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Divotr – A New Mobile Golf Social App

doug — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 17:25:16 +0000

In the not-to distant future a new golf app will be launched. It’s going to be very special. It allows golf fans to interact with their favorite pro golf tournaments.

It’s been something I have wanted to do for quite some time now but like anything else I just have not had the time.

I really can’t say too much about before it’s launched. But I DO encourage you to sign up at our launch page to get early access and pleasantly infrequent updates via email and Twitter.

We also encourage you to spread the word via your social media outlets. Heck, it’ll be fun to spread some golfing joy throughout the internet and it sure beats a lot of the “doom and gloom” news out there today.

You can access the page here: Divotr Home Page

Thanks again and Happy Holidays!

Doug

Bubba Could Be In Line For Breakout Season

doug — Thu, 05 May 2011 22:35:04 +0000

Could Bubba Watson be the story of the year in 2011? No one really knows but Bubba is off to a rip-roaring start to his 2011 season with 2 wins already in the bag and is now leading the money list!

Much of the attention in the golf world has surrounded the return of Tiger Woods and his subsequent winless streak, the collapse of Rory McIlroy at the Masters, along with a shootout for the ages that ended with South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel slipping on the Green Jacket. But if he continues to play as he has, Bubba Watson will force you to add him to your discussion topics (and probably already has)

Many expected a big year from Dustin Johnson, a wildly athletic player who can drive the ball a country mile, but Watson has stolen his thunder so far in 2011 with a number of great performances, including a pair of wins at the Farmers Insurance Open and last week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, and he finished fourth at the WGC-Match Play event to the surprise of some who wager at online sportsbooks like BetUS.

Watson hasn’t changed his style much off the tee as he’s willing to pull out his driver with the pink shaft at any time, and he’s second on the PGA Tour in driving distance behind only J.B. Holmes. But Watson is now an all-around player as he’s accurate as ever with the driver (66th in accuracy), he’s really improved his irons (first), and his putting (86th).

Besides his two victories, Watson has four other finishes inside the top 30, and he’s only missed the cut in one tournament, at the Bob Hope. Watson is more consistent than he’s ever been, and he has all the tools to be a superstar on the PGA Tour.

He’s hitting the fairway more with his prodigious drives, and it’s going to be easy to get a lot of birdies (he’s 11th in birdies in 2011) when you have a wedge or a short iron in your hand on every approach shot. It’s all about keeping the putter consistent, and that’s something that Watson really worked on in the offseason.

You make your name (and your money) in the PGA Tour with the flatstick, and Watson has been able to be consistent with the putter more often than he hasn’t. Check out Bubba Watson’s odds at the majors for the rest of the year. Great to see a guy like Bubba having his day in the sun!

Does Golf Need A New Kind Of Publication?

John — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 23:48:52 +0000

I read a lot of golf magazines. Or, more correctly, I peruse a lot of golf magazines. It’s part of my job to be up on the latest in golf, so I go to the local bookstore and leaf through seven or eight different ones each month to get the latest and greatest news on golf.

I never really considered the whole lot of these publications until just recently. I was content to look through them and come away with a strange sense of emptiness, but never really question why. Maybe I’m a little thick, but it finally dawned on me.

They are all marketing publications. They’re not thoughtful, unbiased journals about the wonderful game/sport of golf. They’re extensions of the golf courses, equipment makers, destination resorts, travel agencies, and teaching pros to sell us the sport.

Think about it. When’s the last time you read anything critical of the sport in a golf magazine or a thoughtful article on the state of the game. Who’s writing about slow play, the fact that amateurs never get better, how all the ‘cure your slice’ articles never reduce the number of slicers, how there’s no club that can keep you from hitting it fat, the high price of destination golf courses, or the lack of creative course architecture.

They can’t. If they did, who would pay for the magazine, certainly not the current advertisers who all have a stake in keeping us all in dreamland. Think about it, there must be at least three pages of unabashed advertising for every one page of an article.

Can the sport of golf evolve sensibly and protect its wonderful heritage without thoughtful discourse on what’s right and wrong with the current game. Take the issue that many private courses around the country, with a few exceptions, are losing membership at an alarming rate. This is more than a single facility problem, it’s endemic to golf in this country in the 21st century.

Like most naysayers, I can point out problems, but I don’t have much to offer in the way of a solution. Maybe we need someone with deep pockets and a religious commitment to the game to fund such a noble undertaking.

Could it pay for itself in a year or so once golfers realized how refreshing it would be to read about golf without being sold every step of the way? Maybe it could attract advertisers who want to market to golfers, but don’t have a vested interest in the sport. Look at the TV advertisers to find some likely candidates.

Honesty has to be as good for golf as it is for everything else. For every advertising dollar that honest reporting might drive away, there is another dollar lurking in the shadows just waiting to associate itself with the wonderful sport of golf.

Tiger Woods and a New Kind of Power

Sports Scandal Trumps Play

John — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:48:08 +0000

Have you noticed these days how actual play on the course, field, court and ice is less important than everything that happens on the periphery.

I haven’t seen more than a sentence about how Tiger might play at the Masters, everything is about how the media, sponsors and fans might react.

Maybe my memory has been compromised by aging, but I thought one of the attractions of sports is that it helped you forget all the pettiness that generally constitutes our daily life.

We could just concentrate on how someone is playing; are they keeping their drives in the fairway or are they getting up and down from the bunkers.

Each day it seems as if skills and actual performance are relegated more and more to the backseat.

I’ve got nothing against John Daly, but over the last month on The Golf Channel I’ve seen more footage of a melancholy John looking out from dimly lit smoke filled rooms than I have wedge shots.

Hey, who needs golfers on tour anymore, let’s find America’s biggest losers and make a new Tour. Forget actual play, we’ll just cover them during weigh-in.

There will always be those who, when it comes to sports, prefer the stories about guns in bars, spousal cheating and drunken orgies more than coverage of actual play and that’s OK, but keep it in on the Entertainment channel.

Sports channels can’t deny these distractions, but keep 90% of the focus on the sport.

President’s Cup Needs Better Production Values

John — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:45:39 +0000

As I’m writing this Saturday afternoon, the U.S. is up 10 to 7, perhaps enroute to another drubbing of the International side. However, that doesn’t mean it isn’t great drama and hasn’t been exciting. Cup competitions are great for TV viewers, because every shot and every group is important, unlike the typical strokeplay PGA events. Add to the mix the strategy of match play and you have a very enjoyable viewing experience.

Because every stroke is so important, it’s easy to understand how there’s more pressure in these events than even the majors. The various Cup competitions are the perfect venues for showcasing the sport, particularly the uniquely respectful and cordial relations among competitors. When Jack and Gary were captains a few years back, they created one of the finest moments in golf when they decided to call it a draw late Sunday as darkness was falling and Woods and Els were matching each other stroke for stroke.

This post isn’t just in praise of the competition. Once again I feel compelled to critique the coverage. Golf is missing a golden moment to promote the game and increase audiences the world over because the coverage ends up taking away, instead of adding to the drama in many instances.

The best marketed sport in the U.S. is football. The NFL has done a superb job equalling the playing field for all markets and creating a TV spectacle unmatched by any other sport. It took them decades, but they invented new technology and production techniques that dramatize the action and put the viewer right in the middle.

Golf has yet to figure out how to take tournament coverage to the next level. While HD broadcasts have helped, the basic production values are worse than they were decades ago in some critical ways. Most of the live coverage is of putts. While they are critical, they can get tidious after awhile. Golfers want to see professionals hit shots all over the course. It helps us learn swing fundamentals, how to play different shots, understand professional strategy, but, most importantly, it’s critical to telling the story that is unfolding on the course. Putts are easy to photograph, but in general they are not always very exciting and leave too much of the story buried.

I’ve watched regular tournaments this year where I had to go to my computer to see the standings. Why? Because too often the producers only flash the top five or six leaderboard positions when high drama is unfolding in the next couple of tiers. With all the screen real estate they have you’d think they would have figured out a better way to keep key data in front of the viewers. Baseball, basketball and football all do a pretty good job at this.

My biggest gripe is the commentary. Guys like Faldo, Azinger and Miller know the game and provide wonderful commentary, but the way it’s presented takes away from what is happening on the course instead of adding to it. Yesterday, there was a two minute segment where Roger Maltby and Paul Azinger did what I think they should be doing during the entire telecast. Maltby and Azinger complimented each other beautifully to describe the play of one group. The had great miking on the course so it felt like you were right there. Maltby spoke in hushed tones, because he was right there, but Azinger did so as well which made it seem he was right along side. They merely described the action, didn’t editorialize and let the play speak for itself. Unfortunately it lasted only minutes and never returned.

Golf is a dignified game that oozes it special competitive customs that have persisted over centuries. Where else do players call penalties on themselves? Cut out the superficial music while recapping earlier play. Golf is a game endowed with its own special sounds that define the game more than any awkwardly injected background music.

There need to be some technology breakthroughs to let the viewer feel like they are standing right next to the golfers. Because of forshortening caused by telephoto lenses, 90 yard sandwedge shots look more like 150 yard nine irons. As a viewer and golfer, I want to be right where my own eyes can tell me what kind of shot Tiger just hit.

CBS, NBC and The Golf Channel, you can do a much better job of creating drama and bringing us viewers right next to Tiger on the course. Remember you are storytellers, not just reporters. There are real challenges in covering a sport that takes place over so much acreage and in so many places around the world, but they have to be overcome if the game as spectacle is going to get to the next level.

Do You Want The Ultimate Job in Golf?

doug — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:45:26 +0000

Your Golf Travel.com is looking to liberate a weekend golfer who is sick and tired of the rat race and give them the ultimate job in golf, spending a year traveling the world to sample and review some of the globe’s most desirable golf destinations.

The job will see the lucky candidate representing Your Golf Travel.com and its suppliers at courses including Turnberry, Pebble Beach and St. Andrews, where they will write and share reviews and information with fellow traveling golfers.

With UK unemployment rising to a record 2.38 million in May this year, and unemployment among young people being especially acute, Your Golf Travel.com has launched a global search to recruit for the ultimate job in golf for one lucky golfer to join their team on a 12 month full time contract and are actively encouraging recently redundant* golfers to apply for this position.

Ross Marshall CEO said “This job is all about giving the ultimate golf enthusiast the chance to live out their dream and share their experience with people looking to travel to foreign golf destinations. Whenever you go to buy anything, you will always consult the advice of an expert, and that’s what our lucky applicant will become.

In addition, we recognise that all companies must do their bit to reduce the pain of the downtown and find innovative ways to create new jobs. We are still recruiting as a business and what better way to raise morale than offering a golfer a once in a lifetime job to play golf and get paid for it!”

To apply for the ultimate job in golf, candidates will be required to send a 500-1000 word article detailing their best golf holiday and why they are the best candidate for the job. The top 18 candidates will then do battle over 18 holes in a scratch tournament to find out who is the winner of the ultimate job in golf.

For more information visit here or to apply email greatgolfjob@yourgolftravel.com. To coincide with the offering of the ultimate job in golf and significant growth in 2009, Your Golf Travel.com are also looking to recruit golf consultants for their international sales roles.

* For us US readers redundant is another word for “laid-off” or “jobless” or “unemployed”

The Ultimate Golf Prize

10 Worthwhile Things to Do During the US Open Rain Delay

doug — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:29:31 +0000

Ok, so we have to do *something* during the (very likely) upcoming rain delays at Bethpage Black. So here are a few (hopefully) worthwhile ideas to consider..

1. Listen to a TED speech online – As the title says, “Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world” – I cannot think of a better way to spend a few free moments than by listening to one of these amazing talks. I just listened to one by John Wooden, the former esteemed UCLA college basketball coach (just search for John Wooden) He is in his nineties in this is talk and as sharp as a tack. Check them out here at Ted Talks

2. Make a commitment to improve your golf game – If your like me and your (trying) to watch the US Open you cannot help but get inspired to improve your game. So make a plan to DO IT. During the delay, call up your local pro to take a few lesson, go online and buy a book like, The Golf of Your Dreams by Dr. Bob Rotella, get a good training aid like the Momentus Swing Trainer and use it to strengthen and groove your swing, make a commitment to practice 5 more hours per week. Stop all the stories about “It will take too much time,” “I cannot afford it, we’re in a recession after all” – There is true power when you DO make a commitment to improve your golf game.

3. Read a good book – While the delay is going on, go pick up one of your favorite books. I just started reading “The Great Gatsby” for the first time in years and just loving it. For non-fiction books I have started reading books by business success coach, Steve Chandler. An amazing guy whose story of rising to success is even MORE amazing. Or pick up a golf related book. I just ordered The Italian Summer: Golf, Food, and Family at Lake Como. I Cannot wait to get it. My wife and I went to Lake Como a few years ago and thought we had died and found heaven (and adding golf to the mix would be even more heavenly)

4. Visit some other top golf blogs – we have some wonderful golf blog online now and I will give you just a sample here. Not only are a lot of these folks great bloggers and wonderful writers but I have had the privilege of speaking and interacting with a number of them and you couldn’t find a nicer bunch of folks. Here’s just a few (and I know I am leaving tons of deserving folks out):

Hooked on Golf Blog – Simply one of the best.
Golf Girl Diary – Patricia now has one of the coolest, hippest most fashionable golf blogs on the net.
Armchair Golf Blog – Neil at Armchair produces some of the best golf content on the web – bar none.
Mike Pedersen Golf – One of the sharpest golf dudes online. Always great content and you will always learn *something*
Travelling Golfer - I love this blog. Simple, clean and always awesome information for (what else) the traveling golfer
Andrew Rice Golf - always well-researched and great stuff at Andrews blog
Sandbox8 – Another truly outstanding golf site. One of the first I always visit.
GolfBlogger – John’s blog is probably the second I visit each day. Well worth your time.
20th Hole Golf Blog – another excellent golf blog
Pink Diva Golf – The pink color scheme just works great on this site. And I love the posts, product reviews, really everything (and soon to be improved from what I hear)

7. Reflect on the Good Stuff – Take a few moments to reflect on the good stuff. Even though we are in the midst of a recession *most* of us have places to live, food to eat, (hopefully) good health and, of course, the wonder and magic of the game of golf – a vast majority of the world does not have these. And what about fresh air, good friends, family, clean water, warm sunshine, cuddly pets and on and on. Gratitude is a good thing and the more your practice it the more you have to be grateful for. Amazing how that works.

8. Practice Listening – I am pretty guilty of this when golf tournaments are on. I kinda shut down the world and watch the tournament. But, when there is a rain delay there is no excuse not to give my (your) full attention to family members or friends. It is not an easy thing to do to just shut up and give your full attention to someone else without throwing in your own judgments and trying to “fix” the situation.

8. Surprise someone – Surprises are always fun (hey that’s the purpose, right?) there are so many different ways to surprise someone. From writing a handwritten note (really, when is the last time you did that?) to whisking your significant other off on a weekend trip or a simple bouquet of flowers to lift someone’s spirits. Remember, it doesn’t have to be special occasions (like birthdays) it can be anytime (that’s the beauty of surprise!) and it’s not about expense. You have time during this rain delay so have some fun and start scheming to surprise somebody!

9. Fix Something – During this rain delay take one thing on your fix it list and get to work. In my case, I have a screen door that shits abnormally loud but I (and the rest of the family) have decided to ignore it. There are probably tons of these little projects that you can do during the rain delay but you have to make a list and start with just one thing. You’ll be surprised how many fixes you can accomplish. Ok, so you may lose a few holes on TV but there ARE 18, so you have time. Check out one of these sites: Do it Yourself, Bob Vila or Ask the Builder.

10. Give Something to Someone - Put your imagination to work during the delay and get into the giving mode. Your next round plan to give your buddies a REALLY good cigar or a sleeve of PRO – V’s or a free round at your club. Or buy someone a cool CD or book. Join somewhere like UPromise – to help pay for your kids (or grandkids) college. To get more giving (and kindness ideas) ideas check out this list at HelpOthers

U.S. Open Favorite

John — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:19:31 +0000

Who might win at Bethpage Black, besides Tiger that is. If he plays in any tournament he’s favored, but after his performance at Memorial, the bookies have all but given him the trophy.

So far, Tiger’s win percentage at U.S. Opens is about 25% so there’s still a good chance that someone else could take the trophy this year. I’m with those who believe it’s the hardest golf tournament to win most years. Of course it has a top field. Then there’s the fact that it’s played on a different course each year. So far I’d say it’s tied with the British Open. The clincher is the demanding setup of Open courses for which the USGA is famous. There are those times when the wind blows on the Scottish links courses that make them as hard as any course on earth, but that’s the exception more than the rule these days. Year over year, the U.S. Open is the toughest major.

To win a U.S. Open you have to drive the ball in the fairway. If you don’t do that, you might as well not even tee it up. You’ve also got to be able to hit chips from the 6 inch rough around the greens, which sometimes is more an act of faith than skill. You can’t get rattled with bogies. And you’ve got to be a grinder. Driving gets you in with the contenders, putting is what determines the winner. The greens at Bethpage will be like marble table tops, even if it rains.

So who fits the bill? Very few, I’m afraid. There are players at the beginning of the year who looked like they had a chance, but they never got it going. Include in that group Kim, Harrington, Donald, Garcia, Rose, Mahan, Weir, and Cink.

Then there are the group of guys who have won a little, but seemed to have run out of gas. That includes Ogilvy, Perry, Watney, Goosen, O’Hair, Stenson and Sabbatini. Geoff Ogilvy should be a serious contender, but he seems to disappear months at a time. Will he re-emerge on Long Island?

Let’s not forget Angel Cabrera, the Masters winner. He can play anywhere, he can win under pressure and he won the Open at as hard a course as there is in the world; Oakmont. But he’s streaky. He can be great or disappear way back in the pack. If he plays well Thursday and Friday he could pull it off, but I just don’t see him winning two majors in one year. Sorry Angel.

There’s the group of straight shooters that seems to always be near the top week after week and who play very controlled games. That includes Furyk and Stricker. Furyk will probably be in the top 10, but his lack of distance will keep make it nearly impossible for him at a wet Bethpage.

Paul Casey could get it done. He has the game, but he hasn’t shown he can hold it together in a major. Don’t be surprised if he goes deep this year. I still think he needs more seasoning.

Phil is always a threat – or a major disappointment. He’s probably got too many other things on his mind, buy you never know. If he can get through Thursday and Friday and be in the top 7 or 8, then emotion will be in his favor. The question is, can he avoid the big number holes that have plagued him in Opens past?

I think Harrington will win a U.S. Open, but he hasn’t finished retooling his game yet. He’s more of threat at the British Open in July.

Which brings me to my dark horse pick – Zach Johnson. He’s probably not long enough, but he is proving he’s no fluke. His game has been steady eddy so far in ’09. He can win under pressure. He’s shown he takes winning seriously with steady improvement in all facets of his game. And he has a certain unshakeable air about him. The tougher Bethpage plays, the better I think his chances are.

I can hardly wait until tomorrow!

Little Known Bethpage Black Facts

doug — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 16:48:07 +0000

* Only walking is permitted

* The Black is one of five 18-hole courses at Bethpage State Park, the largest public golf facility in the country.

* Robert Moses, president of the Long Island State Park Commission, brought in A.W. Tillinghast to design the courses, although parks superintendent Joe Burbeck is credited as the architect, with Tillinghast as the consultant.

* Bethpage State Park was developed from an estate owned by the Yoakum family and other properties. The Yoakum family leased their estate to the Lenox Hills Corporation which subsequently used the property to build the Lenox Hills Country Club.

* In the early 1930s, the Bethpage Park Authority purchased the Lenox Hills Country Club and other adjacent properties to build what we now know as Bethpage State Park.

* All of the work on these four courses (Black, Red, Blue and Green) was performed by a WPA (Works Progress Administration) labor force of over 1,000 men who completed the Red, Blue and Green courses in 1935 and the Black course in 1936.

* The Black opened in 1936. The price for a state resident is $50 during the week, and $110 for out-of-state players.

* Rees Jones was given the responsibility of restoring the course to its former glory prior to the 2002 U.S. Open. Work commenced in July 1997 and the course re-opened in June 1998.

* Approximately 300,000 rounds are played annually on the five courses at Bethpage, all of which start from the Clubhouse area.

Additional Facts and figures for the 109th U.S. Open golf championship:

Location: Farmingdale, New York
Course Length: 7,426 yards
Grass: Ryegrass (tees, fairways, rough, greens)
Par: 35-35—70.
Format: 72 holes of stroke play.
Cut: Top 60 and ties, and anyone within 10 strokes of the lead after 36 holes.
Playoff, if necessary: 18 holes of stroke play on June 22.
Field: 156 players (142 professionals, 14 amateurs)
Purse: TBA ($7.5 million in 2008).
Winner’s share: TBA ($1.35 million in 2008)
Defending champion: Tiger Woods.

Memorial Skins Game & Other Thoughts

John — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 13:00:39 +0000

I had a chance to view the new feature of the Memorial Tournament this week – the Wednesday Skins Game. I’m not sure whose idea it was, but I think it’s terrific.

The PGA Tour needs to make our relationship with the pros more personal or tournament golf becomes too sterile and monotone.

Golf is about camaraderie and friendly competition, which is just what the Skins Game was all about.

Not all the guys were completely relaxed, but they were a lot more accessible than they are during their official rounds.

I loved hearing the banter, the same stuff that most of us will recognize from our own matches.

Pro golf needs more of this as the players come across a little less than human during regular competition when there’s hardly ever a smile and certainly no talking. I hope the PGA Tour will do more of this in the future.

The Golf Channel, which is doing a good job of covering PGA play when the networks haven’t bought the rights, still can’t show us highlights without the stupid canned musak.

I like golf courses because it’s one of the few areas you can get away from constant background music.

To The Golf Channel – Professional golf doesn’t need your added sound affects, they’re a bit embarrassing!

If you love golf, development of the American competitive game in the 20th century and you want a book you can’t put down, then by all means get Mark Frost’s ‘The Match’.

He’s a superb writer and chronicler of American culture who can turn a true story into a fascinating page turner. Get this book, I guarantee you won’t be sorry then pass it on to a friend. I hope Bill Paxton can figure out how to make a movie out of it.