GolfStinks

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Take Your Golf Life Back

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Feel like you went nowhere this golf season?
Feel like your game went nowhere this golf season? (photo by Greg D’Andrea)

Let me start by saying, I love playing golf.  We all do.  If not, we wouldn’t be here, reading this right now.  But year in and year out, my golf experience seems to get worse and worse.  Now, that doesn’t mean for a second that I enjoy golf any less.  It’s just the experience surrounding it that gets worse.  What do I mean?  Well, let me give you a few examples:

  1. I didn’t get any better – Despite a little extra time at the driving range and a little extra work on my swing while at home over the off-season, it translated to exactly nothing.  Luckily, I don’t play golf to be a pro – I play for fun.  But when you put in the extra time and effort, you do hope it shows on the other side.  But….nope.  Ah, I guess that’s to be expected by now.
  2. I didn’t get to play with my usual golfing buddies…not once – Ever since I started playing, the other GolfStinks guys and I have played pretty regularly together.  But this season?  It just seems like life got in the way even more than normal.  I suppose the job, kids, life-changing events, etc.., they all force golf into the backseat.
  3. I barely played at all! – Talk about life getting in the way of golf.  I played exactly 18 holes of golf this season – two 9-hole rounds, both with my kids.  Not that I’m ever going to complain about playing with my kids, but I wanted to get out more often and get out with my regular golfing buddies.

Well, the one good thing that came out of this season is, after all these years, I’ve finally found the one thing about my golf game that is consistent – I continue to play less and less golf every year.  I mean, at this pace, I might as well just throw the clubs on Craigslist and call it a career.  Granted, the season isn’t quite over yet.  We played into November last year.  It wasn’t exactly pleasant, but we played.  So there are still a few potential weekends to go.  Otherwise, the only thing I can think of to potentially save this season is maybe a little golf trip to a warmer climate.  Hmm?

I’m sure it isn’t just us GolfStinks guys who have had their golf outings cut down significantly.  So what do you say stinky golfers?  I think we need to put life aside on occasion.  Skip out on a commitment you never wanted to make in the first place and go play golf like you wanted to begin with.  There have been times when I have called out of work sick or left early to go play golf.  Why did I stop that?  I think it’s time for all of us to make a shift in our thinking toward golf.  It’s time to take our golf life back.

Swing Like A Boss

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the swing boss
The Swing Boss training aid

It’s no secret that golf training aids are not really our thing here at GolfStinks.  Most of the products we see are more or less laughed off.  Let’s be honest, there are some absolutely ridiculous things out there that are passed off as “training aids.”  Things that attach to your body to make you look like some type of a cyborg.  Products that are so big that they are almost impossible to use indoors, even though that’s their intended use.  Or some products that you can see almost no benefit whatsoever.  We’ve seen it all at this point.

Some of the products we do appreciate though are along the lines of the simple stuff.  Products that aren’t confusing.  Things that are easy to use and don’t include an instruction book the size of your new car’s owners manual.  Contraptions that don’t require me to sign up for a yoga class in order to use.  Simple, easy to use and somewhat helpful is what we’re looking for.  One such product is The Swing Boss.  The Swing Boss fits all of the above criteria.  It’s essentially a miniature driving range mat, a couple of foam golf balls and some Velcro.  You can’t get much simpler than that, right?

In effect, The Swing Boss’ main purpose is to help you hit the sweet spot on your club and let you know when you’ve done so.  Everything else touted, to me anyway, is up for interpretation.  But it’s main purpose is executed very well.  By simply sticking one side of the Velcro to your club face and swinging at the foam ball with the other side of the Velcro already attached, the ball sticks to the face telling you exactly where your club struck the ball.  Hit it too close to the heel or toe of the club, it’ll tell you.  Hit it dead center, that’s where it sticks.  Mis-hit it, the ball doesn’t stick and instead slices off to harmlessly ricochet off your kitchen counter – no harm done.

All around, The Swing Boss is a useful tool for the sweet spot finder as noted above.  However, it’s also an ideal tool for working on your swing, particularly indoors during the off-season – like now.  It’s an alternative to spending the money at the driving range or indoor range, and being able to use it indoors during the cold winter months is just an added bonus.

You can purchase The Swing Boss HERE. But as always, GolfStinks doesn’t keep all the good stuff to ourselves…It’s the holidays after all!  So once again we have a product for one lucky winner to receive.  Just head on over to our Facebook page around 3pm EST today and like this post.  We’ll choose a random winner to receive their own Swing Boss – a $50 value.  Hey, who says it isn’t better to give than to receive?

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Do We Need The Winter As A Break From Golf?

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thLUKU0BZXToo much of a good thing.  We’ve all heard that expression.  But can golf be too much of a good thing?  Do we need that break from golf that the winter brings to us northern golfers?  I’m sure most of us would say no.  Most of us golfers would probably argue that they would prefer to golf year round with no break.  But for those of us who live up north, we are probably used to the time off and may use it productively or as that “break” we need from the sport we love.  Almost as if we need the time to miss it.

For instance, the idea of too much of a good thing can certainly mean that when you do something too often, it becomes more routine than enjoyable.  Is it possible to get golfed out?  Can you reach the point where you play golf too often that it could come to the point of no longer being as enjoyable as it once was?  Is it like having too much pizza?  Enter the golf off-season.  Take some time off.  Use the winter to work on a few things.  Give yourself something to look forward to…the next season.

Also, playing golf year round can get quite expensive.  The off-season break is also a break on your wallet.  Here in CT, you’re talking a good $45 or so on average for a round of golf.  Do that once a week and you’re shelling out roughly $900, give or take depending upon how long you can stretch the season based on the weather.  Now, for us golfers who are on somewhat of a budget (not all of us are rich, you know) $900 is not pocket change.  That $900 can be saved and in place, a few $10-$15 trips to the indoor range during the offseason can be had.

Look, I know I’m not fooling anyone.  If I could play golf more, I would.  We all probably would.  But I live in the northeast, and the reality here is there are four seasons – one of them is winter.  It can be brutally cold and the weather can be downright nasty.  There will be no golf at these times, no matter how bad we may want to play.  So I have to try to find the silver lining, right?

Swing ’til you’re happy!

The Youth Is Spreading The Word Of Golf

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Between this past Friday and Saturday, we had some unseasonably warm temperatures here in CT – upper 50’s, maybe even hit 60 on Saturday.  So, naturally, it brought up the golf conversation.  Staring outside through the kitchen window, I said to my oldest “If the ground wouldn’t be practically a mud bog, today would be a great day for golf.”  His reply?  “Yeah it would!”  Just as I had hoped.

However, it wasn’t just that reaction that I was excited about.  He had a friend stay the night and then asked him “Have you ever played golf?”  His friend replied that he had never tried.  So my kid starts to go on about how much fun it is, even if you’re not any good.  This is nice…he’s starting to sound like me.  He tells his friend that when the weather gets nicer, we should go to the range and have him try it out, then get him out on a course.

He then proceeds to explain to his friend how he’s gotten better and better over time and gives an example – he can no longer hit balls into the woods in the backyard.  OK, so I’m a little surprised by this…now I know why my golf balls are disappearing.  Curious now, I ask why.  And without hesitation to express concern that I now am aware of why I seem to be losing golf balls at an alarming rate, he answers “Because now I can reach the houses on the next street.  Well, maybe not when there’s leaves on the trees.”  My answer?  “Well, what do you say we don’t find out?”  I can tell from the look on his face that he gets what I’m saying…both about hitting a house and wasting my golf balls.

Despite this, I am encouraged.  I’m encouraged that he is learning to play the game the right way – by having fun.  Even thought he isn’t a great golfer, he has fun getting out there and playing.  I’m also encouraged that he is spreading the game to his friends and trying to get them to give it a shot as well.  This is reassurance that I am leading him down the right path with this sport.  And it also gives me hope that golf is still alive in the youth and may one day soon see a resurgence.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Dieting For Your Golf Game

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Eating right not only keeps you healthy, but it can help improve your golf game too!

In my opinion, one of the worst things in the world is dieting.  I can’t stand it.  I like eating…I like food…I like eating food.  And I’m not picky.  I like all different kinds of food.  I’ll eat almost anything that won’t eat me first.  But unfortunately, after a few years, my indulgence began to show.  I ballooned up to a weight that would have been OK if I was 6’4″.  However, being only about 5’8″, it was starting to not work for me.  When regular routine daily activities become a bit of a chore, things need to change.  So at that point I had to start teaching myself the old M-word…moderation.

Such a terrible word, moderation.  It sounds to me like a lack of fun.  Like giving up.  But at the same time, I don’t want to have to take a deep breath anymore after I tie my shoes.  Not too mention, the long-term health concerns involved with being overweight.  And so…the diet began.  Now, a few months later, I’m down 25 pounds and still going.  And naturally, I begin to wonder what the affect will be on my golf game.  Will the extra weight off help with my swing?  Will I be less worn out toward the end of the round?  But it’s January in Connecticut…can’t really test that out now.  But I can go to the range to see if the swing feels better…

So that’s where I head on an early Sunday afternoon.  And after just a few swings, I can already feel a difference.  My swing feels smoother and I feel like I have better balance.  Not too mention, I feel like I’m doing less work – like the swing just feels more natural.  I wonder if this is what my golf swing is supposed to feel like!  Granted, it’s only the driving range, but I would imagine this bodes well for the course a few months from now.  Of course, that gives me a few months to keep the diet going and get off even more of this unwanted weight.

So that’s what I plan on doing.  I’ll keep the weight coming off for my own health benefits as well as for the benefit of my golf game.  Will the experience at the driving range translate to the course?  Well, that remains to be seen.  But even if it doesn’t, the health benefits are the greater concern.  The golf game is simply a bonus.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

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