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New Year’s Golf Resolutions I Will Likely Ignore

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What New Year's golf resolutions will you make?
What New Year’s golf resolutions will you make?

It seems it never fails.  Every year I make a few golf-related New Year’s resolutions.  But when the time comes around to collect on them…I’ve done nothing about it.  I let myself down every year.

But, at the risk of doing the same thing once again, I’m still going to make some resolutions anyway.  Yes, I know…they’re pointless.  But I feel like I’d be doing myself a disservice if I didn’t make them.  So with that in mind, here goes…

The one I make most often is simply to play more.  Somehow, this is just always out of my control.  I try to make the time to play more often, but something is always getting in the way.  Be it work, family commitments, kids sports…whatever.  It’s like there’s always something going on.

But, I’ll still try to make the effort.  After all, if I can’t find a few hours out of every week or two, then obviously I need some help with my time-management skills.

Secondly, I resolve to purchase a new driver.  I once spent a good amount of money on a nice Callaway driver.  For a couple of seasons I was in love with it and hit it a ton.  But then, one year out of the blue, I lost the feel for it.  I could rarely hit it straight and every time I touched it, everything just felt wrong.  So after dealing with that for a season or two….it went to eBay.  I haven’t used a driver since.  Depending upon the hole, I’ll tee of with a 3 or 5-wood.  I realize this is a problem, so I’m going to do something about it…maybe.

Thirdly, and this is a new one.., I’m going to try to introduce someone to the game.  I’ve been working on a couple of people – one to give it a try, the other a former golfer to take it up again.  But I’m not trying to bring people to the game by teaching them the rules or telling them they need to practice, practice, practice.  I’m trying to explain that it’s a fun game and they should look at it from that standpoint.  Not like it’s something they have to constantly work at.  To me, that’s the wrong approach.

So only three.  All seem relatively attainable, right?  Of course there’s no guarantee I will follow through on them.  But this time of year is about making the resolutions.  The rest of the year is for follow-through.  So check with me again next December to see how things went.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Golf Gifts For Christmas?

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I’m very appreciative of anything I get as a Christmas gift.  I don’t care if it was expensive or cheap.  I don’t care if it’s big or small.  I don’t care if it’s beautiful or ugly as sin.  It’s the thought that counts, and the fact that someone took the time to get me anything at all is good enough for me.  As a matter of fact, when someone asks me what I want for Christmas, I normally just say “Nothing.  You don’t have to get me anything.”  Because I really don’t expect anything.  I truly am one of those people who would rather give than receive.

Now, on that note, I want to put in a request to anyone who does in fact want to buy me a gift for Christmas.  But it’s not a request for something.  Instead, it’s a request to not buy me something.  My only request is that you do not buy me anything golf related.  I know that sounds funny coming from a golfer, but it’s strange…when it comes to golf equipment, I would rather just purchase it myself.

It’s not that I think someone will do a poor job getting me a gift.  And it’s not that it won’t be appreciated.  It’s just with a lot of golf equipment, it’s not easy to pick out for someone else.  Like clubs for instance.  You can’t just give someone a set of clubs.  There’s so much that goes into it that can’t be just picked off of a shelf.  Same goes for a pair of golf shoes.  There have been times when I haven’t even been able to pick out a good pair of shoes.  I mean, you can try them on and walk around the store, but you really don’t know if your feet are going to be killing you by the 8th hole until you get out there and try them out.

But on the other hand, things like balls and tees are always good.  I mean, for the most part…a tee is a tee.  Some people will argue that they can’t just use any balls and they need to use specific ones.  Not me.  I have tried all different kinds and they don’t seem to make a difference to me.  I stink.  What ball I use is not going to change that.  Gift certificates are another good idea.  This way, I can get the golf accessories that I want and still pick them out myself.

So keep these things in mind if you’re looking for some last minute gifts for the golfer, or golfers, in your life.  The big ticket items are not the ones you want to purchase on your own for someone else.  Go for the accessories or the gift certificates.  When it comes to purchasing golf gifts, like a golf score, less is more.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

What’s The Draw Of Winter Golf?

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Do you prefer cold weather golf? (Photo by James Quinn)


As I’ve said several times, I have this rule (which I broke earlier this year) that I don’t play golf when the temperature drops below 50 degrees.  And now that we’ve had our first major snowstorm of the winter this past weekend, then I’m going to go out on a limb and say there’s not going to be some crazy heat wave that will get me back out on the course before the spring.  Although, the same can’t be said for everyone.  No, there are some who will hit the links at every opportunity, no matter the weather.

Want to see something crazy?  Just go to your favorite search engine and look up “Winter golf.”  When I did it, I mostly expected to find info on winter golf vacations to more tropical climates…and I did.  However, I also found a lot more than that.  I found information on how winter golf can be enjoyed, where you can purchase winter golf accessories such as gloves, the rules of winter golf, practicing your swing in the winter, special offers for golf courses in the northern portions of the country and plenty more!  Who new there was such a market for winter golf?

For me, there’s no chance.  But I guess there are plenty of people who are willing to push on through the weather.  I just have a few questions, starting with…why?  Do you love the sport that much that you are willing to freeze your behind off just to play?  Or are you just crazy?  I love playing golf.  But at the same time, I also love playing golf in comfort.  I don’t want to play in the freezing cold, just as much as I don’t want to play in the brutal heat.

I guess I’ll wrap it up with one last bit of curiosity.  If there’s snow anywhere on the course, do you use yellow or orange balls?  And if so, does it help?  Because I’ll tell you, once a ball lands inside the snow, it doesn’t matter if it glows as bright as the sun…it’s gone.  Do you take a drop?  Be honest.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

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!

What Should I Do With My Golf Off-Season?

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Playing golf last weekend was a rarity.  Not the playing golf part, but the last weekend part.  Playing golf that late in the year is something I’m not sure I’ve ever done.  But, after the thought had crossed my mind, it doesn’t look like there will be much chance of playing in December.  No, with the temps here in CT dropping into the 30’s and low 40’s on a regular basis now, my golf season appears to have come to an end.

So what to do now?  How do I still get my golf fix when I can’t get out on the course over the winter?  The Golf Channel sure as heck doesn’t cut it.  And I already broke my temperature barrier of 50 degrees last month.  I’m not going to drop it below 40.  So I guess I’ll have to find some other means.

I’ll start with planning a trip or two to the indoor facility.  What I like about the indoor place we go to is you can work on every part of your game.  I can work on putting, chipping, sand traps and irons.  Although I can work on my driving there as well, because there is no actual range I can’t see the finished result.  So it ends up being only a “feel” thing.  So for driving, I’ll have to hit the outdoor range.

Ah, the outdoor range in the winter.  It’s not as bad as it sounds.  There are overhead heaters at your tee area, so it’s only bad when the wind is whipping.  But at that point, you probably shouldn’t be there to begin with.  But I need to go because I need to see where the ball is winding up.  I can’t hit the ball only 20-25 yards and make sure it feels good.  I have to see if I sliced it, hooked it or put one straight out there.

But both of these options equate to nothing more than practice.  What if I wanted to actually play a round?  Well, maybe option number three should be an out-of-season golf trip.  Every golf trip I’ve taken has been during prime golf season.  I could save some money going in the off-season.  And really, I would only need to travel somewhere that the temperature is still in the 60’s to make me happy.  I don’t need to turn it into a lavish trip at some tropical resort.  I just need it to be a little warmer than CT this time of year.

Now that I think about it, maybe that’s the step I’m missing in the off-season.  I have to get out of the habit of simply practicing and travel somewhere to actually play!  No one wants to practice, but we all want to play.  It’s more motivating.  It’s more fun.  And damn it, it’s what I want to do.  So maybe now I’m going to turn more attention to playing rather than practicing.  After all, what am I practicing for really?  I stink.  I’m always going to stink.  At least I can have fun stinking.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

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