Golf Grammie on Golf Attire

A Final Thought before I head out the door.

Pay Attention to Your Looks! How you dress is very important - in this world of wash and wear - pants and shirts look better if you take the time to press them a little.  Both Golf Shoes and Street Shoes should be polished.  Plan ahead, you could be joining your new found friends at the 19th hole.  Always look your best, you may find that if you dress better you will feel better about yourself and in turn play better golf.

        Yes                                                                                                                          No

Golf Grammie

Go Tiger!

Golf Gammie on Playing with other People

Something to think about as golf gets underway here in the Northeast.

Are you the kind of person people like to play with?  

Take a minute to think of all the reasons you like playing with a certain person.  What qualities do you like about them on the golf course?  Do you practice these some Qualities?

Recently on the Golf Channel Brad Faxon was commenting that the tour pros like to play with Padrig Harrington.  He is always smiling whether he is having a good or bad round.  Brad went on talking about Padrigs's attitude, his walk, finally he said, "He Comforts you".  Wouldn't you like to feel comfortable with everyone you play with?  Think about it.

My best advice to you when playing with someone you have just met (This also would apply to your regular foursome), Keep You Mouth Shut.  They don't always want you advice, especially if you are not qualified to give advice.  If you were playing at the state level you would find yourself penalized.

According to the Rules of Golf - Rule 8-1
During a Stipulated Round a Player Must Not:
(a) give advice to anyone in the competition, playing on the course other than his partner, or
(b) ask for advice from anyone other than his partner or either of their caddies.
Penalty for breach of Rule: Match Play - Loss of hole    Stroke Play - Two Strokes 


Anyone, whether you are a beginner or a seasoned golfer could benefit from reading "Golf For Dummies" by Gary McCord.

Here is a Small Caption from "Golf For Dummies" under Who to play with.

When you are not the Worst


There is of course, the other side of the coin.  How do you behave when another member of your group con't get the ball above shin height?  Here are some pointers:


       Say Nothing.  Whatever you do, do not attempt to be encouraging as your pal's game slips further into the mire.  After a while, you'll run out of things to say.  And you Pal will be annoyed with you.  And never give advice or swing tips to anyone.  You'll be blamed for the next bad shot.


       Talk about other Stuff. The last thing you should talk about is your Pal's awful game.  Find some common interest and chat about that.  Anything to get the subject off that 20 yard dribbler your pal just hit.

As I said before just Keep your Mouth Shut.

Golf Grammie

Go Tiger!

Golf Grammie on Tiger

As a golf fan I have to have my say about Tiger.  We all now know when he is coming back.  He has been and always will be my hero.  My mind plays golf it seems like 24/7 and just being being out of the game for just a few weeks with knee replacement is more than I like to think about.  So, for Tiger to take himself out of the game for these last few months shows a lot of Character most of us would not have.  I applaud him for that and I hope that he and his family will be together for a lifetime.

Golf Grammie

Go Tiger!

Another use for those golf balls sitting round the house!

The First Par

I remember clearly the first time I achieved a par on a hole.  I was twelve, playing with Golf Grammie at Mingo Springs in Rangeley, Maine.  It was the 16th hole I think, a par four.  I managed to get to the green in three leaving myself a five-or-six footer for the par.  As I was getting ready to putt, a friend of the family came flying over in a golf cart to say hi to Golf Grammie.  He was playing in a scramble, which at the time I thought was just playing golf as fast as you could in a golf cart.  They chit-chatted just off the green as I stood there, agonizing over the putt that I very badly wanted to make.  I decided to just go for it and not wait for the man to go away.  Once the others saw that I was getting ready to make the putt, they became silent and began to watch.  I remember Golf Grammie whispering to the man that this putt would be for my first par.  I was shaking over the ball, made worse by the fact that I had an audience.  The putt itself was not easy, up-hill with a big bend to the left.  I took a couple big deep breaths and put a solid stroke to the ball.  Up the hill it slowly crept, curving just as I had pictured in my head.  As if in slow motion it fell into the hole with a gratifying clickty-click.  I let out the breath I had been holding, giving my first great fist-pump of triumph.  Golf Grammie and her friend gave me nice "golf clap" applause.  

No par since has been so gratifying.

Cheers to all!

The Phil Jinx

Why does the Golf Channel feel that all tournaments need to be portrayed as "starring Phil Mickelson!"?  He hasn't showed us a whole lot to start off the year.  OK, I understand maybe the first tournament that he played in 2010 deserves a little fanfare.  But we are now in his third tournament, and he is not performing while so many other players are, i.e. Steve Stricker in last weeks Northern Trust Open.  Golf Channel - it is time to drop the Phil chalk and focus on  the other great players that are really playing well this year without Tiger to be shadowed under.


PS...Phil, if you win this week I expect 10% of your winnings for eliminating the jinx placed on you by the Golf Channel. Thank you. :)

Cheers to all!

On the Links with Golf Grammie

I told my Grandson recently that, "your mind never ages." I'm referring to a comment he made earlier about the “only balls he saw were made of cheese.” As I read that I thought, “must be he doesn't have a full length mirror in the bathroom.”

In small-town America, where I live, we have a population of less than one thousand people, and no real golf course but one in every direction twenty plus miles away. Except in midsummer when the days are long, it is hard to get home from work, drive and try to get in nine holes before dark. Also, many of the people around here who play golf can only afford to play once or twice a month.

Myself, I didn't play golf until I was 56, but once I did I was addicted. Sometimes I think my mind plays golf 24/7. For the first couple years I played in my yard, which wasn't even a half an acre, setting up nine flag sticks and mostly working on my short game. Then, one day I went begging and ended up with a three acre field that was pretty scrappy, as it had only ever been Bush Hogged. Five years and a lot of sweat later, I have transformed the field into JustAField Golf Teaching Center. We have a men and women’s league, and I work with children and have a program during the fall with the local school. My field has three backyard greens, each with three flags, eighteen tee boxes, front and back nines. The shortest hole is 78 Yards and the longest is a 178 yard dogleg out of the woods. Several tee boxes in the woods are bedded with sawdust. One in particular has nearly two feet of chips covered with another 2 feet of sawdust. The shot requires hitting over two hazards. This would be considered groomed compared to golf conditions in the late 1800's and early 1900's when some of the greatest golfers in the world became famous.

During the fifth year of maintaining JustAField I had a full knee replacement. Titanium Shafts - why not a titanium knee, which serves me just as well.

My surgery was done on June 15th and I was back on the riding mower four weeks later, another two weeks and I could play golf. After ending nearly a month of what I considered "house arrest," I could go and watch the men during league night. I had missed a lot. Being a fun league I make sure they have a different format each week. That night I told them, "when I am feeling in the pink, I expect you to be wearing pink!" For a couple of weeks I don't think they took me seriously. I finally told them, "no pink - don't show up!" As you can see, eight of the thirteen guys did themselves proud - some more then others. For several weeks I had to take a lot of teasing. I said that for every pink item they had, I would take one stroke off their score. "Can I wear my wife's pink panties?"

"Sure," I said, "anything counts so long as it's pink."

"Are you going to check?"

"Yes!" I said, and yes I did. I probably had the last laugh. This particular guy found out that the panties were binding and it was hot and sticky, he couldn't wait to get home and take them off.

The winner took home a check for $25, a rather nice pink flamingo for the garden, a trophy with pink pants and a bottle of Pepto Bismol® to soothe his tummy as well as his ego.

I didn't keep my round posted in 2009 because of surgery and I won’t again in 2010 due to surgery on the other knee this coming March. I'm guessing my handicap now is probably a 26. As I approach the 3/4 century mark, (75 in May) it is doubtful that I'll ever be able to get my handicap under 20, which has always been my goal. So now all I can say is, "please God let me live long enough to shoot my age!"

Golf Grammie