OK, it's now May 21st and yesterday was the first day I was able to get out and play golf with the guys this season. Seems like it's getting later and later every year. It used to be that as soon as the weather got nice, we were out on the course. But now, family, our jobs, work around the house and various other commitments tend to keep us from the game we all love.
So what are we to do? Do we just sit back and accept this? Do we just let life get in the way of the time we are longing to spend chasing the little white ball around the big green course? Well, to put it simply...yes. That's exactly what we do.
When things like this first began happening to me, I had a tough time accepting it. After all, it had been years since I had a job requiring me to work on weekends. So work never got in the way. I was a single guy back when I took up golf, so family matters never got in the way. But now, that seems like another lifetime.
Luckily, work doesn't get in the way for me. But it does get in the way of our regular golfing group as one of us works on Saturdays. So to make sure we can still play together we're trying to move golf to Sundays.
Family, on the other hand, is something that only seems to become more and more time-consuming as well. Now I know I just made that seem like family time is a negative, but trust me, I only mean it to be negative in a golf sense. I wouldn't change family time for anything.
What I mean is, as we get older, we become committed to our kids commitments. Additionally, there are nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters, cousins and friends, aunts and uncles...someone always has something going on. Birthdays, graduations, school events, field trips, sports...there's always something keeping you from being on the course.
So what to do other than wait? That's about all we can do...wait. But, as Tom Petty said..."The waiting is the hardest part." We wait until the kids are older. We wait until they're out of school. We wait until sporting events are over. We wait until they're too old to have birthday parties. Then, we can take our weekends back. Then, we can go back to playing as often as we used to. Then, we won't be limited to fitting in golf when we have some free time. Hopefully by then, all our time will be free!
But as much as I long for these days, I don't want to make it seem like I'm in that much of a hurry. Because these are the times that I'll look back on when I am older. And something tells me when I'm older, there's a chance I may think just the opposite.
Swing 'til you're happy!
Last week Stinky Golfer Greg unveiled Part 1 and this week, as the title implies, I bring you Part 2. As with last week's post, the same rules apply. I review the apparel and just like always - we give away something free!
I believe we are on a quest to find the perfect polo or golf shirt. It's our destiny to find the brand, style, cut or whatever that gives us a warm fuzzy feeling inside when we put it on (without the help of alcohol). As for me, I like to incorporate comfort into style when I dress. I'm not a fan of wearing something uncomfortable or painful even at the sake of being stylish.
This is why my favorite fabric is cotton. I wear as much cotton stuff as possible. It really is the fabric of my life as that commercial states. That said, once I find that polo or golf shirt I ask; What can be done to make it better? Glad I asked. You make it super soft, able to withstand years of washing and wear and the kicker...you make it organic.
Wait a minute...who does all that? Another great question! Criquetshirts.com does. You see, co-founders Billy Nachman and Hobson Brown went on a journey to find the perfect polo. After years and years of searching with little luck, they decided to stop looking and just make one.
And boy did they. The super kind folks over at Criquet Shirts sent me one of their shirts to check out. First thing I noticed was how soft and elegant the shirt felt. Just like they said it would. It was like a well broken-in polo from the get go. A comfortable vintage cut, not too fitted not too baggy. And in (as they put it) "...a nod to the past and the hope of a more sustainable, stylish future..." and we have a winner!
And now for the best part...We'd like one of you to own this shirt...for free! Just head on over to our Facebook page ("Like" us if you haven't already) and "Like" the post on our wall entitled "Win a FREE Stylish Golf Shirt" - that's it!
We'll select a random winner on Saturday (5/19/12) and you'll receive a stylish organic cotton polo shirt* courtesy of Criquet Shirts!
Hit 'em long...yell FORE...Good luck!
*Giveaway shirt is in size mens large only.
If you only select "USA" as your country and hit search, you will get 725 pages worth of courses with 25 courses per page. Some quick math will tell you that adds up to 18,125 golf courses in the US.
Do you have any idea how big that number is? Well, let me help put it in perspective for you: How long will you drive down the main drag of any city or town in America before you pass a McDonlad's? Not very long, right? Well, there are only 12,804 Mickey D's in the United States.
Does that help you wrap your head around 18 thousand f'ing golf courses? Let me ask you something else: What the hell is this country doing with 18,000 golf courses? There's only 50 states for goodness sake! That's nearly 400 courses per state! I can understand a state the size of Texas having hundreds of courses (actually has 940), but why does my pea-sized home state of Connecticut have hundreds (199 to be exact)?
The way I see it, having this many golf courses poses a couple problems: First, there's the negative environmental impact. In the U.S. (which is home to more than half the world's courses), golf is played on nearly 2 million acres of land. That land requires more than 2 billion* gallons of water daily to be kept green. In addition, vast tracts of natural habitats are being displaced.
In Wyoming in 2004, for example, bald eagles in the region were driven from their nests to accommodate a new golf course just outside of Jackson Hole - an area already established as a golfing mecca.
But giving the middle finger to wildlife is only part of golf's environmental problem - every year, millions of pounds of pesticides are used on courses in the US. And there's runoff of those chemicals into our rivers and streams - water that will eventually contaminate wildlife, plant life, and human life.
If this wasn't bad enough - let's look at the second problem I have with America's overabundance of golf courses: It simply isn't good for the game. The reality is (to quote a post I wrote over a year ago) "every year since 2006, more golf courses have closed in the U.S. than have opened."
We over-did-it. A decade ago, new courses were springing up everywhere. Now, they're closing - And struggling private courses are opening their doors to the public in an effort to stay afloat.
Cost-saving measures include squeezing in as many tee-times as possible and trimming staff (course rangers in particular). Both of the aforementioned steps have contributed to slow play (a turn-off for both new and established golfers alike).
Look, I love golf (if you've read this blog before, I think it's obvious) - but don't you think 18,000 courses is spreading this game a little thin? In this post-Tiger era (and let's face it, it's definitley post-Tiger), interest in the game has waned somewhat - we can no longer afford to maintain (successfully anyway) all these tracts of land.
Perhaps a small downsize would be good for golf. Lord knows if our gluttony continues..."Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags." - Proverbs 23:20-21.
*Corrected Figure (this post originally stated 4 billion gallons of water per day).
As you may have read here in the past, my wife is not a golfer. Neither is my mother. So my excuse to play golf on Mother's Day, via an invitation to take them golfing, is non-existent. But, if my wife were a golfer, buying Mother's Day gifts for her would certainly be easier.
See, my wife is a bit of a girly girl. So, along with quality and well-performing golf equipment, it would have to include that cuteness factor as well. You know what that means? It means the equipment is likely going to have to include the color pink.
So in search of golf equipment that fits both bills, I give you the Golfstinks Gift Guide to Belated Mother's Day Golf Gifts.
Well, if she's a golfer, you'd have to assume she already has golf clubs. And those can get quite pricey. So let's instead look to something in which to carry the clubs.
Being that my wife is a Nike fan, this one would suit her well. However, I'm sure you can find yourself a pink golf bag from just about any manufacturer. The key here is the cuteness factor.
We've all already seen the pink golf balls, so those are a given. So instead, lets look to some golf shoes. What woman wouldn't want a pair of cute, pink golf shoes?
I mentioned that my wife is a fan of Nike. But sorry honey, I like these Adidas better.
But lets imagine for a second that you have lots of money. OK, lets imagine for a second that I have lots of money, because I don't know the financial status of our readers. But I sure do know mine...and lets just say it ain't quite good enough for this:
Well, I'm sure I'm not the only one who is in a financial situation where a purchase such as this isn't quite realistic. But still, one could understand how, if your finances would allow, this would be a great purchase for the special golfing mom in your life. Be it your wife or mother, especially if they live on a golf course, she could be the envy of all her golfing girlfriends.
Now I know it's a day late - Mother's Day was yesterday. But you could always use the old "I bought (blank) for you, but I had to order it so it should be here soon" excuse. Hey, it's worked in the past. Or, you could save yourself the aggravation and just remember sooner for next year...
Swing 'til you're happy!
It must suck to be Josh Beckett right now. I mean, he got hurt ( a sore lat muscle...really?) was put on the DL and got caught golfing. What's going on there Mr. Beckett? And on top of that he was booed by his own fans yesterday because he got busted. Shame on you for letting your fans down. More so, shame on you for blowing our cover.
It's no big secret that we hacks use the golf course to sneak away. But what we don't need is more attention brought to this issue. When you have fans at a baseball game screaming "Fore!" because the batter hits your pitch foul, you need to assess your situation. And while I do find that very funny, it still doesn't help.
This whole Beckett ordeal got me thinking how many times I've slipped-off to a golf course hoping not to be seen. Whether it was skipping work (not my present job of course) or avoiding some sort of event, I did it. Every time I did do it though, there was a sense of paranoia hovering over me. You know, Murphy's Law would take over and I would run into that one person with a big mouth.
Well, I'm glad to report it hasn't happened to me...yet. I have seen a couple people I know get caught out on the course. Worst case was one of the guys actually lost his job. He called in sick and was spotted by the company's VP on the same course. Talk about crap luck. It turns out his attendance record at work was sub par (pun intended) anyway. I guess the whole straw and camel back thing applies here.
Hit'em long...yell FORE!!! Beckett...
