Holy Golf CrAPP!

Is it me or is everything slowly being taken over by an app? I recently got my paws on a new Droid cell phone and instantly hit the "App Market". What the hay, I enjoy the game of golf. Why not search for golf app's? I fire the four letter word inquiry off into that mobile virtual data bank and BAM...the anxiety and disorientation begins to set in.I am now looking at an infinite list of golf apps with no clue as to which ones are good, cool or won't mess with my phone. I guess I could google them but that's just another set of subjective opinions and we all know the deal with that. So, I figure filtering the results to "golf GPS" would be a little easier...mmmm...not really. "Ok, so this golf GPS app has a one star rating but it looks good...

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The Advent of Organic Golf Courses

Twenty years ago, Whole Foods supermarket was virtually unheard of, save for a minimal portion of the population in Texas. The organic food phenomenon was just beginning to take root, and many thought it was doomed to fail.The idea that food could be grown on a large scale without the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers was dismissed as hogwash. But yet these days there are nearly 300 Whole Foods markets across North America and the UK, and a growing number of consumers are seeking organic meals around the dinner table.Like the organic food industry of two decades ago, today we're at the dawn of a new way to manage golf courses. Within the last 10 years, an increasing number of golf course managers have begun to realize that the "Augusta...

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Golf Equals College

We've all heard the expression about the two things in life you can count on...death and taxes. Well, you can add a third to that list - the rising cost of college tuition. It seems to make no difference what the economy does, college tuition continues to rise. The unemployment rate rises, jobs disappear, businesses close their doors...it makes no difference. College tuition rises.According to the College Board, the average, per-year cost of a four year private college rose 4.4% for the 2009-10 academic year. And the public schools rise was an even steeper 6.5%! Now I don't know about anyone else, but I have three kids, my oldest being only six years away from college. So considering the tuition increase every year, how much is college going...

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World's Smallest Golf Course.

Bobby Jones once said "Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half inch course � the space between your ears." I understand he was referring to playing on a higher level than your average golfer's weekend outing but, there is definitely something here for every golfer. I think we've stumbled upon something disproving the age old saying "Ignorance is bliss."Do we ever stop and think that the mental game is just about as important as the physical game? I'd bet maybe 75% of average golfers say they are just out there to have fun. I get it; me too but, how much fun is it when it takes you four attempts to get on the green from five yards out? That five-and-a-half-inch course Jones talks about is a real mother-f'er.Ah yes, using the old...

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Why Par 3 and Executive Golf Courses Make Me Uneasy

In my post last week, I made a rather strong statement that I could be playing at either St. Andrews or some pitch n' putt somewhere and it wouldn't make much of a difference to me. I went on to explain that it doesn't matter where I play...that once I strap the old clubs on my back, my golf pilgrimage begins.That statement was, for the most part, true. Yet of the hundreds of golf courses I've played in my lifetime, an extremely small percentage of them were of the executive or par 3 caliber. You may be wondering why. Why would this self-procliamed lover of all golf courses - a man who has played all the public 18-hole courses in his home state for the sheer fun of it (good ones and bad alike)...why would he have something against par 3 and...

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Stinky Golfer's Wives; We Do Exist

What's it like being the wife of a stinky golfer? Interesting...to say the least. I am sure by now many of you know who I am. My name is Jenn, but I may be better known as "Mrs. Stinky Golfer Chris." That's us to the left - an actual wedding photo. Am I a cool wife or what? Just to clarify any previous statements made by my husband, it's not that I don't like golf, I just have no interest in it...at all. When Chris comes home from golf, I ask him what he shot. He'll say, "Horrible, I shot 103!" I'll say something to the effect of "Aw, that sucks." But really, I have NO idea what that means. Not even a little. Now, I know what some of you are thinking. "Wow, she shows interest even though she could care less." Here's why I really do it. Because...

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Get A Free Golf Genie iPhone App! It's Easy & Free!

JUST 3 DAYS LEFT! The good folks over at Golf Genie have handed us a bunch of free iPhone downloads of their awesome app (a $5 value)! How can you get one? JUST CLICK HERE Then "like" the post about the promo on our Facebook page - it's that easy! Oh, and be sure to check out Stinky Golfer Greg's review of the Golf Genie here.These iPhone app codes expire Thursday, so get yours tod...

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Are USGA Rules Taking It Too Far?

Back in April of this year, Brian Davis- fairly new to the tour, loses his chance to win the Verizon Heritage and $400,000 because he ticked a reed during his backswing while in a hazard. He didn't intend to touch the reed to improve his chances. And I'm pretty sure that didn't give him any advantage. Brian, sorry to see you concede your first possible victory in such a crappy way. At least you can say you came in second to Jim Furyk.There should be a referee out there with instant replay that could make a better call than some rule taken to the highest level of anal retentiveness. Seriously, he barely nicked a dead reed...A DEAD REED! Everybody knows that contacting a dead reed in your backswing makes you play better. The best part is that...

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

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...

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Off Course - The Poster-Boy For All That Is Wrong With Sports

Normally, we here at Golfstinks do our thing a little differently. We tend to approach the game of golf from a slightly different angle than most others. And today is no different. But today, I am not going to approach the game of golf at all. Just for this one post, I want to express my opinion about something else going on in the world of sports. Rather, something that went on a few days ago.I have come to accept the fact that most athletes, superstars especially, be it a team sport or not, are more "Me, me, me" than "Team, team, team." But never (in my opinion) in the history of professional sports was it so blatantly obvious as it was with the recent LeBron James spectacle. Being a fan of all three major sports in the U.S., I was completely...

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Records, Shmecords...Cut Me My Check.

In what other sport can you have a record of 2-13 and get paid for not winning? Just ask Ernie Els; the #1 ranked golfer on the money list.As Henry Hill had put it in the movie "Goodfellas"; "Business bad? F#@$ you pay me!" Golfing bad? You got it, pay me. You know, "bad" might not be the right word. He is on the tour. So maybe "Golfing and not winning all the time?" but you get the point?Just think about how great a system that is. It's almost like: Hey, we know you haven't won a major yet so here's a way to be ranked and noticed. PLEASE NOTE: In no way, shape or form am I taking away from Els. He's one of my favorites along with Lefty, who is #2 in the world and #2 on the Money List.Could you imagine if top MLB pitchers like Johan Santana,...

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Book Review: Straight Down the Middle

Within the confines of our own minds, a whole bunch of sh*t can happen to screw up your golfing ability. It is within this realm that Josh Karp writes Straight Down the Middle, his new book from Chronicle Books LLC.The author tells me; "The basic idea is, can inner peace lower my handicap, or will lowering my handicap help me find inner peace?"You may have heard of this mystical golf notion before - if you're familiar with books like "Golf in the Kingdom" or movies like "The Legend of Bagger Vance" - that we all have our real (or authentic) swing hidden inside us somewhere, and we just need to step aside (mentally) and let it take hold. If we can achieve that, *POOF* we become better golfers. Sound ridiculous?Well, a few years ago, Mr. Karp...

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When Is It Too Hot To Play Golf?

Monday afternoon, stinky golfers Greg, Pete and I were making our way through a round of 18. We're somewhere on the back nine when Pete, after pushing a putt left of the cup, exhaustively states "It's too hot to miss." Too hot to miss. That statement got a chuckle out of Greg and I. But, after I thought about it for a second, I came to realize that, at the time, truer words had never been spoken.Here in Connecticut, we are in the midst of a record-breaking heat spell. We're talking triple digits here. I'm not sure what the "official" temperature was, but I know the thermometer in my car hit 100 around 4:30 that afternoon, and the thermometer outside a local bank read 102 about the same time of day. So what could the temp have been around...

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The Declaration of Golf Independence

When on the golf course, it becomes necessary for average hacks to reject the madness of traditional golf doctrine, and to assume among the powers they have within themselves to cast-off the shackles that cloud their judgement on the first tee, a decent respect to the opinions of fellow golfers requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the rejection.We hold these truths to be self-evident, that not all golfers are created equal, that some are endowed by their Creator with certain unimaginable talents, that among these are scratch handicaps, 300-yard drives and backspin on the greens. Because some golfers were born with these talents, it does not mean anyone can derive awesome golf powers merely on the advice of a superior...

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Golf Dude In The Basement

In my pursuit to find anything unorthodox and interesting in the golf world, I've come across something that normally we do not write about - swing/golf lessons. You see, Golfstinks' mission is to unite the average golfer and provide a community for them, not necessarily tell them what they should do on the course. In this instance though, Golf Dude In The Basement presents helpful insight to improving your golf game without really telling you what to do. Weird, I know.GDIB's approach to game improvement takes a different angle than the keep your back straight-shoulder facing the target- knees slightly bent- BLAH BLAH BLAH generic formula to play better golf. One of the Dude's (as he refers to himself) theories is to hit the ball the way you...

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