate golf lesson on the internet?” I’ll tell you how – quickly, easily, efficiently and inexpensively – that’s how. And that’s exactly what I found in my experience with www.fixyourgame.com/.

PGA Pro and Director of Instruction Brant Kasbohm has created a golf instruction website that is incredibly easy to use, very informative and amazingly affordable. All that’s required is a video of your swing from both behind and face-on and $19.95. After emailing my video and filling out the “Get Started” page, all I had to do was wait, and the wait wasn’t long. Less than 36 hour later, I had received an email back. Contained in the email was a breakdown of some of the problems with my swing (posture, weight transfer and swing path) along with potential fixes. Now I know what you might be thinking; you can’t learn much from an email. I might as well have just picked up a magazine, right? Wrong.

Also included in the email were the videos I sent in, side-by-side with video of Brant himself, for the purposes of comparing my swing to his. I should mention, our swings are about as close as you can get to night and day. The personalized videos, complete with Brant’s voice over, play like a tutorial rather than just simply watching a video of a proper swing vs. well, not a very good one. Brant breaks down my swing frame-by-frame to help point out exactly where I’m going wrong.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say, I’ve learned more about my swing in that 8 minute and 39 second video than from anyone, pro or otherwise, who has looked at my swing before. And when I take into consideration it took me no more than $20 and a few minutes to video my swing, www.fixyourgame.com is a no-brainer.

So if you’re like me, you don’t have the time or money, or you’re just not that interested in getting a full-on lesson, then www.fixyourgame.com is an excellent site to check out. It’s informative, inexpensive and takes very little time or effort on your part.

The following day, I had already started trying to work some of the fixes into my swing during a nine hole round. Let’s just say its going to take some getting used to. But thanks to Brant and the team at Fixyourgame.com, I can tell I’m on the right path.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Questions / Advertise

info@golfstinks.com

Disclaimers

See here

Privacy Policy

See here