GolfStinks

A Golf Blog for the Rest of Us!

  • Home
  • About
  • Most Popular
  • Categories
    • Stinky Golfer Paradise
    • Golf Life
    • The Pro Tours
    • Reviews
    • The Economics of Golf
    • Golf Growth & Diversity
    • Health & Environment
    • Golf Destinations
  • Golf Terms
  • Newsletter

A Quick Round of Golf – The Ultimate Oxymoron

February 18, 2013 | By Chris Chirico | 5 Comments

When you ask golfers what is their biggest pet peeve about the game, there’s a good chance the most common response is going to be the pace of play.  It seems everyone is in a hurry to get their round over with, like they don’t have the time to be playing the game right from the start.  What’s that all about?  If you don’t have the time to play the game, maybe you should consider something else…or playing only nine holes instead.

Don’t get me wrong, I get frustrated when a group in front of mine is intentionally slow and has no golf etiquette whatsoever.  But it’s certainly not enough to ruin my day.  After all, I’m exactly where I want to be…on a golf course.  I’m doing what I want to do…playing golf.  I’ve waited through a long week at work to have the chance to be out here on a Saturday or Sunday morning.  I’m in no hurry to leave.  But I must be in the minority.

Think about how long it takes to play a round of golf.  We’re looking at 4 1/2 hours, give or take, right off the bat.  Compare that to some of the other sports you watch on TV.  That’s almost two full basketball games and easily a game-and-a-half of football or baseball…including commercials!  So we’re talking about a slow moving, time consuming game to begin with.  Knowing that going in…what gives you the right to complain?  It seems like you should have planned your time better.  Then consider that the skill level of most golfers out on the public links is…well…sub-par.  So naturally, that’s going to slow the game down even further for everyone.

Being that I am one of those sub-par golfers, I do want to say that while my lazy approach to the game does slow my round down, I do certainly know the difference between poor play and slow play.  If I’m moving too slowly, I’m more than happy to let the group behind me play through.  As I said, I’m in no hurry.  But sadly, in this rush-rush society in which we live, few people take the time to slow down and enjoy the good things for a while.  There’s always some place else they have to be.  Always time constraints.  Never enough time to dedicate to something they enjoy.  And they get stressed out over an additional 20-30 minutes for their round.  They’re taking part of the enjoyment out of the game.

Not me.  See, I don’t get to play golf as often as I would like.  So when I have the chance, I do the best I can to dedicate that time to golf and the activities surrounding a day of golf.  I’m not trying to get out there and rush through my round so I can jump back in my car and hurry off somewhere else.  Instead, I want to enjoy my time outdoors, relax, sit down after the round with a beer and burger and just enjoy hanging out with my friends.  I think too many people take the time for granted and just try to squeeze too much onto their plates.  Consequently, they get stressed out during their round because someone else is not moving as quickly as they would like them to move.  These are the same people that leave their house in order to be somewhere at a certain time and don’t account for traffic and red lights.

Why not try this – The next time you plan to go out and play 18, don’t make any other plans for that day.  Go into the round relaxed, knowing you don’t have anything else to do and nowhere else to be.  Your only post-round commitment is to hit the 19th hole for a bite to eat and a couple of brews with your pals.  See how much more enjoyable your round is.  See how much less stressful the game becomes.  See how much more fun and relaxing the entire day will be.  Trust me, just give yourself less to do and you’ll thank yourself at the end of the day.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 19th hole, golf course, golf stinks, golfstinks, pace of play, round of golf, slow play

Every Golf Tournament Could Be An All-Star Game

January 28, 2013 | By Chris Chirico | 5 Comments

So we all know by now that the NFL’s Pro Bowl has become more of a side-show than an actual competitive game.  Defenses haven’t really shown up since 1998.  Star players opt out.  Super Bowl players don’t participate.  The rules are changed to make the game “safer.”  It’s a sham really.  It’s bad football, but it’s still football nonetheless, so I usually watch.

Like any all-star game in any sport, the potential is there.  It has the chance to be such a great game!  How could a game featuring all of the league’s best players at their respective positions not be fantastic if played as hard as the game should be played?  But with the risk of injury, the changes in rules and lazy play, it becomes just the exhibition game that it actually is.  But all of the pieces are there…it’s just missing that meaningful game feel.

But this is an area where the PGA Tour has a leg up on every other major sport.  They have the ability to put together an “all-star” lineup at every tournament if they would simply shake-up their tournament schedule a bit. 

I’ve said it several times before, but the PGA Tour needs a real championship at the end of their season.  Enough of the money leader.  Enough of the ranking system that no one understands.  The players need to battle it out on the course.  And if there was a smaller, more streamlined schedule in which players were required to play in order to qualify for the championship, then every required tour stop would result in a star-studded field.  If this was the case you’d have to imagine the TV ratings would rise, as would the gate.   

But you can’t expect every player to play all of the tournaments, right?  Of course not.  Only a certain amount of the stops would be required – maybe in the 15-20 area.  The rest would be their choice to play either for a shot at the purse, the chance to make some more money or just to keep the competitive juices flowing.  But certain stops would be required to qualify.  Play all of the required stops and you play in the championship.

The point is, the PGA Tour has the ability to field an all-star game every time out.  What if every meaningful tournament featured all of the top players on the tour?  No one skipping out on tournaments because if they did, they wouldn’t qualify for the championship.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t watch golf on TV very much…but an idea like this would certainly get me more interested.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: all star game, football, golf stinks, golfstinks, nfl, PGA TOUR, PGA Tour oney leader, Pro Bowl, Super Bowl, TV Ratings

Do Great Golfers Make Great Instructors?

January 25, 2013 | By Pete Girotto | Leave a Comment

Here goes with the age old question. Do great athletes make great coaches? Well, I tend to believe that a majority of the great athletes might have some coaching ability because it’s still fresh in their minds but that’s about it. You see, very few people can excel and become great at one thing never mind two. Same goes for golf…or does it?

If you go to your local track and want to take lessons, who’s the person that gives them? The course pro and there’s a high probability they are incredible golfers too. It’s funny because when I look on the side line of any other professional sport, I’m going to go ahead and guess that most of the coaches couldn’t perform at the level their players do. Nor could they have had done so in their prime.

Here’s something even better, certified golf pro’s battle it out on two fronts. The first being they need to keep their skills honed and scores low and secondly, they go through a few years of certification training to teach plus continue with refresher courses. A lot easier said than done but the proof is definitely in the pudding. How many NFL coaches do you know of can do a sub 5 second 40 yard dash without keeling over? 

OK, I got a little carried away, I completely understand the physical requirements of an NFL player are much more demanding than a pro golfer’s. The point is that in order to teach someone how to golf, you’re most likely great at it. And “it” meaning teaching and golf! So, make sure you support your local track and golf pro!

Hit’em long…yell FORE!!! Be the ball, Danny…    

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: be the ball, golf, golf instructor, golf pro, nfl

Nike Golf’s Dynamic Duo Party Put On Hold

January 21, 2013 | By Chris Chirico | 2 Comments

If that picture to the left doesn’t speak for a look of frustration, then I don’t know what does.  It’s not that they’re in trouble, but let’s just say Nike’s new dynamic duo is off to a bad start.  After promoting Tiger and Rory leading up to their first tournament together as the brand’s stablemates, things couldn’t have possibly gone worse for Nike.  Once both were sent packing before the weekend, questions immediately began piling up.   

Now I know there are simply Nike-haters out there.  Many people call Nike bullies, say that they make an inferior product or that they charge too much money simply because they can, not because the product is worth it.  Those people have got to be laughing their butts off right now.  But it’s certainly a bit early to write them off, no?

I think Nike had a couple of ideas in bringing on Rory.  More than just signing the current top player as well as what should be considered the future face of the tour, I’m sure they also know that Tiger’s skills and dominance are certainly fading.  So now’s the perfect time to transition the face of Nike golf from Tiger to Rory.  Tiger put Nike Golf on the map, and now it will be Rory’s job to keep it there.  In the meantime, while Tiger is still one of the top players, why not get the most out of both of them while they can?  But when both fail to make the cut in their first tournament, one can see how many would begin to question the Nike product, especially when Rory has already supposedly tossed aside the Nike putter and gone back to his old one.

But one tournament is certainly not enough to judge anything.  It’s not like either of them hasn’t missed a cut before.  And they certainly will miss more.  It’s simply the timing and the fact that they both missed the cut in the same tournament.  So what do you say we give them a little more time.  But if this somehow becomes a pattern, then you can start to say that something is wrong at Nike. 

Swing ’til you’re happy!             

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: golf stinks, golf tournament, golfstinks, Nike Golf, rory mcilroy, tiger woods

ScoreBand Scores!

January 18, 2013 | By Pete Girotto | 2 Comments

As always, we are on the look out for interesting stuff that is golf related. With that in mind, we want to thank the great bunch of folks over at ScoreBand for hooking us up with their new score keeper watch. So what is this watch I speak of? Well, for starters it won Best Product Concept at the PGA Merchandise Show presented by the United Inventors Association. Not too shabby.

I do have to say that when I received this watch I was impressed with the quality. I’ve had another similar watch that definitely wasn’t up to par (pun intended) with this one. Also, after wearing it all week I can appreciate the light weight.

What about the score keeping? Glad you asked! There is an “Allscore” mode, which lets you keep track of just about any score and it just so happened to come in handy during a recent indoor soccer game. There’s the “Golf” mode which keeps track of your hole and round score and, might I add, was a hell of a lot easier than imagined. Finally, the “Tennis” mode. Although I have yet to use this function in a match, I still played with the buttons in tennis mode and just as expected, it was very easy.

My advice to you is to grab one of these. They make great gifts too! Speaking of gifts, it wouldn’t be right if we reviewed something and didn’t offer a chance to win a free one. So…

Just head on over to our Facebook page and simply “Like” the post on our wall entitled; “Enter to win a FREE ScoreBand!” That’s it – we’ll pick one lucky winner at random!

Hit ’em long…yell FORE!!! Good Luck.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: golf, PGA, score band, scoreband, soccer, tennis, United Inventors Association, watch

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • …
  • 54
  • Next Page »

Awards

Badges Badges Badges Best Mens Blogs Badges

Advertisements

GPI


 


Archives – Read all 1,000+ GolfStinks Posts!

Blogroll

  • Aussie Golfer
  • Black Girls Golf
  • Devil Ball Golf
  • Front9Back9 Golf Blog
  • Geoff Shackelford
  • Golf Blogger
  • Golf For Beginners
  • Golf Gear Geeks
  • Golf Girl's Diary
  • Golf News Net (GNN)
  • Golf Refugees
  • Golf State of Mind
  • Golfgal
  • My Daily Slice of Golf
  • Pillars of Golf
  • Ruthless Golf
  • The Breakfast Ball
  • The Grateful Golfer
  • UniqueGolfGears.com

Questions / Advertise

info@golfstinks.com

Disclaimers

See here

Privacy Policy

See here

Copyright © 2009-2024 GolfStinks.com - All rights reserved.