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Working In The Golf Industry

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What job would you take in the golf industry? (photo by David Anstiss / CC BY_SA 2.0)
What job would you take in the golf industry? (photo by David Anstiss / CC BY_SA 2.0)

My wife and I have both recently started new jobs. Starting a new job is always exciting, more so when both you and your spouse are doing so at the same time! A new company, new position, new responsibilities…there’s much to look forward to especially considering we are both moving into industries completely foreign to both of us. One of us is taking a position in, for lack of a better way to explain it, the “relocation” business. The other in the golf industry. Any guesses which of us is taking which position?

Yup, you guessed it. My wife, who couldn’t possibly be less interested in the sport, is now working in the golf industry. That’s right, while I’m worried about coordinating delivery of furniture into an apartment complex, my wife, who is an accountant, is heading for work at the golf course management company she is now employed by. Am I jealous? Yes and no.

I’m not jealous of the actual job. Even though it is with a golf course management company, it’s still accounting. My wife enjoys it, but to me it’s just addition and subtraction all day. I can think of some other jobs I would rather do. So I’m not jealous of the job she has. However, I am very much jealous of one of her co-workers.

I don’t know the guy and I have no idea what the position entails. All I know is, my wife was telling me a “today, at work” story that went something like this:

Blah blah blah…and…blah blah blah…and then…blah blah blah…when all of a sudden, the Director of Golf…blah blah blah…..

What?! Director of Golf?! Is that an actual position?! An actual job?! What does he do? Make sure people are golfing? Who cares what he does…how do I get that job? Where do I apply? I play golf…I can certainly direct it!!

OK, I’m sure there’s more to the position than what I believe there to be. But I’m still jealous of the title.

Even though I don’t have the position in the golf industry, that doesn’t mean I don’t somehow benefit from it. I’ve already been notified that I can play any of the eight or nine courses managed by the company at a discounted rate. That’s great news enough…but it gets better! In order to make up some time for a day she’ll need off later in the week, my wife went into work for a few hours on Memorial Day. Her boss being there also, rewarded her with some gift certificates to some of the golf courses! Since she doesn’t play, guess where those rewards will be headed. That’s right…directly into my golf bag!

So I’d like to take this moment to say thank you. Thank you to my wife for always being able to find the cool jobs. Thank you for always finding the jobs that somehow benefit me. I may never hold a position as cool as Director of Golf, but that doesn’t mean my wife can’t direct me to the golf course.

Thanks again honey!!

Lost On The Links

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I'd play golf on that island all freaking day... (photo by Jason H. Smith / CC BY-SA 2.0)
I’d play golf on that island all freaking day… (photo by Jason H. Smith / CC BY-SA 2.0)

I’ll be honest, I had every intention of mailing this one in. What I mean is, I (along with a good portion of the rest of the country) was watching the Lost finale last night. I wasn’t thinking about golf, and I certainly wasn’t thinking about blogging about it. I was much more interested in Jack vs. Locke and what goofy comment Hurley was going to make next. But it ended up being Hurley who motivated me to make an effort here.

In watching the two hours of hype leading up to the actual episode, we were taken back to season 1. During that season, Hurley realizes they may be on the island for a while. So in a time when everyone else on the island is understandably freaking out, scared to death and confused….. Hurley is constructing a golf course. I didn’t realize until now the beauty of it. A simple thought popped into my mind – Life sucks…let’s play golf!

It’s like life for most of us. Well, life doesn’t necessarily suck. It just sucks sometimes. But when life sucks, we play golf. And that’s exactly what Hurley had in mind. They were playing golf simply for the fun of it. For the relatively short time they were on the course, golf was taking their minds off of the horrible situation they were in. They weren’t taking the game serious, and likely weren’t even keeping score. It made me realize, this is exactly how a round of golf should be.

OK, I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m certainly not stranded on an island due to a plane crash. But that’s not the point. The point is, my bills could be piling up, the kids may be pissing me off, the job might be incredibly stressful…but when I’m out on the course, none of that matters. Golf should be so simple for all of us. It shouldn’t be taken so seriously. It should be just a simple distraction for us. Something we do to keep our minds off of the things that will be there later.

So my swing isn’t perfect. I don’t putt all that well. My short game sucks. So what? What does any of that matter so long as I enjoy what I’m doing, right? If I was to get myself too wrapped up in trying so hard to do it all perfectly, it would no longer be fun. Rather, it would be more like a job. I don’t want my distractions from everyday life to become jobs. I don’t want to feel like I know I could do better and just wind up frustrated when I don’t. Where is the fun in that?

So, thank you Hurley. Thank you for reminding me this sport is just my distraction from the everyday world. Thank you for reminding me to not take it seriously. Thank you for reminding me that I should play this game for no reason other than the fun of it. It took a fictional character to remind me of these realities.

And to think….I was considering taking a lesson! Thank you again Hurley for saving me the time and money.

Want Every Golf Match to Matter? Play Fantasy Golf!

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Playing fantasy golf will increase your interest in the game… (photo by Richard / CC BY 2.0)

I’m sitting up late at night watching the Phillies vs. Brewers game. I’m a Mets fan so, outside of pulling for the Brewers, I don’t have any real interest in this matchup. Well…that’s not 100% true. I sure could use a couple of hits out of Raul Ibanez. Why? My fantasy league of course!

Roughly fifteen years ago I was first introduced to fantasy sports. A friend and I jumped into a fantasy football league, sharing a team since neither of us new exactly what we were doing. Despite starting off hot with a record of 8-3, we made a bonehead trade and lost the rest of our games (not too mention our money) and missed the playoffs. You’d think it would have left a bad taste in my mouth, but instead, I was hooked. Be it fantasy football, baseball or basketball, I haven’t missed a season since. But now, a new fantasy sport has caught my interest – fantasy golf.

The thing about fantasy golf is, it’s very simple. Anyone who participates in fantasy sports knows that scoring is based on stats (and there are plenty of stats). You draft your players and the better the stats they produce, the better your team does. There are so many stats in fact, scoring can be downright confusing. But not in fantasy golf. There are pretty much two ways to score points in fantasy golf:

1. Points are based on your golfers score per hole (ex. 100 points for an eagle, 50 points for a birdie, 20 points for par, -20 points for a bogey, etc….).

2. Points are based on where your golfers finish in the final tournament standings.

Also, you even have the choice to redraft your team every weekend if you’d like, depending upon which golfers are playing in each tournament.

Seems pretty simple, right? But the fun of it, as well as the chance to win a few bucks, are not the only draws to fantasy golf…or any fantasy sport for that matter. It’s the draw to a game or tournament that, normally, may not interest you at all. Hence, the game I mentioned earlier.

Years ago, fantasy sports were mostly shunned or frowned upon by the professional leagues which they emulated. Participation in a fantasy league was looked upon as simply gambling. But that is no longer the case. Major sports leagues such as the NFL and MLB now embrace fantasy sports, and it’s the right thing to do. Fantasy sports have increased the overall interest in the game, even if it is mainly based on statistics and not necessarily the game itself. But, these leagues realize there are people like me, who will tune into a game they could care less about, in order to watch the one player my fantasy game hinges on. Does Bud Selig care why I’m watching the game? I doubt it, as long as I’m watching.

Fantasy golf is not nearly as popular as fantasy football, baseball or basketball…but the PGA may want to look into changing that. Once again, if you want me to watch your tournament, then give me as many reasons as possible to do so. The performance of players who aren’t necessarily stars, or worthy of much coverage, may not matter as much to the PGA Tour, but they may mean something to more people if they have a reason to cheer for them. Maybe I have a guy in my foursome this weekend named Jeff Overton. He’s only 35th on the money list and not exactly a popular name, but I want to see if he can sink that birdie putt to get me another 50 points for my team! That, my friends at PGA Tour headquarters, is interest in your sport that you normally would not have.

I’ve mentioned before that the PGA doesn’t do enough to promote it’s players, but fantasy sports are a great vehicle for promotion! The PGA would be wise to loosen up and jump on the fantasy sports bandwagon to welcome a new breed of fan. Again, give me a reason to watch the tournament. Give me a reason to cheer for a particular golfer. Give me something other than another Tiger Woods press conference!

Fantasy sports have made me a good amount of money, as well as lost me a good amount of money (no question lost more than I’ve won). But more so, they have gotten me interested in games that I normally wouldn’t be interested in. Honestly, how great would that be for the PGA?

Oh, and just an update, Ibanez went 1-4 with a walk…not good enough for me to pull it out. Looks like I’m going to drop another close one. I swear that guy knows I’m a Mets fan.

My Job Is Interfering With My Golf

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Work Home Life sign
Why can’t we golf 40 hours a week and work 4? (photo by Andrew Leddy / CC BY 2.0)

It’s that time of year again. We’re in early May. The weather is getting consistently nicer. The temperature is rising. Leaves are on the trees and the grass is green. It’s the beginning of golf season and I’m looking forward to spending more time out on the golf course. But there’s one thing that’s getting in my way…my job.

As some of you may already know, I’ve been out-of-work for a pretty long time now. But, those days are now gone. By the time you read this, I’ll be in the midst of my first day at the new job.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to get back into the swing of things. I’m looking forward to a fresh start. But the problem is…the timing. I’m starting this job right at the beginning of golf season – The timing couldn’t be worse!

The hours are normal and it’s a Monday-Friday gig, so my weekends are still free. But imagine going into golf season with all of your days open…And you’re not even retired!! I’ve been looking forward to this all winter. Then the time finally comes and…BAM! I get a job. My dream golf season is over before it even got started. Imagine, I went from having all of my days free during the winter when I couldn’t do a thing, to feeling like I’m going to have the same free time in the summer. Then, it’s all just stripped away from me in the blink of an eye.

Well, I guess the job is more important…for now. But it sure would have been nice. For one winter, I was able to almost understand what it feels like to be retired and a golfer. It was so close that I could just about taste it. It was right there!

I guess if there’s a silver lining to this cloud, it’s the experience I had. The feeling I was given. The hope I felt. I now have something to look forward to in my golfing future. I will work that much harder toward retirement. I need to know if it’s going to be as good as I had hoped it would. I’ll get there. It’s just a matter of time.

But right now, it’s time for bed. You know, with tomorrow being the first day of work and all.

First Time On The Golf Course

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Photo by Chris Chirico
Photo by Chris Chirico

A few months ago, late last golf season, I wrote about teaching the game to my oldest son. He purchased his own clubs with his birthday money and we hit the range a few times to get some work in before he hit an actual course. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough time left in last year’s golf season to ever make it out.So we hit the range a few more times, went to the indoor facility, and worked on our swings over the winter in anticipation of getting out on a course next season. Well, a few days ago, the time finally came.

However, I wondered where and when I was going to take him. Knowing his skill level, it didn’t seem like a great idea to take him out on a weekend morning where we were going to slow down everyone around us. Also, taking him to play 18 on a course with a few 500 yard holes didn’t seem wise yet either. I really wanted to avoid a par-3 course because I wanted him to have some variety on the holes and keep him from getting bored with the game. Then it came to me – an executive course! It’s perfect! I have one right in town. It’s nine holes, none longer than 290 yards but much more variety than a par-3 course. But now the question is, when do we go? Again, I’m trying to avoid slowing down all the golfers around us.

Fortunately, he’s not only a pretty good athlete, he’s also a pretty good student. So after receiving honors at school for the second time this year, I used that to reward him with a day off during the week and a round of golf. His mother wasn’t too happy about him missing a day of school for golf, but I explained that I’m taking him out no matter what. I told her the choices were either we golf or go to the “gentleman’s club.” OK, before anyone freaks out, that’s just a joke. So Friday morning around 11:00, we teed off for the first time.

Photo by Chris Chirico
Photo by Chris Chirico

His opening drive, of course, slices directly into the parallel fairway. We laugh it off and I tell him not to let it bother him – I promised he’ll get to see me do that a few times today also. And I delivered on my promise.

It was amazing to see him progress from hole #1 to hole #9. It was like he was improving right before my eyes. By the time we hit the seventh, his slice was almost gone! There wasn’t much distance to his shots, but they were pretty straight for the most part. His putting left something to be desired, but there’s plenty of time to work on that.

As the round went on, I made sure to teach him not only the rules of the game, but the unwritten rules of etiquette as well. Not wanting to overwhelm him, I tried to fill him in on as we moved along. Simple things like staying quiet during someones swing, not stepping in someones line, etc…

By the end of the round it was clear this is another sport at which, if he sticks with it, he will excel also. Obviously, I gave him some mulligans and didn’t count a drop here and there. But nevertheless his final score, not that it matters, wasn’t too bad. He even managed to beat me on the eighth hole!

The best part about seeing him play, for me anyway, was that he never took it too serious. He didn’t get upset with himself after a bad shot and he didn’t let a bad shot affect his next one. He smiled and laughed throughout the round. He played the game exactly as you would expect a kid to play it, while still trying to do well. As a matter of fact, the most serious I saw him the entire day was when I let him drive the cart for two holes!

We wrapped the day up by talking about the round over a large pizza and a few sodas. We both looked forward to playing again and will certainly do so for, hopefully, many more summers to come. Although, I did let him know, I’m not always going to be easy on him. Mulligans, believe it or not, aren’t an actual part of the game.

Truth is though, I’m going to have to be hard on him to keep him from beating me soon. But something tells me there’s not much I’m going to be able to do about that.

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