Skip to main content

Par for the Course

The 2018 Golf season has officially begun, Tiger Woods is back in the field!

I know the 2017/2018 professional tour schedule technically began in October with the Safeway Open. But talk to any Golf aficionado and you will quickly see the “Tiger” effect on professional golf at Torrey Pines in San Diego. 

Google queries for Tiger Woods, specifically “Did Tiger make the Cut,” (at the Farmers Insurance Open) is in the top 10 trending searches on Google.

The Golf Channel, golf promoters, golf courses, driving ranges, golf merchandise sales, and television ratings are way up. Attendance this weekend (Jan. 27 & 28th) at Torrey Pines will soar. Try it, do a Google search for Tiger Woods and see what turns up. Profits. 

Yesterday, after months of procrastination, I got off my duff and made the trip to the Carlsbad Golf Center to have a new grip installed on my TaylorMade three wood.

While shopping I eves dropped on the conversations in the golf shop. And yes . . . it was all about Tiger Woods.

“You think Tiger will make the cut?” 

“He looks pretty good, we’ll have to wait and see.”

“I will say this, since Tiger announced he would be playing again in 2018 our business has been up.” 

Admittedly, I’m a fan of professional golf. My interest in golf was sparked one day unexpectedly when Lori said to me, “I used to love to play golf with my Dad growing up.” The radiant smile and twinkle in her eye said it all. To my utter astonishment, golf was something she truly enjoyed!

“So - let’s play some golf.”

 For her 40 birthday, with the help of my friend Chuck, we purchased Lori a complete set of Lady La Jolla clubs. I happened to be working in New York that week so Chuck’s mission was to deliver the clubs and surprise her on her special day. Alas, it appears that company has gone by the way side. But she still enjoys playing her clubs. You should see her antique Wilson set we have in our garage. 

Now, it’s important to understand, this idea of playing golf, I had never really played golf, didn’t own a set of clubs, and no clue how to get into this sport reasonably.

“Are you kidding me, look at the price of this stuff.”

My participation in sports has always been cycling, softball, running, swimming, and walking, for exercise. Golf, to me, was not a sport. Really, how can you consider golf exercise when you’re riding around in a cart, chasing a little white ball, then back to the clubhouse for a beer?

So, my next step was to get my own set of decent, reasonably priced clubs.

This Golf thing can’t be that difficult. I thought.

Lessons, hah, who needs lessons, look at Bubba Watson he never took lessons. He can drive the ball a mile. When you watch the professionals on TV they make it look so easy.

“The short game, that’s where it’s at. Very few can drive the ball like Bubba.”

It’s obviously all about style, look at Rickie Fowler. 

Boy was I wrong. These guys are good.

So for a number of years Lori and I would treat (frustrate) ourselves and play golf together on the weekends. Lori as my coach, I quickly learned that swinging hard did not work.

Lori would step up to the tee and with a silky smooth stroke, straight down the fairway. 

Me, I would step up and bust it - Pow! Out of bounds.

“Why does that stupid ball keep shanking to the right,” I grumbled.

“You’re hitting it off the toe of the club.”

“Ok, now it’s curving to the left.”

“You’re swinging the club like a baseball bat.”

“We need to spend some time at the driving range.”

“That’s boring, let’s just play the game.” So we did.

For practice, we play a Par three executive course, 1822 yards. Lori keeps score. Turns out I was able to shoot par within the first six holes.

“That’s good, right?”

“No - not really.”

“Ok, what’s Par?”

“This pitch-n-putt is a Par 54 course. That means a good golfer should be able to take 54 strokes to complete 18 holes. Three strokes per hole, not 10.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

We were consistently shooting 90 strokes or higher.

“Think geezer swing,” she would say. “That’s why you practice at the driving range.”

Yes, I’m stubborn.

Well, to make a long story short, as they say, Listen to the wife. She was right all along.

So this year we’re going to spend some time on the driving range. Practicing my swing and learning which iron to use for different distances.

“It’s muscle memory, repeating the same swing using a different club for distance.”

“Ok, I get it - let’s go to the driving range."

On Friday, Tiger did make the cut at Torrey Pines, Par 72, over 7600 yards, he shot -1, (one under par). How they do it I’m still trying to figure out. 

I wonder? If I practice enough, could I shoot Par for the course?

What do you think?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular of All Time

Confidently Wrong: The Art of the AI Tall Tale

In this episode, A chat with Adamas the Chef on hidden recipes causing digital hallucinations. Pull up a chair and pour yourself a fresh cup of coffee—and please, for your own sake, taste it first. We need to have a quiet chat about why your computer sometimes decides to reinvent reality with the confidence of a five-star chef who has clearly lost his mind. In the world of technology, we call it a  hallucination . It sounds pretty dramatic, doesn’t it? As if the computer decided to ignore your instructions altogether in favor of a vivid, technicolor imagination that simply hasn’t met reality yet. But in truth, an AI hallucination isn’t a breakdown; it’s just a very confident, very polite mistake. Think of it like our friend Adamas , the Chef. Adamas is a master of the kitchen, but he is also a bit of a romantic who refuses to say “I don’t know.” When you ask him for a classic recipe he hasn’t made in years, he doesn’t stop to consult a cookbook—that’s far too pedestrian. Instead, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Opening Day Magic 2026 . . .

It’s back. Baseball—yes, baseball ! If you’re someone who finds themselves inexplicably drawn to this peculiar ritual, let’s be honest with each other: it’s a bit odd, right? I mean, 162 games. That’s a lot of hot dogs, a lot of standing around, and a lot of grown men in oddly tailored trousers spitting with remarkable precision. And yet, here we are, poised on the precipice of another season. Thursday, March 26, 2026, to be precise—Opening Day. It’s a curious thing, this Opening Day. You walk into a stadium, or turn on the TV, and suddenly, everyone is infected with a highly contagious strain of . . . Optimism . It’s a spectacular form of collective amnesia. All of last year’s fumbles, the endless losing streaks, the existential dread of watching your bullpen implode in the eighth inning—poof. Gone. It’s entirely replaced by a wide-eyed, childlike belief that this year, finally, the baseball gods will smile upon us. The Cycle of Hope and Despair As a Cubs fan, I know this cycle intim...
Post a Comment
Read more

Overcooking the Grid

In this episode, terrified of smart toasters, yet demanding infinite electricity for potato personality tests. Pull up that chair again, and let’s hope your coffee is safe this time. In our last chat, we talked about our well-meaning but occasionally delusional AI friend, Chef Adamas, and his penchant for hallucinating blueberries into your Carbonara. We learned how to manage his quirks by keeping our “digital pantry” organized. But today, we need to look past the chef and take a hard look at the sheer size of the kitchen we are building for him. And folks, that kitchen has gotten completely out of hand. Down in Louisiana, tech companies are currently building an artificial intelligence data center the size of 70 football fields. It is a four-million-square-foot digital brain that requires so much electricity they are building three new natural gas power plants just to keep the servers from literally melting down into a puddle of expensive silicon. And what are we using this god-like, ...
1 comment
Read more

Vintage Vinyl

In this episode - Vintage Vinyl . . . Turntables are making a big comeback; why? Listening to music should be a multi-sensory experience. Harmony, rhythm, and the deep expression of emotion. Like a warm, gentle rain in the springtime cascading around you the room is filled with a resonant, rich, melodic sound. My emotions welled up, and tears come to my eyes. Ok, I get it, we need to step back to get some perspective here. Recently a visit to Lou's Records in Encinitas, California, inspired me to dig out my Vintage vinyl LP record collection. I selected the Carpenters Singles 1969- 1973 . This musical duo reigned from 1969-to 1982 with the rich, full melodic voice of Karen Carpenter. They were one of the biggest-selling groups of the 1970s. "No fewer than ten of their singles went on to become million-sellers, and by 2005 combined worldwide sales of albums and singles well exceeded 100 million units." The tactile sensory experience of music begins with the album cover it...
4 comments
Read more