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Is The Pro Golf Season Too Long?

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Does the pro tour need an off-season?
Does the pro tour need an off-season?

I’m watching some college football games on Saturday afternoon when across the bottom of the screen scrolls an update reading Tiger Woods leads in some golf tournament.  As I reach for the remote to rewind what I just saw (gotta love DVR), I’m thinking to myself that I couldn’t possibly have seen what I think I just saw.  They must have just been mentioning his name as part of some other story.  I mean, it’s December.  What golf tournament is still going on?

But sure enough, I was wrong.  Tiger, at the time, was leading the World Challenge in California.  So I know I’ve mentioned it before but, come on.  Doesn’t golf have an off-season?  If you take a look at the PGA Tour schedule, it sure doesn’t appear so.  Don’t get me wrong, golf is great.  But wouldn’t some down time make for more excitement when “golf season” came around?  Everyone has heard the expression “Too much of a good thing.”  Well, why wouldn’t that apply to golf also?  I love football, but I would lose some interest if it was on every weekend.  I need the off-season to keep me excited and interested.  But if there isn’t going to be an off-season, then why not add a wrinkle here and there?

What do I mean by a wrinkle?  How about we see more of a connection between the pros and the hacks like us?  If they’re going to play in December, lets see them play somewhere other than southern California where the temperature is still 70 degrees.  Head a little more north and play where the temperature is hovering around the 45-50 degree mark.  Myself and three other stinky golfers played a nine-hole round last month on a shoreline course.  The temperature topped out around 45 degrees and the wind was blowing/gusting from start to finish.  I’d like to see the pros play in that once in a while.

Did anyone happen to see the Eagles-Lions game this weekend?  They played that game in blizzard conditions with 4-6″ of snow on the ground.  Now I don’t want or expect to see golf played in that weather.  However, let’s do something other than the “challenge of playing by the ocean breeze of Pebble Beach.”  I mean, please.

The problem I’m getting at is, I enjoy golf, but I had absolutely no idea that a golf tournament was taking place this weekend.  I truly believe the sport could be helped by simply creating a more condensed season.  I mean, December?  The NFL is into the final few weeks of the regular season.  The NBA is now in full swing, as is the NHL.  There’s simply too much competition for viewers.  Shorten the season to April through early November (at the latest).  The only competition through a good part of the season is baseball.

If it seems like I’ve said this before, it’s because I have.  But I’m truly only trying to help!  The whole point is, if I as a golf fan had no idea that a golf tournament was even happening this weekend, then there may be a problem.  Not that I would have been watching anyway with football going on…but you see my point.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

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!!!

Why I Don’t Bet On Golf

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I really can’t afford to do it, but I sometimes can’t help myself.  I like to bet on things.  I don’t know about anyone else, but the prospect of winning a few extra dollars makes any game more interesting.  It’s one of the many reasons I enjoy fantasy football.  But I like to bet on the games themselves, get into pools, draw horses names from a hat for the Kentucky Derby…whatever.  And not just on sports either – a co-worker is pregnant, let’s start a baby pool!  But there’s one sport that I’ve never bet on and I’m just not sure I ever will – golf.

Is it me, or is golf just too hard to bet on.  For me, there’s two reasons this is the case: 1. In the bigger tournaments where the superstars are, the odds are always crappy.  You have to put down way too much money to win anything significant.  2. In rounds when the stars aren’t playing, the field is so wide open and some names are so unfamiliar that there’s rarely a “good bet.”  Take for example this weekend.  Leading up to it, everyone was saying that Mickelson is the favorite among golf betting fans to win the Greenbrier Classic, and he is one of the superstars.  But lo and behold, the weekend rolled around and he was nowhere to be found.  At +2, he didn’t even make the cut!  So much for favorites.

So, what about the majors, when all of the stars come out to play?  Well, the odds for the Open Championship later this month have Tiger as the early favorite at 8 to 1.  But with his relatively inconsistent play, is that where you want to put your money?  And with the field full of such stars, the odds are probably not even as good as they may appear to be.  So what to do?  All of those names at the top look tempting, but then again, so do many of the names on the list.

You see what I mean?  There are just too many options and the field is just too wide open.  Do you go with one of the favorites, or one of the sleepers?  And in the majors, are there any sleepers really?  It’s just too damn complicated.  So for me, I think I’ll stick with football and pregnancy pools.  However, that being said, I’m going with Luke Donald.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Finally…A Birdie Hits The Golf Links

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Really?  Is that all it takes to become an internet sensation?  Is this all I would have to do to go from a relative nobody to getting a story on ESPN?  I’ve flipped the bird to many people on many occasions, so why not me?  Oooohhh…I have to do it on a golf course, during a tournament, I guess.  D.H. Lee must have just beaten me to the punch.

So it finally happened in golf.  A pro finally had enough of a heckler in the gallery and sent a message.  And I’m not talking one of those flipping out about a camera click messages.  I’m talking the “We’re #1!” message.  The old one-gun salute.  We’ve seen it in other sports – remember Jack McDowell?  We’ve even seen baseball and basketball players run up into the crowd to go after fans (Ron Artest and Chad Kreuter come to mind).  But this is new to golf.  If a camera doesn’t click or someone doesn’t whisper during a swing, then there is almost no interaction with the gallery, either positively or negatively, whatsoever.  So what is the PGA to do with this?  Do they suspend him?  Do they fine him?  You know the PGA can’t have any of their players disrespecting their fans like that.  Or…can they?

I can’t be the only one who thinks golf could use a bad boy, right?  And I don’t mean a bad boy off-the-course such as a Tiger Woods or John Daly.  I mean an on-the-course bad guy that you want to hate, but at the same time you kind of root for because he’s different than every other boring face in the crowd.  Now I also don’t mean the PGA should encourage this kind of behavior, because it can get old fast, especially if too many players are getting in on it.  But if they take a guy like Lee, maybe pull him to the side and tell him something to the effect of:

“Pssst…hey, D.H.  That little act you pulled last weekend sure brought us a little more attention than usual.  I’m not telling you to do it again.  But…I’m also not telling you not to do it again either.  Maybe not the finger next time, but a little something else, ya know?  I promise we’ll make it worth your while.”

Want to get people to tune into an event that normally doesn’t quite get the ratings?  Want to make people interested in the highlights from a smaller tournament that normally just kind of slips under the radar?  D.H. Lee could be your guy!

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Catching Up On Golf.

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strong antUsually, I’ll check in every so often and see what’s happening on the tour. For some reason, this year I’ve been following a little more than usual. Or so I thought. When did Tiger become ranked #1 again? So much for thinking I’ve been following golf this season.

After going back and checking his stats, this guy has really been doing well. I guess I’m used to the days when Tiger’s every move was broadcasted. I mean, this guy’s farts were even documented. Remember that? Maybe it was Steve Williams that broke wind but you get the point.

Moving on. Phil…WTF! All 37 of us left handed golfers in the world were counting on you maybe even some righties. That’s OK though, we still think you’re great! What can you do? Crap happens and I’ll take a 2nd place prize of half-a-mill any day. That’s the greatest thing about pro golf, you can come in 25th place and still walk away with some extra scratch in your pocket.

Even though 2nd place does pay out well, I’m sure this has reached “Eleanor” status for Mr. Mickelson. Come on man, don’t let that old saying about the bridesmaid crap be true. Dig deep brother and win a U.S. Open for the southpaws. You can do it! Win it for the Gipper too, if that helps.

That pressure must be ridiculous at times. I’ll give it to him though, he can definitely carry it. I’m sure a lot of people would have buckled under that weight like a one legged asthmatic ant with a bad back.

Ah ha! Now the picture makes sense, kind of.

Hit’em long…yell FORE!!!

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