executive course Archives • GolfStinks

An Entirely New Approach To Executive-Style Golf Courses

September 13, 2016 | By Greg D'Andrea | 4 Comments

Can the Pointfive ball change the future of golf? (photo by Greg D’Andrea)

The time it takes to play a round of golf these days is borderline ridiculous. In many cases, five hours is the norm (sometimes 6) and that just doesn’t fit into the 21st-century lifestyle. But one company, Pointfive is trying to help. You see Pointfive has concluded that in order to speed-up play, you should play a shorter-length golf course.

Recently, I’ve written about playing a 12-hole course to help hasten your round. But Pointfive is referring to golf courses of more the “par 3” or “executive” variety. Unfortunately, the thought of an executive-style course doesn’t really appeal to me. And if I had to guess, it doesn’t really appeal to many others either.

One major issue with these types of courses is you can’t hit all your clubs – especially your driver. Limiting the number of clubs you can use tends to diminish the game for many golfers – myself included. But this is where Pointfive comes to the rescue.

Pointfive manufactures limited distance golf balls. In fact, these balls travel just 60 percent of what normal balls travel. That may not sound like much, but on an executive-style golf course, it brings your entire bag of clubs back into play.

Pointfive adds a twist to the golf ball sleeve (photo by Greg D'Andrea) — Pointfive adds a new twist to the golf ball sleeve (photo by Greg D’Andrea)

The good folks at Pointfive sent me two free sleeves of their Hy-Flyte golf balls and I put them to the test this past weekend on a local executive 9. Now these are 1-piece balls that actually float, so they are a bit lighter than your typical golf balls. As such, my first inclination was to test them on the putting green, but I noticed no notable difference – their roll and lag was like that of normal balls.

Moving on, the first hole was a 100-yard par 3 – a distance where I would typically hit my 56-degree wedge (sand wedge). But with the Hy-Flyte ball, I hit my 7-iron and was nearly pin-high. My 7-iron averages around 160 yards, so in this case, the 60 percent distance of these balls is fairly accurate.

There were also a few holes on this course around 300-yards long. In each case, I hit driver off the tee and landed around 110-yards from the center of the green. This would put my driving distance at around 155 yards (normally I’m about 260 with the big dog). Again, this holds true to the 60 percent distance of these balls. In addition, the flight pattern and trajectory seemed mostly on par with what I would expect to see.

By the end of my round, I knew these golf balls would entice me to play more executive-style courses in the future. The Hy-Flyte balls truly gave me back my entire set of clubs on a course where that normally wouldn’t be the case. What’s more, I felt satisfied despite finishing in just under 2 hours flat (even with a wait on most tee-boxes).

Admittedly, it was a bit strange hitting a 7-iron from around 100 yards out – at least initially anyway. And if you are a newbie where most tee-shots are flubs, it might be best to play regular balls – after all, you need all the distance you can get!

But for those in search of a quicker round, yet reluctant to play a par 3 or executive-style golf course, these balls just might be the solution.

What’s interesting is Pointfive also highlights the economic and environmental impact of their golf ball. On their website, the company points-out that with increased popularity of their ball, there will be demand for a new generation of golf course. One that is 60 percent scale and “requires minimal water and chemical usage; are much more affordable to build, maintain and play; and require only 40-70 acres of land.”

Can one ball drive the golf industry to thinking on a smaller-scale? It might be a stretch, but I believe everyone understands the game needs to get quicker, cheaper and more environmentally friendly. Let’s face it, the majority of us are recreational golfers and we are certainly looking for quicker and cheaper rounds. Hey, crazier things have been proposed (giant holes anyone)…

For the here and now, Pointfive’s Hy-Flyte golf ball will allow you to play shorter-length courses with a full-length course experience. Your options for golf on a tight schedule just got a whole lot better. And for me, that’s innovation enough.

Five Ways To Have More Fun On The Golf Course

August 18, 2015 | By Chris Chirico | 3 Comments

As a golfer, I know how the game can look to a non-golfer: Boring. I’ve heard it time and again from my non-golfing friends. They wonder how I can chase a little ball around the course all day. Of course, they’re just watching the game on TV. Hey, I’m bored by that also. I don’t watch golf on TV either. I’d rather just go out and play myself. But what if you are a golfer and the game seems to be getting a little stale to you? Maybe you need a few things to spice your game up a bit. Why not give a couple of these a try?

1. Put a little money on it – Nothing makes a game a little more interesting than a friendly wager. Maybe you throw down a few bucks on the round? Maybe you’re feeling a little more daring and you go a few bucks per hole? Maybe not…so you play instead for a round at the 19th hole. No matter what you play for, there’s no questions that a golf bet makes your round much more interesting.

2. Play a game other than your normal 9 or 18 – Most of us golfers go out and simply play our normal game with routine scoring. Is that getting a little tired? Especially if one guy in your regular foursome is constantly beating the rest of you? Try a little something different – play a different game. How about a skins game? Or maybe you could play a round of best ball? Maybe you just want to stick to your regular game, but your tired of your buddy wiping the floor with the rest of your foursome. Why not take your handicap into account? After all, getting beat every time you play can certainly suck the wind out of your sails. Leveling the playing field a bit certainly makes the game more fun for all.

3. Ride the new guy – Call me a jerk, but I find it quite entertaining to poke a little fun at the new guy as he stumbles through his first time doing, well.., just about anything really. So why not incorporate that into your round? Think about it – you’ll be doing the game a service by introducing it to someone new. But at the same time, you’ll be laughing your way through the round as your new golfing buddy learns the rules, both of the game and of etiquette. He or she will leave their bag on the wrong side of the green, forget their putter in the cart or have to play the rest of the hole with their pants around their ankles for not reaching the women’s tee on their drive. OK….maybe not that one or your round might be over much earlier than anticipated. But you get what I mean…

4. Leave some clubs in the trunk – Want to try a little something different out there? Play with only half of your clubs. It’s a little something my stinky golfing buddies and I have tried a couple of times. Granted, it’s a game better suited for a short or executive course, but fun nonetheless. Choose either five or seven clubs, plus your putter, and see what you can do. The fun starts when you have to decide which clubs you choose to exclude. Wait until you get to that first time you would use your six-iron, only to find out you didn’t bring it along. Fun? Well, I can understand how that might be questionable. Good luck!

5. Step outside of your comfort zone – Are you the type who plays the same course or two all the time? If so, then you are severely missing out. Half the fun of golf is the variety that it offers from course to course. Do you play a muni on a regular basis? Well once a year or so, go treat yourself to a higher-end course. Maybe go try out a par-3 or executive course. Ever play golf at night? Now there’s something different. In golf, different is fun!

Look, if you’re not on the course to have fun, then either you’re a PGA pro, or you’re doing it wrong. It’s become our mantra here at GolfStinks – Golf is a game, you should have fun playing it. If you take the game too seriously and get angry when you don’t play well, you need a change in your mindset. Let me help – The sooner you accept that you will never be a pro golfer, the sooner you will begin having fun. The sooner you accept that you stink at this game, the sooner you’ll have fun playing it. If you’re that type of golfer who gets angry at every poor shot, slams your club into the ground or tosses it into a lake…you need to rethink the reason you’re out there. Not only are you not having fun, but you’re ruining it for the people who are playing with you and around you.

Again, it’s a game. It should be fun. If it’s getting stale to you, then maybe you need to switch it up a bit. Put a little wager into your round. Play something other than your standard scoring. Introduce someone new to the game. In the end, just do what it takes to make sure you keep giving yourself a reason to be out on the course. And for crying out loud, have fun!

Thoughts on Executive & Par 3 Courses

July 2, 2014 | By Greg D'Andrea | 2 Comments

Do you play par 3 and executive golf courses? (photo by Greg D’Andrea)

I don’t really play executive (or par 3) courses. In fact, the last time I played one, it was 2007. I’ve been pretty forthcoming in the past about these length-challenged courses (see HERE), but perhaps I’ve sold them a little short (pardon the pun).

In these tough economic times and (perhaps more importantly) with slow play alarmingly rampant, perhaps we should revisit the idea of sneaking in a few rounds per year on a par-27 (or par-32) course. After all, they are cheaper to play and your round goes much faster.

Yet when I recently learned one of the nicer courses near me was all booked for the weekend, I declined their offer to play their new executive course instead. What gives?

Well, not being able to use your driver still bothers me. And even though par 3’s play into my strengths, I feel there still needs to be a nice mix of holes (especially with some par 5’s mixed in).

But I want to know what you think – and to that end, we have two polls for you below. First, tell us how often you play executive-style courses and then, tell us if you would be interested in playing them more frequently.

Hey, maybe we can kill two birds (slow play and price) with one stone here.

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Is Golf Etiquette More Important Than The Rules?

May 29, 2013 | By Chris Chirico | 2 Comments

Etiquette on the golf course is sorely needed... (photo by Greg D'Andrea) — Proper etiquette on the golf course is sorely needed… (photo by Greg D’Andrea)

We’ve all heard how we as golfers tolerate poor play, but not slow play. More so, we don’t do well with people who are downright deliberate. You know that group who just seems to act like they are the only people on the course? It’s absolute murder playing behind this group. It’s not often that I manage to stumble across a group like this, but this past weekend…I don’t know what I did to upset the golf gods, but whatever I did, it was serious.

One of my boys and I are home alone and he asks if we can go play golf. “Absolutely!” I reply. So we head to the course for a quick nine holes. But boy were we in for a surprise. The drive to the course was the quickest thing we would experience. It was this day that I ran into the worst group of golfers I have ever had the displeasure of playing behind. I’m not kidding when I say, it was at every hole that something was going on completely and totally against the unwritten rules of golf etiquette. Here’s a quick few highlights, or lowlights if you will:

#1. In hindsight, I could have saved myself the trouble right here. One of the group (a foursome) politely asked if I wanted to go ahead of them. But we weren’t quite ready yet. Plus, my kid is not exactly a great golfer and I thought we would be the ones holding them up. And I only saw two of their tee shots, both decent. So I thanked them, but declined their offer. Keep in mind now, I am playing at a nine hole executive course, we’re all in carts, and hole #1 is a short par-3. Almost 20 minutes later, we teed off. You see where this is going.

#2. Did I mention that there is no group in front of them? OK…we finished hole #1 and three of them had yet to tee off on #2. And even worse is, while we were still putting on #1, we had to duck as the soon to be familiar “FORE!!” was shouted from their tee-box. So what the hell were the other three doing up there the whole time? So when they were done, it takes them just as long to get moving because of how they parked their carts. The cart-path leading to #2 is a mini cul-de-sac. But rather than turn around so you can do the old “drop-and-drive.,” they pull in forward against the curb like they’re in the parking lot at the grocery store! So watching these four bumbling idiots put the cart in reverse and try to get out provided a bit of comic relief at least.

#3. Once again, we finish the hole and make our way to the next tee only to find that…again…they had just finished teeing off. But that’s not the worst of it. No…the worst was when they were off the green and standing on the next tee box as I made my approach. I put the ball to the left side of the green. An easy chip and I’m dancin’. But when I get to the green, my ball is nowhere to be found. Now I didn’t see it happen, but I’m absolutely positive that one of these schmucks picked up my ball. So I ask them if they’ve seen a Titleist 2. “No, sorry. Haven’t seen it.” So I take a drop and chip on. After we putt out, I turn around and look back, and behold…what do I see not three feet from where I chipped? Yup…you guessed it. My ball left behind as the Four Fore’s make their way down the fairway…or, into the neighboring one I should say.

#’s 4-7. This same type of nonsense pretty much continues throughout holes 4 through 7. All the usual crap going on by someone who’s never been taught the unwritten rules. Their cart is never in the right place. They don’t have the right club, so they have to run all the way back to their cart…and it’s cart-path only, so that’s not helping. They drive past one of the balls, so one of them has to get out of the cart to run back 50 yards to hit. They’re adding up their scores while still sitting by the green. Harassing each other when they’re teeing off. Just awful.

#8. As I sit in my cart, waiting for these people again, I watch as the last of the group tees off. One of the group, a female, sits in the passenger side of the forward cart while two guys are in the back cart. For no good reason, the driver of the back cart hits the gas and drills the rear of the forward cart! Are you kidding me? I hear the girl laughing as she ask “What are you doing?!” The guy in the rear cart who hit the gas says “I was just trying to let off the brake!” Why?! Your buddy is still teeing off! You’re not going anywhere yet, and even if you were…there’s a friggin’ cart directly in front of you!! By now, the foursome behind us has caught up. So I quickly take the time to explain who I’m playing behind so they don’t think it’s us holding up the process.

#9. Finally. Once again, we teed off, putted out and drove to the 9th, only to find that not one of them has even hit yet!! What on earth could they possibly have been doing all of this time! They finally hit after we arrive, and again, the foursome behind us catches up and they now get to witness the shenanigans first-hand. However, there is a silver-lining to this one. After losing his first ball in the trees and duck-hooking the next, my boy holes one out from about 60 yards! A great way to finish an awfully rough round!

The point here is obvious I think. I don’t care that all four of them were poor players. Very few of us are pros. But if you’re going to play the game, have some respect for the other players on the course. That’s what golf etiquette is all about – respect for the players on the course and respect for your playing partners. In my opinion, when it comes to golf, the rules of etiquette are more important than the rules of the game. Unless we’re in some type of competition, I could care less if you kick the ball a little to give yourself a better shot. I don’t care if you don’t count the miss on your nonchalant tap-in. And it doesn’t matter to me if you don’t take a stroke on your questionable drop. But when you’re just simply wasting my time…that’s a problem.

As I have said in the past, I’m not out there to sprint through my round. I take my time and enjoy myself. If you’re in a hurry, you’re playing the wrong sport. But, I know if I’m moving too slowly. I pay attention to what’s going on around me. This is something that needs to be taught to the younger generation. Teach them the “rules” before teaching them the rules. Because a twosome playing nine holes on an executive course in a cart should NEVER take three hours.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Is The Executive Golf Course Hurting My Game?

September 10, 2012 | By Chris Chirico | 2 Comments

Whenever I take my kids out to play some golf, we head over to the local executive course. Obviously, the length (or lack thereof) suits their games for the time being. Also, the convenience of the course is second to none. I haven’t yet had to make a tee-time. I just show up and get on. And the course has never been crowded anytime I’ve been there.

But in the few times I’ve played the executive course, I couldn’t help but notice one thing at the end of each round – my score. It’s just not good.

Now, to clarify, my score is never very good, no matter where I play outside of mini golf.  And I’m not talking about my score in relation to par. I’m talking about the actual number at the end of the round. The problem is, it’s right around what I would shoot for nine holes on a regular course. There’s something wrong with that, no?

You gotta figure, with a relatively easy and open layout, short holes and not much in the way of hazards, I should shoot pretty well here.  But it’s quite the opposite. So why is that? My thought is that I let the course get in my head.

Is that possible? Can a short, easy course take over my mind? Do I unconsciously try to play differently here? For instance, maybe I’m trying to reach that par-4 in one because, at an executive course, I can. Then, when I follow up my executive round with a real round, am I carrying my bad habits over? That could be the problem.

So what’s my solution? Do I have to stop golfing with my kids until they’re good enough to play a “real” course? Well that’s not going to happen. So my other option is to take back my mind. I have to learn that just because I can doesn’t mean I should. I guess that’s a lesson all golfers need to learn at some point.  How many times have I said to myself “Yeah, with a good shot, I can reach that green.” Well, that doesn’t always make it a good idea.

I just have to make sure I have the same mindset on both the executive course as well as the “real” course. Because if I don’t, before I know it, that awful score at the end of my round is going to be bested by my kids. And I’m not quite ready to deal with that yet.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

An Entirely New Approach To Executive-Style Golf Courses

Five Ways To Have More Fun On The Golf Course

Thoughts on Executive & Par 3 Courses

Is Golf Etiquette More Important Than The Rules?

Is The Executive Golf Course Hurting My Game?

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