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Golf Simulators: Good Practice or Giant Video Game?

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Stinky Golfer Chris letting it rip in the golf simulator (photo by Greg D'Andrea)
Stinky Golfer Chris letting it rip in the golf simulator (photo by Greg D’Andrea)

This past Friday night I got a text from Stinky Golfer Greg asking if I can hit the indoor range Saturday morning. Unfortunately, due to my kids basketball playoff schedule, I’m unable to commit to it because I don’t know how far the team is going to advance, so therefore, don’t know when I’ll be free. We plan on trying again in a couple of weeks.

However, it turns out they don’t advance very far, getting knocked out in the first round. This now frees up the afternoon. Still with the indoor range on my own mind, the kids remind me that I promised to take them to the indoor spot to use the golf simulator. So it looks like I’m going after all. I call ahead to make sure a tee time is available (yes…you need to make a tee time), and we’re off.

Now I’ve used the simulator before, so it’s not new to me. I take it as just an opportunity to get a little swing practice in. But for the kids…this is a giant video game! And after listening to their excitement and the way they are looking at it, I start to realize that their right. It’s just a giant video game. But never did that become more apparent than when I absolutely crushed a beautiful drive off the tee to the tune of…156 YARDS?!

OK, I’m not saying I’m capable of hammering out 300 yard drives on a regular basis. But I certainly am capable of of driving farther than 156! So I put it behind me until it’s my turn to tee off on the next hole. Once again, I hit it pretty solid. The result…163! What is going on??!! Now it’s no longer a game. I realize this is pretty inaccurate and go back to focusing on my swing.

This experience got me wondering – Is the golf simulator a useful tool? Or is it just the giant video game my kids view it to be? I guess the answer is.., it’s both. I’m not playing out on an actual course, so course and weather conditions never came into play. Also, you don’t putt on the simulator, so my semi-normal three-putts never come into play either (you always one- or two-putt, based on distance from the hole). But at the same time, the inaccurate readings of distance certainly did force me to concentrate more on my swing. After all, I certainly can’t allow a 10 and 12 year old to out-drive me!

In the end though, I got both a little bit of fun and a bit of practice out of the simulator. The inaccuracy of the simulator did force me to focus more. However, it was a rainy day in early March – not typical golfing season or weather…but there I was (according to the simulator anyway) in Myrtle Beach at Arrowhead Country Club (kids choice).

Oh yeah, and just to prove how inaccurate the simulator really is…I shot an 89. My twelve year old…a 91. And my ten year old….95 (including back-to-back birdies). In reality, I have never broken 90. But you know what? The three of us had a damn good time. And if it did something to keep their attention on the sport, even if it was just a video game, then that’s just fine with me.

We swung ’til we were happy!

Home, Home On The (Indoor) Range

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Is the simulator an adequate stand-in for golf? (photo by Greg D'Andrea)
Is the simulator an adequate stand-in for golf? (photo by Greg D’Andrea)

For anyone reading this who does not live in the northeast, you may or may not be aware that it’s been snowing here recently. I could go ahead and say there’s been a hell of a lot of snow…and that would be an understatement.

It has snowed so much, and been cold enough for very little of it to melt, that we are simply running out of places to put it! Honestly, the snow from two storms ago is still buried underneath the more recent nor’easters! And there’s even more expected this week!

So with all the snow and tough driving conditions it creates, it’s understandable that there seems to be a case of cabin fever spreading throughout the area. And it was never more evident than today at the indoor range.

Despite temperatures in the low to mid-teens, the weather was relatively nice this past weekend. So it seems, once the sun comes out, so do the golfers…myself included. Though it’s certainly still too cold (for me anyway) to head to an outdoor range, even a heated one, I’m willing to brave the cold for my first opportunity of the year to hit the indoor spot. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one. I guess it’s due to the recent weather conditions, but I have never seen this place so packed! I’ll tell ya…for five months out of the year, this place is a gold mine!

Now, not only is the trip to the indoor range an opportunity, obviously, to keep my game in relative order during the off-season, but it’s also an opportunity to keep my boys interested in the game. Though it’s certainly not the same as being out on the course, my boys love the indoor facility. And that’s good news for me. For a mere $20, the three of us can spend as much time as we’d like, with a bottomless ball basket, driving, chipping, putting and hitting out of the sand. And if I can keep their interest during the off-season, all the better when the temps begin to rise.

But of course, it’s on the way past the lobby and into the facility itself when they spot the golf simulators. Lucky for me, these things require a tee time, so I’m able to save myself a few bucks today, but not without the promise of a return trip.

Like I’ve mentioned previously, I’m not a big fan of practice (insert Allen Iverson impressions here). So I’m going to look at this as more of a mission to keep my kids interested in playing golf. I mean, I had fun, they had fun…we all had fun! So how could this possibly be practice? We’ll see how I feel about it next time.

But seriously, for those in the northern half of this country who are frozen off the course for the next few months, I recommend looking for an indoor golf facility. You can work on all areas of your game for the price of about two buckets of balls at your local range…and it’s warmer! Just don’t think of it as practice and it’s even better!

Swing ’til you’re happy!

My New Approach To Golf’s Offseason

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Do you want to see something foolish? Take a look at that photo to the left. I mean, really now. Sure, that stall is covered and heated, but are you so desperate to hit a golf ball that you’ll stand outside in freezing temps at a snow-covered range on which you’ll likely have no idea where your ball actually lands? Yeah…me too.

I’ll admit to several times being that guy. Whether it’s out of boredom, or my genuine want to improve at this game, I’ve been known to hit a driving range a few times between the months of December and February. I know I could go to an indoor range, and I will. But there’s still something about tracking the flight of the ball.

But this offseason, I think I’m going to try something different. This offseason, I think I’m going to shut golf out completely. But I have reasoning behind this, and it’s really very simple. It seems as if the more I work in the offseason, the fewer results I see – and this past season was the worst yet. Coincidentally, last offseason was the one in which I practiced the most.

Now I’m not saying I’m not going to practice at all. I will still hit the indoor range once or twice, but that’s it. You see, when I first took up this game, that’s about as often as I would work in the offseason. And guess what….I improved every year! But it seemed when I would work more in the offseason and try to focus on individual aspects of my game, other parts of my game would suffer. What this added up to was higher scores, a drop-off in improvement and more frustration once out on the course.

So this offseason I am going to try to counter that by going back to the way things used to be. No more standing out in the cold at the range. Just a trip or two to the indoor range to keep the basics of my swing in order and that’s it. I figure by not focusing on any certain aspect of my game, I won’t lose anything anywhere else. Plus, let’s face it, the practice time adds pressure to perform when you get back out on the course. You go back out there expecting to see results, and if they don’t show right away…you know what I mean. Who wants to go through that?

So over the next several months, golf will be merely a distant memory. No pressure to work on the game. No high expectations. No disappointment when the expectations don’t pan out. And hopefully, with any luck, I’ll show some improvement…just like the old days before I tried!

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Are You Jealous Of Other Golfers?

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So my wife gets a call the other day from a relative out west. The only part of the conversation in which I’m involved is when when she tells said relative “Hold on, I’ll tell him now.” She then proceeds to tell me about the 74 he shot that morning. Now, am I jealous of the score? No, of course not. Well…maybe a little. But what I am jealous of is the fact that he played at all.

See, it was 47 degrees and raining here. But I ask him…”How’s the weather?” His response? “A little cool. It was only around 65 when we teed off. But it warmed up later.” It was then that I though I just might be somewhat jealous of other golfers.

Year in and year out, once the golf season winds down, I find I’m saying to myself “I wish I played more this year.” It never fails. I could have played more than I ever have, but I’ll still find myself repeating the same thing. I know it’s not just me. All my golfing buddies feel the same way. And when I look back at why I may not have played as much as I would have liked…the reasons are usually pretty legit. Many times either me or my wife have something going on in our relatively busy lives, and occasionally it gets in the way of my golf game. If I only had more time…

But here in the northeast, normally only about seven or eight months out of the year are consistently playable. Anything more is a bonus. So naturally, I’m a bit jealous of players from other areas of the country. What if I could play year-round? What if there was no off-season? What if I never had to worry about the season winding down? What if I never had to feel like I didn’t play enough?

However, is there a flip-side to that? To me, there’s something about the feeling of the season coming to a close. The little extra push you give knowing your clubs are about to go into hibernation. But even more, there’s something about the feeling of the up-coming season about to begin. A couple of trips to the indoor facility during the winter, a few stops at the range when the temps again begin to rise…it’s the anticipation really. Something to look forward to.

It would be nice to have the ability to play year round. But if I did have that opportunity, would I take advantage? I honestly don’t know if I would. I mean, in the limited time I have now, I don’t always take advantage. So what if I never had to worry about not being able to play? Would I take advantage, or would I be even more indifferent to it?

Think about anything in life really. If you never have to worry about something going away, you tend to take it for granted, right? Would I feel the same about golf? Not sure. But what if someone else was in my shoes? What if I took a Floridian and put them here in Connecticut? Then I tell them “I know you could play golf every weekend down south…but here you’ve only got the chance to play about 60% of that.” No more taking that time for granted I’m sure. So why do I do it here?

I have no answer. But the best I can figure is that I feel the break is necessary for myself and possibly most other golfers of my skill level, which just so happens to be about 95% of you. The off-season is a time for reflection on the previous season as well as a time of preparation for the next. However, it’s also a time to simply take a break from the sport as a whole. Forget about your crappy game for a while. Forget about your scores. Forget about your frustration toward your handicap which never seems to drop. Just take the time off and relax.

Now would I feel this way had my golf life begun in a place where there is no off-season? Possibly. But it didn’t. Where I live, there’s an off-season. And for the reasons I stated above, I don’t see it being better any other way. I’m not afraid of the off-season. As a matter of fact, I’ll relish it.

Bring on the winter!

First Time On The Golf Course

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Photo by Chris Chirico
Photo by Chris Chirico

A few months ago, late last golf season, I wrote about teaching the game to my oldest son. He purchased his own clubs with his birthday money and we hit the range a few times to get some work in before he hit an actual course. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough time left in last year’s golf season to ever make it out.So we hit the range a few more times, went to the indoor facility, and worked on our swings over the winter in anticipation of getting out on a course next season. Well, a few days ago, the time finally came.

However, I wondered where and when I was going to take him. Knowing his skill level, it didn’t seem like a great idea to take him out on a weekend morning where we were going to slow down everyone around us. Also, taking him to play 18 on a course with a few 500 yard holes didn’t seem wise yet either. I really wanted to avoid a par-3 course because I wanted him to have some variety on the holes and keep him from getting bored with the game. Then it came to me – an executive course! It’s perfect! I have one right in town. It’s nine holes, none longer than 290 yards but much more variety than a par-3 course. But now the question is, when do we go? Again, I’m trying to avoid slowing down all the golfers around us.

Fortunately, he’s not only a pretty good athlete, he’s also a pretty good student. So after receiving honors at school for the second time this year, I used that to reward him with a day off during the week and a round of golf. His mother wasn’t too happy about him missing a day of school for golf, but I explained that I’m taking him out no matter what. I told her the choices were either we golf or go to the “gentleman’s club.” OK, before anyone freaks out, that’s just a joke. So Friday morning around 11:00, we teed off for the first time.

Photo by Chris Chirico
Photo by Chris Chirico

His opening drive, of course, slices directly into the parallel fairway. We laugh it off and I tell him not to let it bother him – I promised he’ll get to see me do that a few times today also. And I delivered on my promise.

It was amazing to see him progress from hole #1 to hole #9. It was like he was improving right before my eyes. By the time we hit the seventh, his slice was almost gone! There wasn’t much distance to his shots, but they were pretty straight for the most part. His putting left something to be desired, but there’s plenty of time to work on that.

As the round went on, I made sure to teach him not only the rules of the game, but the unwritten rules of etiquette as well. Not wanting to overwhelm him, I tried to fill him in on as we moved along. Simple things like staying quiet during someones swing, not stepping in someones line, etc…

By the end of the round it was clear this is another sport at which, if he sticks with it, he will excel also. Obviously, I gave him some mulligans and didn’t count a drop here and there. But nevertheless his final score, not that it matters, wasn’t too bad. He even managed to beat me on the eighth hole!

The best part about seeing him play, for me anyway, was that he never took it too serious. He didn’t get upset with himself after a bad shot and he didn’t let a bad shot affect his next one. He smiled and laughed throughout the round. He played the game exactly as you would expect a kid to play it, while still trying to do well. As a matter of fact, the most serious I saw him the entire day was when I let him drive the cart for two holes!

We wrapped the day up by talking about the round over a large pizza and a few sodas. We both looked forward to playing again and will certainly do so for, hopefully, many more summers to come. Although, I did let him know, I’m not always going to be easy on him. Mulligans, believe it or not, aren’t an actual part of the game.

Truth is though, I’m going to have to be hard on him to keep him from beating me soon. But something tells me there’s not much I’m going to be able to do about that.

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