If your golf season is over and you’re dreaming about next year – here’s a little inspiration. 5 foot 11, 165 pound Jamie Sadlowski can drive his putter 300 yards. But remember, it’s not how long, but how many.
A True Golfer: Sean Connery
One of cinema’s best golf scenes undoubtedly includes Sean Connery in Goldfinger. I surmise the success of the scene came from the authenticity behind it. In his memoirs, Sean Connery talks about how his love for the game developed while preparing for one of Bond’s greatest adventures:
I never had a hankering to play golf, despite growing up in Scotland just down the road from Bruntsfield Links, which is one of the oldest golf courses in the world. It wasn’t until I was taught enough golf to look as though I could outwit the accomplished golfer Gert Frobe in Goldfinger that I got the bug. I began to take lessons on a course near Pinewood film studios and was immediately hooked on the game. Soon it would nearly take over my life.
I began to see golf as a metaphor for living, for in golf you are basically on your own, competing against yourself and always trying to do better. If you cheat, you will be the loser, because you are cheating yourself. When Ian Fleming portrayed Auric Goldfinger as a smooth cheater, James Bond had no regrets when he switched his golf balls, since to be cheated is the just reward of the cheater. Continue reading “A True Golfer: Sean Connery”
“That’s an eight-pound ham in a five-pound can”
Earlier this year, the NY Times has posted an interesting article on PGA Tour rules officials. It discusses some interesting aspects of a largely thankless job, including the hot button issue of slow play:
“When we’re trying to get 156 players this week, which means there is going to be 26 groups on 18 holes,” White said. “You’re going to wait. Play is going to be slow. Those are the facts. People say we aren’t doing our job?”
Cracked Mickey Bradley, who was riding in White’s cart: “Twenty-six groups on 18 holes? That’s an eight-pound ham in a five-pound can.
I guess these guys don’t ever play at public golf courses. 26 groups on 18 holes? I think I hear the worlds tiniest violin. Try 36+ groups at any public course around the country on Saturday morning and see if you still think 5+ hours for 2-3 professionals to play 18 holes is an acceptable pace of play.
Of course, tour officials do walk away with some great stories:
One rules official described an exchange several years ago between another official, since retired, who was asked by a player who had just been fined for uttering an obscenity, “Can I be fined for what I’m thinking?” The official said no. The player quickly replied, “Good, then I think you are a no-good” and he finished his sentence with an obscenity. He was fined again.
Derek Franks is a guest blogger at the Scratch Pad. For more posts visit his blog 72strokes.com.
The One Blog Post Tim Finchem Should Read In 2011
We’re happy to announce a new guest blogger here for the Scratch pad. atruegolfer.com is the golf blog of Jon Birdsong, where he writes about the traditions and culture of golf. We’re excited to add Jon’s perspective to our blog by sharing some of his best posts with you. Great to have you on board, Jon!
Memberships are down, fewer patrons are attending tournaments, the economy is still recovering and the Tour’s main attraction is searching for his game. If I could put one blog post in front of Tim Finchem, it would be this one.
My message would be simple: golf tournaments should adapt to these times. Not golf, not the players, but tournaments – the entire experience. The on-course experience carries over directly to the TV viewer. When the fans are into every shot, the viewers are in it as well.
These aren’t the boom years of the Tiger Slam. The PGA Tour now has an opportunity to let fans feel much more engaged with golf’s best.
Opportunity
Every time I’m at a tournament, I always hear a fan exclaim how excited they get when players or their favorite player walk by in between holes. This is valuable for the Tour to know. Let the patrons get closer — closer to everything: the players, the green, maybe not the fairway.
Here is a great example of a classic golf gallery:
I love this photo. It shows appreciative fans who want to see one of the greatest work his craft. This is how golf should be spectated…even today. Continue reading “The One Blog Post Tim Finchem Should Read In 2011”
Top 100 Courses: #17 Whistling Straits
We’re glad to welcome a new guest blogger at the Scratch Pad! The Itinerant Golfer profiles Steve’s quest to play all of the top 100 golf courses in America. You’ll get a chance to see a round in action, along with great photos of the holes on the course. We’re glad to have him with us, and will be sharing some of his best posts with you.
Whistling Straits
Location: Haven, WI
Architect: Pete Dye
Year Constructed: 1998
Played: June 11, 2009
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect as I headed to Wisconsin to play Whistling Straits. Despite its high ranking of #22 on the Top 100 list, I wasn’t overly excited to play it. From what I could tell about the course from my research on the internet and from watching events played there on TV it was probably not going to be my kind of course. I was hoping to be surprised.
Once I got outside of Milwaukee I was in rural Wisconsin and was thankful for my trusty GPS unit. Eventually I saw the Whistling Straits sign and turned into the driveway. As I wound my way around I was very pleasantly surprised to see that there was no colossal clubhouse or hotel. Instead it was just a modest little clubhouse built to look like an Irish Cottage. Whistling Straits Golf Course was designed to have the feel of an authentic Irish golf club. I’m feeling better about this already. The photo below (which I did not take) shows a great view of the clubhouse.
Herb Kohler of Kohler faucet fame built Whistling Straits. Kohler’s corporate HQ are just a driver and pitching wedge away from Whistling Straits. The American Club was actually not built by Herb Kohler, it was actually used by the Kohler Company to house the immigrant workers at the factory in the early years of the company, it was then renovated and turned into what is now a Five Diamond Resort. In addition to serving recreational golfers like me the course has also hosted events for both the PGA and USGA. The first major event to be held at the course was the PGA Championship in 2004 Continue reading “Top 100 Courses: #17 Whistling Straits”
Motocross Golf
I need a dirt bike.
Derek @ 72strokes.com
Why was Ian Poulter in such a hurry?
In a tournament earlier this year, Ian Poulter sprinted from the 17th tee all the way to the green, putted out, and then teed off on 18 while his playing partner Dustin Johnson was still on the green and Phil Mickelson’s group was just walking off the 18th tee.
Why the rush?
By putting a ball in play on the 18th, Poulter and Johnson were able to finish their round even though the horn sounded to end play. If the horn had sounded while they were still playing the 17th, they would have had to show up for a 7:30ish tee time this morning, play one hole, and then hang around for a few hours to start their 4th round.
I think DJ owes Poulter a drink for getting him a few extra hours of sleep this morning.
Derek is a guest blogger on the Scratch Pad. To view more of his daily posts, visit 72strokes.com
North Korea has its first ever golf tournament
This April North Korea held it’s first ever amateur golf tournament (for foreigners only). The organizers were swamped with applications from Korea, Japan, and the US. Over 200 golfers applied for 30 spots in the tournament.
The tournament was be held at the Pyongyang Golf Complex (18-hole par 72), the only course in the country open to North Koreans. British businessman Richard Shears was one of the players. He writes about his experience:
When the day came for the golf tournament, fortified by a breakfast of pickled cabbage and sauteed pork, we set out in groups for the first tee. There, we were amazed to find we’d been provided with a number of attractive young Korean women dressed in formal blue and white uniforms who would serve as our caddies.
The fairways were like light rough and extremely narrow. By the end of the day, I had been left way down the field – in spite of the attempts by my caddy, Miss Nim, to suggest in her very limited English what club I should use on each hole.
And as I missed each easy putt, she smiled sweetly and clapped politely.
Continue reading “North Korea has its first ever golf tournament”
How many states have you played golf in?
We’re glad to welcome a new guest blogger at the Scratch Pad! 72strokes.com is a golf blog run by Derek Franks, where he shares thoughts on golf happenings, equipment, and the tour. We’re glad to have him with us, and will be sharing some of his best posts with you. To date we’ve written a lot about golf around the world – what about right here at home?
This past December, Michigan resident Ed Ronco completed the 50-state checklist by playing a round at the Royal Kaanapali in Maui. He came up with the idea 7 years ago after realizing that he had already played in 23 states.
Through the use of creative routing of family vacations and several golf-specific trips, Ronco was able to bag every state. Alaska and Hawaii were two of the tougher states to cross of the list, mostly due to the travel/cost involved.
Continue reading “How many states have you played golf in?”
From the Forward Tee’s then Beyond
Shawn is a member of MyScorecard and is currently a student at the Keiser University College of Golf in Port Saint Lucie, FL. He’s undergone superb improvement in his game, dropping his index from a 19 to a 9 in just under 12 months. Below, posted from his blog Golf with Shawn, is one his lessons regarding his dramatic improvement.
PGA Master Professional Dr. Wilson has stated at school several times for us to play the forward tees, “Shoot Par there, then move back”. You can read one of his articles on Facebook titled “Learning to Play, Learning to Score” .
The first time I heard him say it, that is what I wanted to do. The hard part was getting the rest of my foursome to tee off with me. EVERYONE wants to play the tips and tournament tees. I had found it to be hard to be the only one to play around the middle tee ground. A lot of times the group would tee off then forget about me.
Recently with some of my closer friends at school I have been able to convince them to do this. During these “practice rounds” I have started to notice something more and more… there have been a lot of smiles, laughter, and good vibes throughout the round. With my golf game I have noticed more improvements with my swing and ball contact. Something has just clicked, and all the lessons I have had at school I am starting to feel the difference in my swing and contact with the ball. Continue reading “From the Forward Tee’s then Beyond”