Admitting When You're Wrong

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.

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