Using Your Head At Golf...Literally

With the recent suspension of the Pittsburgh Steeler's James Harrison for that helmet-to-helmet concussion-inducing lick he dropped on the Cleveland Brown's QB Colt McCoy, it had me wondering about head injuries. Moreso, about the recent call to action for all sports to raise awareness to the severity of head injuries.

I remember when I was younger a lot of these injuries were passed off as a "stinger" or "you got your bell rung" when in fact these could have had traumatic long term effects. Surprisingly, golf also has its share of head injuries.

The following is an excerpt from research Golf Digest did on head injuries in golf:

Accidents often occur when golfers are fooling around. Most at risk are newcomers to the game, particularly children. In 1997, nearly 25 percent of all golf-related injuries occurred to children age 5 to 14. Even more striking, a recent study from Scotland reported that 40 percent of all sport-related head injuries among children were related to golf. Many of these injuries are caused not by golf balls, but by golf clubs, often as a result of kids playing with their parents' clubs at home.

This is not to mention, the ER sees about 40,000 golf injuries annually. On the bright side though, very rarely are these injuries fatal. Another interesting point is that Pro-Am tournaments turn out their fair share of injuries...but not to the golfers; On tour, it's the spectators who need to watch out. I can see it now, the gallery gathers around the tee box for Jim Furyk's drive but make the mistake of not moving when Jim's partner, Charles Barkley, tees off. The next thing you know, Sir Charles' ball is bouncing off onlookers' heads like a pinball machine. Good thing is you'll probably only make that mistake once.

All jokes aside, head injuries are very serious and I'm glad more attention is being brought to this issue. Having played a bunch of sports and having had "my bell rung" a few times I can tell you...it's not fun. So, the next time you're out on the course and your buddy takes one off of his melon, look for these tell-tale signs courtesy of the Mayo Clinic and get help immediately.

Loss of consciousness for a few seconds to a few minutes

No loss of consciousness, but a state of being dazed, confused or disoriented

Memory or concentration problems

Headache

Dizziness or loss of balance

Nausea or vomiting

Sensory problems, such as blurred vision, ringing in the ears or a bad taste in the mouth

Sensitivity to light or sound

Hit'em long...yell FORE!!! Use your head.

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What If PGA Tour Golf Was a Team Sport?

Yeah, maybe this was partially inspired by the Ryder Cup, but it was much more inspired by my favorite Sunday afternoon activity....watching football.

Football, in my opinion, is the ultimate team sport. Think about it. If just one single player doesn't do his job, the play is a waste. If one offensive lineman doesn't block...the QB is down. If a wide receiver, even though he's not even involved in the play, doesn't at least run his route, or block someone downfield, the play is busted. If a cornerback or safety doesn't cover their man, the other team is on their way to six. No other sport so heavily depends on the team as a whole.

Look at basketball - at any point, one or two players per team are just standing around doing nothing - sometimes they're not even on the same side of the court! Even worse is baseball. There are times when as many as eight players on the field at once are all just watching the action happen somewhere else. Maybe the players are a little more involved in hockey or soccer, but really....who cares?

Team sports are the most popular sports in the United States. Football, basketball, baseball and yes...even hockey. But what about golf? Why is golf not played in teams? At the high school level, golf is a team sport. At the college level, golf is a team sport. But at the pro level...outside of the Ryder Cup, it's all about the individual. I understand why it's a team sport in high school and college, but has anyone ever really considered the idea of pro team golf?

Would it add or detract from the sport? I myself don't see why it would take anything away. I mean, you're still seeing the individual golfer play, right? That aspect isn't affected at all. But what if, instead of getting behind one golfer, you could get behind a team? How would teams be broken up? Would there be a draft? Or would players be eligible for teams based on their home states? For instance, maybe Matt Kuchar leads a team of players from Florida against a team from South Carolina led by Dustin Johnson. The Florida Retirees vs. The South Carolina Beach Bums...or something like that. You know what I'm gettin' at.

I'm thinking that if this was a team sport, and each weekends tournament scores added up to something towards the end of the season...this could build up to a PGA Tour Super Bowl of sorts. Imagine the final weekend of the season being a foursome-on-foursome meeting between Jim Furyk's Pennsylvania team vs. Lefty's California squad. Sounds pretty OK.

I'm not saying every weekend tournament would have to be played as a team. Tournaments would still be setup as they are now. However, each golfers individual results would affect their teams cumulative score. And at the end of the season, the two best teams will face off.

I'll tell you three ways this could/would be beneficial to the tour. Number 1 - It makes every tournament mean more. Even the smaller, lesser followed events. Number 2 - It will get the big names to the current not-so-big venues. And number 3 - It would get all golfers playing more often. No more of this Tiger Woods and his only playing 12 events crap, while everyone else is playing 20+. I don't know about you, but this is beginning to sound OK!

Now I know that some of you are saying to yourself "But golf isn't supposed to be a team sport. You play golf against yourself. You try to beat the best you've done every time you play." You know what...shut up. I always hated that asinine comment and that's why I've never attempted to make that stupid argument and never will. That's just golfers trying to justify why their sport is better than another. I can make that same stupid argument for ANY athlete in ANY sport. If it was all about playing against yourself then there wouldn't be tournaments against other golfers! Of course you're trying to play your best round ever! Why wouldn't you?! Do you think Tom Brady goes out on the field every Sunday saying "I think I'll try to do just enough to get by this time. I don't want to do better than I did last week." Do you think Kobe Bryant says the same thing? How about Albert Pujols? See how stupid it sounds? But I digress.

Maybe this is an all around stupid idea. I don't know. But it's an idea anyway. I'm just trying to think of some ways to inject some life into an often times lifeless sport.

Anyone got a better idea?

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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 if he hit it on the downswing there's no penalty. I understand moving a low hanging branch or stepping on a bush to improve your shot is a penalty but, come on!

So what if I'm in really tall grass, like heather, and in my backswing I contact a loose dead piece of heather? It impedes on my shot...it's friggin' tall grass! Normal fairway grass gives me agita* sometimes. Does that mean I get taxed 2 strokes? Great, now I have to inspect my surroundings for any loose blade of grass that could interfere with my takeaway.

Now that I think about it, I need to go back and readjust all of my scores. Better yet, I'll just start my rounds with + 8. That should cover the penalties I would incur so I don't have to explain that during my backswing somehow the O.B. marker and the rock in front of my ball got relocated roughly five feet behind me. Are we really supposed to follow the rules to that degree?

Hey, there's a way to really mess with your foursome. Keep a copy of the rule book turned to Rule 13.4 stating that it is a two stroke penalty moving a loose impediment in takeaway. I'll bet you set your buddies back a few strokes every round. I should also mention that the extra strokes added to their score will somehow correlate to the amount of strokes they administer on your face in the parking lot.

Hit'em Long...yell FORE!!

*Agita: (AH-GEE-TA) Heartburn, acid indigestion, The word is Italian-American slang derived from the Italian "agitare" meaning "to agitate."

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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 want to hit it. In one of his episodes he talks about Ben Hogan and his swing. He said Ben Hogan swung the way he did out of motivation...he had to make a living. Hogan didn't work on his swing for hours and hours. He hit balls for hours and hours with his swing because that's what worked for him.

Very interesting, just get out there and play. I can dig that! If Ben Hogan supposedly had the perfect swing than how does someone like Jim Furyk with his funky swing play on the tour and win? Because Furyk's swing works for Jim Furyk. He hits the ball the way he wants to hit it. The more I think about it the more I like the concept. A simple no BS way to attack the game.

When you get a chance, head on over to Golf Dude In The Basement and check him out for yourself. As always, hit'em long...yell FORE!

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