The Common Golfer

Sitting nervously by the window, I switch back and forth between looking up at the sky and looking at the radar on the weather channel.  Is it going to rain all day?  Maybe things will clear up soon – there looks like a “window” in the radar to the west. Nothing can ruin an avid golfer’s weekend more, than waking up in the morning to bleak skies and the sound of raindrops.  I myself am a huge golf fan, but tend to only get out on the weekends.  Not only does getting rained out put a damper on my weekend (what else am I supposed to do for fun?), but it also makes it really hard to keep any “momentum” going from week to week.

We’ve actually been pretty fortunate this golf season, in Central Ohio; it’s mid-September and this is the first weekend that it has rained a lot.  But what do people do in traditionally rainy regions of the world?  For example, is golf not as popular in Seattle, Washington compared to Dallas, Texas?  For the casual weekend golfer in a rainy area (or a golfer that only has time on the weekend), I suppose your two options are to only play a few times per year or to learn to love golfing in the rain.  We should all be so lucky to live in year-round warm climates!

So what’s the solution?  Why hasn’t science/technology progressed yet to the point where we can control the weather?!  Unfortunately, I can’t think of any better ideas.  If faced with the dilemma, what is your approach?  Would you learn to “embrace” playing in the pouring rain, or get used to golfing less frequently?

There have been some stories floating around the internet lately, about a 909 yard par 7 hole that is the longest in the world.  While I’m sure that golf course appreciates the publicity, the reports are wrong!  The 7th hole at Sano Golf Course in Japan is a 964 yard par 7 (you only get this kind of hard-hitting research from The Common Golfer).

I actually think this would be a pretty easy hole – it’s straight and has very almost no hazards.  I always enjoy par 5’s the most, because if I hit a bad shot I have time to recover.  Having a par 7 would leave even more margin for error.  I know what you’re thinking, though.  You’re thinking that a par 7 isn’t reason enough to go all the way to Japan.  So according to forbes.com, here are the longest golf holes in America:

1. No. 12, Meadow Farms Golf Course, Locust Grove, Virginia (841 yards, par 6)

2. No. 6, Spring Lake Golf Resort, Sebring, Florida (800 yards, par 6)

3. No. 9, The Links Golf Course, Post Falls, Idaho (777 yards, par 6)

The longest hole I have ever played is a 629 yard par 5.  What is the longest hole you’ve ever played?

Sherwood Forest Golf Course in Cedar Mountain, North Carolina, has new part-time employees that will caddy for you on Tuesdays.  Llamas.  That’s right…llamas.  For $40 every Tuesday, you can “rent?” a llama that is trained to carry your golf bag and even wait patiently while you hit your next shot.  Personally, I’m amazed that they don’t scare easily when you’re swinging a club around them (and if that won’t scare them, I’m sure my golf-induced temper tantrums would).

Is this something that you would pay to do?  I find myself wanting to say this is a horrible idea, that it’s stupid, and no one will pay for this.  But apparently people are.  And if I’m being completely honest with myself, if there were llamas at a course near me I would probably go try it out just to say I’d done it.  But I really doubt I would do it a second time…so I wonder if this will just be a short-term fad.  This begs the question…at the end of your round, is it polite to tip the llamas?

According to an article from Bloomberg, it will cost users $1.99 if they want to follow the PGA Championship from their iPhone.  Previously, users had been able to download free apps for the other majors, allowing them to view a real-time leader-board, watch video, and receive player alerts.  Turner Sports, a division of Time Warner Inc., manages all mobile apps for the PGA.

Personally, I think (and hope) this will backfire on the PGA.  As an iPhone user myself, I used the mobile app for the Masters, and to be honest if I had paid $1.99 for it I would have demanded my money back.  Half the time, the app would crash when I tried to open it, and overall I found the application clunky.  Not to mention the fact that the video quality was very poor.  I’m not expecting to get HD video on my iPhone, but you couldn’t even tell where the ball was at most points.

It would shock me if very many golf fans will pay for an app that is only worth having for 4 days.  I look for the 2010 Masters (next upcoming major) to have a free app again.  All this is going to do is encourage golf fans to go elsewhere on their iPhones to get scoring updates.  Since I can only assume this is a “money grab,” I think the PGA would have been better suited selling advertising space on the app itself.  Most people have come to expect ads on free services.  I can’t help but think this move was more motivated by Time Warner, than the PGA.  For those of you “lucky” enough to live in an area where Time Warner provides cable/telecom services, I’m sure this move doesn’t surprise you as much.  Half of Columbus, Ohio wasn’t able to see Ohio State football games last year thanks to Time Warner.

Let us know what you think.