GolfStinks

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POLL: Is The Masters Your Favorite Major?

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The Masters (by Torrey Wiley via Flickr)
The Masters (by Torrey Wiley via Flickr)

With The Masters fast approaching, I thought it might be a good idea to see what your favorite major tournament is during the season. There’s always a lot of buzz around The Masters, but I figured that was due to it coinciding with the start of the new golf season too.

But recently via Twitter, one of our followers has called The Masters the March Madness of golf. Is this true? Sure, it attracts a lot of attention but some of that has to do with the course itself (Augusta National) and not necessarily the tournament.

It also has a great field of players – but don’t all the majors? And it’s at the start of the year…not the end – so it’s not a true reflection of which players have had the best year.

Still, The Masters has a certain appeal to it – be it that it kicks off the new golf season; or that it attracts a field of top players; or the fact that it’s played at a legendary golf course. Heck, I’ve written rather scathing remarks about Augusta in the past, but I still find myself watching The Masters on TV more than the others.

So, is The Masters your favorite of all the majors? Take the poll below and let us know.

What is your favorite major golf tournament?

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How TV Can Make Me More of a Golf Fan

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First and foremost, let me state that I am in no way, shape or form being compensated for this post. I am offering up my opinion purely based on my experience.  My experience with what you ask?  My experience with DirecTV and how they made watching The Open Championship a better experience for me.

As I’ve stated before, I love to play golf, but I’m not a huge fan of watching it on TV.  Truthfully, I find it a bit dull.  So when I got a message on my TV from DirecTV regarding watching The Open Championship on multiple channels, I didn’t pay it much mind.  I figured it’s just a couple more channels that I won’t be watching.  But early on Saturday afternoon, something told me to take a look anyway…and I’m glad I did.  When I tuned to the channel in the message and began to watch, I was presented with another menu option.  When I hit the red button on my remote to bring up the additional options, the fun began.

Option #1 – “The Top 5 leaderboard” – A nice, quick reference when you just want to know who’s on top and what’s their score, without waiting for 156 names to scroll across the bottom of the screen.  But, if you want to see the entire leaderboard while scrolling through it at your own pace, well that’s available at…

Option #2 – “Leaderboard” – You don’t have to watch the bottom of the screen for the leaderboard and worry about missing the name you may be looking for.  Also, if it’s moving a little too quickly, you can use the menu to scroll at your own pace.

Option #3 – “Tune To” – This gave me five further options:

a.  “The Open Mix” – This splits my TV to show four separate screens – ESPN, Holes 1 & 18, Holes 7/8/9 and the International View.  More on this below.

b.  “ESPN” – This channel would show an alternate feed from ESPN (which was showing the regular broadcast) even when they were on a commercial.

c. “Holes 1 and 18” – Just as it sounds.  This channel would rotate between holes 1 and 18.  So rather than bounce all around the course, you see every player that passes through both holes.

d. “Holes 7/8/9” – See above, but for holes 7/8/9 instead.

e. “International View” – Not exactly sure where this feed was from, but I’m going to make the pretty obvious guess that it would be Scotland.  If not, then somewhere in the U.K. at least.  Anyway, it was another alternate feed from the other two ESPN’s.

Option #4 – “Scoreguide” – This is an option that shows up on all of the sports channels on DirecTV, and it showed up here as well.  This option gives you the scores from the rest of the sports world as well as the option to switch over to that channel if the game is on one of the channels you get.  It’s a nice feature for keeping up on scores from other sports or other games when you don’t want to change the game you’re watching.

I’ve had three different TV providers, and so far I’m pretty high on DirecTV.  It’s great if you’re a sports fan.  For me, I’m a big football fan and love NFL Sunday Ticket.  How can you beat having the option to see every game?!  And being able to plug-in your fantasy league matchup is the cherry on-top!  But this experience with golf as well has opened up a new option for me.

Now, when the PGA Championship rolls around in a few weeks, I’ll know that watching golf on TV will be that much better than it was before.  However, this in no way trumps Sunday Ticket.  Any final round still takes a backseat to the NFL.  Sorry.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Why I Would Never Play Golf With Tiger Woods

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Part of your profile page on Golfstinks.com is to list your dream foursome – who you would most want to play golf with. I’ve gotta say, many of you include Tiger Woods in your group.

I mean I get it, the guy is good and somewhat legendary now too. And despite his off-course licentiousness, he will probably still go down as one of the greatest golfers to ever walk the fairway.

But I wouldn’t play one round with him.

First things first – this has nothing to do with the fact that he’s a tremendouly better golfer than I am. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I stink, so it doesn’t matter to me if you’re a 2 handicap or scratch (or Tiger). I’m not intimidated…I just enjoy playing my own game.

The reason why I wouldn’t play golf with Tiger is he takes the game way too seriously. Now I know what you’re thinking: “But that’s his job – he needs to take it seriously.” Of course it’s his job and he should take it serious…but he doesn’t have to act like an ass.

For example, I’m watching The Open Championship this past weekend and he’s out there acting like a fool. Telling people who are 15 feet behind him to move further because their shadow might be in his peripheral vision. He’s dropping F-bombs on the tee; shouting “God Almighty” after hitting a shot into a bunker; getting pissed at himself for not living up to his expectations. What a bunch of stress that is.

He could be gracious, you know – Take things in stride. It shouldn’t matter that a bunch of money is on the line. So you hit one into the bunker, big deal – go get up an down. And guess what – he actually holed-out from that bunker – see, why did he get so upset in the first place?

I’ve posted about people like this before – those that get angry on the course and put a damper on things. Maybe Tiger isn’t affecting his playing partner’s game, but he’s on TV looking like a pompous ass riding his emotional roller coaster.

Those emotional displays can’t be good for people new to the game either. If I were a golf newbie, I would think: “Wow, if one of the world’s best gets that upset, I’m going to be miserable playing this game!”

But let’s get back to my original statement – that I wouldn’t play golf with him. I can understand those of you who would jump at the chance to tee-it-up with Tiger. Getting an opportunity to play with one of the best ever – that would be a story for the grandkids.

But my story to the grandkids would be a bit different. My story would be about getting out on the links and just enjoying yourself. As you take your clubs out of the trunk, remember to replace them with your stress, frustration and whatever else you might want to get off your back for the next few hours. Golf is a game – you should have fun playing it.

From St. Andrews to Bob’s Pitch ‘n Putt, it’s Still Golf to Me

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Does it matter where you play golf?
Does it matter where you play golf?

This week, golf websites everywhere are splashed with images from the game’s most hollowed grounds. The site of this year’s British Open is taking center-stage…perhaps more than the tournament itself.

Now I’m not saying St. Andrews doesn’t deserve it – ever since the Scots hit stones down rabbit holes, the Old Course has been a monument to the game. But these days the place has become sacred.

Every year golfers make the pilgrimage to Scotland for a chance to play where the game (as far as we know) began. But think about the words we use: A pilgrimage. That’s what it is, no? It’s a spiritual journey; a religious experience. Let’s ponder that for a second. Scotland is golf’s Mecca, its Jerusalem. Compare that to your home course, which is just the local congregation.

These local places of worship consist of a plethora of courses all over the world. Some are of championship quality, while some appear better suited for grazing a herd of bison. But golf courses don’t have to be legendary for you to remember them, no sir.

I’ll bet not many people outside your local area have heard of the course where you scored your first ace or eagle on. But that place, that hole – it means something to you, doesn’t it? The track could be a mortar range, but it’s still etched into your memory like your first born.

This year, the PGA Tour has really played the historical card well – Pebble hosted the U.S. Open; St. Andrews hosted the British Open; Augusta…well, we have that every year, but you get my point.

The thing is, whether I’m playing at the center of the golf universe or at my local executive 9, it’s all hallowed ground to me. The first tee jitters; the being one with nature; the whole nine yards. It doesn’t matter if there’s a beautiful ocean vista or if a historic tournament was played there…I mean, that would be great but, it’s not necessary for me.

So, does this suggest I’m OK with playing the same course all the time? Hell no! I want to experience as many golf courses as possible! But I won’t regret it if I never play Pebble or St. Andrews. You see, when I pull those clubs from my trunk and slip on the soft spikes, it doesn’t matter where I am – my pilgrimage has begun.

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