The Best Hole in Golf

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The Waste Management Phoenix Open starts today. It is a great event and has a history of creating an atmosphere not found outside a Major! Over the last few years, I have discussed the changes imposed by the PGA Tour on the antics on the 16th hole at the Waste Management professional event. After years of writing articles, I still stand by my views, but maybe there is room for a minor adjustment!

The three articles are Let the Games Begin! Caddie Race and No Caddie Races!

Basically, the PGA Tour continues to try and impose a sense of decorum. I think the Tour believes that the Professionals are losing focus and the crowd is becoming unruly; especially on the last day when the tournament is on the line. However, the players and fans seem to embrace the carnival like atmosphere and I definitely enjoy watching the interaction between the pros and the fans.
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Ready Golf to Eliminate Slow Play

/ The Grateful Golfer / 10 Comments

My last article on Slow Play sparked some interesting conversation. This is a real issue for most avid players and the solution, as I found out, cannot be found in one specific area. For this, I think we can all agree that continuous reminders and education are part of the solution to reduce slow play. I purposely used the word ‘reduce’ because I am not sure slow play will ever be eliminated.

I would like to thank MM Golf Studio for asking such a great question!

What is ‘ready golf’?

I know I talk about it all the time, I have touched on the topic from time to time, but I have never really provided a complete answer. Continue reading →

Arthur’s Seat Edinburgh Scotland

/ The Grateful Golfer / 10 Comments

In May of 2015, my wife and I travelled to Edinburgh, Scotland. We were there for only a few days and before anyone asks, I did not go golfing. We spent our time exploring Edinburgh and taking a walk through history.

On the first day, the sun was shining and the weather forecast suggested it was this day that was  best for climbing Arthur’s Seat. This 822 foot ‘hill’ was formed by an extinct volcano and could be climbed from several directions. Enjoying our walk, my wife and I missed the easy ascent path and ended up climbing to the summit of Arthur’s Seat via the vertical stair route. Although this route was more difficult, it really was not that big of a deal. However, we did take the easy route down. Continue reading →

Fixing Slow Play in Golf

/ The Grateful Golfer / 7 Comments

Slow play is a challenge for courses that seems to not go away! It is frustrating for most players who have expectations of finish by a certain time to get home to watch Brooke Henderson or Rickie Fowler win their first Major! Slow play will not go away if we continue to approach golf in the same way.

As Albert Einstein once said: the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results!

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Which Golf Ball is Best for You? – Pt2

/ The Grateful Golfer / 8 Comments

The second installment of which golf ball that is best for you will focus on the construction materials of the golf ball. Originally, I was going to talk about the different internal compounds and external covers, however it was turning into a science lesson; definitely not the intent of this post!

I did however, find a video from Wired that quickly sums up the science portion of golf ball construction. Continue reading →