Golf Clubbin'

So I figured I would help boost some TV ratings and present a little something different to today's reality TV show viewers. This feat will be accomplished by combining the Golf Channel's "Big Break" and let's say...oh I don't know...MTV's "Jersey Shore". Ladies and Gent's I present to you "Golf Clubbin'!" A reality show that embraces polar opposites and forces them to co-exist. We can use the existing cast of JS and put them in various golf situations such as working in an upscale, pretentious golf club or caddying for a pro. Perhaps even challenging them to a round where they must make the cut or be subjected to some sort of embarrassment.I can see it now... some dialogue from the first episode:Scene opens with Mike "The Situation" pounding...

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Walk or Ride; Which Game of Golf do you Play?

Before you tee-off on the first hole; heck, before you even fork-over your hard-earned money in the pro shop; you have to decide the answer to a simple question: Am I going to walk or ride? Until recently, I never thought this could mean playing two different games.For many, this question is easily answered. On the one hand, you have the walkers; these people either want some exercise or they are traditionalists who feel walking is the way golf was intended to be played (or both).On the other hand, you have the riders (not counting when a course has a mandatory cart rule), who are usually bucketed into two groups: people who physically need to take a cart, and those who just don't take the game of golf too seriously.Think about that second...

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I Dream of Golf

I�m in a frenzy! I�m running late and the chances are 50/50 that I make my tee-time. I�ve got a 35 minute drive to the course I�m playing this morning and I can�t afford any delays! I overslept. I didn�t have breakfast. I�m not wearing pants. I don�t have time to stop for a coffee. I can�t�.wait, what? Holy crap!! I�m not wearing pants!! How the hell do I leave the house without pants on?! OK, no time to question that right now. If I push down a little harder on the gas, I�ll have a second to stop by my mother�s house which is right around the corner from the course. Surely, for some unexplainable reason, she�ll have a pair of pants for me to use. But to my disappointment, I find that all of my pants are dirty and wrinkled. I don�t stop to...

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Is USGA Membership Worth It?

So I got my annual letter from the United States Golf Association in the mail the other day, begging me to renew my membership. Funny thing is, I've never had a USGA membership - in fact, I'm quite positive I've never paid them a dime. Nevertheless, I received the renewal letter, along with my complimentary 15-page (I counted them) notepad and my sweet USGA bumper sticker.You know, I see those bumper stickers on many cars around town, but I wonder how many of those people have actually paid for a membership? I'm not innocent either - while I have a thing against putting bumper stickers on cars, I use the notepad every year. I'm not sure how they got my name, but it's probably from a magazine subscription list (seeing as I subscribe to a few...

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The Golf Channel's Newest Offering is Really Nothing New

It can be argued in many different ways, but the simple fact is, golf is NOT a growing sport. The statistics show it. Even though there are currently about 450 more courses in the U.S. than existed in the year 2000, over the past several years, more courses have closed than opened. What's more alarming is, despite these additional 450 courses, fewer rounds are being played every year. According to reports from the National Golf Foundation, 2009 marked the fourth consecutive year in which total rounds of golf decreased from the previous year. As a matter of fact, it was the eighth year out of the past nine in which a decrease was shown. In 2000, roughly 518.4 million rounds of golf were played in the U.S. But by 2009, that number had dropped...

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Why Stinking At Golf Is OK

First of all, it's ok because everyone is doing it...well, at least a good 95% of the 26+ million golfers in the U.S. are. What about the other five percent? 2% say they can break 80 consistently, 1% actually do it, 0.9% have very low handicaps and 0.1% are professional -this includes touring Pro's and Pro's at your local track*. With that being said, we rule the vote. Last time I checked this country was a democracy, we should have a say in what's what when it comes to golf! 95% equals almost 25 million golfers. Come on people! Let our course hacking, ball slicing, OB finding, all-around stinky golf game voices be heard. Earlier today I read a blog on why golf sucks. The writer mentioned, which is actually pretty funny and almost true, that...

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Public Golf Courses Get A Bad Rap

In 1895, two great things happened to the game of golf: The pool cue was officially banned for use as a putter by the USGA; and the biggest city in the country established the first public course in America: Van Cortlandt Golf Course in the Bronx, NY.Soon after opening, the course was suffering from all the stereotypical things we hear about public tracks today: "Poor playing conditions, unmanageable crowds, and a general lack of golf etiquette." But within three years, the grounds were cleaned-up, playing rules were established, and the number of holes increased from 9 to 18. As a symbol of its longevity, the course is still open today - accepting tee-times from Wall Street bankers and sanitation engineers alike.Unfortunately for golf though,...

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Are There Too Many Golf Courses?

Now that The Masters is over I have to tell you, I am all golfed out. Honestly, I may have watched about a half-hour, in total, of the tournament. But between all of the coverage on ESPN and various other sports networks and news shows, specifically the Tiger coverage, I feel like I was in the galleries all four days! I don't think I can watch another five minutes of a tournament for the rest of the year! However, that does not curb my desire to get back out onto the many courses which my home state of Connecticut has to offer. But a couple of stories in my local news lately have me wondering...are there too many golf courses?The obvious answer for one who loves to golf, especially those of us who enjoy playing different courses all the time,...

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Record Broken at The Masters..

No, it does not consist of how many women a golfer has slept with. As a matter of fact, Tiger is not even involved in this. Check out this tidbit the AP reported:"Italian 16 year-old Matteo Manassero became the youngest player to ever make the cut at the Masters, sinking three long par putts on the back nine Friday to finish at 3-over�right on the cutline. Manassero has now made the cut at both his majors, having tied for 12th at last summer�s British Open. �I always want to stay levelheaded since that�s the education that my parents gave me,� he said. �My parents help me also in this period to stay more level. But I dream for something like the Masters.� So do older golfers, and they don�t have his track record.Manassero, who last summer became...

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The Masters to the Rescue?

The folks over at someecards.com really have a way with words. But all sarcasm aside, the above graphic isn't too far fetched. For the last few months, everyone tied to the golf industry has looked at this Tiger situation with a weary eye.From the pro tours down to the golf retailers, the thought of a season without the sport's golden child was troublesome to say the least. No Tiger meant no ratings, which would inevitably lead to lower sales and less interest - all this piled atop an already slow market do to the current economic climate.Meanwhile, those of us in the golf blogosphere have had a field day as the public gorged themselves on all the lusty details. Yet even the non-traditional media harbored an ominous feeling for the golf industry...

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Are You Betting on Tiger to Win The Masters? Or Just Betting?

Are you like me? Do you think a little wager makes every sport a bit more interesting? No? Well, you're wrong. It does. Let's say you're watching a football game between the Browns and Rams. Unless you're a fan of one of the two, most people don't care about the result, right? Well, put $50 on it. Now what?Throughout every individual sport's season, there are all kinds of games that don't matter to a casual fan. But once the chance to win some money enters the equation, suddenly an all new interest becomes apparent. Think about the Super Bowl. The boxes get passed around the office and even the people who think the Lakers played the Yankees in the Stanley Cup Finals last year are scribbling their name into three or four empty slots. They're...

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There's Something About Golf...

Imagine brilliantly clear blue sky on a warm afternoon in early spring. A gentle breeze carries the scent of new blossoms, while the songs of distant birds seem abstract from your concentration. The sounds of nature are disrupted briefly by the swoosh of a golf club, followed by what seems to be complete and utter silence...then, a splash.Yep - I just plunked a 100-yard approach shot into the drink and I'm totally fine with it. Am I nuts? Probably. But I'm not alone. You see, people don't merely play golf; they experience it. Immersed in the sights, sounds and smells of the outdoors; the camaraderie among friends; and a dash of competitiveness - the game assimilates you among the many crazed addicts of this sport.It's true. The economy has...

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The Most Versatile Athlete of All Time Was...a Golfer?

A golfer was the most versatile athlete of all time you ask? That's right...she was a golfer. Wait...what? I know...you're having a hard enough time getting by the title as it is. And then I go and throw in "she."Now you're completely thrown off! I'm obviously a few fries short of a Happy Meal. I'm sure I've even lost some credibility (what little I have) with many sports fans. Well, trust me, I would never have thought I would feel this way before I really looked into it.But, maybe you'll even agree with me afterward. Maybe you might even consider dropping "most versatile" from the title and replacing it with, simply, "greatest." After all, being a great golfer on top of numerous other athletic accomplishments, some at an expert level, deserves...

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