GolfStinks

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iPad Case Helps Improve Your Golf Game

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Back in January of 2010, I posted about how devices like the iPhone and iPad can help you improve your game while you’re actually out on a golf course (unlike during other sports, like softball or basketball).

Well, a new iPad case helps you do just that…but even better. The MyPadLife is extremely durable, protects your iPad and is designed to accompany you on the go. The case actually has adjustable nylon straps that are meant to secure your iPad to a treadmill, the back of a car’s headrest, or even a golf cart! Even better, the MyPadLife includes a strap to hang your iPad from nearly anywhere.

I tested-out the MyPadLife this past weekend at the driving range in conjunction with the Golf Genie Pocket Guide App (see photo at top) – I have to say, I never would have thought of bringing my iPad to the course with me before this case. But the construction is so good, I wasn’t apprehensive at all about it falling off my golf bag. It’s definitely a cool and functional case to tote around your iPad in – be it at the gym, on a road trip or on the golf course.

But beyond the product itself, the case’s inventor has a great story. This guy was young and career-oriented when he got the idea for a case that would allow you to take your iPad to the gym and workout with it. He quit his job in New York City, designed a prototype and then raised ten grand to mass produce them. Even better, he’s a golfer and wanted the ability to bring his iPad with him to the golf course! Check out his video below…

You gotta admire his entrepreneurial attitude! And being the good-guy that he is, Saad is giving us another MyPadLife to giveaway for free to one lucky Golfstinks fan! Just make sure you’ve “liked” our Facebook page and stay tuned there for details!

If you’re a follower of the Golf Stinks blog, you know we don’t review products all that often, but when we do, it’s because it’s something we can stand behind. If you own an iPad, you should own this case.

Golf Gimmick Update

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It was roughly three months ago that I purchased, and blogged about, my first golf gimmick – an EFX Performance hologram wristband.

At the time, I referred to it as a golf gimmick, but after purchasing mine, I began noticing athletes from many different sports wearing similar, if not the exact same, products. So noticing professional athletes such as NBA star Deron Williams and NY Met Carlos Beltran sporting the same product, I thought maybe I was onto something.

However, in the golf blogosphere, I noticed many mixed reviews – some people swore by them, while others were adamant about their “placebo effect.” Well, I’ve been wearing the bracelet on a regular basis since purchase and in three months since, I think I’m able to draw some of my own conclusions. And I would like to report, while not life changing, I have seen a positive effect.

In my everyday life, I’ll be honest…I just don’t see a difference in anything. I can’t say that I feel or see a difference in my body and I’m not quite sure that I feel a difference in my energy level either. However, one thing I have noticed is that I feel I need less sleep. I don’t know if the bracelet has something to do with this or not, but it is a difference either way. There was a time when I felt that if I didn’t get at least X hours of sleep each night that I would not be able to function at a high level the next day. That feeling has been greatly diminished.

But what about the actual reason I bought the bracelet? What has it done for my golf game? Has it made me a scratch golfer? Has it dramatically lowered my handicap? Has it made me better at all? Quite simply, the answer is no. But, that doesn’t mean it has done nothing.

When I had purchased the bracelet to begin with, I was not purchasing it for any mystical healing powers. I didn’t purchase it to give me Tony Little-like energy levels. No, what got me excited was the supposed benefits to my balance. After all, balance is key for a golfer. So for only $20 I thought, why not give it a shot? So how has it worked out so far? Well, after a small sampling (36 holes), I admit, I am pleasantly surprised.

While my scores so far this year do not reflect it, I feel there is definitely some improvement in my balance. Through two 9-hole rounds and one 18, I have noticed that I have yet to take one off-balance swing this year. Is that a coincidence? I’m sorry, but I don’t think so. I didn’t practice any more than usual during the off-season. As a matter of fact, I practiced less. So why the sudden better balance on my swing? I have no other explanation.

So with the balance improvement being noticable, I am hoping that it will possibly lead to improvements in other areas of my game. But all of that remains to be seen.

Now, to speak to the nay-sayers who are quick to write this off as the “placebo effect,” I ask how many of you have actually given it a chance? I would venture to say that, despite what you would lead us to believe, most of you have either never tried one or had written it off before you ever did. Is it a placebo effect, or is there actually a benefit? Well, in response to the people who swear by the placebo theory (which, I admit, may be the case), I ask, whether it’s a placebo effect or reality, doesn’t that mean the product is working anyway?

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Is A Teenage Competitor Good For Golf?

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So by now, most golf fans probably know who Beau Hossler is. If not, he’s the 16-year old playing in the U.S. Open who, after the first round, currently stands at 5-over. Not bad for a 16-year old. Actually, not bad for anyone! I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve approached that number on 9-holes. So for me, a 76? Unfathomable.

Needless to say I find myself, like many other fans of the sport, rooting for this kid to do well. But as I do root for him, I also find myself wondering if that’s a good idea. It’s strange, but as much as I would like to see him do well, part of me thinks this is not good for the sport as a whole. Let me explain myself.

We as Americans, in general, are smitten with sports that are either fast, physical or a combination of the two. Golf, as if it isn’t obvious enough, is neither. Hence golf’s declining audience and participation. So when the likes of a high school junior are able to hang with the pros for a round or two, in a major no less, I can understand how non- or casual golf fans can be turned off by this.

Look at some of those other fast and physical sports. Take football for instance. I would like someone to point out one single 16-year old who could hang on the gridiron for even a few plays with some NFL pros. Imagine handing a football to some pizza-faced kid and having him run up the middle against the Baltimore Ravens D? His career would be over after a play or two.

Basketball? OK, before you go ahead and mention the names, Kobe, Garnett, LeBron and Moses Malone (some of the players who successfully made the jump from high school to the pros), keep in mind for every Kobe, there are three Korleone Young’s, Leon Smith’s and DeAngelo Collins’ (among the unsuccessful jumpers). Further, these players were all at least 18 and playing a sport far less physical than football. Further, one can even make the argument that high school players and college underclassmen making the jump to the NBA have been a detriment to the game.

Even in baseball, only 28 players in the history of MLB have made the jump directly from high-school to the pros. And of those, only a handful can be considered to have had successful careers. Quite simply, even though the sport is not overly physical, the strength and speed of players in the majors simply cannot be matched by 18-year old kids. But in golf, 16-year olds can compete with the pros? And in the case of Matteo Manassero, a 17-year old can make the cut?!

While I, myself, have no real issue with it (and as mentioned, I’m pulling for the kid to do well) I do believe it is a turn-off to fans of the faster, more physical sports that many of us love. After all, this is America. There’s a reason we love football, not futbol. Watching a teenager hang with the big boys, ala Pele, makes the sport seem less challenging and require less experience and less physical ability and prowess. While us golfers may understand that is not necessarily the case, you would have to admit that you can understand where the critics are coming from.

For a sport that is losing spectators and players every year, the last thing they should want is to turn-off any potential fans. Obviously, it’s not the kids fault – he’s just a damn good player. But if the PGA found the way to promote this properly, such as to use his age as motivation for the next generation of golfers, they could have a potential game-changer on their hands.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Admitting When You’re Wrong

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They say it takes a big man to admit when he’s wrong. Well, I’m about to admit it twice, so I wonder if that makes me a giant? Hardly. But I’m the type of guy who has to get things off his chest. That being said, the following two instances are ones I will readily admit…I was wrong.

Ignorance is Bliss
My first dose humble pie stems from a mere two months ago. The post was entitled “10 Golf Etiquette Rules Most Jackasses Ignore” and number 4 on that list was the following:

Excessive Use of Your GPS
Some people question if high-handicappers should own a GPS in the first place, but I’m not one of them – Even golfers who are trying to break 100 are going to benefit from knowing the exact yardage to the pin. But there comes a time when enough is enough: You don’t need your GPS device on the tee-box of a par 5. And if your standing next to the 150-yard marker, you don’t need to check if the course’s measurements are accurate. If you’re truly unsure what your distance is on your approach, by all means break-out the GPS. But using it just for the fun of it on every shot is no fun for the rest of your group (or the group behind you for that matter).

When I wrote that, I whole-heartedly believed every word. The only problem? I don’t and never have owned a GPS device. It was quickly pointed out to me that you can and should use your GPS on the tee of a par 5 since it can tell you how long you have to a hazard or bend in the fairway. I was also reminded of the fact that some courses’ (especially muni’s) yardage tends to be off – in which case using your GPS would come in handy.

In this case, I probably shouldn’t have written about something that I never actually used myself – and as a result, I was called-out on it. But, on the other hand, I believe it still belongs on my list (albeit rephrased) – people can and do over-use GPS devices and that contributes to slow play.

Time to Eat Some Crow
Last September, I penned a post entitled “Indoor Putting; Who Gives a Sh*t?” where I went on a rather lengthy diatribe about the uselessness of putting indoors – especially how there are no breaks in your floor. I also harangued a few different indoor putting gadgets – one in particular called the Puttacup that I criticized for not being able to fit a regulation-sized hole on the device.

In an interesting coincidence (which later turned into pure irony), my brother-in-law sent me a 9-foot indoor putting mat for Christmas. Not wanting my wife to question why I wasn’t using her brother’s thoughtful gift, I set it up in my living room and began putting away. Guess what – my freaking putting has actually improved this year! Seriously, I’m dropping more putts from within 9-feet than I ever have.

To add insult to injury, the hole on the mat was cut a quarter-inch smaller to promote better accuracy – just like on the Puttacup. I’ll be damned! Practicing putts indoors has definitely improved the consistency of my putting stroke and that has translated to more putts dropping out on the course. One crow, devoured.

We realize we here at the Golf Stinks blog are pretty opinionated. While we always try to back our statements up with facts, sometimes we say things that end up being just plain wrong. Please do not hesitate to call-us-out on something you feel we have said in error. Leave a comment, or email us at info@golfstinks.com – as you can see from this post, we’ll (eventually) get around to correcting ourselves.

Why I Suck at Fantasy Golf

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I’ve played fantasy football since 1998 and I’m not too bad at it. I usually make the playoffs and the year our prize money was at its largest, I won the entire league. Needless to say, my overall winnings outweigh my overall entrance fees.

So when a golf buddy asked me to join his fantasy golf league this year, I figured why not? Anyway, there were a few advantages to his league – First; there were only 5 people in it (better odds for me to win). Second; I knew two or three of the people had never played fantasy golf before (same boat as me). And third; it was free – so what did I have to lose?

Despite never playing fantasy golf before, I figured how hard can it be? You just pick the top-ranked players every week and hope the odds pan-out. Au contraire. Turns out fantasy golf is a whole lot harder than it looks.

First of all, you can’t just pick the same players every week, because in my league (Yahoo!) you can only use a player 9 times. So now I have to mix and match. The only problem with that is I have no idea who many of these players are! Stinky Golfer Chris has posted about this issue and he’s right – if the media wasn’t so hung up on Tiger, I may be a better fantasy golfer!

Anyway, not knowing many of the tour players, I’ve relied on the “expert” picks. And when you start reading-up on fantasy golf from the experts, you realize these guys are choosing players each week for a multitude of reasons. For example, they won’t start a player who is hot because he historically doesn’t play well at a particular course. Or even in particular weather!

Now I’m sunk. Not only do I not know many PGA Tour players, but I don’t really follow the PGA Tour to begin with! How am I supposed to know how a particular player has done at a specific course? That’s just too much research for me.

Oh and I’m having a hard time remembering to change-out my players too. In the NFL, players tend to play every week (unless they’re injured or on bye). So if you forget to change your lineup, chances are your team will still be intact enough to give you a shot at winning anyway. But not in golf. Not every player plays every stop on tour, so if you forget to check, you can (like me this week) have no golfers from the previous week playing in the tournament this week! That translates to a big fat goose egg for my weekly score.

But there’s more. In football, there’s only one game a week. In golf, the tournament lasts four days. So there’s an opportunity to switch starters with bench players after the first, second and third rounds. The problem is, I can never remember to do it! I’d set my lineup on Wednesday and check how I did on Monday…only to learn two of my four starters missed the cut on Friday! That led me to set a reminder on my phone for Friday night at 10 PM to make sure my starters actually make the cut for the weekend!

It doesn’t matter – I have no business playing fantasy golf. Of the five that started-out in our league, only three have kept it up (myself included). And of those three, I’m last. It’s pathetic. I play golf, I write about golf, I love golf. But I suck at fantasy golf. But, I signed up and I will compete till the end of the season.

Speaking of that, the summer session is about to begin – another 13 weeks of me stinking-up the fantasy golf links. Joy.

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