Aren’t there enough technological advances in golf designed to make the game easier already?  Specialized balls that are designed to travel straighter or farther.  Drivers with heads the size of a small SUV.  Clubs that make the ball do things that scientists years ago would have considered to be physically impossible.  But none of that is enough?  Now we tell people…”Just move up.”

See, it all sounds so silly doesn’t it?  But I thought about it a little further and realized, maybe this is necessary.  It shouldn’t be…but maybe it is.  What I’m saying is, why aren’t people playing from the correct tees to begin with?  Who taught them the game?  I feel that you should be able to play from whatever tees you choose, but at the same time, it’s a matter of etiquette as well.  And as we all know, etiquette is just as much a part of the game as the act of golf itself.  And I think that’s where Tee It Forward should really come into play.

I may be wrong, and I’m sure many people will argue against my way of thinking, but something in the back of my mind tells me that Tee It Forward was designed with its initial intended purpose to be teaching etiquette and speeding up the game, not trying to get people to have more fun.  But with today’s younger generation, it’s hard to teach golf etiquette to newcomers without sounding like a pompous ass.  So instead, they put the “fun” twist on it to make the game sound less stuffy.  Now, I don’t think that’s a bad thing.  As a matter of fact, it’s quite smart.  Look, my opinion is if you want to play from the blues then play from the blues, whether you belong there or not.  I could care less.  But if what you’re doing is holding people up because you stink at golf and you’re only making a hard game that much harder, then you need someone to tell you to tee it forward due to etiquette.

See, the “fun” approach that Tee It Forward takes, in my opinion, is the correct approach that should be taken.  It’s the reason I play.  At the end of the day, I don’t really care what the number is on my scorecard.  I care that I had fun out on the course with my friends.  I try to play well obviously, but if I don’t, who gives a crap?  It’s not my job.  I don’t get paid for it.  I’m not a pro, not trying to be a pro and understand that I never will be a pro.  But I am trying to have fun, and I’m doing exactly that.

Tee It Forward is a step in the right direction.  The more organizations that can stress the fun aspect of the game, the better.  If they can subconsciously teach a little etiquette as well, then they’re really onto something.

My only wish is that, at some point, people will just come out and say that golf (or any sport for that matter) is a tough game.  And rather than put together initiatives and such to make the game easier or more fun, someone will just simply say either “Hey, maybe this game isn’t for you,” or better yet, “Just go have fun.”

Swing ’til you’re happy!