FORE the DUFFER Golf Blog

Those Christmas Clubs

Did you get your new Adams Golf IDEA A7OS irons? Those Adams Golf IDEA Tech V3 irons? How about one of those new Adams Golf Speedline F11 Drivers? Maybe a new Fairway Wood was under the tree? Maybe Santa ran out of Adams clubs and brought you some new TaylorMade, Callaway, Nike, Ping, Cleveland Golf, or a host of other specialty club designs … NO? Me neither!!!

What’s wrong with my Adams A3OS clubs? Do they still serve their purpose? Of course they do and they do it well. Do I really need the latest and greatest club designs? No – but then who ever said anything about needing a new set of clubs. I’m talking about “wanting” a new set. There’s a big difference between the two. I used to convince myself that I always needed a new set of clubs and that once I got them my game would improve that much more. I started making excuses for not executing , for not maintaining my composure, for a lot of things that had nothing to do with my clubs. The solution to all those woes was obvious wasn’t it? All I needed were those NEW clubs. Yes, that would solve all my problems. So through hook or crook I would wrangle me a new set of clubs, driver, fairway wood and all turned out for the best and I became my local course Champion … Long live the king!! Right? Wrong …

Oh I always had the right answers as to why my game didn’t improve exponentially. It mostly involved convincing myself that these were new clubs and I needed to get used to them. I needed to learn how to swing my new clubs and learn the distances of every club. I always spent hours at the driving range getting used to my new clubs until it came time to realize that what I really needed was a … “new set of clubs” … That would solve all my problems … Right??

2 comments | December 26, 2010 - 10:39 am | duffer

2011 PGA Tour FREE Season-Opener

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Time flies when you’re having fun! We’ve been inundated and pounded with massive amounts of relentless rain and snow for the last week with more to come. The Governor has declared a state of emergency … flooding, mud slides, avalanches, thunder and lightning and the 2011 PGA Tour starts in 2 weeks!!! Go figure. Yup, that’s right, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, Hawaii will be held on January 3-9.

Wish that I could hop on a plane and enjoy the festivities and the FREE Admission. Did I say FREE? You betcha … New for 2011 the tournament is announcing FREE Admission, FREE parking, and FREE week-long activities for the whole family. It doesn’t get any better than that. All you have to do is get to Maui to reap the benefits.

You have to hand it to Hyundai for jumping into the fray and doing it with style. Have you ever heard of a FREE PGA Tour event? I haven’t … doesn’t mean it’s never happened … I’ve just never heard of it. Well, I would love to just grab my clubs and go play a round but I don’t have any water wings. I don’t care how good the drainage is at my local course you’re just not going to absorb that much water in such a short amount of time. Oh well … There’s always tomorrow …

Add comment | December 22, 2010 - 10:10 am | duffer

#1 World Ranking ?!#*&

Posted in Duffer World

If anyone knows who/what/where/how they figure out who the #1 ranked player in the world is then raise your hand … anyone out there? … OK, raise your hand … That’s what I thought.!

Oh sure … each player’s personal ranking is calculated from the ranking points he has obtained over the previous two years. Firstly, his scores from all the tournaments he has played in are scaled down over a two year period, with one eighth of the points awarded for each tournament deducted every thirteen weeks in order to give priority to recent form. The player’s adjusted scores are then totaled, and this total is divided by the number of ranking tournaments in which he has participated over the previous two years, subject to a minimum denominator of 40 tournaments. The resulting averages for all players are put into descending order to produce the ranking table. … Got that?

Thirteen players have been Official World No. 1 : Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, Fred Couples, Nick Price, Tom Lehman, Ernie Els, David Duval, Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods, and now Lee Westwood.

It’s like the College Football Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings. Come on, what a joke!! A couple of years ago my team, Southern California Trojans, were knocked out of the Championship game because some school like Bowling Green did not beat Eastern podunk University by more than 13 points … Give me a break. Have a playoff system like every other College Football Division. Then the National Champion will be determined on the field and not by politics and some computer!!

Why not have a playoff system like all other major sports? Baseball has the World Series, Football has the Super Bowl, Basketball has the NBA Champion, etc. but College Football has some computer using a mystical formula to determine who will face who.

Same goes for our beloved world of Golf. Let’s crown a #1 every year. A playoff system that has every tour in the world holding a 4 day tournament at the end of the year. The winners of each of the tours will then get together for a 4 day tournament and the last player standing is the #1 player in the World. You can still have the FedEx Cup, Majors, etc. but when it comes to #1 you should have to earn it on the links when the chips are on the line.

Is your Club Championship determined over a two year period with some formula being assigned to the rounds you played, blah, blah, blah … or does your Club host a Championship Tournament every year and the winner is ranked #1 at your Club until the next Club Championship?

Add comment | November 6, 2010 - 11:55 am | duffer

“The Kiss That Caused My Slice” Book Review

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Just finished reading “The Kiss That Caused My Slice” by John Ducker and found it to be a great golf book filled with collections of golf poems that captures the essence of all that is holy for us Duffers. Filled with majestic photos of golf holes that one can only dream about playing, each poem is fresh and vibrant and reinforces the reasons we have great passion for the game.

Each poem immerses the Duffer in all of us onto the links as we walk the fairways, stroke each shot, and read every putt. John Ducker’s ability to transport us into the depths of the game is uncanny. “The Kiss That Caused My Slice” is a down to earth, salty reflection of our game, friends, shady characters, hackers, gambling scenarios, joys, horrors, golf gods, and every other facet that keeps us Duffers playing and coming back for more …

John Ducker is an author that will leave you yearning for more. John’s book has hit that one shot that brings you back. I highly recommend this read which you’ll not be able to put down once you start. You need to pick up this great collection of golf poems to experience the tragedies and joys of the links and their influence on our every day lives. We’ve all been there and “The Kiss That Caused My Slice” by John Ducker takes you back. If you love golf … you will love this book.

“The Kiss That Caused My Slice” by John Ducker is Published by Black Rose Writing, ISBN: 978-0-9825542-9-6, and can be found and ordered at Amazon.com, your favorite book store, or from the Duffer Golf Book Store under the category of ‘Favorites’.

I guarantee you’ll want to get a copy for all your golfing acquaintances.

7 comments | April 21, 2010 - 5:18 pm | duffer

Tiger, Tiger, Tiger …

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Being a Phil Mickelson fan over the years I should be rejoicing at the difficulties that Tiger is facing and will face on the golf links if and when he comes out again. But alas, I cannot rejoice at these revelations because it affects innocent people and children. I don’t pretend to know anything about the situation but I do know that you don’t behave in this type of shameless arrogant behavior. My wife and I will be celebrating our 37th wedding anniversary Thursday and it’s beyond my comprehension how someone could do something like this to his wife and children. Those poor kids might now be scarred for life because of the behavior of their father. If you’re going to choose to live that lifestyle then have the decency to divorce your wife first. Who in their wrong mind would believe that you could live the life style and get away with it? Unfortunately, this is not a private matter.

I never had any bad feelings towards Tiger it’s just that I’ve always liked Lefty better. There’s no rhyme or reason to it. But now … I wouldn’t pay a wooden nickle to see Tiger play. You just don’t do that to your wife and family. No words can excuse this type of behavior. I will never see this person in the same light as before. Someone who had the world by the tail and is believed to be the greatest golfer of all time will no longer be mentioned in the same breath as Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, and others. Instead he will be mentioned in the same breath as Bill Clinton, Eliot Spitzer, John Edwards, and Mark Sanford. What a shame.

Just because you have all that fame and money does not allow someone to behave in any manner that they choose. Actions have consequences … Time to pay the piper!!

2 comments | December 8, 2009 - 10:03 am | duffer

Politics and Religion

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In my humble opinion, there are two things that don’t belong on the links – Politics and Religion. Nothing ruins a good round faster than deep rooted opinions being expressed, challenged, and/or ridiculed. You’re never going to convince someone of anything within the confines of a fairway, green, golf cart, or at the 19th hole. All it does is serve to get your head out of the game and once you get out there, it’s hard to come back and concentrate on the game at hand. Course, it’s hard to keep yourself from falling prey to such tactics. Some golfers, however, go out of their way to mess with your head and if they learn what it takes to push your buttons then you best beware cause they’re going to be merciless. There doesn’t need to be anything on line … some people just love to get inside your head.

It doesn’t have to be Politics or Religion but just about anything can ruin your fun if you let it. Take the other day – I was playing a quick 9 holes with 2 of my neighbors and one of them started to discuss how baseball was the toughest sport to master cause it’s so hard to hit a ball. I began explaining that hitting a baseball is not as tough as hitting a golf ball cause hitting a baseball is a matter of timing where proper execution of a golf shot is the hardest thing to master. Proof being how many millions of golfers/Duffers would kill to hit a golf ball and get on in two. He began getting excited and citing all sorts of examples. Rather than get baited and raise my blood pressure I chose to defuse the situation cause I knew neither one of us would accomplish anything. I chose to just say that I agree to disagree cause neither one of us will convince the other otherwise and let’s get back to playing some golf.

Lesson learned: Even though the topic was not Politics or Religion it goes to show you that it doesn’t take much to mess with the old noodle. Don’t let yourself be baited. Be the man/woman and just ignore their tactics. After all, it’s just a game … Right?! What does it take to push your buttons?

Add comment | September 20, 2009 - 10:44 am | duffer

The President’s Cup 2009

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I’m really juiced up about going to Harding Park Golf Course in San Francisco, California next month to watch the best United States golfers take on the best International golfers for the 8th President’s Cup. I know it’s not the Ryder Cup but then who says that European golfers are any better than the rest of the world? Oddly enough, I have never attended a PGA golf tournament of any kind over the years and am looking forward to watching, in awe, the big boys play !!! Getting an autograph from Fred Couples would be a dream come true for this Duffer. Like millions of other Duffers around the world, I have always tried to emulate Boom Boom’s swing and tempo.

You would think they could have found some better Cup to play for. Did they name it the President’s Cup cause they ran out of Cups? Course there’s the Ryder Cup, Stanley Cup, FedEx Cup, Solheim Cup, NASCAR Sprint Cup, and too many others to mention. The obvious name would have been the World Cup but that was already taken by the world soccer community. So they settled on the President’s Cup cause at the time, President Ford was the Honorary Chairman of the event and since 1994 the sitting President or Prime Minister of the country hosting the event is the Honorary Chairman. Oh hummm … But then I’m not going because of the name – it’s to see the world’s best players playing for pride and Country. No, it’s not about money for the players – there is no prize money in the President’s Cup. The net proceeds are distributed to charities nominated by the players, captains, and captains’ assistants.

We’re only attending one day and I am hopeful that Phil Mickelson will be playing on Thursday since Lefty is my favorite. He’s such a free spirit and I think he often decides to take those chances cause he’s told himself that “he didn’t come here to paint”. At least that’s what I choose to believe since that’s my philosophy when it comes to playing golf. Sure, there are times when you really need to take you medicine and move on but don’t be afraid to allow your shot making visions be influenced by your imagination. You just never know …

Add comment | September 17, 2009 - 9:09 am | duffer

boxgroove.com – Where will you play today?

Posted in Duffer World

We’ve all wanted, over the years, to have the opportunity to play exclusive private courses but usually only get that chance by playing some sort of charity tournament open to the public, playing as a guest with a member, or by being a member of another private country club. Having been a member at one time of a private country club I often took advantage of Reciprocal Agreements with other clubs. But that opportunity was no longer available to me until I learned about the Boxgroove Network. Across the country, private clubs have found a new way to keep dues low by converting unused tee times into critical revenue in order to keep their membership high and members happy. Boxgroove .com is a secure, reliable network where private clubs and private club members share tee times with you, the serious golfer and Duffer … whether you belong to a private club or not!

So where will you play today? Another round at your local public course or will you satisfy that yearning to play a round at a prestigious private country club? We’ve all seen and/or used tee time services that simply present available tee times but Boxgroove allows subscribing golfers to request tee times that meet their needs. What a novel idea !! The intention of the Boxgroove.com Network is to grow into every major metropolitan area in the U.S. and beyond. As of August 2009 they have 40 member clubs in 7 states and are forging aggressively to expand. I can still remember when I bought my first Golf GPS device and how quickly their course database and availability grew.

For example, while on travel a couple of weeks ago I could have had the pleasure of playing a round at the beautiful Clarkston Golf & Country Club in Clarkston, Washington. While enjoying a cold one at the RV Resort adjacent to the Snake River I used my binoculars to watch Duffers on the course … Had I known about the Boxgroove Network I too could have enjoyed a round of golf.

You can find more information at their website http://www.boxgroove.com

Add comment | September 16, 2009 - 6:02 pm | duffer

Mulligans

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Any self respecting Duffer knows what a “mulligan” is … a “do-over” – hit a bad shot, take a mulligan and try again. Course most of us do not choose to use mulligans unless we’re playing in a 4-man scramble and we paid good money for those mulligans. After all, it’s usually for a good cause – some charity golf tournament. A mulligan in a 4 man scramble can many times be the difference in winning something or not. After all, we’ve all hit a bad shot and then replayed it only to hit that perfect shot that should have been to begin with. Most of us, however, do not count that second shot but play our first ball instead.

Ever wonder where the golf term “milligan” came from? There are many, many stories about the birth of the term and it’s quite possible that none of them are true. The USGA Museum offers several possible explanations. In one, David Mulligan of Quebec during the 1920s re-teed and hit again calling it a “correction shot” but his partners dubbed it a “mulligan”. Another story is of John “Buddy” Mulligan, known for replaying poor shots in New Jersey. A more prosaic explanation claims that back in the day saloons would place a free bottle of booze on the bar for customers to dip into. That free bottle was called a “Mulligan” and the term was adapted to the golf course to denote a “freebie” to be used by golfers.

I don’t know about you but I kind of like to believe the free bottle of booze version especially since one legend claims that the 18 holes in golf originated as a suggestion from one of the St. Andrews old-timers, who noted that it took exactly 18 shots to finish a fifth of scotch – a shot per hole. However, this is just a rumor but we all believe what we want to believe. One shot per hole … how many of us would still be standing at the end of a round?

Add comment | September 14, 2009 - 9:54 am | duffer

Cow Pastures

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Cow pastures look good from a distance – green, flat, well groomed until you take a closer look. That’s what some golf course are … nothing more than cow pastures! Oh, most of us have played on these so called golf courses over the years but we won’t admit it to ourselves. Usually we play on these local courses when we first start playing. I know I did and I sure saved a lot of money and embarrassment while cutting my teeth on the game. The course was a nine holer and cost $4 on weeknights to play. The lack of embarrassment came into play cause most other golfers were playing at the same level as I was. Back then I couldn’t even call myself a Duffer cause I would have given Duffers all over the world a bad name!! I mean I stunk up the place worse than any cow pie could. Twenty years of playing softball sure did affect my swing back then. I remember that on the first tee box there’s a small pond on the right side and it use to take me 3 to 4 balls to not slice it in. Back then, I swung as hard as I could cause I just knew that would make the ball do what it was meant to.

Never did take any lessons back then and have learned since that was probably one of the major mistakes I made when I picked up the game. I could have saved me a lot of heart aches over the years had I just taken the time to learn the basics. I should go back to my roots and play that cow pasture again. Yes, it still exists and their prices are still reasonable but I would not play there as a steady diet cause cow pastures will definately ruin you for most courses today. There’s a reason why I call them cow pastures. The tee boxes are a mess, fairways are filled with weeds, potholes, and gofer mounts, the greens are half dead and as slow a molasses … just to name a few.

But I wouldn’t trade those days for all the tea in China. My sons, friends, and I had a blast and looked forward to the next outing in that “Cow Pasture”.