The Top Golf Stinks Blog Posts of 2011!

So it's the end of December and 2012 is right around the corner. But before we pop the bubbly and don our party hats tomorrow night, we here at the Golf Stinks blog would like to thank our readers for their continued support!

And to do that, we're going to carry on with the tradition we started two years ago: It's time to reveal our top ten posts of 2011 (based on page hits)!

Number 10

The Beginning of the End to my Golf Season - In September, Stinky Golfer Chris explains why the start of the NFL season pretty much marks the end of his (as well as many others') golf season.

Number 9

Golf Course Bankrupt? Blame Tiger Woods - Way back in January, Stinky Golfer Greg pondered why more and more golf courses are going belly-up these days and is led to conclude it's all Tiger's fault!

Number 8

Analysis: What Makes a Golf Course Great - In March, we revealed the analysis results of our "What Makes A Golf Course Great" survey. The results may surprise you!

Number 7

Don't Dress Like a Fool on the Golf Course - In this April guest post from Joe Sponcia over at Pillars of Golf, you will learn how not to dress for a round of golf!

Number 6

Why Golf is Aggravating - In this "reality bites" post, Stinky Golfer Pete comes to the frustrating conclusion that average hacks will always be average hacks.

Number 5

Variations on the Game of Golf - Project Flogton - In his continuing series on alternate versions of golf, Stinky Golfer Chris explores the cheating interesting format of Project Flogton.

Number 4

Does Golf Apparel and Equipment Fuel the "Rich Man's Sport" Stereotype? - Stinky Golfer Chris tackles one of the biggest stereotypes in the game - that you have to be rich to play golf. He suggests that merchandise retailers (and their marketing efforts) aren't helping.

Number 3

Why Do Non-Golfers Play in Golf Tournaments? - In this post from August, Stinky Golfer Chris ponders why people who rarely play golf, play in golf tournaments - could it be the food?

Number 2

5 Reasons Why They Hate Golf - In July, Stinky Golfer Greg provides his explanations as to why some people just don't appreciate this game we know and love.









And receiving the most page views in 2011...

Number 1

10 Golf Etiquette Rules Most Jackasses Ignore - In this April post, Stinky Golfer Greg lists his biggest golfer pet peeves in a no-holds-barred rant about cell-phone use; playing from the wrong tee-box; and giving unwanted swing advice.


So there you have it; our top posts of 2011! Thanks again to all our readers - without average hacks like you, golf just wouldn't be the same!

Best wishes for 2012!

-The Golfstinks Team

Related Posts:
The Top Golf Stinks Blog Posts of 2010!
The Top Golf Stinks Blog Posts of 2009!

Read more »

Another Future Golfer's First Time On The Course

So, how many of you have ever been out on the course with someone who simply wasn't ready to be out there? I'm sure most of us have been in that position before, right? I would think that, out on the course, there couldn't be anything more annoying than to play, or.., try to play with someone who has almost no idea what they are doing.

No shot is a good one, they play too slow, they don't know any of the rules of etiquette...just awful! Why would anyone subject themselves to this? Any golfer would just be miserable. But not me. Not this time. This time we're playing slow for a reason.

Last year I posted about taking my oldest kid out on the course for the first time. Well this past weekend, it was time for my second oldest to get out there. And I admit, I didn't believe he was quite ready to be out there yet. He hadn't been to the range enough, hasn't really started to develop a decent swing and pretty much, all-around, had no game. But he wanted to play, and that's good enough for me. I mean, he has to start somewhere sometime, right?

So I suggested we go in the mid-afternoon since I knew we'd be moving slowly and traffic on the course would be at a minimum. We went to the same 9-hole executive course which I took my oldest last year. We lined up on the first tee and wouldn't you know who hit the best ball? Yup, you guessed it...the new guy.

But it wasn't all gravy all the way. We took took a good 30 minutes to play the first hole. Luckily, there was no one behind us all day! So after looking at my watch a few times, a few lessons on the rules of etiquette quickly ensued.

But at the end of the day, the final numbers didn't look so bad! Obviously, I took it easy on him and didn't hammer him for a stroke on every drop, mishit or silly mistake. But even taking that into account...it was much better than expected! And with a little more practice, I'm sure it will improve even more next time.

So despite taking way too long to play nine holes, the day was great all around. I got another kid out to the course, interested in the game and wanting to give it another shot. With school starting this week, I'm sure our time this year will be cut short. But that leaves us an entire off-season upcoming to work on the fundamentals. And I figure with enough practice, I'll soon be worrying about another kid who is soon to be a better golfer than me!

Swing 'til you're happy!

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Top Golf Stinks Blog Posts (thus far) of 2011

Like usual, the first half of the year flew by! As many of our faithful readers know, that means it's time for us to list our Top 10 Posts (thus far) in 2011!

OK, here we go - out of 78 total posts for the year so far, we'll count down the top 10 most frequently read:

Number 10

The Breaking of Golf's Color Barrier - Back in January, Stinky Golfer Chris commemorated MLK Day by highlighting the first African-American to receive full PGA Tour status.

Number 9

POLL: Ever Broken A Golf Club in Anger? - In February, Stinky Golfer Greg admitted feeling invigorated after breaking his putter across his knee and wanted to know if anyone else has ever broken a club!

Number 8

Golf For The Ages - In January, Stinky Golfer Pete told us not to fret should we happen upon a geezer on the tee.

Number 7

POLL: Are Deal Sites Killing Golf Businesses? - In the second poll of this top 10 list, Stinky Golfer Greg wants to know if so-called "Deal Sites" are bad for traditional golf businesses.

Number 6

Why I'm Happy Tiger Didn't Win The Masters - Stinky Golfer Chris expresses his opinions on Tiger and why his losing streak can actually be good for the PGA Tour.

Number 5

Analysis: What Makes a Golf Course Great - In March, we revealed the analysis of our "What Makes A Golf Course Great" survey. The results may surprise you!

Number 4

Don't Dress Like a Fool on the Golf Course - In this April guest post from Joe Sponcia over at Pillars of Golf, you will learn how not to dress for a round of golf!

Number 3

Golf Course Bankrupt? Blame Tiger Woods - Stinky Golfer Greg ponders why more and more golf courses are going belly-up these days and is led to conclude it's all Tiger's fault!

Number 2

Variations on the Game of Golf - Project Flogton - In his continuing series on alternate versions of golf, Stinky Golfer Chris explores the cheating interesting format of Project Flogton.









And receiving the most page views thus far in 2011...

Number 1

10 Golf Etiquette Rules Most Jackasses Ignore - In this April post, Stinky Golfer Greg lists his biggest golfer pet peeves in a no-holds-barred rant about cell-phone use; playing from the wrong tee-box; and giving unwanted swing advice.


Hope you enjoyed reading those all over again - here's to another six months of golf insight, opinions and laughs!
-The Golfstinks Team

Related Posts:
The Top Golf Stinks Blog Posts of 2010!
The Top Golf Stinks Blog Posts of 2009!

Read more »

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, the stereotypes of public courses still exist. The notion that if you play a daily fee or (God forbid) a municipal course, you're in for bad grooming, waits on every tee, and worst of all: you've got to deal with the average slob who doesn't know how to conduct himself like a gentleman.

Ah but the reality is much of this is exaggerated. Let's examine each of these stereotypes in more depth...

Public Courses have Bad Grooming: I've played 18-hole, daily fee courses (both expensive and inexpensive alike) all over this country and have not found many in complete shambles. Sure, a few need some help, but these are by far in the minority. These days, increased knowledge in course architecture, seeding and sprinkler systems, and better grooming equipment have made it hard for public courses to fall into utter disarray. While it still happens on occasion - especially in tough economic times - the majority of public courses are lush and playable (especially the tee-boxes, fairways and greens). Don't get me wrong, not many can compare to Augusta, but then not many private courses can either.

Public Courses have Long Waits on Every Tee: I'm not going to lie to you, there may be times when you will wait on every tee. While this is annoying, it is also rare and usually avoidable. The reality is there are some courses that will squeeze in too many groups in an effort to capitalize on profits. There are also some courses that fail to employ enough rangers to manage the slow pokes. But in either case, these courses are most likely repeat offenders and golfers usually know what to expect before even pulling into the parking lot. But the majority of public courses get it. They understand how to space foursomes out so backups don't occur. They also understand how to manage a slow group holding others up. And most courses usually have a strict tee-time policy, which is a good thing - it ensures there's not a backup on the first tee. While there still can be an occasional backup on one or two tees, backups on every hole are very infrequent.

Perhaps the real concern is how long it takes to play an 18-hole round on a public track? Well, let me ask you this: How long do you expect 18-holes to take? It seems to me my private club friends are always bragging about how quickly they can finish a round. "Oh, I finished 18 in 2.5 hours yesterday!" WTF? That's not golf, that's insanity. Where the hell is the joy in that? Look, four hours is normal. But on a public course, expect it to take five hours. You have to realize that people play golf for enjoyment - thus they are going to chat, have a dog and a beer at the turn, and lose a few balls here and there - and usually, these people are keeping up with the group in front of them! These days with how popular the sport has gotten, you can't sweat-it if it takes five hours to finish a round on a public course - in fact, you should plan on it.

Public Courses Attract Un-Gentlemanly Golfers who Don't Know Etiquette: It stinks that a small few can give public courses a bad rap. Truth is, all it takes is one golfer who is ignorant (or indifferent) to the etiquette-side of the game, and the hold-up begins. But again, this is usually the exception during a round, not the norm. Occasionally, (usually while on the same courses that allow on too many foursomes, I may add) you may get stuck behind a newbie who doesn't know when to pick-up and move-on. You can decrease your chances of this happening by playing a course that has a strict tee-time policy (since many newbies and hacks are walk-ons who've decided last minute to dust-off the old clubs and play). And making an early tee-time is even better - when there are more serious players out on the course. But again, it's extremely rare I get paired-up with someone who is clueless about etiquette - most public golfers know these unwritten rules quite well and play rather efficiently.

So it seems public golf courses have been given a bad rap. But the reality is the game of golf has changed. Regular Joe players are starting to see golf as relaxation rather than a competitive activity. Sure competitiveness is fun, but it's more about spending time with their friends, away from their everyday lives. Five-hour rounds (e.g. a day at the course) are becoming the norm and veteran golfers are beginning to adjust to this.

Meanwhile, public courses already outnumber private clubs two-to-one and that ratio is growing due to this down economy - which means the bulk of golfers play on public tracks...which also means if so many of us are going to be playing this game, we need to take public golf courses for what they are for: Leisure, fun and enjoyment.

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