GolfStinks

A Golf Blog for the Rest of Us!

Life Gets In The Way of Golf

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OK, it’s now May 21st and yesterday was the first day I was able to get out and play golf with the guys this season.  Seems like it’s getting later and later every year.  It used to be that as soon as the weather got nice, we were out on the course.  But now, family, our jobs, work around the house and various other commitments tend to keep us from the game we all love.

So what are we to do?  Do we just sit back and accept this? Do we just let life get in the way of the time we are longing to spend chasing the little white ball around the big green course?  Well, to put it simply…yes.  That’s exactly what we do. 

When things like this first began happening to me, I had a tough time accepting it.  After all, it had been years since I had a job requiring me to work on weekends.  So work never got in the way.  I was a single guy back when I took up golf, so family matters never got in the way.  But now, that seems like another lifetime. 

Luckily, work doesn’t get in the way for me.  But it does get in the way of our regular golfing group as one of us works on Saturdays.  So to make sure we can still play together we’re trying to move golf to Sundays. 

Family, on the other hand, is something that only seems to become more and more time-consuming as well.  Now I know I just made that seem like family time is a negative, but trust me, I only mean it to be negative in a golf sense.  I wouldn’t change family time for anything. 

What I mean is, as we get older, we become committed to our kids commitments.  Additionally, there are nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters, cousins and friends, aunts and uncles…someone always has something going on.  Birthdays, graduations, school events, field trips, sports…there’s always something keeping you from being on the course. 

So what to do other than wait?  That’s about all we can do…wait.  But, as Tom Petty said…”The waiting is the hardest part.”  We wait until the kids are older.  We wait until they’re out of school.  We wait until sporting events are over.  We wait until they’re too old to have birthday parties.  Then, we can take our weekends back.  Then, we can go back to playing as often as we used to.  Then, we won’t be limited to fitting in golf when we have some free time.  Hopefully by then, all our time will be free!

But as much as I long for these days, I don’t want to make it seem like I’m in that much of a hurry.  Because these are the times that I’ll look back on when I am older.  And something tells me when I’m older, there’s a chance I may think just the opposite.

Swing ’til you’re happy!                           

The Belated Mother’s Day Golf Gift Guide

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Some cliché Mother's Day golf gifts...
Some cliché Mother’s Day golf gifts…

As you may have read here in the past, my wife is not a golfer.  Neither is my mother.  So my excuse to play golf on Mother’s Day, via an invitation to take them golfing, is non-existent.  But, if my wife were a golfer, buying Mother’s Day gifts for her would certainly be easier.

See, my wife is a bit of a girly girl.  So, along with quality and well-performing golf equipment, it would have to include that cuteness factor as well.  You know what that means?  It means the equipment is likely going to have to include the color pink.

So in search of golf equipment that fits both bills, I give you the Golfstinks Gift Guide to Belated Mother’s Day Golf Gifts.

Well, if she’s a golfer, you’d have to assume she already has golf clubs.  And those can get quite pricey.  So let’s instead look to something in which to carry the clubs.

Being that my wife is a Nike fan, this one would suit her well.  However, I’m sure you can find yourself a pink golf bag from just about any manufacturer.  The key here is the cuteness factor.

We’ve all already seen the pink golf balls, so those are a given.  So instead, lets look to some golf shoes.  What woman wouldn’t want a pair of cute, pink golf shoes?

I mentioned that my wife is a fan of Nike.  But sorry honey, I like these Adidas better.

But lets imagine for a second that you have lots of money.  OK, lets imagine for a second that I have lots of money, because I don’t know the financial status of our readers.  But I sure do know mine…and lets just say it ain’t quite good enough for this:

Well, I’m sure I’m not the only one who is in a financial situation where a purchase such as this isn’t quite realistic.  But still, one could understand how, if your finances would allow, this would be a great purchase for the special golfing mom in your life.  Be it your wife or mother, especially if they live on a golf course, she could be the envy of all her golfing girlfriends.

Now I know it’s a day late – Mother’s Day was yesterday.  But you could always use the old “I bought (blank) for you, but I had to order it so it should be here soon” excuse.  Hey, it’s worked in the past.  Or, you could save yourself the aggravation and just remember sooner for next year…

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Why Exactly Are You Playing Golf?

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Is golf too much work and not enough fun for you? (photo by Greg D’Andrea)

So a buddy of mine just got engaged this past weekend.  After offering up my congratulations, I proceeded to fill him in on the support group for men who have fallen victim to the engagement/marriage syndrome.  I let him know that we meet whenever necessary at local bars and golf courses.  He doesn’t realize it right now, but he’ll be joining us there soon.

It was only a joke, but it made me think about the reasons some of us are out on the links to begin with.  Get away from the wife and kids for a few hours.  Love of the game.  An escape from a routine.  The competition.  The challenge.  All of the above maybe?  For me, it’s a little bit of all of these.  But at the same time, it’s none of them.

Some people just don’t get why I golf.  I’m not talking about the people who are non-golfers and for one reason or another dislike the game.  I’m talking about other golfers.  Now I don’t mean a guy who watched me play a round and then said to me “Dude, why are you even out here?  You stink at this game.”  He’s right, I do stink at golf.  But I’m talking about the guys who don’t understand that I’m only out on the course to hang out with my friends and do something we all enjoy.  The actual game is secondary to me.

The comment I made earlier regarding the meetings at bars and golf courses is what made me think of this.  But to me, playing golf with my friends, and heading to the bar with my friends, are pretty much interchangeable.  And I truly believe this mentality is what keeps me enjoying the sport (just as much as enjoying the bar).  I’ll explain.

Golf, to me, is a social activity.  It’s not a competition to me.  It’s not something at which I need to excel.  It’s not something at which I expect to become great, nor do I really care if I do.  It’s something I do with my friends as “hang-out time.”  It’s about the equivalent of going to a ball game together, to the bar, the casino, dinner or whatever.  It’s just good quality time with people whom I don’t always get to spend enough.  But that’s where I want to draw the line on golf.  Any more, and golf would no longer be all about fun and socialization.

The day I actually go out and pay for a lesson will be the day that I have begun to take golf too seriously.  And that, friends, is where other golfers don’t understand why I play.  It is completely lost on them that I’m not concerned with getting better.  But the attitude of other golfers is what gets lost on me!  Why so many people have the urge to spend money with a pro to get better at a sport at which they will never actually compete is way over my head.  They ask me “Don’t you want to get better?”  But when I respond with “Don’t you ever want to play simply for fun?” they look at me like I have three heads!  Like the whole concept of playing for fun is completely foreign to them!  Like it’s never even crossed their mind.

I’ve said it several times before, but I’ll never get it.  I didn’t hire a hitting coach when I played softball. I didn’t bring in a shooting instructor when I played basketball.  I don’t look to the The Mad Fisherman when I’m having a slow day at the lake.  So why would I pay a golf pro to help me with my swing?  I do all of these things for the same reason – fun.  Not to try and become a pro.  Why should golf be any different?

Now I’m not at all knocking people who take lessons.  I understand that many people want to be better golfers.  I understand that most people take the game much more seriously than I do.  If that’s what you want to do, then by all means, do it!  Take multiple lessons.  Get better.  Become a great golfer!  But what I am knocking is the people who have this over-bearing opinion that I NEED to take a lesson.  Or that golfers who are new to the game MUST seek out a pro.  It’s just foolish.  Further, I’m of the opinion that this mentality is something that keeps new, younger players from taking up the game to begin with.  People already see the game as expensive, uptight and boring.  Now, to add in that they have to pay a pro to help them?  I’m sorry, but that is the wrong way to introduce players to the game.

Think about someone introducing you to the game.  They say to you “Come on, we’re going to go play golf.  Let’s spend a bunch of money on your clubs, more on the accessories you need to play such as balls, tees and stuff like that.  Then we have to buy you some shoes.  Then we’ll go hire a pro to teach you how to swing.”  Are you freakin’ kidding me?!  If my friends introduced the game to me like that, I wouldn’t be playing today.  I would have said “Thanks, but no thanks” and gone right back to playing basketball and softball.  They play for fun, and that’s exactly how they introduced it to me.

Now keep in mind, I love playing golf.  Although I play for fun, I do try to play well while I’m out there.  I might as well, right?  I’m not a student of the game.  I don’t follow it professionally.  I’m not concerned with becoming a great player.  But don’t think just because you take lessons that you love the game any more than I do.  Maybe you do, maybe you don’t.  But your desire to get better doesn’t measure anything.  We just love the game for two different reasons.

All I’m saying is before you encourage people, especially players new to the game, to spend the money on lessons with pros, find out why they are out on the course playing golf to begin with.  You may think you’re being helpful.  But what you may see as helpful and necessary, they may see as a complete turn-off.  I almost never give advice to anyone about their game.  But if I was to do so, the only advice I would ever actually give is…

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to the PGA Draft

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Anybody catch the NFL Draft this past weekend?  If you’re a football fan, then you probably watched at least some of it.  Even if just to see what your favorite team did with it’s top pick or two.  I know I was tuned in for quite a while.  And I thought breaking it up over three days was a mistake, but boy was I wrong.  Some co-workers and I, who all happen to be Patriots fans, we’re discussing the first round on Friday morning in anticipation of the upcoming rounds.

It seems kind of funny doesn’t it?  Watching teams just pick their players, some of whom will not even make the team.  But that’s how big the NFL is.  It sometimes seems the draft is second in the sport’s popularity to only the Super Bowl.  And it’s only getting bigger.  Now it’s in prime-time, broken up over three days.  And this year, an unprecedented five international players were drafted (players not from the U.S. but attended college and played football here) as well as an American born player who attended college in Canada.  The sport is now truly going global.

About a year-and-a-half ago, I asked the question “What if PGA Tour golf was a team sport?”   Now, after tuning into the NFL draft for a while, it got me thinking about it further.  As I said, the draft is a big event for the NFL and it’s fans – maybe second only to the Super Bowl.  Well, if golf was a team sport, then why not the same intrigue there?  After all, the PGA doesn’t have a “Super Bowl” of it’s own (although it should), but it does have four majors that are always popular.  And, like the Super Bowl but on a much smaller scale, these are the only tournaments that non-golf fans really care much about at all.     

Now when I say teams, I don’t necessarily mean that teams such as the Florida Whiteshoes or California Earthquakes have to be created, although that would be great, wouldn’t it?  But it could be something like Nascar does with teams – owners, but still individual drivers.  Or, they could be sponsor teams such as Team Callaway, Nike or Ashworth, etc.. 

Imagine Team Nike drafting someone out of college or the amateur rankings with the #1 overall pick.  Follow that up with Team Callaway trading out of the #2 spot in exchange for the #5 pick and another player on the tour.  I don’t know about you, but this sounds like fun!  Although, obviously individual player sponsorships would probably get in the way here.       

Additionally, it could also be a good way to bring attention to college golf.  See, you don’t have to be a football fan to know who Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III is.  But truthfully, I can’t name one college golfer right now.  I’m sure there’s a college golfer who is somehow ranked as the #1 golfer in the country at that level…but I have no idea who he is.  That seems wrong to me.  But something tells me that if there was a big event to introduce these guys to all the PGA Tour fans, that would probably change.   

Ahhh, listen…I’m just a football fan who’s excited about my teams draft picks.  I’m one of those people who feel the draft is pretty exciting.  To me, it’s almost like an unofficial kickoff to the preseason, or at least a halfway point between seasons.  After all, the first preseason game is just over three months away.  I always look for ideas to inject some excitement into golf and try to help increase viewership and popularity among the younger generation.  And judging by the current state of the game, no one else seems to have too many great ideas.

Swing ’til you’re happy! 

Is Playing Golf Like Riding A Bike?

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If only golf was as easy as riding a bike...
If only golf was as easy as riding a bike…

Everyone has heard the saying “It’s just like riding a bike.”  It seems to be used for everything.  But what about golf?  Is golf like riding a bike?  Can it be picked right back up again after a significant layoff?

I think much of it has to do with your skill level.  If you’re a golfer who’s used to shooting around par, but you come back after a long break and shoot an 80, something tells me you look at that differently than someone who shoots around 100, then comes back to shoot a 110.

Personally, I’ve never had a long enough break from golf to measure the result on myself.  However, I’ve been around players on both ends of the spectrum and have had the opportunity to see what a long layoff has done to them.  I’ll start with the good player.

I once played a few times in a local golf league.  On one of the occasions, I played with a guy who was described to me as a scratch golfer and even a “borderline pro.”  I guess this guy was so good, that he decided at one point in his life to quit his job and pursue a spot on the PGA Tour.  Needless to say, since I was playing with him on an average local course, he didn’t make it.  But somewhere between his attempt at a pro career, and a short time before we played together, he had taken a few years away from the sport.  As I understand it, after failing to qualify, he felt like a failure and had no desire to go back to playing non-competitive golf.  So he gave up the game entirely…for a few years anyway.  But you wouldn’t have guessed that when I saw him!

Despite taking the game back up just over the prior couple of months leading up to our round, this guy went out and shot in the high 70’s while clearly playing with an “I don’t care” attitude.  He was out there just playing with his buddies, relaxing, joking around and having fun.  Some of the guys who had played with him years before told me that he would have been absolutely miserable and down-right pissed had he shot a 78 or so back then.  But now, it’s no big deal.  Good for him.

Now, at the other end of the spectrum, I had a guy ask me if I wanted to get out and play a round with him because he hadn’t gotten the chance since he had kids.  Now again, we’re talking a few years since he had been out on the course.  Before the kids, he was a golfer like me – happy when he breaks 100, which didn’t occur very often.  And sure enough, when we got out on the course, he shot a 102.

So, is golf like riding a bike?  Once you know how to play, do you always know how to play?  Can you take a few years off and pick back up right where you left off?  From the two experiences I’ve had with people who have done so, it would seem that, yes, you can in fact do so.  But is that the same for everyone?  Would it be the same for me?  Personally I hope to never find out.

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