The Golf of Maine News for May 4, 2017

The 10% Rule — Philosophy for golf, and for life: Keep your head down, and give thanks to your Superintendent.

Installing Fake Bunkers? It’s Time To Get Real — In our humble opinion, the Disneyfication of golf courses must stop.

Your favorite games to play on the golf course — What’s it gonna be today? Bingo-Bango-Bongo? Sixes? Nassau?

In South Korea, a former golf course is now an unlikely bulwark against North Korean attack — Our favorite scene in the classic film, M*A*S*H, is the golf scene…

Avid golfer Corey Lanerie (‘I work to play golf’) riding Lookin At Lee in Kentucky Derby — We’ll be putting our money on Lookin’ At Lee in solidarity with the golfin’ caddie…

Rocky River golf course goes to the goats for mowing help — And no hassles with HB-1 Visas…

Would You Try This on Your Home Course?

Golf News for April 30, 2017

Op Ed: Should Denver Turn Its Golf Courses Into Public Parks? — The relentless assault on muni’s is high on Denver’s list. “Might not the interests of the majority of people in Denver be better served by a new park that could be open year-round?”

Why pro golf’s rule changes aren’t quite so leisurely this time — “The fact the main bodies are making changes quickly certainly indicates they are deeply concerned about the levels of public reaction and concerns about unfairness in shaping outcomes.”

Hey, PGA Tour, not so fast — “Did the Tour really pick the first round of alternate shot – a format unfamiliar to at least half of the participants – in the first team event since 1981 to dole out its first penalty in 22 years?”

Handling golf traffic — When The Tour comes to your sleepy little town…

Golf News for April 29, 2017

Got Golf on The Brain? Good for you!

MSGA celebrating centennial year —A meeting of a select group of golf courses assembled at Portland Country Club in 1917 to form the MSGA, which today serves as an association of member clubs that span the state. Visit www.mesga.org.

Playing regular golf is ‘good for your brain’ — Keep this one in your bag for the next time you hear, “You’re playing golf AGAIN?!”

Eight Reasons Why Putting Greens Play Differently In The Afternoon — We almost always play afternoon golf, and now have additional excuses for our putting.

Golf News for April 28, 2017

Hickory and Perimmon
Hickory and Persimmon, Persimmon and Hickory

Returning to Hickory Golf Out of Love for the Game — Our friend Deal Hudson waxes rhapsodically about a purer form of golf. The more things change, the more we prefer the way they were… “Over the past five years, I’ve never looked back, my steel clubs rarely leave my trunk. I’ve rediscovered the game I learned to love as a teenager, embraced again the joy of playing the game rather than making my enjoyment depend on reaching a certain number.”

Congaree: A First Look At The Golf Club Built By Billionaires On A Model Of Philanthropy — “Golf and giving have always gone hand-in-hand. But at Congaree, a new golf club steeped in history in South Carolina’s low country, philanthropy is the ethos of an entirely new membership model.” Adding this course to our list of “must play” tracks…

10 common sense rules for amateurs — We would add our favorite, “The Faldo”, wherein an admiring fan kicks your errant drive back into the fairway before you arrive…

What Your Golf Game Reveals About Your Personality — “Any trait you see in a person repeatedly on the golf course is probably part of their personality and carries over into other aspects of their lives.”

Who Can Forget That Time Harpo Marx Played Sam Snead…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWpN5YZF-QA

Golf News for April 27, 2017

Please, Swami, Make me One with The Hole

Why is Spieth with Palmer? He lost to his caddie — “Edmondson made a wager with Spieth: If I beat you today, you have to partner with Ryan at the Zurich.”

National Golf Day showcases how the industry is taking an active role promoting legislation to help the game — Everything eventually becomes political… “Where once its purpose was primarily as an educational endeavor aimed at breaking down negative stereotypes about the sport, it is now used to provide an active voice in directing legislation to help the game.”

Book Review – Golf’s Iron Horse — “From 1910 to 1953, pencil salesman Ralph Kennedy put together one of the most astonishing records in the history of sports: playing 3,165 unique golf courses. Even more astonishing: he saved a card from every one of those courses, with a signature to attest that he had indeed completed the round.”

One-of-a-Kind Social Golf Experience Opening its Doors in Santa Ana — This sort of business might help to extend the golf season in Maine beyond its usual 3-months…

Penalties in golf start with the player, not the TV viewer — While golf is a solitary, unique game, we try to imagine what would happen if baseball allowed viewers to call in balls and strikes.

How A Set Of Golf Clubs Captured Some Of Call of Duty: WWII’s Best Sounds — How the game of golf made a lasting contribution to the gamer world… “…I went out to the third hole and played it all day long – it was right at the end of the runway. So when a bomber took off, I got amazing bomber flybys and recordings, I did that all day.”

Golf for Workgroups — Speaking of gamers, since the weather isn’t cooperating, here’s one in which up to four players navigate a biped around a height field texture mapped to look like a golf hole.

So a Hindu, a Muslim and a Jew are playing golf together in Dubai — “The simplicity of it makes everyone attempt it, but the subtlety of it makes almost everybody get frustrated with it…

And Now… Throwback Thursday

Golf News for April 26, 2017

Fly the Hostile Skies of United

Clubhouse Attendant at the South Portland Municipal Golf Course — Temporary for the Golf Season (14-20 hours/week). Part Time, Flexible and Various. Early mornings, days, evenings and weekends. $10/hr – includes 2017 course membership. Application Deadline – May 5th

PGA Junior League Golf registration opens —PGA Junior League Golf is a fun, social and inclusive opportunity for boys and girls ages 13 and under to learn and enjoy the game of golf.”

Immediate Rules Change Limits Video Review — “Yesterday, with what only can be called lightning speed, the USGA and R&A changed the Rules of Golf by enacting a decision intended to limit the use of video review and, the game’s governing bodies hope, stem the tide of rulings prompted by viewers calling in infractions.” We give a hearty golf clap! But we want stronger language that completely excludes ANY viewer participation on rulings.

Why Do Golf Courses Aerate So Much? —Aeration holes filled with sand topdressing will allow excess water from the soil to evaporate, promote root development and improve drainage.” And, we like to limit our putts to two when the greens are freshly punched!

New USGA and R&A Video Rules Missed the Elephant in the Room — “What’s completely missing from the new rules is the way that rules infractions are discovered, reported, and the timing in which these notifications happen.”