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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Rock n' Roll n'...Golf?

A good common denominator between music and golf would have to be tempo. Obviously, most songs have a tempo and it is up to the musician to master the whole timing thing. Same thing in golf; the game has its own rhythm and the players focus on their tempo and timing. Could that be the reason why some rockers are excellent golfers?

Now please understand, the term "rocker" can be misconstrued. I mean, a few years back, Golf Digest did a ranking of the top 100 musicians who golf and came up with Kenny G. as number 1 (0.6 handicap). Mr. G. might not personify the rock star ideology with his mighty sax but he's in the ball park, sort of.

If we want to talk about a rock star that golfs, I got one for you: Alice Cooper. This guy hits the course just as hard as he used to hit the bottle - at least six days a week. He's been quoted as saying golf saved his life from alcohol addiction. Moreso, how he replaced one addiction with another, referring to his love for golf. If you're wondering...he's a 2 handicap.

I never really thought rock stars and golf could co-exist. I figured courses would shy away from the whole rock star lifestyle. You know, the boozing, cursing, tight leather pants and breaking stuff...wait a minute, that sounds like a normal outing for me.

Hit'em long...yell FORE!!! Rock on!

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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 tanked; scores are unemployed; but the golf faithful are still out on the course. "Golfers are a different breed; we're basically a bunch of lunatics," says Golf Digest senior writer Steve Donahue. Through a promotion with Excalibur Cigars, I had a chance to speak with Steve recently and he thinks the game is doing "pretty well despite the down economy." It seems we golfers "find a way to happily fork-over our greens fees even if it means not being able to eat that day."

While I'm not sure I'd be willing to risk starvation to hit the links, Steve does have a point. My friend has been out of work (for months) and is still playing; I have a baby on the way (my first) and I'm still playing; the president is waging war (two of them) and he's still playing. In fact, everyone seems to be still playing golf! Steve recalls the most recent statistics he's viewed show the number of rounds played have only declined by 1 percent since the economic woes began - only 1 percent! That being said, what strikes me as the nuttiest fact is most of us aren't even good at this game!

In case you're wondering, 99 percent of golfers can't shoot anywhere near par...and that tells me one thing: We play this game because we love it. And in the 21st-centruy, golf is no longer just for rich men. Over the last 20 years, golf has exploded to include more than just the country club snob (the Judge Smails if you will). These days, golfers are teachers, executives, cashiers, doctors, car salesman and sanitation engineers. We're also mothers, fathers and grandparents.

According to Steve, "...the great thing about golf is you can rub elbows with folks from all walks of life." You'll get paired-up with a group of people you've never met before and "it seems like they've been your friend forever when you walk away after the round." This "bonding" starts on the first tee-box with the notion that "everybody else is just as nervous and insecure on the first tee as you are." That inevitably leads to good conversation during the round. Seriously, during the heat of competition in other sports, can you really tell a joke or talk politics?

This all points to why golf is a unique sport. You don't have to be good at it to love it. You also don't have to be young to play it. Think about that for a second; do you know many beer-league softball players over 60? Then there's the fact you can tee-off alone too. I mean, I can go out and have the whole course to myself - try that in tennis and you'll end up hitting a ball against a wall for two hours. Finally, there's the course itself. I'm of the opinion that no two courses are exactly alike. Sure, most of them have 18-holes, but they all have something unique to them - I've lost my ball in the ocean, in the desert, in the forest - even in a rock quarry...Yep, I've triple-bogied many of the coolest holes I've played and I'd do it all again.

Steve Donahue writes for one of the most popular golf publications in the world and Golf Digest spends a good amount of time covering the pro tours. But even Steve admits for the pros, it�s not about having fun: "Look at the PGA Tour players; they�re the greatest players in the world. How many of them look like they're having a good time? Not many of them." And that's the thing - while the rest of us would all like to get better, it's not just about being good - golf isn't our job, it's our passion. There's something about the way you can relax out on the course; something about spending time with good friends far removed from your everyday lives; something about being immersed in nature's entire splendor.

The reality is I'm not going to make the PGA Tour anytime soon (or the Hooters Tour for that matter). But that's OK. Just being on the course is reason enough to celebrate. So, give me a nice Honduran stogie on the first tee; a couple cold ones in the 19th-hole; and everything that happens in between really doesn't matter in the long run. Yep, there certainly is something about golf...

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Cigar Brand Partners with Golf Digest & Golfsmith

A while back, I posted about the relationship between golf and cigars. In the article, I attempted to reason why this love affair between bogies and stogies exists. But regardless of my insights, it seems the two are inseparable - and now that bond is about to be reinforced.

Renowned stogie manufacturer Excalibur Cigars is gearing up to launch a new website in partnership with Golf Digest and retailer Golfsmith. The site (ExcaliburGolfClub.com) is set to go live within the next week and feature special offers on new Excalibur Cigar packs - but there's a twist: Each cigar pack includes a bonus stogie, a special golf gift from Excalibur, plus a gift card to Golfsmith!

OK, I know what you're thinking; Why do the guys at Golfstinks care about this? Well, beside the fact that we love both golf and cigars, our content will be featured on the Excalibur website too. This is all courtesy of Golf Digest, who has agreed to provide exclusive content to the new Excalibur site and give a few popular golf bloggers (one of which is Golfstinks) a chance to interview a writer at the well-known golf publication.

That being said, keep an eye out for a post right here on this blog that will highlight our interview with Golf Digest senior writer Steve Donahue. We got a chance to ask Steve a plethora of questions regarding the current state of golf, its "rich man" undertones and why the pro tours aren't the only things that matter.

So stay tuned for both our article (featuring insights from Golf Digest) and the forthcoming ExcaliburGolfClub.com site (featuring great deals and freebee's for cigar-lovin' golfers)...

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Four Strokes and seven yards to go...

As we get close to President's Day, I began to wonder how many presidents were golfers and how would they rank amongst each other.

So, with the intentions of embarking on an arduous journey of research and collecting data, I went online and with the click of a few buttons found the following list thanks to Golf Digest!

Without further ado, the ranking of golfing presidents:

1. John F. Kennedy

2. Dwight D. Eisenhower

3. Gerald R. Ford

4. Franklin D. Roosevelt

5. George H. W. Bush

6. George W. Bush

7. Bill Clinton

8. Barack Obama

9. Ronald Reagan

10. Warren G. Harding

11. William Howard Taft

12. Woodrow Wilson

13. Richard M. Nixon

14. Lyndon B. Johnson

15. Calvin Coolidge

Who would of thought that with such a short term, unfortunately, JFK would be leading the pack? Supposedly he had a handicap somewhere between 7-10! Ike picked-up the game at 37 and played over 800 rounds in his career. His handicap hovered somewhere in the 14-17 range.

Ford was a passionate golfer who consistently shot in the 80's. He was also known for his errant shots that would hit spectators. After a round at the Bob Hope Classic he jokingly said: "I would like to deny all allegations by Bob Hope that during my last game of golf, I hit an eagle, a birdie, an elk and a moose."

FDR was quite an accomplished golfer until stricken with polio. However, one of his greatest contributions to golf was the construction of 250 municipal courses that made the game accessible to hundreds of thousands.

A definite must-read for those interested in golfing presidents should check out: "First Off the Tee: Presidential Hackers, Duffers, and Cheaters from Taft to Bush" written by Don Van Atta Jr. Van Atta, a New York Times reporter, humorously approaches the subject and reveals some interesting things such as Bill Clinton's "Billigans." Van Atta shot a round with the Ex-prez after his term, discovering how, through the use of "Billigans," he was able to break 80. Go figure, of all the presidents that would cheat...

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