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This is What Golf is All About

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For the past couple weeks, we’ve told you about four golf fans who got a chance to go behind-the-scenes at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which ended on Sunday (see our previous posts HERE).

In general, this “Fans-Eye-View” promotion was part of helping AT&T celebrate its 30th year sponsoring the tournament. But it went well-beyond that – engaging not just the four fans chosen, but many others too – including everyone following them via social media.

For a full week, we tagged along via Twitter and Facebook and Instagram as the foursome explored every nook of the historic Pebble Beach Golf Club; got to see the latest technology surrounding the game; went inside the ropes to walk along with the pros during tournament play; and perhaps most importantly, got to see how money from the Pro-Am (more than $120 million) funnels down to the charities in need.

I must say, these four people were ideal ambassadors for golf fans across the country…not just because they are golf fans themselves, but because each of their lives have been impacted by this game for the better: The wounded warrior who galvanized himself through golf; the shy girl who found her personality and inspiration on the links; the guy who picked up a club for the first time when he was nearly 30…only to promptly decide he would dedicate himself to making the pro tour; and finally the lady who left her corporate job to introduce golf to African-American women.

It was a pretty cool journey and one that sends a pretty great message too: That golf isn’t just a game we play, but rather an instrument of bringing people together from all walks of life in a positive way. What’s more, this exemplifies that golf isn’t just an exclusive sport for rich old men anymore…the sport is gaining in diversity, which is something that can pave a bright future.

Check out the foursome’s highlight reel (at top) from the past week – awesome stuff…

This post is in partnership with AT&T. All opinions are GolfStinks’.

4 Golfers Prove There’s More to the Game than Just Your Score

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Foursome_PB_HeadShots-2
Why these golfers represent what makes this game great…

Last week we told you about four fans that AT&T has selected to get a behind-the-scenes look at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (see HERE). But these aren’t just average golfers – in fact, they all have a backstory that is perhaps more intriguing than the Pro-Am itself.

I love stories such as these – they highlight what our mantra has been here at GolfStinks for years: That there’s way more to golf than just what you write down on your scorecard – and these four prove it. Golf has made them what they are today: Outgoing; driven; helpful and downright inspiring. These four golfers represent everything that is good about this game…

Let’s start with Tiffany Fitzgerald, since I’ve actually spoken with and written about her before (see HERE). Ms. Fitzgerald worked in corporate America for 15 years and decided to take-up golf in hopes that it could help her career. And while she did find success in business through golf, she recognized that golf was a sport that could bring people together in general (more specifically, women and minorities, who typically wouldn’t think twice about golf due to the stereotypes surrounding the game). Ms. Fitzgerald left the corporate world and founded Black Girls Golf, an organization dedicated to helping bring African-American women together on the golf course. Check out her video below and be sure to follow Ms. Fitzgerald’s adventures at the Pro-Am via @BlackGirlsGolf.

Meanwhile, Tim Lang had a completely different introduction to golf. Mr. Lang was seriously injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2006. While trying to cope with his situation through therapy and rehabilitation, Mr. Lang discovered golf and found it, above all else, helped him the most. Perhaps he puts it best when he says “golf is a metaphor for life.” Follow Mr. Lang’s adventures this week via @TimLangGolf.

Katie Horsford was a very shy 12-year-old when she started golfing via The First Tee program. She credits golf for her new outgoing personality, helping her find friends and allowing her to giveback (via The First Tee) to other girls. Oh and by the way, she’s actually pretty good at this game too. Keep up with Ms. Horsford as she traverses Pebble Beach this week via @kthorsford.

Rounding-out the foursome is Dan McLaughlin. Mr. McLaughlin just up and quit his job one day to go become a pro golfer. The interesting thing was he had only played golf once to that point (at a par 3 course no less) – I mean, who does that? Well, apparently Mr. McLaughlin does – and to document his journey, he started The Dan Plan, where his goal is to put in the mandatory 10,000 hours of practice to become a pro. How ridiculous is that? Well, considering he’s logged more than 5,000 hours and is already down to a 2 handicap, I’d say not too ridiculous after all! Now obviously, Mr. McLaughlin has some talent too, but the thought of picking up a club for the first time and saying, give me 10,000 hours of practice and I’ll be a scratch golfer, just boggles my mind. Talk about dedicated – go Dan, go! Follow Mr. McLaughlin via @thedanplan.

This post is in partnership with AT&T. All opinions are GolfStinks’.

The Real Story at the 2015 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

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AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Logo
Why is this year’s Pro-Am unique?

Normally, we here at GolfStinks don’t write about where the tour is playing in a particular week, but the celebrity pro-am is a bit different. After all, if Bill Murray is cracking jokes on his way down the fairway, it’s probably one of the more fun events in golf.

But this year’s tournament is a bit unique: It marks the 30th year that AT&T is sponsoring the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and as such, AT&T is doing something that is pretty cool – they’re giving four golf fans a “fans-eye-view” of the event.

So what does this mean? The four fans, who are neither golf professionals nor celebrities (yet), will get a behind-the-scenes look at the tournament, while utilizing the AT&T Network and HTC devices to document their journey via social media.

And there will be plenty for them to document – they get to walk the famed Pebble Beach with a course historian; get swing advice from a top 100 golf school; and perhaps most importantly, find out what it takes to raise more than $120 million in charity (not-to-mention watch the tournament from AT&T’s sky box).

But perhaps most intriguing of all is who these fans are: A military vet who took-up golf to help him rehabilitate from a devastating war injury; An African-American woman who began playing golf to bolster her career and ended-up founding an organization to help other minority women learn the game; An average guy who quit his day job to try and play on the tour, even though he had never picked up a club before that; and a shy teenager who has used golf to both build confidence in herself and inspire other girls.

The tournament is next week and while the match will assuredly be compelling to watch, perhaps the real storyline is how the event is covered from these four fans’ perspectives. As such, we’ll be following them – with a post both next week during the action and the following week, post-tourney.

Meet the four fans and follow their journey, via the hashtag, #ATTProAm and their Twitter handles:

@TimLangGolf
@BlackGirlsGolf
@TheDanPlan
@KTHorsford

Tim Lang AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Tim Lang
Tiffany Fitzgerald AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Tiffany Fitzgerald
Dan McLaughlin - AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Dan McLaughlin
Katie Horsford - AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Katie Horsford

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This post is in partnership with AT&T. All opinions are GolfStinks’.

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!               

The Other Golf Holes We Want To Play

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Pebble_Beach_Golf_Links,_hole_7
Pebble Beach – 7th Hole (photo by Metallion / CC BY-SA 3.0)

The 7th at Pebble Beach. It’s definitely one of the most recognizable holes in golf. Any major golf publication has emblazoned this image into the minds of its readers. Every golfer, stinky or not, would like to play this hole at least once in their golfing lives…hopefully more.

Along with this hole are a few of the others which the golfing media has spotlighted as “legendary.” Holes such as the 17th at The Old Course, the 13th at Augusta or the 17th at Sawgrass. All of these holes are famous for one reason or another, and all are holes we want to play someday.

But maybe I look at this a little differently. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to play all of these holes. But the way I see it, some of these holes simply have something intangible attached to them rather than actually being a “cool golf hole.” The Old Course for instance; I’ve never played it (would love to though!), but seeing it on TV…I don’t find it to be particularly attractive. But I also understand, that’s not why people want to play it.

Similar to the Old Course is the 13th at Augusta. While it’s a very pretty hole and it, again, has that historical significance, in then end.., it’s just a pretty hole.

When I think of some holes I would like to play, I think of the holes I mentioned earlier and a few more that many may or may not be on the list of most golfers. For instance:

Legend Golf Safari Resort
Legend Golf Safari Resort

This is a hole that’s gotten a lot of attention over the past year or so. It’s the 19th hole at South Africa’s Legend Golf & Safari Resort. While it’s more of a gimmick hole, I don’t care. It’s quite possibly the most unique golf hole on the planet. The green, shaped like the continent on which it lies, is best viewed from the tee box area, which just so happens be located on a cliff, 1,400 feet above. I know what you’re thinking – “Who the hell wants to walk all the way up there?” Well, fret not friends…the helicopter ride up and down is included in your $220 greens fee. Now that’s cool.

But maybe you’re afraid of heights. Maybe you don’t like helicopters. Maybe you’d just rather hit at one of those cool-shaped greens from a “normal” tee box. Well, check out this shapely green at Washington’s Apple Tree Resort:

Apple Tree Resort

Yeah, it’s gimmicky also. It’s a large island green. It’s an apple. But you have to admit…it’s pretty cool. I don’t believe it’s of any historical significance, and I’m sure the only story behind it is to pay tribute to the apple growing regions of Washington, from where 58% of commercially grown apples in the U.S. come. But again, that’s not what matters. What matters here is that it’s a cool hole to play.

But another hole that’s pretty high up on my list resides in the golfing mecca that is…Idaho, home to the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course.

Now, island greens just don’t have the same allure to me that they used to. I live not more than 20 minutes from a pretty average course which features an island green. So seeing that an average course in the area can pull it off, the idea of an island green has lost some of its luster in my mind. Maybe that’s part of the reason why I really like the island at Apple Tree mentioned above. But here at Coeur d’Alene, this island green ain’t just another island green:

Coeur d’Alene Golf

Nope, this is the world’s only floating island green. And when they say island, they mean island. See that boat slip to the right? There ain’t no land bridge here, friends. But wait, there’s more. This par-3 averages 147 yards. I say “averages” because, get this (if you don’t already know), the island moves! Everyday, the computer controlled island is in a different place! One day the hole can play 95 yards. Play it again the following day, and it may be 200! Now that…is a cool hole.

It’s one of the things I love about this sport – the variety. While the same courses, year after year, magazine issue after magazine issue, are drilled into our heads, there are so many great courses and great holes out there just waiting to be played. Some of them may not be on the Top 100. But that doesn’t make these hidden gems any less great. It’s just up to us to get out and play them.

So maybe the next golf trip you plan could or should be somewhere other than Florida or Myrtle Beach. Maybe places like Idaho and Washington (among many others) are worth a look. If variety is the spice of life, then it certainly should be the spice of your golfing life as well.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

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