For golfers in North America, especially those living anywhere not named “Florida” or “Arizona,” winter is the silly golf season. Occasionally, a few of us are able to get out for some off-season frigid golf just to satisfy our need to be outside on the links. However, for most everyone else, winter is the time…
Battling a small bout of winter greys and feeling an episode of cabin fever coming on, John Mark and I were borderline desperate to get out onto a golf course. I certainly wanted to take my swing that I’d been working on so diligently for a test drive. Luckily, we able to take advantage of…
“Swing your Swing, I know I did.” That was the punchline of a Dick’s Sporting Goods golf commercial of recent vintage, with Arnold Palmer extolling the virtues of individuality and uniqueness in every golfer’s swing. Certainly, no one has done it quite like Palmer in the 60 years since he burst onto the golf scene.…
Two months ago, when I started my Winter Golf Lessons package at Man O’ War Golf, I had modest expectations. I had just wrapped my up my most successful and fulfilling golf season to date, on the strength of a handful lessons spread throughout the year. I hoped maybe my pro could take some of…
Don’t be too proud to take a lesson. I’m not. – Jack Nicklaus In the short space only nine months, I’ve come a full 180° on golf lessons. Where pride and stinginess previously prevented me from seeking or accepting much-needed help with my golf swing, I now realize how invaluable having a knowledgeable second set…
I’m 35 years old, and much to The Wife’s chagrin, I still have several items of clothing that date as far back as my freshman year of college in 1997. I’m proud that I can (mostly) fit into those ragged old t-shirts and sweatshirts, stretched collars and sleeves aside. Admittedly, I’m in significantly better shape…
I recently cut the bejesus out of my left thumb with a serrated knife, because I’m not smart enough to talk and slice bread at the same time. After the bleeding stopped, I was initially worried how this might stunt, or even set back, my recent golf swing progress and practice. Surprisingly, the exploratory surgery…
Last month I asked you, Dear Readers, to consider who brings out your best on the golf course. Obviously, I think all golfers would like to be able to play their best whenever one visits a special golf course. I know the opposite usually happens for me, as I regularly psych myself out with over-amped…
Just as the Tour professionals take a little time off after the FedEx and Ryder Cup competitions, I needed a brief hiatus from The Blog, and from the links, as I turned the corner from summer to fall 2014. In other words, I got sucked into and mesmerized by the MLB Playoffs this year, even…
It’s October, which in Central Kentucky means that I have from two to six weeks of golf season left in 2014. Sure, there will be the random warm afternoon or sunny Sunday that will tempt my golf Jones now and then. But the days of being assured of turning in at least one 18 hole…
I’ve always imagined that the Wildcat Course and Big Blue Course at the University Club of Kentucky in Lexington have a little brother – big brother relationship. Being a little brother myself, I understand the notion of living in the shadow of the better looking, more sophisticated sibling. The Big Blue Course, with its Arthur…
During a recent conversation with a friend who plays golf almost as much as I do, he mentioned how much he dreads rounds with some of his semi-regular golfing pals because they are complete jabber-jaws. After a couple of holes worth of constant chatter, his partners’ need to engage in pointless conversation gets under my…
I’ll have a Bloody Mary and a steak sandwich…and a steak sandwich, please. – Fletch It turns out, Dear Readers, that we golfers are gluttons. We’re gluttons for a longer golf season. We’re gluttons for punishment, as rarely is our best “good enough” on the golf course. And, according to the results of the September…
I’m a little surprised at how excited I am to watch the Ryder Cup this year. I shouldn’t be surprised, I get this same feeling every two years. Sure, I’m a golf nut and watch more professional golf than the average American. However, I get genuinely and uniquely excited to watch the Ryder Cup matches,…
Wasioto Winds Golf Course at Pine Mountain State Resort Park is, ironically, perhaps the antithesis of a mountain golf course. There are no mountaintop vistas or dramatic 100+ foot drops from the tee box to the green. Despite attachment to a state park set high atop Devils Ridge of Pine Mountain, Wasioto Winds Golf Course…
Every thing I’ve read recently says I should take my 3-iron, and maybe even my 4-iron, out of my golf bag. Pundits and professional teachers alike say long irons are too hard for amateurs to hit well, much less control. Hybrids and fairway woods are the way to go, they say. The list of reasons…
At the beginning of each round, I usually have a few parts of my game working well for me and a few other things that aren’t necessarily as good I’d want them. That’s golf as I’ve always known it. As regular readers are aware, I’ve invested in professional golf lessons this year in hope of…
Cherry Blossom Golf & Country Club hosted the 2014 Kentucky Men’s State Amateur Championship earlier this summer, which should say something about the regard in which the golf course is held. The course rates as the 4th best public golf course in Kentucky, according to Golf Magazine, and the 5th best Kentucky public course by…
Rule 1-4 is an inevitable rule. It is the catch-all, the umbrella policy, the caulk for all the situations and nuances that aren’t specifically covered by the labyrinth of Rules and Official Decisions. And it just might be the most sensible Rule in the entire rule book. Simply put, Rule 1-4 requires golfers to use…
For the second time in two seasons, out of the blue clear sky, I’ve received a single white sleeve of unlabeled golf balls from Titleist in a plain, nondescript envelope in my mailbox. Disclaimer: I am not a golf brand loyalist, and certainly not paid to shill or endorse any particular equipment maker. In my…
One of the true highlights of my season occurred this past week as I was twice invited to play golf at Idle Hour Country Club in Lexington, KY. For those of you unfamiliar with Idle Hour Country Club (IHCC), it’s arguably the most famous, most exclusive, and most secretive of all the golf and country…
As Labor Day has come and gone, taking the best parts of summer with it into the rear-view mirror, I already find myself periodically daydreaming about, scheming, and planning next year’s Guys’ Golf Trip. Yes, next year is still a long way off. I mean, sure, there’s an entire college football season, college basketball season,…
Except for the summer-ending round Friday afternoon, I’d spent August in slump. I simply could not get off the tee box with my driver with any consistency, and it really brought my entire game down. Maybe I was approaching my problems the wrong way, I wondered. I’m sure I had been over thinking the entire…
I fully acknowledge that I am susceptible to sometimes wanting it too much. This applies to my golf game just as much as the rest of my life. I try to keep perspective; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I knew going into this swing reconstruction process was just that, a process, which would require…
I generally enjoy Arthur Hills courses. They are big, wild, sometimes cruel golf courses that test golfer’s shot making at every turn with gigantic greens at which to aim. Persimmon Ridge Golf Club in the outskirts east of Louisville may be one of the crown jewels of Hills’ design portfolio. I recently had the opportunity…