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Bubba Watson Plays With His Pink Shaft

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800px-Bubba_Watson_at_the_2011_Presidents_Cup_1
Bubba playing with his pink shaft… (photo by Hone Morihana / CC BY 2.0)

…and if you shell out 4 Benjamins so can you. Well, not his pink shaft…you know what I mean, dammit! What is all the hoopla about Bubba’s pink club? Leave him be if he wants to express himself. What? Oh, it’s for charity. Well, that explains it. Boy, do I feel silly.

Seriously, if you haven’t been following or heard, Bubba Watson has started a charity project called Drive to a Million. It’s an effort to raise a million dollars for various charities. Along with his Drive to a Million campaign, Ping and Mr. Watson have also initiated Bubba Long In Pink. Driven By Ping. The deal is that PING will donate $300 for the first 300 drives Bubba launches over 300 yards in 2012 (obviously with his pink Ping driver) to his “Drive” campaign. Very cool! I’m liking the effort fellas.

Since we are discussing charities, I can’t forget to mention there are a bunch of other pro’s that are working hard to raise money and one great cause I personally like is Birdies For The Brave. As they put it:

Birdies for the Brave was originally created by TOUR player Phil Mickelson and his wife, Amy, to support troops injured during combat. For each birdie or eagle made by Phil throughout the season, a contribution of $100 for a birdie or $500 for an eagle is made to Homes For Our Troops and Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

Now, what the hell are you waiting for? Don’t be cheap and help out. It’s better to give then receive. Unless someone has a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO they want to give me. I apologize, that was selfish of me. I would gladly take a ’63 or ’64.

Hit’em long…yell FORE!!! Get involved.

Related posts:
Who are your Golf Heros?
A Charitable Arm of Golf
Bunkers In Baghdad: Golf Helps Troops Cope

Why Does Golf Need Tee It Forward?

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wet and rainy golf
Will Tee It Forward help put folks on the right tee box? (Photo by Greg D’Andrea)

So I’ve been doing a little reading up on this Tee It Forward thing and I’ve gotta tell ya…I wanted so bad to rip it apart.  All that would cross my mind was what pansies we were making out of people.  “Ooooh, the game’s too haaaard…I’m not having any fuuuunnnn…., waaaaa…., waaa….., waaaaa.”

Really, think about it.  What other sport gives you the option to make the game easier?  If basketball is too hard, do they lower the hoop for you?  If baseball is too hard, do they pitch slower?  Of course not!  But in golf, they tell people to just move up and play closer.

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!

How to Leverage Your “Honey Do” List for Golf

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Go about your to-do list the right way and you could play golf too!

It’s that time of year again! The days are getting longer; the flowers are blooming; and the temps are rising! You know what that means!

  • The garage needs cleaning
  • The attic needs organizing
  • The lawn needs mowing
  • The garden needs weeding
  • The steps need fixing
  • The fence needs mending
  • The shutters need painting

Yep, springtime isn’t only about golf – that “honey do” list has been growing since last fall. It’s a rather cruel twist of fate that we’ve been pent-up for the last several months, chomping at the bit to get out on the links and once we are able to; the rest of our life also realizes winter break is over too.

If you own a home and play golf, you know what I’m talking about. If you’re married; own a home; play golf; and your spouse doesn’t: You really know what I’m talking about.

If you live in a climate where golf is forced to have an off-season, you know the anticipation building up all winter long. In fact, the only thing on your mind in mid-January is probably golf. We go to the indoor range, but it’s not the same. Nope – nothing beats that first warm day out on a real course.

So come Spring, the first thing on your to-do list is put the clubs in the trunk and get out on the links. Unfortunately, golf isn’t the first thing on your spouse’s list. There are a plethora of other chores on that list that I can assure you haven’t been thinking about. Thus, frustration ensues.

The problem with frustration is it inevitably turns into a fight. And when you’re married, you can fight over anything – especially if it’s something stupid (like organizing the attic).

But it’s possible to avoid the fight and still get to play golf. It’s simple: You use the to-do list as leverage to go play golf. Now don’t get me wrong – I don’t want you to barter for golf with chores. I want you to go about this wisely while keeping your spouse none-the-wiser.

The key is to accept the fact that you have things to do around the house and start on them right away. Be very transparent about the whole thing – for example, post the to-do list on the fridge and cross things off as you accomplish them. Do not, I repeat, do not rush out to the course and promise to finish everything when you get back (we both know that will never happen anyway). Instead, you must sacrifice golf now, to play more golf later.

On the first beautiful Saturday this Spring, don’t head to the course. You’re going to mention that your golfing buddies wanted you to play 18, but instead, you are going to wake up early and get going on that fence (or the garage, or whatever). Work hard at accomplishing this – spend all day if you have to. On Sunday, work on the attic – again, spend all day if necessary.

With two big tasks crossed off the list, gently remind your spouse during the week about how hard you worked on them and how great the garage, fence or attic looks now. Around Wednesday or Thursday, mention that your golfing buddies want to play 18 again this coming Saturday, but you’ll have to think about it since the shutters need painting.

Now here’s where you really get to know who you’re married to. A good spouse should say something like: “Oh don’t worry about it. You missed playing last week and worked so hard on the house, you should leave the shutters for next weekend and go play.” Then you’re in like Flynn. You know you’ll be able to play golf every other weekend as long as you spend some time being productive on the home front (and the tasks go faster if there’s incentive to play golf the following weekend).

Of course, if your spouse is a slave driver and takes issue with you playing any golf before the honey do list is completed, then you should suggest a compromise – you work on the list one weekend and play golf the next (which is the same result as above, except you didn’t have to negotiate anything there).

But if they’re adamant that you complete the list before golf can begin, then you may have to bite the bullet and get working. Or, you can always start looking for divorce lawyers and try a singles golfer network. As the old joke goes: “My wife said if I don’t quit golf, she’s going to divorce me…God I’m going to miss her.”

Stinky Golfer Greg has been married for 10 years and owns a home. Of course, in no way, shape or form does this make him qualified to be giving marital advice. As such, his views and opinions do not necessarily reflect those of GolfStinks.com – unless your significant other won’t let you play golf at all…in which case we say divorce is probably inevitable.

5 Reasons They Quit Golf

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Golf Hole From Hell
Sometimes they all feel this way… (photo by Greg D’Andrea)

As much as I love this game, there was a time when I thought about giving it up.

Even though I snapped-out-of-it and rediscovered my passion for golf, others don’t. Why?

Golf is too Hard
Perhaps the most common reason is that golf is simply too hard. But is it too hard or are they just too lazy? Last year, I penned a guest post for a popular golf blog in which I asked if we’re too lazy to get better at golf. Here’s an excerpt:

Practice makes perfect…Or so the saying goes. What that little phrase fails to articulate is how much practice it actually takes to make things perfect. Throw in an impossibly difficult sport like golf and attaining perfection becomes perfectly ridiculous. Now don’t get me wrong, there are a select few who not only have the raw talent to be great at golf, but also have the drive to spend countless hours on the range or putting green practicing…But I’m not one of them. And I surmise not many of you are either. As far as I’m concerned: I’m just too lazy to work that hard at something I’m never going to make a living at in the first place.

Yeah, golf is hard. And some people have the guts to deal with that reality and enjoy golf anyway, while others don’t.

They Hate Golf
So they tried it and hated it – meh, it happens. But how could you possibly hate a game as great as this? Well, I wrote about that also – in fact, I provided 5 reasons why people hate golf. Enjoy.

A Serious Injury
Let’s face it, you would have to be in a good amount of pain to give up on a sport like golf, but it happens. Be it your back, or knees, or in my case, my foot knocked me out for a couple months – there are reasons people are forced to give up this game. Sometimes the pain makes quitting unavoidable, but other times, it can be downright inspirational. And how a returning Vet who lost a leg can take up golf is both inspirational and remarkable. Makes my foot pain look rather pathetic, actually.

They Stink
This is different than golf being too hard. When people quit because the game is too hard, it’s typically because they’ve recently started playing and realize they don’t have the time or patience to get better. But when people quit because they stink, it’s typically because they are pompous asses.

For example, do you know a golf buddy who can’t stand it that you win all the time? You know – they guy who makes everything a competition, but get him out on the golf course and he’s less than stellar? Not being able to live with the fact that he’s not as good as you at something, he quits golf never to return. Now there’s a guy that takes himself way too seriously – and believe me, those people are out there!

They Lose the Will to Golf
What? Well, if you were reading this blog a couple months ago, you would know all about losing the will to golf. When we dig way down into our psyche, we realize that passions can, for one reason or another, simply burn out. There can be several causes for this. In my case, an extended lack in playing time, coupled with a shift in priorities, triggered the feeling that golf was no longer an important part of my life. While I have since come to my senses, I’m sure there are others (perhaps those who were never really passionate about the game in the first place) who will simply walk away from the sport because golf just doesn’t matter all that much.

I certainly hope you never quit golf – especially because you stink, or because it’s too hard. If we writers of the Golf Stinks Blog accomplish anything, it’s to convey you don’t have to be good at something to love it. And I certainly hope you aren’t forced to give it up due to an injury or perhaps worse, lose the will to play altogether. It’s true that golf is not for everyone…but if you love it, you know what keeps you coming back.

What To Do With Your Crappy Golf Gifts?

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It happens every Christmas without fail…Someone (typically a non-golfer) will give me a crappy, useless golf gift that will just clutter-up my attic. Oh, they mean well, but they should know better.

“But my co-worker (or neighbor, or cousin or concubine) loves golf. Why shouldn’t I buy them that little desktop golfer figurine with the plaid pants?”

I think the answer is obvious: Because regardless of if they like golf or not, a little golfer figurine for your office is just plain stupid.

For me, this past holiday was no different (see photo below).

golf bag telephone

Yes, that is what it looks like: A golf bag telephone. Let me restate that: A foot and a half tall golf bag telephone. OK, I know what you’re thinking; It’s the thought that counts.

But seriously, where am I supposed to put that thing? First off, I don’t even have a home phone line, so actually using it is out. Secondly, even if I could use it, there’d be no space left on my desk to do any work!

So what should I do with it? Is there a place you can send all your kitsch to have it recycled? If only.

I ran across a mommy blogger complaining about holiday tchotchkes she received as gifts and one commenter suggested to donate the stuff to Goodwill. That’s actually not a bad idea – I’ll bet someone will get excited over this thing.

Of course, there are a plethora of golfers who read this blog. Perhaps one of you can use this to complete that golf-themed den you’ve been working on for the past 10 years?

So here’s the deal: Email me at greg@golfstinks.com if you want this phone (include your snail mail address)! If I get multiple requests (doubtful, but you never know) then I’ll randomly choose someone. If I don’t get any requests (entirely plausible), then it’s off to the Goodwill.

Upon which, one of my crazy aunts will probably stumble across it, buy it and re-gift it to me for next Christmas.

A few notes on this phone: It didn’t come in a box, so there are no instructions. And since I don’t have a landline, I haven’t actually checked that it works. It seems to be in rather good condition though. Hey, what do you want for free?

**UPDATE! Congrats to Pat from New York – he was one of several people (believe it or not) interested in owning the golf bag telephone! According to Pat, the phone is going to reside in his “downstairs recreation area.” Enjoy it Pat – obviously you’ll get more use out of it than I would have!**

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