Golf--The Art Vs. The Nuts and Bolts

     I have added a movie to my favorites list.  My wife made me sit down with her and watch a movie called August Rush.  I was truly ambivilant about watching the movie, but there was nothing else on TV and my wife was pretty firm about watching it.  Of course, when the wife wants something it generally comes together.  We watched it together and I am truly glad I did. It is truly an inspiring movie.  The movie got me thinking about how sometimes we get wrapped up in the technicalities of what we do and we fail to see the art.  What does that have to do with golf.  Stay with me here for a bit.
     I won't go into the story of the movie.  I highly recommend it and you can follow along with the story when you see it.  What I will say is the August, and that wasn't his real name, was a musical prodigy/genius. He would go out into the world and just listen, picking up on the rhythms of the world around him. He heard the music of life which only he could hear and put them into a musical piece.   He wrote the musical piece down and it was performed by an orchestra. His focus though was not on the technicality of the piece and writing it down in musical form, but on the piece itself. That is what gave him great joy, not the ability to be able to write it down technically on a musical score.   The art was more important to him than the technique.  What does that have to do with golf?    
     It think that many times we get caught up in the technicalities of golf.  There are a lot of them, believe me.  They are there in all aspects of the game, from playing the game to bringing the game to the public.  We break the game down into strategies, such as do I want to hit the ball short of the water and lay up for a great approach, or can I fly the water to save a stroke?  Where does my club head have to be in order to hit the ball straighter?  How can I hit the ball farther?  I need to change the plane of my swing.  How do I do that?  What ball do I use.  What putter will help my game?  What shafts do I need in order to hit the ball farther?  How far did I hit that club? Those are just some of the technical things a golfer can get hung up in, and that is just a few of the things golfers concern themselves with. They clutter their minds with the technical and lose the beauty of that great shot and the course they are playing on.
     I have to say something from the point of view of the golf pro as well. I have heard many pros say that if you want to not play a lot of golf, or quench a person's love for the game--become a golf pro.  There are many reasons for this such as you are around the game so much that you just want to get away from it and go fishing or bowling. I understand that, but this is not true of all pros.  However, what happens is that the business aspect of the game gets in the way of the enjoyment of the game.  When do we aerate the greens?  How do I deal with irate customers who are angry about the greens being aerated?  Why can't I get Titlists at a lower price and charge what I want for them.  How come people don't buy equipment from my pro shop?  How can I get members and players to take better care of the golf course?  How do I make more money for the course so that I don't get fired? Should I have a special rate for walkers and not include a cart in my green fees? I think you kind of see the point that I am making here.  It is easy to lose sight of the enjoyment of the game both as a pro and as a serious player.
     Our game is a game of beauty and grace. Just stop and look at how beautiful the course is, be it located on a picturesque bay overlooking the Pacific Ocean or in a housing development in the middle of a big city.  Think about how much fun the game is to play, although you may not think it after your wonderfully struck shot falls into the middle of a lake. Stop a minute and take it all in, the grace and beauty of it all as well as the enjoyment. There is a lot to be found in this game if you just let yourself see, hear and feel it.  Stop, smell the roses and enjoy the game.
         

My Golf World: Brothers and Sisters All

     It has been said that golf is an elitist sport.  I guess looking at just the face of it that can be said.  But is it the true nature of golf.  I get angered when the media puts that face forward.  Golf is not a white man's elitist sport.  In fact when you dig a little deeper you find that true golf is very egalitarian in it's nature.  Come and see the true game of golf and who is playing it. Come to Rancho Del Rey or Riverside Golf Course.
     Many people outside of golf see only one world and that is the closed world of the private golf course. They also see the very closed world of the PGA Tour.  The media reports loudly on decisions made by some of the old ruling bodies of golf that seem anti-women.  The good news in that respect is things are changing. It has to change because the game is much more multi-cultural multi-colored and played by the ladies than what is shown on TV and women are the biggest growth area of golf today. Golf, especially at the public course level, is more diverse than people want to give credit to.  Most public course golfers know this. Please don't take that as a hit on private courses either, because the memberships in most private clubs is changing to reflect a more diverse population.
     As I have said in previous posts I play and work as a marshal at a local semi-private course.  Most of the members that play at our course can be described as "working class".  Our course is open to whomever wants to play and the advantages of being a member are basically reduced green fees. State golf association memberships are extra.  Its great to see the diverse nature of those golfers who play the course and who are members with almost no distinction between members and public players.
     We have all kinds of people with different backgrounds playing at Rancho Del Rey. It is not unusual to see a foursome or fivesome--we do allow fivesomes on non-busy days during the week--that are made up of hispanic, black, asian and white players. We have a very active contingent of Mexican American Golf Association players whose membership included white guys and blacks.We even have a gentleman from Puerto Rico who looks and sound just like ChiChi Rodriguez. I think it is his brother, but I don't know.
        Women play right along side of men and are very active in the Player's Club. In fact, our ladies have formed their own player's club and their membership is growing.  A good piece of advice here is don't get into a money game with one of our ladies.

    We have a very active senior's club. Our club is made up of a very diverse background of players, both ethnically and if you look at where our members come from occupationally. We have teachers, plumbers, construction workers, delivery drivers and even a couple of retired Marines. As far as the ethnic background of our members it is truly a rainbow of colors and we even have a member from of all places, Guam.   
     Come take a look at our nineteenth hole.  The place is jumping with conversations and color, religion, sex or national heritage doesn't stop the conversations. Most of the conversations are centered around golf as this is the cornerstone of the family. We are family here. The only distinction that is made is that we are all golfers, and some non-golfers.

 

We Are With You Lexi: TV And The Rules Of Golf

     I wasn't going to post today, but it happened again. The golf world was rocked by what seemed to be a violation of the rules of golf in a televised golf tournament. The rule was not picked up by the rules committee but was sent in from a viewer on TV.  In my opinion, this should not be.  Let the players play and the rules committee be the ones that pick up any rules violations at the time the violation was committed--on site and in a timely manner.  Rules decisions should not come from or be suggested by those would be rules experts sitting at home on a couch wanting to gain fame by bragging they were the ones that caught a certain rule violation in a given tournament that cost a player a win.
      A lot comes into play here.  Those of us that play the great game of golf know that it is not a game of total accuracy.  There is a lot of guesswork and estimation.  I don't have a rangefinder for example and estimated distances.  There is no way that I can mark my ball on a green and return it to the exact spot that I marked it at.  There is a tolerance of a few millimeters, but at least the mark is close. I didn't see Lexi Thompson and where she had marked the ball, but where she replaced the ball had to be close. What's next? Do we start using GPS to determine the exact location of where a ball came to rest and where we are marking it? You talk about slow play.  Here it is.  You have to rely on the player's sound judgement and most players at that level are not going to cheat especially on something as small as marking your ball on the green.  Lexi is a person of high reputation and wouldn't do that.
     There is another point that can be made here.  The rules of golf and official rules book are kind of like the IRS tax code.  There are a lot of them and some actually contradict themselves. Is it going to get to the point that a player is breaking the rules of golf by simply stepping onto the golf course or by putting the tee in the ground?  Is that what it is coming to and is TV going to be the medium by which this absurdity is ushered into tournament golf?  How important is it that some person sitting at home with a rule book in their hand can have that much power.  It just shouldn't be, especially when that rule book is so complex.
     We all know that golf is a unique game. The way golf plays their competitive game is unique itself.  Golf tournaments are four day events.  This is different from other sports such as baseball, basketball and football.  When the game is over, the game is over.  These games have rule instant replays, but when the game is stopped and the decision on the rule is made, that's it.  The game goes on. When the buzzer sounds, the gun goes off ending the game or the last out is made in the ninth inning the game is over.  Can you imagine a controversial game winning home run being called back because of a decision made the day after the game?
     Lexi's supposed rule violation was on Saturday, but was assessed on Sunday.  Not only was she penalized for the wrong spot two strokes, but was penalized another two strokes for signing an inaccurate scorecard, which she was not aware of being inaccurate.  Had she been informed by the rules committee that she indeed was being assessed a two stroke penalty for not placing her ball at the right spot on the green before she signed her card on Saturday, I would be good to go on that. However, the penalty was assessed on Sunday on both the spot and the scorecard.  It was also sent in by a viewer on TV.  Why have a rules committee?
     I totally understand that the rules are an important part of the game of golf. They should be enforced.  But let's be reasonable about this.  We are human and do make mistakes.  However, shouldn't those mistakes have an expiration clause.  When a round of golf is completed, its finished and move on to the next day.  Behaviors have time limits and when a player holes out on the eighteenth hole, times up and on to the next day.  If it hasn't been observed or assessed by those involved, its too late.  Golfers are pretty good at assessing penalties on themselves and policing their games. There should be no third parties in golf.
     One last thing that has to be mentioned.  Lexi is to be applauded by how she handled this.  Yes, golf is about emotion and she certainly showed disappointment but she accepted what had happened with grace.  There was no blaming the other guy.  You showed a lot of class Lexi.  That's what golf is all about.

Ah yes, tournament golf. No TV cameras at this event.