Smelling the Flowers One of golf's most enduring gifts is the pleasure it can bring away from the course. Pleasant diversions and discoveries that (thankfully) transcend ability await the curious and intrepid.
Many golfers unfortunately never look beyond the scorecard. Everyone wants to play well, but for those of us unwilling or unable to dedicate our lives to the pursuit of golf perfection, Walter Hagen's famous advice still rings true: "Don't hurry. Don't worry," he said. "You're only here on a short visit, so don't forget to stop and smell the flowers."
Stopping to smell golf's flowers can take many forms. Savoring a single malt Scotch after a naturally rainy round on one of Scotland's famous (or not so famous) courses; the thrill of the hunt for collectibles; watching one of the most famous names in golf practice six-foot putts; it can even be as simple as turning on the television or opening a book.
Despite the game's permanence, golf has a history of invention and ingenuity that continues today. Take tees. New Jersey dentist Dr. William Lowell is usually credited with first whittling little wooden pegs into tees. But what did golfers do before the humble tee? They (or more likely their caddies) grabbed handfuls of sand from a bucket on the teeing ground and formed little molehills. In 1895, a sand mold was patented. Instead of soiling their hands, golfers could now stamp and press the sand into a perfectly formed mound. Steel and even folded paper tees were tried. Driving-range mats still use a variation of a rubber tee patented more than a hundred years ago. And we're still not finished with the tee, as the search for a more ecologically benign alternative continues.
If the derivation of the tee doesn't interest you, other nooks and crannies abound. At the very least, your finds will impress your friends. Charles price wrote:
Now people begin to look at you in a different light. You may have just played the course in a score resembling an area code, but suddenly the others in your foursome
know your real game must be much better, or should be, and they blame today's miserable performance on an attack of Sciatica or something else you just didn't bother complaining about. You have become a truer golfer, somebody who has felt obligated to become knowledgeable about things the rest of use take for granted.
Golf lends itself to a good story, which helps explain why the game has attracted so many outstanding storytellers. Even Shakespeare, with a little imagination, may have taken a turn or two on the links as such lines as "Good words are better than bad strokes," and "O, cursed be the hand that made these holes!" suggest (Julius Caesar, 5.1 and Richard III, 1.2, respectively.)
Hitting the Books
Nothing has ruined more golf swings than the myth of keeping the head down and the left arm straight (Yes, we did say "myth.") If golf has reached the American West earlier, buckboard barkers might have selling books with titles such as "Quick Draw; Slow Backswing" and "The Wagon Wheel Approach to Curing A Slice" along with their snake oil potions.
Of course, not all golf books are devoted to instruction. And many of the ones that are are very good; that's why they're still in circulation decades after they were first published. Instruction titles share bookstore shelves with lavish coffee-table collections on course architecture, travel guides, record books, biographies, humor and history.
While any arbitrary list is just that, we thought you might like to know some of the books that many golfers consider to be good reads or especially instructive. Public libraries are an excellent source not only for newer books but also for books long out of print. If you know what to ask for, interlibrary loan can also be an excellent resource for discovering wonderful books, often first editions, as the authors discovered much to their delight.
Many great golf stories appear in collections such as "Press Box" by Red Smith (1976) and "The Omnibus of Sport" (1932) or in annual Best Sports Stories collections. Every year, the USGA offers a special limited printing of a forgotten gem. There is even a Book-of-the-Month type club for golf.
Making it Look Easy:
Videos leave little to the imagination. Just take the club back like this - and presto. Nothing to it, right? Many golf videos are well produced, entertaining, sometimes humorous, even instructive. The more you watch, the more nuances of the game you'll pick up, as well as some terminology. But don't be discouraged if the shot doesn't come to you as easily as it appears to come to the pro in the video. Pros work on these shots diligently every day, as if their (professional) lives depended on it, which, indeed they do. Remember also: the mis-hits ended up on the cutting room floor.
Many videos feature touring professionals long on marquee value but short on teaching skills. It's all well and good for pros to assume their audience understands what they mean by pronation of the wrists or fading and drawings, but a lot of concepts and techniques featured in videos aren't much help to the average golfer. Try to find a tip or two that you can remember and practice. Video rental stores stock various golf titles. Beware: some videos contradict each other, just as some books and instructors do. You have to determine what is pertinent for you.
In 1931, Bobby Jones made a series of movie shorts that featured cameos from Hollywood stars. The tapes were discovered in storage, compiled, and transferred to video. "How I play Golf" gets two emphatic thumbs up. (As you're watching, remember that Jones did not have the benefit of sophisticated editing. He's executing perfect shots one right after the other - live!).
Two other videos we can recommend are "The Art of Putting" by Ben Crenshaw, and "Junior Golf The Easy Way" by mark Steinbauer.
Let's Go to 15
When golfers aren't playing or practicing golf, reading a golf book or magazine, watching a golf video, or thinking about golf - and they're not asleep - chances are they're watching golf on television. There are even people who have never picked up a club in their lives who enjoy watching golf. Even golfers who usually can't be bothered look forward to the Masters with the anticipation of football fans awaiting the Super Bowl. It's one of golf's majors. The others are the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship.
Despite perspective that tends to homogenize the golf course, watching a tournament on television will show you more golf, and from better angles, than you would possibly see, even if you were there in person. Under tremendous pressure, the crowd buzzing and hundreds of thousands of dollars in the balance, the golf is routinely impressive, and often spectacular.
Entertaining (as perennially high ratings attest), it can be more than a little misleading, especially concerning club selection. Different golfers hit clubs different distances. What might be a wedge for one will be a 7-iron for another and perhaps a 5-iron for someone else. Even among the pros, there is a wide variance. No one asks after a round how far or high you hit it: they ask what your score was. A lot of golfers get caught up with the glamour of a shot rather than simply getting the ball in the cup in the fewest number of strokes. That is, after all, the object of golf. Of course, when a pro slides an apparent gimme two feet past the hole, we can't resist a "Hey, I coulda made that." If a chronic case of armchair golfer was all it produced, that wouldn't be so bad, but watching the pros can instill some bad habits.
In a professional tournament, the players are going to take their time, within established limits. Thousands of dollars ride on each shot down the stretch, which obviously is not the case for the rest of us.
When a pro sizes up a putt from three different angles, consults with his or her caddie, then takes another look - just to be on the safe side - it's understandable. Or at least a lot more understandable than it is when we do it. There are also fewer players on the course in any pro event, which colors a viewer's impression. Even in a big field, there will still be fewer golfers on the course than you'd find on your course on an average Sunday. With one notable exception, imitating the pros will serve only to slow down the game.
The exception? Course etiquette, of course. Watch the care players put in each step on and around the green, especially near the hole. Honor is scrupulously observed. Bunkers are carefully raked. Notice how each player acts and where they stand while another plays or putts. When it comes to putting lines, the pros even go one step further. They carefully avoid the area behind the hole in case the putt overshoots it. The player would then have to play his or her comebacker through spike marks.
On TV, remember also that you're seeing only the best of the best. The camera has to stay with the tournament story, the leaders, so we rarely see players doing poorly. Their scores may flash by, but as every golfer knows, the score alone doesn't tell the whole story of a round.
Spectating
Watching golf live is really not like attending other sporting events. You don't get a seat. The action takes place not just in front of your but all around you, even as far as a brisk half-an-hour walk away. With rare exceptions, team loyalty is nonexistent. There's no "We're number one" chants. No waves. Most people come out just to see good golf, not caring particularly who wins (until something happens to change their minds.)
Spectating can be confusing, not to mention exhausting, without a game plan. Realize right off that it is impossible to see everything. Don't even try. Our best advice is to start at the driving range. There you'll be able to get fairly close and observe wonderful- and different - swings that will do things to the ball that will slacken your jaw and quicken your pulse. You can also observe how pros practice, what clubs they hit, what they work on - and then, if you're so inclined, follow them out onto the course to see how their practice translates to their round. Make some mental notes watching the practice green. you might get a glimpse of the eventual winner's hot hand.
Dress comfortably. Grandstands and bleachers ring all greens, but beyond that, you're on your own. A shooting stick will make it easier on the he legs. A particularly scenic hole provides an idyllic setting to watch the parade of players pass.
Rather than follow one player, savvy spectators pick a spot where a green from one hole adjoins a tee from another. With little effort they can watch one group hit their approach shots and putt, then slip over to the nearby tee in time to marvel at a few tee shots. Some spectators do a little of both - follow a player for a while, then camp out at one hole for a spell. That's part of the pleasure of watching golf. Most tournaments are four rounds, Thursday through Sunday. You'll have an easier time getting around earlier in the week than on the weekends when the larger crowds turn out.
Watching A Gentlemen's Game
A course map will help you pick your spots. It also provides the day's pairings and starting times. At the Masters, spectators are given a course map that includes a note from Bobby Jones. It reads:
In golf, customs of etiquette and decorum are just as important as rules governing play. It is appropriate for spectators to applaud successful strokes in proportion to difficulty but excessive demonstrations by a player or his partisans are not proper because of the possible effect upon other competitors.
Most distressing to those who love the game of golf is the applauding or cheering of misplays or misfortunes of a player. Such occurrences have been rare at the Masters but we must eliminate them entirely if our patrons are to continue to merit their reputation as the most knowledgeable and considerate in the world.
Suggestions
No matter how well you may know a player, do not accost him on the golf course. Give him a chance to concentrate on his game. Walk - never run. Be silent and motionless when a contestant prepares to execute a stroke. Be considerate of other spectators. Golf is a gentlemen's game.
Autographs
A couple of rules of thumb: Don't ask for an autograph as a player comes off the 18th green, especially after a bad round. When they've finished in the scoring tent and have had a drink and a chance to relax, many players return to the practice area. A good time to ask for autographs is after they've finished practicing for the day. Another is during the Pro-Am after a pro has teed off and is waiting for the amateurs to play.
The worst time and place to ask for an autograph (except, perhaps, during dinner, when it is simply inexcusable) is during the actual tournament. When the players have completed a hole and are passing through the crowd to get to the next tee, give them a wide berth. Remember, the clock is running. They're penalized for slow play and are concentrating hard on their games. Let them pass without distraction. If you call or write the PGA Tour or the LPGA, they will send you a list of addresses where you can write to players:
LPGA
100 International Golf Drive
Daytona Beach, FL 32124-1092
(904/274-6200)
PGA Tour at Sawgrass
112 TPC Blvd.
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
(904/285-3700)
Shootouts
Many pro events hold a shoot-out for a handful of top players as part of the week's festivities. It takes place on either the Monday or Tuesday before the official tournament. The public is invited.
Shoot-outs are a chance for the players to let their hair down a little, although the competitive juices are still flowing and the prize money is nothing to sneeze at. After each hole, the player with the highest score is eliminated. Ties are decided by short game play-offs, either long putts or chips closest to the hole. The short games are at least as impressive and entertaining as the spirited (but good- natured) gamesmanship. It's a lot of fun for players and spectators alike.
Any Volunteers?
The pro tours could not exist without the cooperation of club members and other volunteers who help the show go on. Volunteering is a great way to get involved behind the scenes. There are perks: free tickets, refreshments, and opportunities to get close to the players, maybe even a free round on the course or a thank-you picnic. If the truth were told, there really isn't a whole lot of work to be done once tournament time arrives, but it is a lot of fun and a nice way to meet other golfers. That doesn't mean staging a pro event doesn't take a monumental effort. It took 2,500 volunteers up to five years to prepare for a recent U.S. Open.
Before we leave the tournament circuit, you should know that even when the pros fold up their tents and move on, opportunities to see good golf are still available locally, wherever you live. College teams, city championships, USGA amateur events, and qualifiers are great ways to see good golf up close or to really feel part of the team as a volunteer.
Cheerio
During the Battle of Britain, while the Royal Air Force dueled the Luftwaffe, RAF pilot officer Kenneth Lee was shot down over Kent, England. He was taken to a local golf club "in shirt-sleeves slightly bloodstained, but couldn't help overhearing members at the last hole complaining that the distraction in the battle of the air was disturbing their putting... once inside a voice demanded, 'Who's that scruffy looking chap at the bar? I don't think he's a member.' "
Those club members who found that the Battle of Britain upset their putting have undoubtedly passed into the pages of P.G. Wodehouse stories. But there will always be an England. If you are fortunate enough to play golf there, or in its rightful (but occasionally disputed) homeland farther north, you will need to be aware of several considerations. One recent observer noted that when it comes to golf attire, "Englishmen on the golf course look as if they're going to lunch, except they have their jackets off."
To play in Great Britain (we didn't mean to neglect Ireland, which has breathtaking scenery and wonderful golf), courtesy insists that you write ahead to the courses you hope to play. Six months ahead is advisable. The more famous courses are becoming so crowded, let's just say the sooner the better and leave it at that. On a package tour, arrangements will be made for you.
You should not pop in unannounced, clubs in hand. Before you leave, sit down with your itinerary and address a letter to the club secretary (or if you belong to a country club or association, ask your pro or secretary to write it for you). Note your approximate timetable, probable arrival time in the area, and preference for an early, late morning, or afternoon tee time. It would be "cheeky" to be any more specific, demanding a 2 p.m. tee time on the 25th, for example. Also, make sure to mention your handicap and how many players will be with you, if any. The club will probably do its best to accommodate you. Don't worry about not having a full foursome. They'll try to find you a game if you're alone.
Reprinted with permission of St. Martin's Press, New
York, N.Y.
Contact the authors at: igolfSwizz@aol.com.
