GolfStinks

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What Should I Do With My Golf Off-Season?

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Playing golf last weekend was a rarity.  Not the playing golf part, but the last weekend part.  Playing golf that late in the year is something I’m not sure I’ve ever done.  But, after the thought had crossed my mind, it doesn’t look like there will be much chance of playing in December.  No, with the temps here in CT dropping into the 30’s and low 40’s on a regular basis now, my golf season appears to have come to an end.

So what to do now?  How do I still get my golf fix when I can’t get out on the course over the winter?  The Golf Channel sure as heck doesn’t cut it.  And I already broke my temperature barrier of 50 degrees last month.  I’m not going to drop it below 40.  So I guess I’ll have to find some other means.

I’ll start with planning a trip or two to the indoor facility.  What I like about the indoor place we go to is you can work on every part of your game.  I can work on putting, chipping, sand traps and irons.  Although I can work on my driving there as well, because there is no actual range I can’t see the finished result.  So it ends up being only a “feel” thing.  So for driving, I’ll have to hit the outdoor range.

Ah, the outdoor range in the winter.  It’s not as bad as it sounds.  There are overhead heaters at your tee area, so it’s only bad when the wind is whipping.  But at that point, you probably shouldn’t be there to begin with.  But I need to go because I need to see where the ball is winding up.  I can’t hit the ball only 20-25 yards and make sure it feels good.  I have to see if I sliced it, hooked it or put one straight out there.

But both of these options equate to nothing more than practice.  What if I wanted to actually play a round?  Well, maybe option number three should be an out-of-season golf trip.  Every golf trip I’ve taken has been during prime golf season.  I could save some money going in the off-season.  And really, I would only need to travel somewhere that the temperature is still in the 60’s to make me happy.  I don’t need to turn it into a lavish trip at some tropical resort.  I just need it to be a little warmer than CT this time of year.

Now that I think about it, maybe that’s the step I’m missing in the off-season.  I have to get out of the habit of simply practicing and travel somewhere to actually play!  No one wants to practice, but we all want to play.  It’s more motivating.  It’s more fun.  And damn it, it’s what I want to do.  So maybe now I’m going to turn more attention to playing rather than practicing.  After all, what am I practicing for really?  I stink.  I’m always going to stink.  At least I can have fun stinking.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

What Happens If Your Golf Group Breaks Up?

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Do you have that same group of golfers that you tend to golf with all the time?  I guess alot of us do.  The same group of friends meeting at the course for their regular round.  It just becomes second nature.  You get to the point where you always know who’s going to be there. 

My group is more like a threesome with the fourth being on somewhat of a rotation.  We check to see if one guy can join us, and if not we move on to the next guy. 

But now, it looks like there may be a bit of an interruption in our group.  It’s starting to look like there may be some relocating going on.  It looks like the regular group could be no more.  So what to do?  Do we just replace ’em and forget ’em?  Of course not!  Instead, where there is loss there is opportunity. 

See, my regular golf buddies and I like to try to squeeze in a golf trip once a year.  But that doesn’t always seem to happen.  Sometimes it’s just hard to get all of us on the same schedule.  Between jobs, families, commitments and such, there’s been several years where the trip just never came to fruition.  And recently, when we have gotten the opportunity, we’ve been relatively limited to a trip that was somewhat local.  But that could be coming to an end.

See, now that some golfing buddies may be moving to different locations around the country, I’m looking forward to some destination golf trips.  Obviously, I think we would start out with a trip to the new locations of our golfing buds.  But after that, who knows?  With our regular group now spread throughout the country, there’s no excuse for not traveling to destinations that we didn’t get to before.

Maybe we’d like to hit some of those fantastic Oregon courses that have been getting rave reviews for several years now.  Or maybe we’ll choose to head to Alabama and take a trip around the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.  Maybe we’ll finally make that trip to California for the iconic Pebble Beach trip.  Either way, the point being that when we’re spread out, all of us meeting in a central location seems to make sense. 

So as much as I would miss the guys when they’ve gone to other parts of the country, I’d also find the silver lining.  That being the chance to travel to different locations and spend some time with the guys who I had gotten used to playing this great sport with.  And that’s what it’s all about, right?  Spending time with your friends, playing the sport you love.  If a bit of travel is required, then so be it.  It’s well worth it.

Swing ’til you’re happy!               

That One Shot That Keeps You Coming Back to Golf

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We’ve all hit that shot in a round that makes up for the misery of the rest of the day, right?  You’re double and triple bogeying everything you do.  You’re three and four-putting constantly.  In the trap all day.  But then it happens.

You’re in a green-side bunker, on the wrong side of the green.  You’re buried pretty good and you can barely see the green from your position.  But you stroke it perfectly and it rolls up and drops right in the cup.  Now, it no longer matters what your scorecard looks like at the end of the day.  All that matters now is that perfectly stroked ball out of the trap.  And that, my friend, is why you will be back on the course next weekend.

Sometimes, it’s not a shot that will make you forget about only your terrible round.  It could be one that makes you forget your terrible all-around game!  For me, that shot came on my recent golf trip.  I hit an approach from about 70 yards out.  From my vantage point, I could only see the ball bounce once on the green.  But even though sight was lost, the sound of the ball hitting the pin could still be heard. 

Sure that I ricocheted off the pin to some unfavorable location, I began to search the rough for my ball when it was clearly no longer on the green.  It was then that Stinky Golfer Greg suggested to check the hole.  In my head, I begin laughing because the phrase “Do me a favor, check the hole” has been uttered countless times by Stinky Golfer Tom.  What’s funny about it is, most times, we’re all well-aware that the ball is not in the hole.  And in all the years I’ve been golfing with him, that question has never lead to us actually finding the ball in the hole!  But this time it was different.

One of our golfing buddies takes a walk over to the pin, looks down and exclaims “It’s in the hole!” while raising his fist in the air.  It was almost as if he had hit the shot himself!  And that was it.  That was my shot.  The one that will keep me coming back to golf.  My first eagle, and it was recorded with my golfing buddies at one of my favorite courses.  After that, it didn’t matter that I didn’t break 100 that round.  It didn’t matter that I recorded a 10 on another hole.  Hell no!  I got my first eagle! 

Even the next day, when we were out for another round of 18, that feeling was still there.  Once again, it didn’t matter that I recorded a 10 on one hole for the second day in a row.  It also didn’t matter, although it felt nice, that I played one of the better rounds I’ve ever played that day.  I was still riding that high from the day before.

But that’s what a great golf shot will do for you.  That one shot gives me the will to want to go out there and take a beating again.  That one shot gives me something to chase the next time I head out to the links.  Well, I’d be out on the course anyway.  But its funny how that one shot can make the pain of every other one just disappear.  One great shot in exchange for 100 of my usual?  Sign me up!

Swing ’til you’re happy!

A Golf Trip With The Guys

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Undoubtedly, one of a golfers favorite events of his golfing career is a golf trip with his buddies.  For too many of us, it’s an event that just doesn’t happen often enough, including for us here at Golfstinks.  But this past weekend, we finally made it back out on the road. 

OK, so we didn’t head to one of the typical golf getaways like Florida, California or Myrtle Beach.  Rather, we headed to Vermont.  Not exactly what most golfers would consider a “golfing mecca.” But that’s far from the point. 

See, the point is the getaway itself.  And between kids, wives, jobs, vacation time and previous commitments, trying to get a few guys on the same schedule is not the simplest of tasks.  So when taking a long vacation is not a possibility, simpler trips become necessity.

Necessity you say?  Well…yeah!  To me, a golf trip with your golfing pals is an absolute necessity.  The idea of traveling to a place you’ve never been to hit the links on a course you would normally never get to play is fun in itself.  But when you can combine a vacation with your friends and a few days worth of golf, it’s like taking that one day of golf you would play on a Saturday or Sunday that you wish would last longer, and stretching it out over a few days.  How could you go wrong?

Unfortunately, most people have the preconceived notion that a golf trip is too expensive.  But a bit of research and some planning at the right times can lead to some unbeatable deals.  For instance, our trip including 2 rounds of golf and two nights at a condo ran us well under $300 per person. 

What I’m getting at here is that a golf trip needs to be taken by any group of golfing friends.  Put just a little bit of effort in and an inexpensive golf trip could be much closer than expected.  If you’ve never taken a golf trip, or if it’s been a long time since you have, you’re doing yourself a disservice.  It’s time to hit the road, jump on a plane, do whatever!  Just get out there an go somewhere you’ve never been.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Ladies, Let Your Man Golf!

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Oh My God!! I’ve had enough! If someone doesn’t take my husband golfing soon I’m going to have a conniption!

This is Jenn, aka Mrs. Stinky Golfer Chris. I’m taking over his post to plead for anyone to step forward and get my husband on a golf course. Better yet, take him on a golf trip! All year I’ve had to listen to him complain about how he hasn’t had the chance to golf much this year. And with the recent snow storm here in the northeast, it’s been even worse!

Granted, for the most part he didn’t get to play as much as he normally would. It was just one of those years. It seemed like every weekend there was simply something that needed to be done. Be it a kids soccer game, baseball game, someones birthday party, family gathering or my photography business…something was always getting in his way.

But if that wasn’t bad enough, we have a freak, record-setting snowstorm in October, normally his last month to guarantee golf. November is always hit or miss. And this November, between my trip back home to visit family in Colorado, the clean up of downed branches and power outages due to the storm, we’re not off to a good start.

He keeps talking about a couple of newly public courses that he wanted to get to this year. He’s also mentioned how it’s been a few years since his last golf trip. Are there any other golf wives dealing with this?

Being that I work in the golf industry, I’m well aware that many golf courses are in some financial trouble. I’m also well aware that not as many people are playing golf as in previous years. It’s one of the reasons my husband and his stinky golfer buddies are doing what they’re doing. So with that being said, I can’t imagine I’m the only golf wife who has to listen to their husband complaining.

So ladies, for the sake of your husband as well as your own sanity, don’t keep your husband away from the game he loves. Get him out there. Make him go play. Tell him to take a golf trip. Or else you have to go through the winter months listening to him complain. And what’s worse? Having him disappear for a few hours every weekend or so? Or listening to him whine like a little girl all winter long?

Ladies, let your husband swing ’til he’s happy!

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