GolfStinks

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I Might Actually Watch Golf Again…

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A couple weeks back I watched a three way playoff between Haas, Mickelson and Bradley for the Northern Trust Open. This is the first time I watched golf on purpose in a long, long time. And for the first time in a long, long time I was enjoying golf on TV. Fast forward a week or so later and Stinky Golfer Chris posted about the PGA needing their own Jeremy Lin. I agree.

In the meantime, as we wait for a new star to emerge, I’m watching golf to see who will take over the throne. It’s exciting times in the pro golf universe. With all that negative hoopla the media was giving golf because Tiger couldn’t keep it in his pants, it’s actually refreshing to see a clean slate and a top spot yet to be filled. It’s all about turning the negatives into positives, right?

So, who’s it going to be? Let’s take a look at the top 5 in the FedExCup standings.
Rank
This
Week 		Rank
Last
Week 		Player Events Points # of Wins # of Top 10’s Points behind Lead Reset Points
1 1 Kyle Stanley 6 935 1 2

2 2 Johnson Wagner 6 860 1 3 75
3 3 Phil Mickelson 5 807 1 2 128
4 6 Mark Wilson 6 802 1 2 133
5 4 Bill Haas 6 752 1 2 183

Isn’t this a change of pace? Kyle Stanley leading the pack. Wait…who? Kyle Stanley? Not so bad for someone that is ranked 48th in the world. What about the #1 ranked golfer in the world, Luke Donald. Again…who? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking these guys. I find it funny how golf, or the media rather hasn’t found its star in this group of leaders.

What’s the issue? Are they waiting for Tiger to mount his comeback? Come on man! It’s time for new blood. There’s a whole pool of young guns worthy of the limelight. These guys have such a great opportunity right under their noses. As long as they battle it out and vie for that top spot, the tour will make my TV channel rotation on Sunday afternoons. I just hope it stays interesting for a while.

Hit’em long…yell FORE!!!

Anxious for the New Season? Attend a Golf Show!

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For many golfers in northern parts of the United States, this time of year can be the most frustrating. You can see the light at the end of a long, cold, off season, but mid-April never seems to arrive fast enough.

So to help cope with that last month or so before the new season starts, I recommend a trip to the closest golf expo. About a year ago, a few golf buddies and I attended the Connecticut Golf Show. This is where Stinky Golf Chris and I were first introduced to holographic balance wristbands.

While the bands were met with mixed reviews (Chris felt his helped, while I felt mine did not), it sure was fun talking (and dreaming) about how a little silicon wristband could help your golf game! That’s the thing with golf shows – there’s a treasure-trove of ideas for the upcoming season.

Let’s take golf balls for example; As you may know, I’m a bit of an eco-friendly guy. So when I spotted the Dr. Mulligan’s booth, I was intrigued. I’ve know about refurbished (or recycled) golf balls, but assumed they were not up to the quality of new balls. No so. I purchased two-dozen Nike One balls just on looks alone. At $20 a dozen, that was a steal. But what about the playability? Yep – that was up-to-snuff too. I couldn’t tell the difference between the used and new ones.

Another golf buddy purchased one of the magnetic wristbands at one booth, while we all stepped into the long-drive simulator. There was a long-putt contest where if you sunk it, you won a free round a golf (this year there’s a marshmallow chip shot contest); a row of hitting bays to test-out the latest gear; and a cigar booth that will supply your next tournament with not only cigars, but pretty ladies to sell them!

Of course, there are tons of golf resorts offering great deals on stay-and-play packages (and many had a raffle going for a free weekend). Even if you don’t win, it gets the travel juices flowing for this summer’s golf trip.

So don’t sit at home anxious to start the season, find a golf show near you to attend. And a show in a big city isn’t necessarily a better show either – for example, I’ve been to the NYC golf show (in Madison Square Garden) and it was rather pathetic compared to the one up here in Connecticut. Even the show up in Boston (New England Golf Expo), was on par with the one here in CT. So no need to travel far – the one closest to you should suffice in scratching that golf itch.

So while I probably won’t be out on the links yet in March, I am excited about attending the golf show – hey, the 30 bucks I save on balls will make up for the $30 I blow on another golf gimmick!

Golf Needs Jeremy Lin

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Well, if you haven’t figured it out by now, it’s official.  Linsanity is running wild throughout the basketball world.  Actually, make that the whole world.  Being a basketball fan, I’ve been sucked in.  And why shouldn’t I be?  Here’s an Ivy League kid who wasn’t offered a scholarship by any school, went undrafted and signed as a free agent with the Golden State Warriors, was then cut by two teams before signing with the Knicks.  And supposedly was about to be cut by them if not for injury problems on their roster.

But then one game comes along and he outplays an all-star.  He starts the next game, lights it up and his coach decides he’s going to “ride Lin like freakin’ Secretariat.”  No looking back since then.  Eleven straight good, if not great, games and a star is born. 

But it’s not only Lin or the Knicks who are benefiting from this new-found stardom.  TV ratings for the Knicks are up.  Ticket prices have risen.  The international fanbase is growing again.  Hell, even stock prices for Madison Square Garden are up about six percent!  The NBA couldn’t have made-up a better story!

Now, I’m not really one for the “manufactured” story, but creating a Jeremy Lin may be something the PGA wants to look into.  I mean, why not?  Look at what it’s done for the NBA!  And coming off of a lockout, it couldn’t have happened at a better time. 

With golf’s TV ratings as low as they are, the sport’s biggest star clearly not what he once was and overall interest in the game falling every year, golf needs a knight in shining armor.  Think sixteen years ago to 1996 when Tiger first came on the scene prefessionally.  That’s what golf needs now in 2012. 

So who will it be?  Who knows?  How about they start with the next relatively unknown player to finish high in a tournament?  Remember, he doesn’t have to be a great player, or even a player who will compete for the win in every tournament.  It just has to be a player that everyone can get behind.  Lin is not a top-ten player.  He’s probably not even a top ten player at his own position, he’s just on a serious hot streak.  But that’s not what matters to fans.  First and foremost, it’s the story that matters. 

The beauty of competitive golf is that not alot of strokes separate the best 18-hole round from someone in the middle of the pack.  So taking a player and saying he finished only four strokes back might, in actuality, be a long way behind.  But it doesn’t sound like much, and that’s the key.  Losing by four makes you sound like you had a good shot down the stretch.  Play that out and hope.  And you never know, maybe you catch lightning in a bottle!

Well, I don’t know if this makes any sense really.  Just looking for ideas to help as usual.  Besides, who would you start with?  How about John Huh?  Who?  Exactly.  Some of you may know him now, after yesterday.  But you didn’t know him two days ago, did you?  Only the hardest of the hardcore golf fans did. 
 
This is a chance for the PGA to jump on it’s own Jeremy Lin-like hype.  You see what it’s done for the NBA.  Why can’t it do the same for the PGA?  It has to start somewhere.  Here’s as good an opportunity as any.

Swing ’til you’re happy!                   

Golfstinks.com Open Book Quiz

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As you probably already know, golfstinks.com is very proud of it’s glossary. So proud in fact we really enjoy sharing it with our readers. That said, let’s test your knowledge on what we have worked so hard at compiling and creating for you.

All you have to do is guess the correct glossary entry. We provide the definition you provide the right golfstinks.com glossary term. It’s as simple as that. Now, as the title invokes, this is an open book test. Well, more of an open internet test. Feel free to use whatever means necessary to get the right answer. In other words…cheat, you do it on the course anyway.

Submit your answers to info@golfstinks.com and we will randomly select a reader with the correct answers. The winner will get a Golf Genie Practice Drills Pocket Guide! A $15 dollar value!

Let’s get started:

1. when the score one puts down is somehow mysteriously lower than what they actually got (can be applied to either one particular hole or to an entire round).

2. a golf course where the holes are so close together and/or the players so bad, you’re always ducking for cover from stray golf balls.

3. while putting, when the ball circles the hole before dropping into the cup.

4. the act of hitting the ball to the extreme left and then hitting it to the extreme right on the very next shot, especially if the act is done several times in unison (left, right, left, right, forward…march)!

5. the person (usually female) that drives the food cart around on a golf course to sell beer, water and snacks to the golfers.

Contest ends March 2, 2012. Good Luck!

If after this little exam you are inspired and feel you have a glossary suggestion worthy of our Average Joe Golf Glossary, submit the term and definition HERE. In the event we accept your entry and use it in our glossary, you will win a Golf Genie Tee to Green Pocket Guide as well as go down in history as part of the coolest golf site!

Hit’em long…yell FORE!

The Male Golfers Twist On Valentine’s Day

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Hey ladies, Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. Time to get out and grab those last minute gifts with which to shower your man!

Now that sounds a little out of the ordinary, right? As a matter of fact, it sounds downright ridiculous. We all know that Valentine’s Day is a holiday for women. It’s been marketed that way for as long as any of us can remember. Don’t get me wrong, men are acknowledged on Valentine’s Day, but not nearly to the extent of women.

But I’d like to do something about that. We men would like to get gifts as well! Valentine’s Day is supposed to be shared. Well, let’s share evenly then!

For instance, a card. Receiving a card is very important to a woman – trust me, I’ve learned the hard way. Well guess what…men like cards as well. So ladies, why not pickup a card to exchange with your husband? Why not start with this one?  The Players Pass card is a card that can be used all year, not just put up on your mantle for a few days.  Sounds like a nice gift, right?  Well I’m not done yet…

What about a cute little stuffed animal?  These are always popular with the ladies.  But you know what?  Men like cute little stuffed animals as well.  But instead of cuddling with them, we prefer to stick our golf clubs up their rear-ends. 

Cute right? Don’t you think you’re man would appreciate this as well? 

Moving on to some other popular Valentine’s gifts – how about flowers?  Believe it or not, men like flowers just about as much as women do.  The only difference being that men prefer the setting in which the flower lie rather than simply the flowers themselves.  See, women will put the flowers in a lovely vase and proudly display them on a table, shelf or whatever.  Men on the other hand prefer to view the flowers in a setting such as this:

Again, it’s not just the flowers.  It’s the setting that comes with the flowers.  And guess what – a round of golf on a nice course can cost just as much as that dozen roses that will be dead in a few days.

But the granddaddy of all Valentine’s gifts is, of course, jewelry.  The onslaught of television commercials can be mind-numbing. And drilled into our heads is the mindset that woman’s best friend is a diamond (while man’s is a dog).  But let’s not forget that men like diamonds as well.  While a woman’s diamonds may be displayed hanging from her earlobes, around her neck or draped across her wrist, a golfing man’s diamond may look a little different.  No, I’m not talking about Pure Spin golf clubs.  I’m talking about a certain little Turkish diamond – specifically Cornelia Diamond Golf Resort & Spa.

Now doesn’t that look like a couples resort?  It’s beautiful, luxurious and exotic.  I can’t think of a better place for couples to do things on their own together!  “I’ll play golf, you go to the spa!”  It’s perfect!

So there you have it.  A little twist on Valentine’s Day.  A way to make it more of a couples holiday than just a women’s holiday.  OK, so it’s not perfect.  I left out chocolate.  But hey, it’s an imperfect holiday.  I’m just trying to add a bit of balance.   

Swing ’til you’re happy!

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