The PGA and USGA Tee It Forward initiative will carry forward into 2012. The following program information has been provided to Golf Fore the Good for public review. I believe in the program–for my personal take on its value, read “Lord of the Tees.”
THE PGA OF AMERICA AND USGA ENCOURAGE GOLFERS TO TEE IT FORWARD IN 2012
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. The PGA of America (PGA) and United States Golf Association (USGA) want golfers to have more fun by “teeing it forward” all year long.
Following the successful pilot launch of TEE IT FORWARD in July 2011, The PGA and USGA are encouraging golfers to continue to tee it forward and play from distances that match their playing skills. More than 1,900 facilities registered in 2011 with an average of 123 golfers per facility (nearly 237,000 nationwide) playing from forward tees during the promotional period. Additionally, a survey of more than 3,000 consumers who experienced the program showed that 70 percent found their round of golf more enjoyable and more than 90 percent said they would recommend TEE IT FORWARD to a friend. The survey also found nearly 50 percent of respondents saying the program helped them play faster. Read more…
It’s that time of year. I am cramming in as many rounds of golf as I possibly can, living on the smart phone, telephoning clients and customers in between the roar of the golf cart, whispering from a wooded thicket so as not to disturb my playing partners. The work thing just has to go. Golf is the thing right now–before the leaves make finding an errant ball next to impossible, before frost creeps into the ground and makes it a different game up here in the hinterlands. It is ever more magical on the golf course, with the days growing shorter and the shadows longer. Each round is one to savor.
It ‘s that time of year, when you’ve honed your swing throughout the season, when the lessons have taken hold, when you finally think, I’ve got this. Unlike spring golf, when we’re rusty from the winter layoff, fall golf has an energy to it unlike any other. In the spring, we know there is more golf to follow. As the leaves change color and the clouds grow whispier and the sky fades from a brilliant summer hue to an icy blue, we count each round as if it is our last. Read more…
Mid-way through our Spring Team matches, I realized every one of my opponents had wielded a golf GPS unit of one make or the other. I was holding my own as far as the match play event went, but I was left wondering if I wasn’t missing out on some sort of on-course advantage. Especially inside 100 yards and on an unfamiliar course, would it make a difference if I knew if I should hit a full wedge, a 3/4 wedge, a full sand wedge or maybe–just maybe–get down to the nitty gritty with my lob wedge? Or should I just “eye ball it” as I was once admonished to do by a 50+ year veteran of the game? “You people spend entirely too much time worrying about yardage,” she scolded in her sticky southern drawl that was more poison sap than honey. A little taken aback, I have never really broken the habit of rushing those inside shots.
I began to research the various golf GPS systems on the market. I queried my husband to see if he might have any interest in sharing a device, thereby justifying the cost. With only a little less vitriol than my aforementioned playing partner, he scoffed. “I hate those things. They slow up play.” Not wishing to argue that the newer devices seem to register yardage quite quickly, and a click on a handheld device seems to beat tromping around looking for nonexistent yardage markers, I let the subject drop. Sort of.
Then, over the 4th of July weekend, while my husband and I relaxed at the golf course bar, a transient approached us with rabid enthusiasm, iPhone clutched in his outstretched hand. He was so excited about his new app, he was not above sharing his joy with strangers. He offered a brief intro tour of his new Golfshot app, just enough to make me Google it when I got home. At $29.99, what did I have to lose? Quicker than you can say “that’s a gimme,” I’d logged into iTunes and downloaded the app. To date, I find it user friendly and wonderfully accurate–and a true bargain when compared to the price of full-fledged independent devices–and, no, Golfshot isn’t paying me to say so. No iPhone? Golfshot also has an Android version.
The only downside I can identify is that Golfshot is a serious drain on the already less-than-stellar iPhone battery life. Tips for reducing battery use can be found on Golfshot’s website. For those lengthy rounds that run over 4 1/2 hours, I also picked up a portable iPhone battery. An additional $29.99, for all practical purposes it doubles the price of using the app but still ends up way short of other golf rangefinders with comparable features. Besides, I figure that the rechargeable battery will be handy on those long days off the course when my battery actually runs low from too much work. The app tracks yardage in a variety of ways as well as assorted stats: fairways hit, putts, sand shots and more–and emails your scorecard automatically at the end of the round if you choose. Pretty cool stuff.
My favorite application of the program–into it now for eight rounds–is yardage to the back of the green. It’s helping me come to terms with an idea that has been thrown at me over and over, that, in many circumstances, there is no harm in going long, over the trouble. I find I can club up and swing away with a little more confidence that I won’t fly the green altogether. Unfortunately, it still doesn’t buy me a short game… so I guess I’ll see you on the practice green.
Dare I discuss it? Happily playing some of my best golf ever over the last few weeks, I was rudely awakened to my limitations after I caught a really bad case of the… well, you know… those laterals shots that come out of the blue, rocket off to the right, and fail to advance the ball. Really, we shouldn’t talk about it… but I just couldn’t help thinking about it, and found myself penning this little ditty.
S is for the shame I feel on hitting one.
H is for the hope that they’ll leave as quickly as they’ve come.
A is for apprehension as I once more approach the ball;
N is for next shot and my determined wherewithal.
K is for the kindness of the golf gods,
When the ball flies straight against all odds.
S is for the word we dare not even think,
Those lateral shots we hit that really stink.
Hit ‘em straight!
At its best, when a golfer plays from a set of tees longer than is appropriate for his ability, it might be said it improves his game. At worst, it is agonizing to watch and totally unnecessary. Not to mention a waste of the PGA-USGA collaboration to promote the “Tee It Forward” initiative, a push “to help golfers have more fun on the course and enhance their overall experience by playing from a set of tees best suited to their abilities.”
Tee It Forward makes sense. It may help to eliminate the five hour round suffered behind a transient foursome playing an unfamiliar course, determined to “get the most for their money” by playing the back tees. How about the most fun for their money? One needn’t slog back and forth across the fairway from rough to woods and back again in a reeling, haphazard round. Is that really golf? How about those shorter tees? What’s wrong with seeing just a bit less of the course and enjoying yourself a whole lot more?
All the blame shouldn’t be laid on transients, however. Apparently the Tee It Forward message hasn’t gotten through to certain local members. A well-intentioned but–only in my own, humble opinion–misguided member has taken it upon himself to revive what was long ago one of the greatest mosquito leagues around. Long before I moved to town, 50 or 60 or more golfers would “line up on the wall” before being assigned a foursome for a late afternoon nine holes of good company and good fun. Hard working men would pull into the parking lot in pick-up trucks, peeling off work boots in favor of golf shoes. Super-seniors looked forward to the competition, enjoying nine holes when walking eighteen had become too much for them. It was a two hour respite, a widely varied field encompassing golfers of all abilities, from scratch players to the lamest of duffers. It was awesome. Read more…
