Sorry, You're Banned From the Back Tees

The view always seems better from the back tees, doesn't it? I've played at some fantastic locations over the years and it never fails - the scenery just seems to "pop" more from back there. I've photographed most of the courses I've played. I'm not much of a photographer, but I've taken a few winners in my day and it's usually on the back tees where all my best photos are captured. I'll try and snap a few from the middle tees, but I always end up walking back for a better view.The fact is, when you stand at the tips of a course, you're seeing what the course architect intended you to see - how the hole is "really" supposed to look. Leave that championship tee box and the view, the hole...the entire feeling just loses something.And what of...

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Golf...A Game Of Averages?

Literally, golf is dominated by averages. Besides the whole thing of handicapping and averaging your scores or figuring out your GIR or how many putts per round so on and so forth. Averages rule this roost...average golfers that is. Power in numbers my friends and the best thing about that is every golfer is involved in the process of figuring out the "average" golfer. From scratch golfers to scratched-out-scorecard golfers, we are all tossed into the big ol' number cruncher and voila - the average golfer is born.I like to look at other numbers to average that are more realistic and mean more to my game. So here are a few of my criteria that help me determine where I stand.How many balls did I lose?How many Mulligans did I take?How many clubs...

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Why I Love Taking 5 Hours to Play Golf

Do you know one of the reasons why I like playing close to Thanksgiving in New England? I usually have the whole course to myself (save for a few wandering souls here and there). I enjoy my round just a little bit more when I don't feel rushed (or, conversely, if I'm waiting 4 foursomes deep on the tee).Yep, this time of year, I can squeeze-out 18-holes in about 5 hours. Now I know what some of you are thinking: "Five hours!? Are you crazy!? What are you, a tortoise? With no one in front of me, I could finish a round WAY faster than that!" Yep, I surmise you could. But if you find yourself alone; on a perfect day; on the golf course; at the end of the season; and you blow through your round in 3 hours...I have news for you: You're an idiot.What...

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Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgolfing

I love Thanksgiving. I love spending time with the family. I love stuffing my face so much that I struggle to keep my eyes open at the dinner table. I love no longer struggling to keep my eyes open on the couch after dinner. I love having turkey sandwiches for the next couple of days. It's an all around great time of year. The time of year to give thanks and appreciation to your friends and family.But today I want to take the time to give more specific thanks. I want to take a moment to give thanks to everyone in my golfing life. I'll start with my wife. I have many things for which I should give thanks to my wife. First off, thanks for using your work hook-ups to get me my new golf clubs! I'm looking forward to the chance to use...

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Victory Redefined

Normally, I do not foray into the personal life of pro golfers or non golfers for that matter but thanks to Newsweek they brought it to me. You see Mr. Woods has kindly written a little somethin' somethin' called "How I've Redefined Victory" - Right, and this is because he had a winless 2010 so he had to "redefine" victory?Below are the first three paragraphs from his editorial. My issue is that he says golf is a self-centered game and that he thought he was invincible but now realizes that you need to depend on others as well...blah blah blah. So, why did he write "How I've Redefined Victory" - To let us know he's a winner?"Last November, everything I thought I knew about myself changed abruptly, and what others perceived about me shifted,...

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You Never Get Better at Golf; You Only Get "Better"

"Better" is a relative term. On the one hand, getting better implies fixing all your problems (think: I was sick, but now I'm better). Translated for golf, this would mean you once had a double-digit handicap, but you're now a scratch golfer (I don't have to tell you how impossible that is to accomplish). On the other hand, "better" (note the quotation marks) implies you are now simply more successful at something than you were previously. It is this "better" that we stinky golfers need to strive for.Last week, I posted about a new book entitled Golf Sense that aims to help golfers get "better" by focusing on the mental part of the game. And, I fully intend to use some of the tactics in Golf Sense to try and get "better." But what will "better"...

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Do You Take Advantage Of The "Fall Golf Special?"

It's a sad time of year when the golf season winds down. The clubs get put away, courses begin to close up shop and the weather just doesn't seem to cooperate anymore. You know you're at that point when it seems there's nothing else to look forward to for the rest of the year. Maybe, just maybe, you might get one more nice weekend...but it's not all that likely. But let's say that one nice weekend does come along in mid- to late November. Where are you going to play? Do you take your chances with one of the few remaining open courses? How about those courses running their "Fall Specials?" You know, a course that normally runs about $45 to walk 18 is now charging $30 with a cart. It sound like a great deal...but is it really?Knowing...

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Televised Golf Ruined My Game

Every time I watch golf on TV I "think" I gain some insight on how to better my game...(insert 'wrong answer' buzzer here). Damn you professional-touring-golfer-who-makes-it-look-so-easy. Why do you make me believe I can make these shots and instead I end up messing them up? You can't tell me you've never watched a pro on TV hit a shot and then tell yourself "Ah ha! That's how you do it."Now, add in the commentator (another enabler) and you're convincing yourself you can hit 'em like they do and in no time be on the tour. For example, David Deherty was talking about Tiger's shot and what he was going to do. Deherty, with all his wit, proceeds to tell the viewers how Tiger is going to "come across his body and really rotate his wrists"...WTF...

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I Get My Golf Advice From a Guy Who Doesn't Golf

My friends, I'm about to take a leap of faith. I've decided to change the way I approach my swing, my putting, in fact my entire game. And I'm entrusting this momentous metamorphosis to a man who doesn't even play golf.Yep, I'm an idiot.I've just finished reading a book called "Golf Sense - Practical Tips On How To Play Golf In The Zone" (Front Runner Publications, 2010). It's a book that follows nicely on the heels of another golf book I read recently; "Straight Down the Middle" (see my review HERE). Both these books are, as it happens, similar in that they don't really give swing advice, rather, they attempt to put you in a golfing state of mind. Where Straight Down The Middle helped me find "inner peace" on the course, Golf Sense provides...

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Play Golf, Save Money!

Golf is expensive. I could say nothing more and there would be no argument. The cost of the sport is what keeps many from getting into golf to begin with. For starters, you need the equipment to play. Clubs, a bag, shoes, balls, tees, etc...not too mention the certain type of clothing you may be required to purchase if you don't already have it. And that's before you even get out there! You didn't even pay your greens fees yet! Hell, I've been playing golf for years and the cost is what keeps me from playing more than anything else.For years, many of us have waited for "twilight" times to get a break on greens fees. Some of us have a buddy working at a course who will get us a discount when the boss is gone. I know I've skipped out on a day...

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Only You John Daly...Only You

I have to give Mr. Daly credit. He might not be the best role model for the young golfers out there but, I admire his honesty. A couple weeks back he was signing a copy of his book "My Life In And Out Of The Rough" (hmmmmm...you could also replace the word "Rough" with other stuff like "Bottle" or "Most Ridiculous Pants"). Anyway, he supposedly told a Charlotte, NC newspaper that he was happier as a miserable drunk and that he played better drunk.Come on John, don't sugar coat it! Tell us how you really feel. He also went on to mention that he hasn't had a drink in two years and that the more he works on his game sober, the worse he gets. And he hasn't been in the top 10 in the last 4 years, to boot. Well, I guess that puts the kibosh on a...

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Oh, it's Your Birthday? Here's a Free Round of Golf.

My birthday was yesterday. I like Halloween, so I can appreciate my birthday being two days later. But in reality, my birthday is mostly associated with election day. More presidents, senators and governors have been voted into office on the day of my birth than I care to remember. And I hate to say it, but it's always a bit annoying to drag myself down to the polls and stand in line to vote on my birthday - but hey, that's what being an American is all about.I'll tell you what wouldn't be annoying to do on my birthday though - play golf! I know, it's already 38 degrees in the morning here in the Constitution State and it's topping off at around 53 in the afternoon, but I would still enjoy to get out there and play - especially for free.Well,...

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What's More Frightening Than My Golf Game?

Up until now, the scariest thing for me about this great sport of golf has been my own game. I have seen fellow golfers cringe at the site of me in a trap. Some have stared on in horror as I line up a four-footer. Others have even released blood-curdling screams at the site of my drives! Well.., on second thought, that could have been laughter. But either way...the point is my golf game is scary! As scary as it may be though, it doesn't quite qualify as that Halloween type scary. But what in golf does? A Mickelson meltdown? A Sergio blowup? John Daly's pants? If those don't do it for ya...how about a creepy, ghostly figure watching from the woods as you putt-out on 18?Sound ridiculous? Well, some golfers at the City Park golf courses in New...

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