If you ask any golfer what their major nemesis is, you'd get a lot of different answers. It would range from “Any Sand Trap”, to “My fucking Lob Wedge” (who can hit those things?) – or “My Driver”, to “Any club in my bag”.
But, after a few recent events, I've come to realize that weather is every golfers true nemesis.
Those weather g-ds are evil. We've all had the situation where, when hitting an iron into a green, the wind gusts to 20 mph just when your are in mid swing, and your ball lands short in a green-side bunker (that other nemesis).
I don't know anyone who had a great round in bad weather. Oh wait, there was one guy. The Bishop in Caddyshack played one heck of a round in a teeming thunderstorm.
But, even that blessed round didn't end well

As for my game,
Two weeks ago, I felt I had finally gotten my game together. I played a round with my friend Vak at Bethpage (Yellow). The weather was perfect. Sunny, warm (but not hot), and a light breeze.
I shot ..

Of course, I'm referring to sports on TV.

However, this weekend was mostly spent glued to some monitor watching the “Open Championship” – aka the British Open.
First, let me review the difference between watching golf, and watching other sports (i.e. – baseball, basketball, football, etc).

Watching a golf tournament is not as “exciting” as other sports. Now, before you get all pissy and start ranting at me, I don't mean that the sport of golf is not exciting – nor that it doesn't have highs and lows like other sports.
I just tend not to curse and throw things during a golf tournament.

Here's an example: on Sunday (long after the final putt of the British Open), the New York Yankees had a 2 run lead in the 9th inning. Their reliever, Aroldis Chapman, appeared to be TRYING to lose the game. First, he gave up a hit. Then a long double. And, lastly, a passed ball/wild pitch.
So, I started cursing at him – and if my 60 inch TV didn't cost so much, I would have t..

I know it's been a few weeks, but it's been hectic in the golf household. I've been trying to play as much golf as my back allows.
For the past few weeks, I've played perhaps two round per week – weather and back permitting.
This past week, I got to play both Saturday and Sunday.
The weekend outing (noted in the title of the Blog entry) was organized by “GolfStuds”, a group that evolved off of one of the groups on GolfMatch.
This was the oddest group (in my opinion) that evolved into one of the best groups/organizations.
For many of you Instagram patrons who are are golfers, you are aware of several Instagram accounts that are composed of female golfers, which attract thousands of followers. With such followers, they get sponsors to show off clothes, shoes, etc.
There are also a few “Male” versions of these groups, that post less beefcake shots, and more comic/golf posts.
And Honestly, I thought GolfStuds was going to be sort of a combination of both.
WRONG!!
I ..

My last blog post was regarding practice, and, the importance of practice, practice, practice.
Although I can't stress this enough, I do want to note that practice alone is not an answer.
SMART PRACTICE is essential.
I hit the range twice this week, and took notice of the other hackers working on their game.
Many (MOST?), swing, ball after ball, and repeat same slice (hook, top, etc.) over and over again, thinking that just swinging again will fix the issue.
Some others I see attempting to look at their swing. Looking back at the club in the back-swing, or taking slow swings to see what it looks like.
When I went to the range on Tuesday, I had an awful slice with my drive, and was chunking my pitches. Note, that my under-100 yard shots are all pitches with different clubs, and different length back-swings.
As of late, I had been hitting many FAT. If you're a novice golfer, FAT does not refer to that jelly roll around my midsection – it means you're swing arc bottoms ou..

There's an old joke that goes,
A visitor to Augusta on Masters weekend is driving around lost.While driving, he sees Jack Nicklaus in his car. He yells out the window to Jack,”Jack, how do I get to the Masters?”Jack's reply is, “Practice, practice, practice”
Well, it might have been Palmer the first time I heard it, but the message is the same. The only way to get better at golf, is to practice.
I play with a lot of golfers. I will go out with friends, I'll go out alone and play with other groups, I'll meet some of my GolfMatch friends, or GolfStud friends.
Invariably, I will play with a golfer that says “I can't believe how bad my game is”.
REALLY??? HE CAN'T BELIEVE IT???
More often than not, the words are spoken by a weekend warrior – those of us that have 9-5 non-golf jobs, and come out on the weekends to hack around the course with expectations of grandeur.
How can a person think they are going to be a better golfer, when they play once a week?
Gol..

I totally understand why the younger generations don't take up golf. In NY, a round of golf averages 4 1/2 to 5 hours for a round.
In reality, it takes about an hour to play 18 holes of golf. The other 3-4 hours is the time spent getting to the ball, choosing a club, cursing, throwing your club, and retrieving it!
Golfers don't need to be as slow as turtles
Calculate in travel time, warm up, cool down, (drinks?) and you're talking about a 6 to 7 hour commitment for a round of golf (average).
This gets very frustrating to the average golfer. Waiting at every hole/shot, creates stiffness, and also doesn't allow you get get “into a grove”.
Or, if you eventually get that groove on, you'll lose it waiting 15-20 minutes until your next shot.
Memorial day weekend is notorious for slow rounds of golf (much like Father's day). It's a day when people that don't normally play, go out and hack around.
Now, don't get me wrong – it's not the level..

Since my last post, I've played two round of golf – and turned 60!
Somehow, age creeps up on you and before you know it – WHAM! The big 6-0 is here.
Now, I'm not a complainer about age – I actually love being 60 (all 5 days of it). After all , I'm in good shape, have a great family, and a somewhat decent golf game. So, no complaints.
But, I have noticed a few things that age hits you with, that have affected my golf game.
No – not distance. I know a lot of people have told me that you lose distance as you get older. So far, I still hit an 8-iron 150 yards, so I can't say that's the problem.
Mostly, it's the ache's and pains that creep gradually work into your bones.
The last two rounds are a great example.
Wednesday (my birthday), I took off and played at Swan Lake (with Dan, Dave and Eddie). Very pretty course, with no driving range.
This in itself is not a problem, except for those of us that needs to warm up before a round. (me and my 60+ year..

Most of my golfing friends reside in the Northeast (although some have already retired to more southern regions).
In so much, our golf season lasts 6-8 months, depending on Mother Nature. At some point in November, we play a round of golf with temperatures in the high 40's, and winds 20-30 miles per hour. When the round finishes, we have 3-4 layers of clothing on, have a wool beanie on that replaced our golf cap, have our winter gloves on, and our pockets have used hand-warmers in them.
We grudgingly take our bag out of the car, and put it in the garage for a week or two. At that time, we give in to fate and carry it down to the basement for storage, and nestle it to the side of your water heater, right next to the shelves that hold your tools, wi-fi router, and 4-5 boxes of golf balls you've acquired over the past 6 months.
And, unless you're lucky enough to travel south for the winter (or take a winter trip), that's where they stay until some warm weather comes b..

Well, after almost an entire season “off” (i.e. – no blog entries), I'm back. And, surprisingly, in February!!
In NY, its a rarity to play golf in the winter months. Sometimes a day in December pops up, but January and February are like finding a needle in a haystack (or, a good lie in the rough).
Today was that day. Lloyd called me and said we should head out to Merrick Road Park to play 9. So, we agreed to meet at 1pm.
As I walked up to the cashier, I see this sign:
Yikes – it seemed that everyone in the county came out.
So, we checked in and sat for the hour and a half. We couldn't even putt, as the putting green was closed for the winter.
But, we teed off at 2:30pm – on the button.
We were playing with two nice guys – Wayne, and Warren.
Warren was 87 years old, and carrying his clubs! Well, he only had 6 clubs in his “weekend” bag, but still! Impressive.
Much more impressive than the golf. It took 3 holes to shake off the cobwebs that build up after 3 months of not swing..

Courses – Merrick Road park and Eisenhower Park (red)
The week has been jam packed with golf, work, family, and more golf. For this reason, I'll start combining some rounds into a single blog entry – both for my sake, and for yours.
After the Thursday debacle at Centennial , I wanted to get out on the course and ensure that I hadn't completely lost my game (and my mind).
As my office closes early on holiday weekends, I had set up a round with some fellow GolfMathers (GM'ers) for 9 holes at Eisenhower Park.
However, when I got there I was told there was a 90 minute wait!
Seriously? I texted the two GM'ers that we were out of luck, and started to drive over to the range. At least I could hit balls. I then called Merrick Road Park Golf course – where there is normally a long wait (and that's on good days!).
The guy told me there was no wait, so I zoomed over, and ran out to sign up.
The starter said I should go right out with these to gentlemen who just teed of..