Maybe What We Need Is Beer-League Golf...

Have you ever met the guy who has no friggin' idea what his handicap is? You're having a conversation and golf comes up. You say "So you play, huh? What's your handicap?" And you get this..."No idea. I usually shoot in the upper-90's or low 100's." And you give him that look like you're thinking "How the hell does this guy not know what his handicap is?" Don't you just hate that guy? Well guess what...that guy is me.

The only reason I have some sort of general idea about my handicap is due to Stinky Golfer Greg. He figures it out for me. Otherwise, and for the most part anyway, I'm the guy who makes the above statement.

What I can't figure out for the life of me is, why people look at me like I have three heads when I tell them I don't know what my handicap is? Really now...what's the big deal? If golf is supposed to be this game you play against yourself, then why is everyone so concerned with everyone elses handicap? Do you just want to know if you're better than me? Here, I'll make it simple for you...I stink....you're better....my name is Stinky Golfer Chris for cryin' out loud! There, do you feel better about your own game now? Glad I could help.

I don't understand why all these golfers who are not pro players (and I'm sorry to inform them, never will be) have some fascination with this number. I also fail to understand why the simple concept of playing golf just for the fun of it, goes right over the heads of most. I'll go back to an old analogy I made - I play beer league softball. I know or run into many others who play softball also. However, I have yet to hear one of those players ask me what my batting average is. Truthfully, why would they care? It's just softball for fun. Don't get me wrong...we all try to win. But if we don't...so what? I look at golf in the same light. Why is that so hard for other golfers to understand?

I guess I just don't understand the concept of spending obscene amounts of money on golf lessons only to take my new and improved game out to my local tracks. Let's go back to softball for a second. I try to do well when I play...but I'm not about to go take private batting lessons with Walt Hriniak or field grounders with Ozzie Smith. I play for fun! Just like I do with golf! Why is that so hard to understand?

For some reason though, golfers just don't get that. Most golfers can't understand that I step onto the course with every intention of having a good time. If I play well, great! If not, great! As long as I played.

See, I think like this: Once I begin to really work at golf (lots of practice, taking lessons, etc...) the game is no longer a game. It's now work. I don't ever want a sport that I enjoy to become work. Especially if I'm not going to get paid for it!

Am I the only one who feels this way? Does anyone else not know, or care, what their handicap is? Does anyone else play this sport simply for the fun of it? I can't be the only one of my kind....can I?

Swing 'til you're happy! It's the reason I play!

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So What's Next, An Internet Golf Lesson?

If you're anything like me, you have a pretty busy schedule. Between a 45+ hour work week, three kids, my wife and and her busy schedule...I just don't have a lot of spare time on my hands.

Believe it or not, sometimes I don't even have time to play golf (even nine holes)! So the last thing I have the time (or money) for is a golf lesson! It may sound crazy, but I just don't have that extra hour to spare, especially at around $60 a pop.

I'll admit though, I don't really try to make the time for a golf lesson because, well...it's not really a high priority. I play golf for fun. Not to be a pro. I probably play softball more often than golf, but I've never considered hiring a batting coach! So why would I consider doing it for golf?

That being said, I would still like to play a little better. I would like to make that slice I have go away. I'd like to be a bit more consistent. But I sure don't want to pay a healthy chunk of my paycheck to do it. So where does someone like me turn? How about the same place people turn for just about everything else...the internet. Now I know what you're thinking - "How can you get a legitimate golf lesson on the internet?" I'll tell you how - quickly, easily, efficiently and inexpensively - that's how. And that's exactly what I found in my experience with www.fixyourgame.com/.

PGA Pro and Director of Instruction Brant Kasbohm has created a golf instruction website that is incredibly easy to use, very informative and amazingly affordable. All that's required is a video of your swing from both behind and face-on and $19.95. After emailing my video and filling out the "Get Started" page, all I had to do was wait, and the wait wasn't long. Less than 36 hour later, I had received an email back. Contained in the email was a breakdown of some of the problems with my swing (posture, weight transfer and swing path) along with potential fixes. Now I know what you might be thinking; you can't learn much from an email. I might as well have just picked up a magazine, right? Wrong.

Also included in the email were the videos I sent in, side-by-side with video of Brant himself, for the purposes of comparing my swing to his. I should mention, our swings are about as close as you can get to night and day. The personalized videos, complete with Brant's voice over, play like a tutorial rather than just simply watching a video of a proper swing vs. well, not a very good one. Brant breaks down my swing frame-by-frame to help point out exactly where I'm going wrong.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say, I've learned more about my swing in that 8 minute and 39 second video than from anyone, pro or otherwise, who has looked at my swing before. And when I take into consideration it took me no more than $20 and a few minutes to video my swing, www.fixyourgame.com is a no-brainer.

So if you're like me, you don't have the time or money, or you're just not that interested in getting a full-on lesson, then www.fixyourgame.com is an excellent site to check out. It's informative, inexpensive and takes very little time or effort on your part.

The following day, I had already started trying to work some of the fixes into my swing during a nine hole round. Let's just say its going to take some getting used to. But thanks to Brant and the team at Fixyourgame.com, I can tell I'm on the right path.

Swing 'til you're happy!

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Lost On The Links

I'll be honest, I had every intention of mailing this one in. What I mean is, I (along with a good portion of the rest of the country) was watching the Lost finale last night. I wasn't thinking about golf, and I certainly wasn't thinking about blogging about it. I was much more interested in Jack vs. Locke and what goofy comment Hurley was going to make next. But it ended up being Hurley who motivated me to make an effort here.

In watching the two hours of hype leading up to the actual episode, we were taken back to season 1. During that season, Hurley realizes they may be on the island for a while. So in a time when everyone else on the island is understandably freaking out, scared to death and confused..... Hurley is constructing a golf course. I didn't realize until now the beauty of it. A simple thought popped into my mind - Life sucks...let's play golf!

It's like life for most of us. Well, life doesn't necessarily suck. It just sucks sometimes. But when life sucks, we play golf. And that's exactly what Hurley had in mind. They were playing golf simply for the fun of it. For the relatively short time they were on the course, golf was taking their minds off of the horrible situation they were in. They weren't taking the game serious, and likely weren't even keeping score. It made me realize, this is exactly how a round of golf should be.

OK, I can't speak for everyone, but I'm certainly not stranded on an island due to a plane crash. But that's not the point. The point is, my bills could be piling up, the kids may be pissing me off, the job might be incredibly stressful...but when I'm out on the course, none of that matters. Golf should be so simple for all of us. It shouldn't be taken so seriously. It should be just a simple distraction for us. Something we do to keep our minds off of the things that will be there later.

So my swing isn't perfect. I don't putt all that well. My short game sucks. So what? What does any of that matter so long as I enjoy what I'm doing, right? If I was to get myself too wrapped up in trying so hard to do it all perfectly, it would no longer be fun. Rather, it would be more like a job. I don't want my distractions from everyday life to become jobs. I don't want to feel like I know I could do better and just wind up frustrated when I don't. Where is the fun in that?

So, thank you Hurley. Thank you for reminding me this sport is just my distraction from the everyday world. Thank you for reminding me to not take it seriously. Thank you for reminding me that I should play this game for no reason other than the fun of it. It took a fictional character to remind me of these realities.

And to think....I was considering taking a lesson! Thank you again Hurley for saving me the time and money.

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A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Course...

So, here we are on our way to hack through 18 holes when Brian* realizes he needs a new glove and a few extra golf balls. We make a quick detour and head to the local golf shop. As we pull in and look around the parking lot it seemed everybody else also needed to stop in. The place was jam packed. We all agreed that we're here already, let's just get in and out asap.

Let me set this story up for you. We're all dressed in proper golf attire (even though we suck we could still look the part) and as Brian is doing his thing, I wander over to the practice mats where you can demo clubs. And then it happens...a shopper in the store asks me for help thinking I work there. I couldn't resist and neither could Dave* (the other golfer riding with us).

I survey the store and see that there are only 2 or 3 actual store employees already swamped with customers, so I reply "Sure! How can I help?". The man tells me he is having problems with his swing and needs some advice. Holy S#@%! This guy is asking me for swing tips(...me...the sultan of slice) and without missing a beat I instruct my new student to get up on the mat. Dave is looking on in disbelief that I'm about to give a swing lesson.

We make our introductions and begin.

Me: "Ok Mike*, before we begin do you have any medical conditions that could affect your swing?"

Mike: "Uhhh...no"

Me: "Good, have you ever been in a Mexican jail?"

Mike: "What?!?!"

Me: "Protocol."

Mike: "No!"

Me: "Excellent! Now, I want you to go ahead and take a few swings."

Mike makes a few swings and steps off the mat.

Me: "It seems you have a tendency to pick your head up."

Mike: "Pick my head up? My last instructor told me that was a myth."

Dave: " Hey listen, if you don't want our help that's fine."

Mike: " I'm sorry guys, I didn't mean it like that..."

Dave: "No problem, it's forgotten. Back to business!"

From a pile of random warehouse stuff located in the back corner, Dave pulls out a bungee cord.

Dave: "Here it is! Mike, take one end of the bungee cord and hook it to your belt buckle. Bend over a bit and loop the cord around the back of your head and hook the other end back to your belt buckle. This should keep your head down"

The guy actually did it! I couldn't look at him without laughing so I had to walk away. At this point Brian is just about done checking out and I meet up with him. Dave joins us a couple minutes later and tells us he told Mike the truth - that we weren't instructors or employees. Apparently, Mike was a good sport about it and said he was going try it on his buddies.

Ahhh, stinking at golf rocks!

*names were changed to protect identity

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