Golf Fore the Good

It seems like only a few days ago that the biggest discussion at Dennis Pines was where we’d meet on Friday nights now that the concession was closed for a few weeks. Things sure went from snug and cozy to wild and woolly pretty quickly; and I’m not talking about the weather.

With spring just around the corner and the early advent of daylight savings time this year we’re all ready to get out the sticks and hit the course. It’s a pretty sure bet that now golf balls aren’t the only thing that’ll get whacked around.

I generally try to remain positive about all things golf - after all, that’s the only way to be truly successful at the game. Calmness and containment; those are the qualities my revered golf mentor continually tries to impress upon me. But the world would be a boring place if everything was entirely level and etched only in black and white. The Rules of Golf would need no explanations, no thick volume of decisions and definitions to clarify each and every possible scenario. And then, of course, neither would the Rules require revisions to interpret new circumstances as they arise.

But life is often not so staid, not even in and around the golf course. There will always be discourse and discord about something or other. Have no fear, GFTG doesn’t intend to become a tabloid filled with scandals and conspiracies, alien babies and evil cults. We have no desire to be the Jerry Springer of golf. But when controversy rocks our little world, when golfers are bursting with rabid opinions on matters that could affect our course and our play, we’re here with a voice and to act as a sounding board as well.

That being said, the Elaine Joyce saga continues. A well written (in my opinion) letter to the editor in today’s Cape Cod Times
spells out what I’ve understood to be local sentiment to date. Sure, she she’s fighting for her rights as a golfer, but it is the way it’s being done that many people call into question. The CC Times letter lays it out quite well (and, dare I say, it was written by a man); there are more than a couple local female golfers who have been stung by the insinuation that area competition among woman provides only lackluster contenders. That is a bit of a slap in the face; and quite possibly, if the word that’s out and around is true, the biggest reason Ms. Joyce felt it necessary to hire a PR person.

Now pardon me, I feel the need to go practice my chipping and putting. I have a competitive edge to hone.