The Golf Nerd

Magnificent Distractions – Two Ryder Cup Snafus

There are three certainties in life. Death, taxes, and Phil Mickelson verbally lighting someone up at the Ryder Cup.

Let’s go back to 2014, when in the pre-competition presser, the lefthander, when asked how the team was getting along, answered, “Not only are we getting along together, but we also have avoided filing lawsuits against each other,” this pointed at Rory McIlroy and Gram McDowell,…

The Ryder Cup Comes to Hazeltine

  My old college buddy Z-Man is a member at Hazeltine National, a past US Open and PGA Championship site, and the host course for this year’s Ryder Cup. Z invited me to play there a few years ago. We originally planned on three rounds; at the conclusion of the second, I felt like I had gone 15 rounds on consecutive days with Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier. We spent out what was to be our third…

It’s 102 and slightly humid here in the Metroplex. My attention span is not at its finest . . .

Jimmy Walker’s PGA Championship win means that we have four first time major championship winners this season, which, for the time being, puts to rest “Big Three” or “Big Four” talk in the professional ranks. Walker is something of a late bloomer, having toiled in 188 PGA tour starts before carding…

Trials and Triumph at Royal Troon

Golf needed this.

After Jordan Spieth’s meltdown at Augusta.

And the rules fiasco at Oakmont.

After the flack and posturing over the absence of many of the game’s top players at the Olympics next month.

Golf needed this. And Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson delivered.

Stenson/Mickelson was not quite dramatic as Watson/Nicklaus in the latter pair’s famous “Duel In the Sun” at Turnberry in 1977,…

The Golf Nerd’s 2016 Open Championship Preview

[Before we start – a plaintive plea to the men and women of the Royal & Ancient]

Dear R&A,

While I respect your position as one of the two main rule-making organizations in the world of golf, I have to say that, along with your comrades at the USGA, you seem to be somewhat clueless when running the oldest major championship in the world (for evidence, please refer to Open Championship, St…

If You Build It . . .

How best to describe Cabot Links and its two (and, apparently, soon to be more) marvelous courses?

Let’s start with its bar; specifically, the outdoor patio, which sits adjacent to the 18th green of the Links Course. And when I say adjacent – there’s less than ten yards between the three-foot high stone fence that borders the patio and the green (amazingly, in the three days we spent there, only…

  So potential Olympic golf participants are dropping like flies – ok, maybe that’s an unfortunate simile given the Zika virus threat in Rio de Janeiro. But so far, 11 top ranked players have pulled out, many of whom have cited Zika as a compelling factor (Jason Day is the latest to announce).  To be fair, athletes in other sports have similar qualms, but in the case of golf, I think Adam Scott…

Want to start a lively discussion/potential fistfight among your golfing brood? Bring up the topic of trees. Or more specifically, tree removal.

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Aside from the USGA tripping all over its collective self in an attempt to extricate itself from the Dustin Johnson ruling [Executive Director Mike Davis is now saying that while the penalty was the proper decision, it should have been applied…

DJ Gets One Back

The USGA does a lot of good things for golf, but running the US Open isn’t necessarily one of them.

– By now, most everyone with a mild interest in this year’s championship is aware of the rules fiasco involving eventual champion Dustin Johnson. His ball moved a millimeter backwards between the time he completed his practice swings and when he was about to place his putter behind the ball. He…

No Complaints This Year – The Golf Nerd’s US Open Preview

Last year’s US Open brought howls of indignation from most of the golfing world, citing everything from Fox’s spectacularly awful initial attempt at golf coverage to the site of tournament (apparently my opinion of Chambers Bay was outside of the mainstream). Fox has addressed at least part of its issues, removing a surprisingly bland Greg Norman from its broadcasting team and replacing him with…

I have weighed in on the past on the topic of golfing couples. But some marriages/relationships are able to embrace the “he/she golfs, I don’t” situation. Doing so requires a lot of negotiation and compromise (that is, if the relationship is to thrive or, at best, survive), not to mention having shared interests that supersede golf.

It’s interesting how this gets handled. In some instances, the golfer simply leaves the events of his round at the course with his buddies, arrives home, and resumes normal domestic duties. Some – my father comes to mind – return home and describe their entire round in excruciating detail, including what club was used on each shot, course conditions and wind directions. And of course, there are those who are so disgusted or depressed by the events of the round that they either over-imbibe or over-emote. In either case, the latter is not a particularly healthy response.

I like to believe that most non-golfing spouses indulge their mate’s passion for the game; however, there are certain events that a golfer experiences that may, shall we say, go underappreciated.

Take my friend Dave, for example. This past weekend, after over 30 years of play, he made his first hole in one. We were all happy for him – and for ourselves, as it’s a tradition that he who holes out also buys the drinks at the end of the round – and he immediately called his wife with the news. Her initial reaction was, “Hey that’s great!” Then she thought about it for a moment and asked, “Geez, why didn’t you do that in a tournament so you could have won a car?”

A number of years ago I had split up with the former Mrs Golf Nerd and had been laid off from my job after 19 years of service. Golf was very therapeutic at this time. I also was dating a woman (we’ll call her Sonia) who was a terrific tennis player and had something of a passing interest in golf.

During this particular period, my iron play improved dramatically, and one happy coincidence was that I managed to hole out from the fairway three times in a two week period. The first time was in a tournament; I nailed a 5-iron perfectly from 175 yards to make an eagle. I called Sonia after the round to share my good fortune, and she seemed quite happy for me.

About 4 or 5 days later, I was faced with a 110 yard wedge shot, the third on a long par 4. This one landed about 5 feet to the right of the hole and spun in. Birdie! Again, I rang up Sonia; again, she was quite happy for me.

A few more days passed. I was on the par-5 14th hole at my old home course. My buddy Todd had planted his third shot close and was quite pleased with himself. I looked at him and said, half-jokingly, “I hate to break your heart, Todd.” And proceeded to knock a 130-yard nine iron into the hole.

This time after giving this news to Sonia, there was a bit of a pause at the other end of the line. “Well,” she replied, “you’re playing every day of the week.”

I started to explain that I had a better shot at winning Powerball than what had transpired over the past few rounds, but stopped myself. Things kind of went downhill from there.

Luckily, these days I have a loving partner, both at home and on the course. And I can't wait to tell her about my first hole in one. For one thing, she'll no longer have bragging rights in our house.